USA Today: Iowa GOP inundated by irate calls from Ron Paul fans [DO NOT CALL!]

[DrNoZone]

http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/11/iowa-gop-inunda.html
Admin note: Do not call, see note from PCC:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=35019

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[Anti-Donkey]

"I'm all about the First Amendment, but at the same time, how is this productive?" she asked. "They need to start calling voters and start door-knocking instead of calling the Republican Party of Iowa."

Good advice.

[reaver]

It was counter-productive. Have a good day everyone.

[thoughtbombing]

It was counter-productive. Have a good day everyone.

IT WAS PRODUCTIVE.

Now, it's counter-productive. Frankly, the fact that they were INUNDATED means that there is obvious support for Ron Paul. Let that be a lesson to Debate planners... when announcing who is invited, better say RON PAUL before any other name, because you'll have 5000 calls before you can say "Ru..."

[Original_Intent]

It was stupid. Campaign HQ asked that it not be done.

Dang loose cannons... :mad:

[Mortikhi]

Would they rather 30k people showing up on their front porch or be inundated with phone calls?

My suggestion to them is not to complain about overloaded phone lines because the alternative may well be worse.

[kylejack]

Clearly the media is now reading our forums for story ideas. Keep it classy, San Diego.

[kevman657]

Would they rather 30k people showing up on their front porch or be inundated with phone calls?

My suggestion to them is not to complain about overloaded phone lines because the alternative may well be worse.

LOL is that a threat? We need them on our side, they don't need us.

Out of all of this don't forget we're the underdog. We want to show the Republicans that we aren't in this just to spam, we really believe in the policies he teaches.

The polls do not lie, they only call land lines. Therefore door to door knocking IS THE BEST METHOD of advertising...(that we can do at least)

[runderwo]

"We understand the terms of inclusion are ridiculous, and that shutting out the top Q4 fund-raising candidate so far on technical grounds just makes us look small, but don't talk to us -- talk to the voters (who by and large were NOT polled)"

[Mortikhi]

LOL is that a threat? We need them on our side, they don't need us.

Out of all of this don't forget we're the underdog. We want to show the Republicans that we aren't in this just to spam, we really believe in the policies he teaches.

The polls do not lie, they only call land lines. Therefore door to door knocking IS THE BEST METHOD of advertising...(that we can do at least)
No, just a prediction.

People are tired of these antics. Eventually someone or some people are going to snap.

[pcosmar]

The villagers have pitchforks and torches.

[LibertyEagle]

Oh well. It could have been worse.

I do agree with the following statement in the article:


"I'm all about the First Amendment, but at the same time, how is this productive?" she asked. "They need to start calling voters and start door-knocking instead of calling the Republican Party of Iowa."

[tonyr1988]

The last thing we need is more bad reputations about our fringeness. They seemed to do a good job of separating the supporters from the campaign though.

Don't get me wrong - there are many times where phone bombing is justified. I don't know if this was one of them or not - I don't know all the details behind it, but it seemed like other people didn't either, and just assumed the worst.

[thoughtbombing]

It was stupid. Campaign HQ asked that it not be done.

Dang loose cannons... :mad:


Campaign or not.. if my vote isn't counted, they will wish they renewed the assault weapons ban. BEFORE THE DAY STARTED they had 25 messages... if anything, it says we're organized and pissed. This is a good thing.

[Bradley in DC]

IT WAS PRODUCTIVE.

Now, it's counter-productive. Frankly, the fact that they were INUNDATED means that there is obvious support for Ron Paul. Let that be a lesson to Debate planners... when announcing who is invited, better say RON PAUL before any other name, because you'll have 5000 calls before you can say "Ru..."

NO. We don't need more excuses for reporters to write about "angry" calls and emails. Dr. Paul is positive. I for one want to win.

[speciallyblend]

I have a great idea lets all just shut up and once hillary or rudolf are forced down our throat in the primary and general election ,then we can form the Ron Paul Campaign after the election and demand we be included in the election after the election,YEAH sounds like a plan. Lets just wait till after the debates and primarys and the general election ,then we have the right to complain after the fact.

On that note i didnt call,but i am going to enjoy the death of the gop.

No Emails /No Calls/Dont worry about it,just be quiet and enjoy what they give you;)

no need to call voters if Ron paul isnt going to be included,hell no need to do anything now,just wait until after the election and enjoy what they give you.

sarcasm in there ,but really lets just do nothing and after the debate complain,why complain now,might offend someone. Its a REVOLUTION,not a freakin mary kay meeting geez

The GOP is doomed and they dont know it, but I DO, 2 registered republicans. LONG LIVE MARY KAY MEETINGS,we shouldnt offend people that are trying to destroy our country.
Ok people go play your games and do not call anyone since the gop has already decided to mock ron paul and ignore him.just live with it and stop complaining;)

A RON PAUL REPUBLICAN

[DrNoZone]

Remember this: What Would Ron Paul Do? www.wwrpd.org

[thoughtbombing]

NO. We don't need more excuses for reporters to write about "angry" calls and emails. Dr. Paul is positive. I for one want to win.


As long as they spell his name right in the article, it's not a bad thing. What good does it do us if we are passive in our demise?

"Giuliani takes New Hampshire Primary. Ron Paul Supporters stand idle and bake cookies."

You bake cookies, I'll start forming a mob. Don't forget the founders were also proponents of violent uprising as well--they regularly tarred and feathered tax collectors and newspaper writers. have a sense of history and perspective.

