polakoff
11-24-2007, 10:41 AM
I'm quoted, as are a few other students. I believe the author is a supporter, as she's a member online for our meetup groups (ronpauluf.com and ronpaulgainesville.com). I think it's a pretty positive piece.
Here it is:
On Nov. 5, something historic happened in American politics, but it didn't make any headlines.
In just 24 hours, 2008 Republican candidate Ron Paul raised $4.2 million, setting the record for a single-day fundraising haul in any primary election.
Paul is a 10th-term congressman and a medical doctor from Texas. He advocates smaller, transparent government and individual liberties. He believes in a strict interpretation of the Constitution and known for never having voted to raise taxes. One of the main-focuses of his campaign is to return to the gold standard. Paul is also against the Patriot Act and American involvement in the Middle East. He ran for the presidency in 1988 as a Libertarian.
Although he is an unfamiliar name to many Americans, Paul has raised the third greatest amount of campaign funds in the 2008 Republican primaries - ahead of John McCain, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. His Web site receives more traffic than Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Rudy Giuliani's sites combined, and he has placed at least third in 75 percent of 41 straw polls conducted nationally.
Remarkably, the official Paul campaign took no part in the Nov. 5 fundraising effort. A single Floridian music promoter, Trevor Lyman, organized the event. Paul supporters hoped the fundraising events would help the campaign receive media coverage because of the amount of money raised in such a short period.
Such grassroots events are characteristic of Paul's campaign. The mainstream media outlets have largely ignored Paul's campaign because he is what some media heads consider a fringe Libertarian candidate. His campaign has relied on its highly dedicated support base of average Americans to raise money.
"Money talks," said Kayla Renaud, a local Paul activist. "If enough people donate, he can't be ignored."
"I donate $17.76 every paycheck," she said, explaining that the number signified the year the United States gained its independence.
In addition to raising money, Paul's grassroots supporters have devised a variety of ways to get his message out. "Who is Ron Paul?" is one of their leading slogans for his campaign, along with "Dr. Ron Paul Cured My Apathy."
Paul's passionate supporters don't seem to be from any particular niche or political association. The Gainesville organizations are comprised of families, students and professionals of all ages.
"His support base is extremely wide," said David Polakoff, co-organizer of the University of Florida Ron Paul Meetup Group. "If you look at people who show up to meetings, or to activities, or who support him online, they're people of all different ages and backgrounds: Republicans, Democrats, Independents and previously unregistered voters."
Supporters like Renaud and Polakoff often find each other on the Internet after seeing Paul in the Republican debates. Paul supporters in the Gainesville area use this commonality to their advantage, organizing on social networking sites like Meetup.com. Together, the two groups of Paul supporters on that website have 214 members. They estimate that around 50 people attend their weekly meetings at Hops Brewery on Archer Road.
The Gainesville activists are everywhere. They table at the Reitz Union on the UF campus, wave signs at local festivals and try to teach area residents about Paul's candidacy.
"Ron Paul fanatics don't want to trick people into voting for him," Renaud said. "We just want people who would support him to be aware of him."
"I think that both of our groups have had much success not just reaching students on the UF campus, but lots of Gainesville residents," said Lyle Kossis, another Paul supporter and UF student. "Our enthusiasm and motivation seem to attract a lot of interested people who seem to be upset with politics."
Why do people feel so passionate about Ron Paul? Their reasons are varied. Some support him because of his traditional conservatism and economic policy.
"I find him appealing because he is preaching a message the American people haven't heard since the American Revolution," Kossis added. "He is the most honest candidate I have ever seen, and has demonstrated his political integrity year in and year out. He is one of the few people in Washington who have actually upheld their oath of office to obey and defend the Constitution of the United States."
"Dr. Paul is the most principled man this country has seen run for office in at least a generation," Polakoff said. "He practices what he preaches and he's a true supporter of personal freedom and liberty. He has a pristine voting record when you compare it to the things he says he'll do and wants to do. You don't find that with other candidates."
Others admire his humble foreign policy - total withdrawal from the Middle East and nonintervention -and feel he is the only candidate who will truly get American troops out of Iraq.
"I'm a 62-year-old Vietnam veteran and that war made no sense like this Iraq war makes no sense. It's a rich man's war and the poor men fight," said Earl Swann, a former Jefferson County Chair of the Republican Party. "We shouldn't get involved in everyone's business. There are people in this country that need to be tended to."
"I think he's different because, when you listen to all of [the primary candidates] talk, you can understand what he says," Swann said. "Straight talk, he's not an empty suit, and he's not attacking anybody. He's just laying out what he thinks."
What's next for the Ron Paul campaign? The organization hopes to continue its fundraising success, setting a goal of raising $12 million by Dec. 31. Lyman is planning another massive fundraising event to occur Dec. 15 and 16, which are respectively Bill of Rights Day and the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.
After that, Paul will face the seven other national Republican primary candidates in primaries and caucuses beginning Jan. 3 in Iowa.
"Although we'd love to win the election, we have to win the primaries first," Kossis said. "In most states -including Florida - [this] means that his supporters must be registered Republicans to vote for him. Outside of getting his name out and increasing his name recognition, getting supporters to switch their affiliation is the biggest focus right now."
Many Paul supporters disillusioned with the state of American politics feel his candidacy is the only hope for the upcoming election. That is, in part, the drive behind their passion about his campaign.