Peace is the message. Carrot.
What is the stick? What reason do they have to care about us, unless we have some kind of force behind our words?

Ron Paul is now in a debate that he wouldn't have been allowed in 2 days ago... say what you want, it worked. I don't care if they are pissed as long as Ron Paul is on TV in front of millions of swing voters and saying what he has to say.

[Original_Intent]

Campaign or not.. if my vote isn't counted, they will wish they renewed the assault weapons ban. BEFORE THE DAY STARTED they had 25 messages... if anything, it says we're organized and pissed. This is a good thing.

The campaign did not mind is phone and email bombing the Michigan GOP earlier this year. There was some serious bad stuff going on there, if you remember.

I think they are asking us to hold off until we know whether he is in or not. Now is not the time to go off half cocked when we don't even know if he is in or not.

Again, campaign HQ has asked us not to bombard Iowa GOP - anyone who can't accept that doesn't belong here. If HQ had not said anything one way or the other, then I would say it was an individual choice. But people who will actively go against what the campaign wants done, that is counter-productive.

I haven't seen anything from the campaign myself, but in other threads it was posted that the word from HQ was to stand down. That's accurate, right?

[BillyDkid]

I'm sorry, but when the media and the GOP mistreats us it is our responsibility and right to speak up and to stand up for ourselves. This bull about offending people is just that - the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The Gay lobby (and I have not problem at all with gay people), the likes of Al Sharpton and all sorts of others have proved that. Keep quiet, keep your head down, don't make waves - it's bullshit. Whoever makes the most noise wins and that is how it has always been. All people respect is power and the only way we will ever get fair treatment is to insist on it and force them to give it to us. What's more, we are the good guys. We are standing up for what's right. They are wrong. They are UnAmerican. They do not want to give the American people a fair shot at deciding for themselves by preventing them from hearing a message they don't like.

[Bossobass]

This is how our government is supposed to work.

If we hadn't 'inundated' Saul Anuzis', computers and phones, Ron would have been excluded from all of the last 5 debates, which would have been devastating to his campaign. Mr. Anuzis attempted to circulate a petition to exclude Ron from all subsequent debates based on his personal opinion that Ron is 'out of whack and way out there', whatever that was suppose to mean.

I couldn't care less how inconvenienced the GOP, MSM, opposition candidates or anyone else ends up being from our protests. Especially when our protests simply defend the political process as it is supposed to be...fairness toward every candidate and let the people (not Saul Anuzis, Rick Beltram, Ed Failor or Rupert Murdoch) decide.

I get the impression that far too many people who visit these boards have no idea what a BATTLE it's been to keep Ron Paul in this race by marching, organizing counter-rallies, phoning, e-mailing, writing letters, braving lightning storms, traveling far distances and bearing huge expenses...al to keep Ron Paul in the debates and in the race for President of the United States.

It's a no brainer. No Protests...no Ron Paul.

Bosso

[Liberty]

This is how our government is supposed to work.

If we hadn't 'inundated' Saul Anuzis', computers and phones, Ron would have been excluded from all of the last 5 debates, which would have been devastating to his campaign. Mr. Anuzis attempted to circulate a petition to exclude Ron from all subsequent debates based on his personal opinion that Ron is 'out of whack and way out there', whatever that was suppose to mean.

I couldn't care less how inconvenienced the GOP, MSM, opposition candidates or anyone else ends up being from our protests. Especially when our protests simply defend the political process as it is supposed to be...fairness toward every candidate and let the people (not Saul Anuzis, Rick Beltram, Ed Failor or Rupert Murdoch) decide.

I get the impression that far too many people who visit these boards have no idea what a BATTLE it's been to keep Ron Paul in this race by marching, organizing counter-rallies, phoning, e-mailing, writing letters, braving lightning storms, traveling far distances and bearing huge expenses...al to keep Ron Paul in the debates and in the race for President of the United States.

It's a no brainer. No Protests...no Ron Paul.

Bosso

I agree. Great post.

[Bob Cochran]

Keep it classy, San Diego.
That's good advice in general, but if Ron Paul is to have a snowball's chance, niceness and only niceness is not gonna get the job done.

Our grim march toward fascism can't be stopped with niceness.

I fear our nation's leadership has taken us so far afield that a bloodless revolution is not going to be possible.

[speciallyblend]

THE ROOT of the problem is the simple word GOP,so good luck the gop is my eyes is just as bad as the dnc

[speciallyblend]

This is how our government is supposed to work.

If we hadn't 'inundated' Saul Anuzis', computers and phones, Ron would have been excluded from all of the last 5 debates, which would have been devastating to his campaign. Mr. Anuzis attempted to circulate a petition to exclude Ron from all subsequent debates based on his personal opinion that Ron is 'out of whack and way out there', whatever that was suppose to mean.

I couldn't care less how inconvenienced the GOP, MSM, opposition candidates or anyone else ends up being from our protests. Especially when our protests simply defend the political process as it is supposed to be...fairness toward every candidate and let the people (not Saul Anuzis, Rick Beltram, Ed Failor or Rupert Murdoch) decide.

I get the impression that far too many people who visit these boards have no idea what a BATTLE it's been to keep Ron Paul in this race by marching, organizing counter-rallies, phoning, e-mailing, writing letters, braving lightning storms, traveling far distances and bearing huge expenses...al to keep Ron Paul in the debates and in the race for President of the United States.

It's a no brainer. No Protests...no Ron Paul.

Bosso
DItto +1

[pcosmar]

I think some folks want mindless drones.
Time to join the collective.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/166/379597714_7e44c8c557.jpg

[Johnnybags]

we need the pollsters to do a real job, not survey 500 political hacks. He is already far past 5 percent of Repub voters in Iowa except they do not want to find out. THE GOP is your party, you cannot let a few neocons control it. Call em with courtesy is not a bad thing to do. FOX NEWS started this fiasco because its in bed with neocon central. FOX NEWS should be hammered or boycotted.

[heiwa]

As long as they spell his name right in the article, it's not a bad thing. What good does it do us if we are passive in our demise?


It isn't about being passive. It's about picking the right fights. Fight everything, and you're a bully. They're quite willing to paint us as "Thugs for Ron Paul". When we react to something without the facts, we are behaving like sore losers. It's time we started behaving as equals.

Who would you rather fight - someone who is so angry their pinwheeling their arms in all directions, or someone who is calm and assured and starts walking toward you looking you dead in the eye?

Wisdom and emotionally driven reactions (even when justified) rarely mix well.

In Peace,
Jen

[Bob Cochran]

http://members.cox.net/autofx/borg.JPG

[James R]

It was stupid. Campaign HQ asked that it not be done.

Dang loose cannons... :mad:

These people who call are practically traitors, because they've ignored HQ asking them specifically NOT to call. It makes me angry that they would do that.

[JMO]

You can kill them with kindness. if you call and make your complaint be respectful, when you curse, scream, make threats, etc, etc you make yourself look barbaric, and that to the average reader of a article will reflect poorly on Ron Paul. While you want to fight for Ron Paul right to be included, you also want to give him a positive image......we would of got a much more positive article if it said we were inundated with 25 people respectfully protesting Ron Paul being excluded from the Iowa debates.

[ladyliberty]

No, just a prediction.

People are tired of these antics. Eventually someone or some people are going to snap.


I know I am up for a Road Trip! me and about 30k others! :D

[thoughtbombing]

It's time we started behaving as equals.

We're not equals.

We want freedom, they want fascism. We aren't willing to compromise. We've gone the political route.. if/when that doesn't work... I, like Ron Paul, turn to the FOUNDERS' words for comfort....



God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion.
The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is
wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts
they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions,
it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. ...
And what country can preserve its liberties, if it's rulers are not
warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of
resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as
to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost
in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from
time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
It is its natural manure.

We're about 250 years overdue.

What part of
give me liberty or give me death

do we all not understand... LIBERTY, OR YOU DIE!

[reduen]

Remember this: What Would Ron Paul Do? www.wwrpd.org


I have watched Ron Paul himself say that he is supportive of civil disobedience on many occasions. :)

[Benaiah]

I can see it now...... 30,000 Ron Paul supporters get tazerd, gassed, and beat with night sticks as they march into the debate and start chanting "Ron Paul" on Fox News.

[thegearbox]

my 2 cents...

I say call call call! Call until their view changes. Saying nothing will just set us up for dissapoinment when they don't let him in. It's like my wife, she won't stop yelling until I do something to fix the issue, lets all learn by that.

[Pete]

My post on the article:


As the calls to Iowa GOP indicate, Ron Paul is popular, no doubt much more popular than current American Research Group and Des Moines Register polls that show he DOES have the requisite 5% to allow him to appear in the debate.

The Ron Paul campaign has explicitly requested that Iowa GOP not be contacted about the debate, but some small percentage of supporters apparently did not receive the message.

It is exciting that many new voters will be flocking to the GOP in Iowa and elsewhere because of the Republican values of small government and fiscal restraint being promoted by Ron Paul. Accordingly, I hope that Iowa GOP will look on the bright side of this telephone barrage.


Couldn't resist the little joke, although it could well be true. :)

[speciallyblend]

OK where is the proof that a Ron Paul supporter called and made bad comments? ooo because someone said so,or they said they were a Ron Paul supporter,maybe they lied,probably just a troll saying he was a supporter.

I have a bridge in New York to sell you,because a Ron Paul supporter said so,or maybe he was a Rudy or Romney supporter posing as a Ron Paul supporter.
PLEASE SHOW ME ONE FACT or a recording of a Ron Paul supporter with name and location ,so we can actually check to see if he really isn't a redneck Rudy supporter with a Joe dirt hair cut.

The real complaint is the secretary never had to answer the phone because it never rang until we called them. Just because we call and leave a good message or leave one that disagrees with there plan to exclude Ron Paul,doesn't make them bad phone calls,just means the woman/man answering the phone doesn't want to work for her/his paying job.

[pcosmar]

I can see it now...... 30,000 Ron Paul supporters get tazerd, gassed, and beat with night sticks as they march into the debate and start chanting "Ron Paul" on Fox News.

I see a quite different picture, and it is not pretty.
It looks like 30,000 angry Americans .....

[Mortikhi]

I can see it now...... 30,000 Ron Paul supporters get tazerd, gassed, and beat with night sticks as they march into the debate and start chanting "Ron Paul" on Fox News.
I seriously doubt that a group of free-thinking and liberty loving people would let a single person get tasered without a battle starting.

I don't know about some people, but I wouldn't stand idly by and watch someone get electricuted and do nothing, especially when that person is marching for their freedom.

[reduen]

I seriously doubt that a group of free-thinking and liberty loving people would let a single person get tasered without a battle starting.

I don't know about some people, but I wouldn't stand idly by and watch someone get electricuted and do nothing, especially when that person is marching for their freedom.