"If Ron Paul doesn't get the nomination, I'm not voting for any of them," Swann stated. "If we can't win, we get the lesser of two evils. But I ain't going that route. It's Ron Paul or nobody at all."
http://newsies.gainesville.com/default.asp?item=701743
Here it is:
On Nov. 5, something historic happened in American politics, but it didn't make any headlines.
In just 24 hours, 2008 Republican candidate Ron Paul raised $4.2 million, setting the record for a single-day fundraising haul in any primary election.
Paul is a 10th-term congressman and a medical doctor from Texas. He advocates smaller, transparent government and individual liberties. He believes in a strict interpretation of the Constitution and known for never having voted to raise taxes. One of the main-focuses of his campaign is to return to the gold standard. Paul is also against the Patriot Act and American involvement in the Middle East. He ran for the presidency in 1988 as a Libertarian.
Although he is an unfamiliar name to many Americans, Paul has raised the third greatest amount of campaign funds in the 2008 Republican primaries - ahead of John McCain, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. His Web site receives more traffic than Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Rudy Giuliani's sites combined, and he has placed at least third in 75 percent of 41 straw polls conducted nationally.
Remarkably, the official Paul campaign took no part in the Nov. 5 fundraising effort. A single Floridian music promoter, Trevor Lyman, organized the event. Paul supporters hoped the fundraising events would help the campaign receive media coverage because of the amount of money raised in such a short period.
Such grassroots events are characteristic of Paul's campaign. The mainstream media outlets have largely ignored Paul's campaign because he is what some media heads consider a fringe Libertarian candidate. His campaign has relied on its highly dedicated support base of average Americans to raise money.
"Money talks," said Kayla Renaud, a local Paul activist. "If enough people donate, he can't be ignored."
"I donate $17.76 every paycheck," she said, explaining that the number signified the year the United States gained its independence.
In addition to raising money, Paul's grassroots supporters have devised a variety of ways to get his message out. "Who is Ron Paul?" is one of their leading slogans for his campaign, along with "Dr. Ron Paul Cured My Apathy."
Paul's passionate supporters don't seem to be from any particular niche or political association. The Gainesville organizations are comprised of families, students and professionals of all ages.
"His support base is extremely wide," said David Polakoff, co-organizer of the University of Florida Ron Paul Meetup Group. "If you look at people who show up to meetings, or to activities, or who support him online, they're people of all different ages and backgrounds: Republicans, Democrats, Independents and previously unregistered voters."
Supporters like Renaud and Polakoff often find each other on the Internet after seeing Paul in the Republican debates. Paul supporters in the Gainesville area use this commonality to their advantage, organizing on social networking sites like Meetup.com. Together, the two groups of Paul supporters on that website have 214 members. They estimate that around 50 people attend their weekly meetings at Hops Brewery on Archer Road.
The Gainesville activists are everywhere. They table at the Reitz Union on the UF campus, wave signs at local festivals and try to teach area residents about Paul's candidacy.
"Ron Paul fanatics don't want to trick people into voting for him," Renaud said. "We just want people who would support him to be aware of him."
"I think that both of our groups have had much success not just reaching students on the UF campus, but lots of Gainesville residents," said Lyle Kossis, another Paul supporter and UF student. "Our enthusiasm and motivation seem to attract a lot of interested people who seem to be upset with politics."
Why do people feel so passionate about Ron Paul? Their reasons are varied. Some support him because of his traditional conservatism and economic policy.
"I find him appealing because he is preaching a message the American people haven't heard since the American Revolution," Kossis added. "He is the most honest candidate I have ever seen, and has demonstrated his political integrity year in and year out. He is one of the few people in Washington who have actually upheld their oath of office to obey and defend the Constitution of the United States."
"Dr. Paul is the most principled man this country has seen run for office in at least a generation," Polakoff said. "He practices what he preaches and he's a true supporter of personal freedom and liberty. He has a pristine voting record when you compare it to the things he says he'll do and wants to do. You don't find that with other candidates."
Others admire his humble foreign policy - total withdrawal from the Middle East and nonintervention -and feel he is the only candidate who will truly get American troops out of Iraq.
"I'm a 62-year-old Vietnam veteran and that war made no sense like this Iraq war makes no sense. It's a rich man's war and the poor men fight," said Earl Swann, a former Jefferson County Chair of the Republican Party. "We shouldn't get involved in everyone's business. There are people in this country that need to be tended to."
"I think he's different because, when you listen to all of [the primary candidates] talk, you can understand what he says," Swann said. "Straight talk, he's not an empty suit, and he's not attacking anybody. He's just laying out what he thinks."
What's next for the Ron Paul campaign? The organization hopes to continue its fundraising success, setting a goal of raising $12 million by Dec. 31. Lyman is planning another massive fundraising event to occur Dec. 15 and 16, which are respectively Bill of Rights Day and the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.
After that, Paul will face the seven other national Republican primary candidates in primaries and caucuses beginning Jan. 3 in Iowa.
"Although we'd love to win the election, we have to win the primaries first," Kossis said. "In most states -including Florida - [this] means that his supporters must be registered Republicans to vote for him. Outside of getting his name out and increasing his name recognition, getting supporters to switch their affiliation is the biggest focus right now."
Many Paul supporters disillusioned with the state of American politics feel his candidacy is the only hope for the upcoming election. That is, in part, the drive behind their passion about his campaign.
"If Ron Paul doesn't get the nomination, I'm not voting for any of them," Swann stated. "If we can't win, we get the lesser of two evils. But I ain't going that route. It's Ron Paul or nobody at all."
http://newsies.gainesville.com/default.asp?item=701743