I personally am not a proponent for violence in any situation but I would not be opposed to locking arms or something like that so that they would have to take me also. :)

[davidhperry]

You can kill them with kindness. if you call and make your complaint be respectful, when you curse, scream, make threats, etc, etc you make yourself look barbaric, and that to the average reader of a article will reflect poorly on Ron Paul. While you want to fight for Ron Paul right to be included, you also want to give him a positive image......we would of got a much more positive article if it said we were inundated with 25 people respectfully protesting Ron Paul being excluded from the Iowa debates.

The bad thing as that there were "a lot of angry callers." The anger, not the numbers, is what hurts us in times like these. Why can't some people show their support for Ron Paul without being angry and threatening? It's just going to kill us in the long-run if we keep doing this.

This is the main issue. For me, there is nothing wrong with showing our numbers. However, the positive quickly becomes a negative when the callers become angry. What can we do to encourage folks to act differently. They don't all have to be nice church-boys, but I do think everyone should be respectful. I mean, if someone shouts and gets angry at you are you more or less inclined to agree with them?

[FluffyUnbound]

I think you need both the angry supporters and the nice supporters.

The angry supporters help us punch above our weight. The polls understate our support, but we're still not as big as we need to be. But the angry guys sure as hell make us SOUND big. I think Paul would have been even more marginalized by the MSM and party establishment than he has been if angry supporters weren't raising hell.

But you need the nice supporters to come in and be the Good Cop after the angry guys have worked the room over for a while.

[thoughtbombing]

I see a quite different picture, and it is not pretty.
It looks like 30,000 angry Americans .....


30,000 Second Amendment supporting, Revolutionaries... I welcome this clash.

"Bring em on" - Bush, the Lesser.

[pcosmar]

The bad thing as that there were "a lot of angry callers." The anger, not the numbers, is what hurts us in times like these. Why can't some people show their support for Ron Paul without being angry and threatening? It's just going to kill us in the long-run if we keep doing this.

This is the main issue. For me, there is nothing wrong with showing our numbers. However, the positive quickly becomes a negative when the callers become angry. What can we do to encourage folks to act differently. They don't all have to be nice church-boys, but I do think everyone should be respectful. I mean, if someone shouts and gets angry at you are you more or less inclined to agree with them?

CLUE BAT

There are a LOT of Angry Americans. A lot of them are Ron Paul supporters.

[American]

Isnt Iowa also the state that banned Dr. Paul from the Tax debate. This is pre-determined, they are not going to let him speak anyways.

personally, I would rather stand up and be counted then sit down and shut up.

[davidhperry]

I think the people who post the contact information in this forum should be held accountable when stuff like this happens. This is about the 400th time this has happened and we're still shocked when it pisses people off.

If you post someone's email or phone number here, you can 100% guarantee that a lot of idiots are going to contact them with angry threats, or worse. So, unless you think that somehow a benefit to the campaign, I suggest that you don't do it.

Remember, if Ron Paul continues to do well then we're going to want many of these people to support him. They will not do that if we piss them off right now. Please don't contribute to the reputation that Dr' Paul's supporters are whackjobs.

We are a force but a force of good. When we show that force it needs to be done positively.

[hard@work]

When we're polling at 10% this is going to be overwhelming from them. I am not sure it can be stopped.

[davidhperry]

There are a LOT of Angry Americans. A lot of them are Ron Paul supporters.

I'm not saying don't be angry. I'm saying don't show your anger to people who we want and need to support Dr. Paul down the road.

[ConstitutionGal]

You can kill them with kindness. if you call and make your complaint be respectful, when you curse, scream, make threats, etc, etc you make yourself look barbaric, and that to the average reader of a article will reflect poorly on Ron Paul. While you want to fight for Ron Paul right to be included, you also want to give him a positive image......we would of got a much more positive article if it said we were inundated with 25 people respectfully protesting Ron Paul being excluded from the Iowa debates.


+5

We can be IRATE while still being rational and cordial and as a Southerner, I could write you a book on the differene between 'nice' and simply 'cordial' :D

[speciallyblend]

OK WHERES THE PROOF that a Ron Paul supporter called? just because he said he was one??

[mojohnk2000]

It was counter-productive. Have a good day everyone.

No I think just about anything to keep Ron's name in public eye is good.
They say "all press is good press".

[expatriot]

1) I did not call

2) I refuse to be a doormat, but I don't feel inclined to be rude. Yet....

3) It is a self-responsible act of media to inform the public. Whether they choose
to do so is their choice, free press and all that of course. However, if they shun
news (as admitted today by the Associated Press here (http://www.ap.org/pages/about/whatsnew/wn_110107a.html)) then they are open to our
fair use of free speech to scathingly castigate them for their deliberate omission.
AP CEO Says News Organizations Should Forget About Being Gatekeepers of Information (http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/245705/AP_CEO_Says_News_Organizations_Should_Forget_About _Being_Gatekeepers_of_Information)

4) On Dec 4 it will probably be too cold to even gather two ice cubes together
outside the venue, much less 30k irate torch bearing Ron Paul supporters.
Or prove me wrong!:D:D:D:D:D:D

5) If we truly had that many 'angry and rude' calls coming in then that means we vastly outnumber anything anyone has ever imagined - the paltry few who read these boards could hardly represent more than a few handfuls of phone calls.
No doubt that would require some true motivation to defy common sense and insult people.

6) Maybe Fox is trying to incite a riot - always good ratings from live coverage
outside the convention center - teargas, tasers, and look - there they are !.:cool::eek:

[JimDude]

ya, we should start calling people. and knocking on more doors.

[dc74rp]

Sending troops to occupy every foreign country that disagrees with us is no way to win support for our country and the ideals that made it great.

Showing everyone we will quickly punish anyone offends us isn't going to win us the most votes. If that worked, the NeoCons and Democrats would convert us with beatings and jail. It won't work that way. The attacks would only gives us more reason to reject them and win us the support of other who reject thier tactics.

Now is the time when we need to learn to show discipline and strategy to win over average voters. Self restraint is not weakness. If all we're looking for is attention, we might as well be the Unibomber.

If they can predict we're easily set off, then we can be manipulated. We can be made to overeact right when it will do the most damage to our movement and our message.

Are we looking to get attention at any cost, even if it mean alienating those who would support us? Or are we out to win hearts and minds? Yeah, maybe a squeaky wheel like Al Sharpton gets the grease........ but neither Al Sharpton or his supporters are going to be able to win him enough voters to make him president.

If we want to win votes, we need to be seen as a movement that the square voters can admire. I'm sure there are great numbers of people who don't yet understand Paul's message, and we can turn them off it just as quick as any lying reporter if we act in ways that would make people not want to associate with us.

This is not to say there aren't going to be times to protest. It's saying think things through before we start throwing blows.

Thank you all for taking a moment to give my opinion fair consideration.

[speciallyblend]

I havent called yet,but the iowa gop and the national gop should be thankful i havent.

We must hold all media accountable,if we dont call or protest then we never would of had Ron Paul in any debates.

I hear the arguments,but your not gonna stop pissed of people from voicing their opinions,especially when they are right. look atthe brighside,pissed people are gonna vote;)

The media has away to stop,start doing their jobs,instead of lying to the public,then there wouldnt phone calls if they were doing their jobs. kinda of a catch 22,they know there going to get calls and protest,since they are manipulating the elections and coverage,dohhhhhh dee dee dee,the media and the gop are like a crying baby,they purposely mislead and lie and then wonder why they are getting calls. The worlds smallest violin playing now;)

[DeadheadForPaul]

Calling the Iowa GOP was counter-productive and the GOP representative gave solid advice. Why are people complaining about the 5% line? Sure, the polls are not entirely accurate but there is some truth to us having below 10% support (perhaps less than 5%). It's largely due to lack of name recognition. If we cant get 5% support, we're not going to get a majority by the primaries.

Less bitching, MORE ACTION. You can only blame the media and GOP so much. Whining like a bunch of children gets us nowhere and reflects badly on the campaign. STOP WITH THE NEGATIVITY. This is positive campaign about freedom. You are only pissing off the Republican base and making us look like kooks

[American]

I'm not sure what is the right answer but I dont think not doing anything is the rioght answer either. The media, and these polls which some dont even include DR. Paul in them should be responsible for there error in judgement by excluding RP.

If Iowa and the GOP didnt think anything was going to happen then there we mistaken. This isnt the first time they are trying to exclude RP, so they knew something would happed.

[wfd40]

This is how our government is supposed to work.

If we hadn't 'inundated' Saul Anuzis', computers and phones, Ron would have been excluded from all of the last 5 debates, which would have been devastating to his campaign. Mr. Anuzis attempted to circulate a petition to exclude Ron from all subsequent debates based on his personal opinion that Ron is 'out of whack and way out there', whatever that was suppose to mean.

I couldn't care less how inconvenienced the GOP, MSM, opposition candidates or anyone else ends up being from our protests. Especially when our protests simply defend the political process as it is supposed to be...fairness toward every candidate and let the people (not Saul Anuzis, Rick Beltram, Ed Failor or Rupert Murdoch) decide.

I get the impression that far too many people who visit these boards have no idea what a BATTLE it's been to keep Ron Paul in this race by marching, organizing counter-rallies, phoning, e-mailing, writing letters, braving lightning storms, traveling far distances and bearing huge expenses...al to keep Ron Paul in the debates and in the race for President of the United States.

It's a no brainer. No Protests...no Ron Paul.

Bosso

Great post man...

In fact, I just finished watching Moore's Sicko.. and let me tell you.. Democracy in Europe (re: england and france) is a hell of a lot different than it is here. That old english lord certainly knew what was up - if people are forcibly disenfranchised (re: debt, high taxes, health care etc.) they loose the impetus to PROTEST/stand up for their rights.

All in all.. the movie was quite moving. Unfortunately though, while Mr. Moore makes many correct diagnosis (re: people in debt don't fight back) his solution is still 50/50.

Actually, I was going to start a new thread on the topic of single payer universal health (because we all know who would profit from non-single-payer universal health ... the GIANT HEALTH CARE CO.)

[DrNoZone]

It's not a bad thing to make calls like this, it's a bad thing to be an asshole when you do it. That's the point.

[speciallyblend]

Actually the whole name GOP and Republican is counterproductive to itself by its actions,hence they get phone calls.

[speciallyblend]

It's not a bad thing to make calls like this, it's a bad thing to be an asshole when you do it. That's the point.

but my point is where is the proof anyone has badmouthed anyone and if so,was it truly a ron paul supporter or a hannity troll.

I havent seen any proof other then iowa gop and republicans bitching,thats enuff said they are iowa gop and republicans. hence do you believe anything out of george w bushes mouth let alone most of the gop.

Hell just mentioning the name Ron Paul seems to piss most big goverment loving republicans,so i have yet to see what the problem is other then the gop itself and hard headed republican bitching because we support RON PAUL,thats my point:)

Where is the proof that a Ron Paul supporter made any threatening calls,what i find threatening is the actions of the GOP and some Republicans,what the gop is doing to ron paul is more threatening to this country then us or anyone calling them for excluding Ron Paul or threatening to.

Whos complaining again?? The Iowa Gop?,well that tells the story right there,THEY ARE FULL OF CRAP

A RON PAUL REPUBLICAN

[deedles]

I'm sorry, but when the media and the GOP mistreats us it is our responsibility and right to speak up and to stand up for ourselves. This bull about offending people is just that - the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The Gay lobby (and I have not problem at all with gay people), the likes of Al Sharpton and all sorts of others have proved that. Keep quiet, keep your head down, don't make waves - it's bullshit. Whoever makes the most noise wins and that is how it has always been. All people respect is power and the only way we will ever get fair treatment is to insist on it and force them to give it to us. What's more, we are the good guys. We are standing up for what's right. They are wrong. They are UnAmerican. They do not want to give the American people a fair shot at deciding for themselves by preventing them from hearing a message they don't like.

I agree with the intent of everything you have said. HOWEVER, WWRPD?

We all need to keep in the front of our minds at all time... WHAT WOULD RON PAUL DO?

He is always courteous, decent and composed. He has never once had a screaming fit or any kind of fit about all the injustices done to him through this process. He has been called names by O'Reilly, Hannity etc. He has been left off polls.. we all know what has gone on. And through it all he has remained a gentleman... GENTLE MAN. It behooves us all, AS his representatives in the eyes of the media and anyone we run into... to conduct ourselves according to his example.

Let us treat others the way we would like to be treated. Let's not act worse than they do and try to justify it by 'standing up for ourselves'.

Please, the more attention the campaign gets, the more imperative it is that we put our best foot forward ESPECIALLY when engaged in potentially antagonistic interactions with people.

thank you all for all you are doing.:)

[LinearChaos]

Oh noes. First the Media ignores, then it ridicules, now it fights.

The Establishment Media has been nothing but rude to Paul until 6 days ago, calling him names and the like. The media have been trying to snap Paul supporters for months by ignoring him and calling him names. They kicked, stirred and badmouthed, and a lot of them still are.

And now the GOP is crying and USA Today is covering it? Boo hoo. This has been the norm for eight months now. They should be used to it. In fact, I wouldn't put it past them to have had a plan to exclude Paul, Tancredo, and Hunter, and have it be Huckster, Romney, Ghouls, and Fred. Then the money bomb came.

They shouldn't be blaming supporters for the reaction, they should be blaming themselves for their hubris, they have been ignoring and trashing his campaign for months, and pissing off his supporters. This has been the reaction for months. They try and play the same game with that kooky old crank Ron Paul, and have themselves a nice, Establishment GOP Debate. Except, oops on them, all of a sudden Paul has big money and is relevant. Now they are crying about it, "whaa whaa, Paul supporters are mean".

Hey GOP, you reap what you sow.

[monotony]

The campaign did not mind is phone and email bombing the Michigan GOP earlier this year. There was some serious bad stuff going on there, if you remember.

I think they are asking us to hold off until we know whether he is in or not. Now is not the time to go off half cocked when we don't even know if he is in or not.

Again, campaign HQ has asked us not to bombard Iowa GOP - anyone who can't accept that doesn't belong here. If HQ had not said anything one way or the other, then I would say it was an individual choice. But people who will actively go against what the campaign wants done, that is counter-productive.

I haven't seen anything from the campaign myself, but in other threads it was posted that the word from HQ was to stand down. That's accurate, right?

The "HQ" are not the campaign, they are the vehicle for change. WE THE PEOPLE are the campaign and now that people are passionate and mobilized we are going to worry about offending the very people that would rather ignore us and keep us demoralized? No way. We keep pushing and pushing regardless of who we "annoy" in the process. This movement is inevitable. There is absolutely no such thing as bad press because as soon as people look into Ron Paul and his platform, it is a bulletproof combination.

We are going to take over the GOP so we need to quit worrying about making people know they need to do their job and make sure our man gets a fair shake. There are MANY MORE of us than there are of them. We have the power. I repeat, WE HAVE THE POWER. Let it be a lesson to any part of the machine that tries to marginalize Ron Paul...his multitude of supporters WILL NOT STAND FOR IT...PERIOD.

[dc74rp]

Hey,

Hasn't Ron been lecturing the NeoCons about how diplomacy should be used before force? Maybe we need to take a minute to think about what that means...... Again, I'm not saying we need to be silent and passive, just that we need to have some self control and not strike out before thinking. If our opponents can figure out how to make us overreact, they'll be able to manipulate the actions of the movement. Self control is not weakness. I remember a friend telling me: "Wait your time......." which I though was weak. Wasn't too many years later, with the benefit of experience, I realized the wisdow of those words.

I have a friend, and one day she was telling me about a deal she set up with someone who was late on coming through on his end. By coincidence, within a few days of the conversation, I was hanging out with her when Mr. Dealmaker happens by.

So I told him in a calm tone: "Hey, my friend here was just telling me you two made a deal."

His immediate reply: "Oh, yeah, I'm lagging, I'm gonna have that ready right away."

His reply, in my judgement, was an honest commitment to stop messing around and come through on the deal.

Well, my friend just couldn't leave well enough alone. Later, a friend of Mr. Dealmaker shows up and and says hi....... Well my friend just didn't have the sense to accept her good fortune with self control. Before too long she's gotta tell Mr. Friend Of Dealmaker that: "Hey, you shoulda been here the other day...... My friend here Mr. DC74RP told your friend Mr. Dealmaker he better come through on the deal, and Mr. Dealmaker peed!".............

Which was not an accurate report of events. The truth was: I was polite, he was polite, and everyone would've ended up happy and with thier pride intact if she would've just kept her mouth shut and left well enough alone. The moment she said that, I was able to predict:

1. Mr. Friend Of Dealmaker was going to go tell Mr. Dealmaker what my friend said.......

2. Mr. Dealmaker was going to be offended, and to show he can't be pushed around he was going to break the deal........

3. If I were to continue to back up Miss Drama Instigator when she needed help, I could expect the same type of reward in the future.

At this point I decided to withdraw myself from the situation and left her to her own devices....... And my predictions came true, and the deal never went through.

Often you'll end up getting what you want through patience, diplomacy, and strategy that would cost you twenty times the price through the use of force.

Or am I wrong, and the Globalist strategy for the Middle East right? Again, I'm not saying there isn't a time for protest and a show of force..... just that we need to have some self control and think things through before acting.

Thanks again for taking the time to consider my points.

[rs3515]

Hasn't Ron been lecturing the NeoCons about how diplomacy should be used before force? Maybe we need to take a minute to think about what that means...... Again, I'm not saying we need to be silent and passive, just that we need to have some self control and not strike out before thinking.

Absolutely and totally agree with you. www.wwrpd.org

[speciallyblend]

Yep I totally agre ,WWRPD ,he would of wrote this post;)


Oh noes. First the Media ignores, then it ridicules, now it fights.

The Establishment Media has been nothing but rude to Paul until 6 days ago, calling him names and the like. The media have been trying to snap Paul supporters for months by ignoring him and calling him names. They kicked, stirred and badmouthed, and a lot of them still are.

And now the GOP is crying and USA Today is covering it? Boo hoo. This has been the norm for eight months now. They should be used to it. In fact, I wouldn't put it past them to have had a plan to exclude Paul, Tancredo, and Hunter, and have it be Huckster, Romney, Ghouls, and Fred. Then the money bomb came.

They shouldn't be blaming supporters for the reaction, they should be blaming themselves for their hubris, they have been ignoring and trashing his campaign for months, and pissing off his supporters. This has been the reaction for months. They try and play the same game with that kooky old crank Ron Paul, and have themselves a nice, Establishment GOP Debate. Except, oops on them, all of a sudden Paul has big money and is relevant. Now they are crying about it, "whaa whaa, Paul supporters are mean".

Hey GOP, you reap what you sow.

[speciallyblend]

I love the passion in this thread.
ONCE AGAIN I ASK FOR ONE RECORDED PHONE CALL that has a proven ron paul supporter that has threatened the iowa gop? My bet its a hannity troll posing as a ron paul supporter

It's possible there could be some passionate supporters who are upset with the iowa gop actions and foxes,well who blames them,and making a call to the iowa gop about there displeasure isnt wrong.The gop has an option change,stop trying to manipulate and destroy democracy and our republic.

[Thunderbolt]

You can kill them with kindness. if you call and make your complaint be respectful, when you curse, scream, make threats, etc, etc you make yourself look barbaric, and that to the average reader of a article will reflect poorly on Ron Paul. While you want to fight for Ron Paul right to be included, you also want to give him a positive image......we would of got a much more positive article if it said we were inundated with 25 people respectfully protesting Ron Paul being excluded from the Iowa debates.


Excellent point. We look so much better when we take the high road. Call politely. Say you disagree with their methods and that because they get to choose which polls to pay attention to it makes them look like they are pulling a fast one. And with all due respect we would appreciate it if they would play fair.

Thank you for taking my call. Have a nice day.

Pleasant voice. No tirades.

But the campaign is right, this may be a moot point and REMEMBER - Iowa is a caucus state. They, the GOP have a TON of power over there. There are no voters. The people just sit down and talk. And if these are the people that have been screamed at, they are never in a million years going to vote for Ron Paul.

Clearly they hate us. But we don't have to give them more ammunition. We can be polite and still protest. Threats and screams rarely get you anything.

However, if the campaign says please don't call it is because they are trying to build bridges with the people that hold his career in their hand. It is not fair, but it is politics. So, how about we hold off on the polite calling until we know for sure he is out of the debate.

I read today already that he might be in. So all this could be over real soon.

But let's not be so quick to ignore a plea from Ron Paul. He is begging us to be nice to the Iowans. If he doesn't get into the debate, then how about we complain then.

Nothing we say will change their minds anyway.

[Anti Federalist]

Good point was made in the comment section of the OP article.

"How can you base 5% as the cut off point, when the polls have a margin of error of 5%?"

[speciallyblend]

ONCE AGAIN,please show me, or any audio of any ron paul supporters that was out of line while calling? and if so,who says it isnt a hannity supporter claiming to be a ron paul supporter?

[Tratzman]

I'm sorry, but when the media and the GOP mistreats us it is our responsibility and right to speak up and to stand up for ourselves. This bull about offending people is just that - the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The Gay lobby (and I have not problem at all with gay people), the likes of Al Sharpton and all sorts of others have proved that. Keep quiet, keep your head down, don't make waves - it's bullshit. Whoever makes the most noise wins and that is how it has always been. All people respect is power and the only way we will ever get fair treatment is to insist on it and force them to give it to us. What's more, we are the good guys. We are standing up for what's right. They are wrong. They are UnAmerican. They do not want to give the American people a fair shot at deciding for themselves by preventing them from hearing a message they don't like.

I'm with ya, Billy D! WE set the agenda and force the establishment to respond to us. Revolutionaries take action and that's what we do for RP and our country.

Chad

[max]

It was stupid. Campaign HQ asked that it not be done.

Dang loose cannons... :mad:

A show of power gets us respexct....It worked didnt it!

[Mortikhi]

I agree with the intent of everything you have said. HOWEVER, WWRPD?

We all need to keep in the front of our minds at all time... WHAT WOULD RON PAUL DO?

I'm getting tired of people asking WWRPD. We are our own people, not Ron Paul.
Maybe you should be asking WWRPA, What Would Ron Paul Advocate, and he himself has said that he agrees with civil disobedience.

Once again, "our" disobedience (if it even was a RP supporter) has gotten results.

We won't be silenced any longer.

Let Ron Paul be the only Ron Paul, and let us make sure he gets heard.

[literatim]

Maybe you people should listen to the campaign.


Hey Everybody - Here is where we are at. I spoke to the person at FOX who is ultimately responsible for the debates and was told that the decision was solely the Republican Party of Iowa's.

We have had ongoing discussions with RPI and our efforts have been well-received. Both the PD and ED have said that they would like Ron to be included. They are working within the organization to make that happen.

We have NEVER heard that Ron would be excluded from anyone with authority within RPI. These discussions have been ongoing and will continue. We have found the folks at RPI to be friendly and helpful.

While, there have been times that phone and e-mail bombing has been successful in changing the minds of Republican officials, it has NEVER worked with RPI. They were inundated over the candidate's forum and Ron was still excluded. They were inundated regarding voting at the straw poll. Our offer to pay for the recount was still turned down.

We want Ron to participate in this debate as much as you guys do, which is why I am asking that you please hold you fire.

Calling now might likely push them in the wrong direction as well as giving them a stack of emails that they can use to discredit us with party insiders and Republican caucus-goers.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=35019

[DrNoZone]

I'm getting tired of people asking WWRPD. We are our own people, not Ron Paul.
Maybe you should be asking WWRPA, What Would Ron Paul Advocate, and he himself has said that he agrees with civil disobedience.

Once again, "our" disobedience (if it even was a RP supporter) has gotten results.

We won't be silenced any longer.

Let Ron Paul be the only Ron Paul, and let us make sure he gets heard.

But civil disobedience should be directed appropriately at GOVERNMENT, not PRIVATE media outlets who can do and say whatever the hell they want.

I'll say it again www.wwrpd.org

[Mortikhi]

But civil disobedience should be directed appropriately at GOVERNMENT, not PRIVATE media outlets who can do and say whatever the hell they want.

I'll say it again www.wwrpd.org
Say until you're blue in the face. It won't make a difference.

I say WWRPA and believe picketing outside the home addresses of these media pundits that believe they can do or say whatever the hell they want will make them think twice before impeding our march towards freedom.

[dc74rp]

What would Ron Paul advocate?

Judging by the message from the official campaign Literatim shared with us, I'd say he'd advocate letting him try to solve things diplomaticly before we send in the troops to punish offenders. I don't agree with everything Paul says, and I'm not going to obey him like a robot, but he's our man there in the situation, dealing directly with the insiders, and relaying what's going on to us. And he's asking for us to support him by giving him a chance to solve it. And it sounds like he's going to be in if we we can show some self discipline.

Last time we were excluded in Iowa, he didn't need to attack the Iowa GOP. Paul showed them up by simply holding his own event down the hall, and this method probably won him more support from Iowan voters, even among those who went to the GOP event, than protesting would have. He defeated them and at the same time made them look like the asses for excluding him when a alot more people showed up to see Paul.

It's called strategy. The Presidential campaign isn't a war that can be won by simply defeating our opponents with force. It's a fight to win the people over to our cause. We need to consider not just the effects our tactics will have on our opponents, but the effects they will have on the hearts and minds of the people. If they can instigate us into overracting at the wrong time, then they can defeat our movement through manipulation.

We don't want to end up winning the war and losing the peace. Look at Iraq after Saddam was defeated. Did offensive tactics make the Iraqi people view the US as oppressors or liberators? Do we want people to view us as a movement that's going to force it's will on others?

Here are a few words from Paul himself, excerpted from remarks Before the US House of Representatives, October 7, 2005


We lost a war in Vietnam, and the domino theory that communism would spread throughout southeast Asia was proven wrong. Today, Vietnam accepts American investment dollars and technology. We maintain a trade relationship with Vietnam that the war never achieved............

.............We should have confidence in how well freedom works, rather than relying on blind faith in the use of military force to spread our message. Setting an example and using persuasion is always superior to military force in showing how others might live.

If the message from the official campaign, Paul's own words, and logic aren't worthy reasons to at least pause and give honest consideration to thinking and acting stategicly, I don't know what are.

[Jordan]

Great job guys.

Personally, the phone calls were a great way to show our support. Ron Paul obviously has more support than the media outlets claim and we proved that. Ron Paul supporters are far more into politics and pushing a political agenda than any other candidate. We didn't just go candidate shopping off TV and find a candidate that "can win," instead we found a candidate that represents what we want in government.

I'm proud to be a Ron Paul supporter.

[Lord Xar]

There was a person going thru Youtube videos posting the phone number to the Iowa GOP office. I told him to stop it, didn't hear back from him.

So, if you see things like this -- please note NOT to call.