PDA

View Full Version : Ron Paul Roundup (12-04-07)




RSDavis
12-04-2007, 11:28 AM
http://laceylibertarian.us/wp-images/rPaulRev.jpg

Ron Paul Roundup (12-04-07)
by RS Davis (http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=194780914&blogID=334817828&Mytoken=7E7E2043-597D-4B40-B9D2E6DDEB2AA62025462476)


Hello Freedomphiles! Let's start today's Roundup with money, because, after all, money and politics go together like Fantasia and LSD.

The Associated Press is reporting (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hyQLduiFMFTNmeUdgpf5cMvLi6awD8T9MKGG0) that Ron Paul is expecting to raise over $12 million this quarter, but I suspect that's a low-ball estimate:

Kent Redfield, a professor of political studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield, said in a telephone interview that Paul's strong fundraising numbers demonstrate how grass-roots efforts via the Internet can help lesser known candidates compete on a more equal footing to higher profile contenders.

"It's a model for other candidates on how to get on the radar and meet the basic threshold of moving beyond being a niche or vanity candidate," he said. "But he'll have to show in New Hampshire and in the caucuses that he can build on that."

Paul said he expects his poll numbers to move up. He has devoted a significant amount of resources on ad buys in the early states of New Hampshire and Iowa.

"People are just starting to think about how they are going to vote in these primaries," Paul said. "The people are really annoyed with conventional politics and we are spending this money. We are spending it in Iowa. So I think those polls are going to continue to shift. Our numbers are going up."

The Washington Post is talking (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/12/03/paul_backers_anticipating_anot.html?hpid=topnews)a bout the next money bomb, and about how the internet support is starting to cross over into real boots on the ground:

Compare that to former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.), whose shrewd tapping of the online community raised a total of $751,000 online during the whole of November.

Paul's supporters are planning another "money-bomb," as the candidate's one-day fundraisers are called, for Dec. 16, the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, which helped spark the American Revolution.

"Dec. 16th is going to be bigger than the Nov. 5th money-bomb," Jim Forsythe, a former Air Force pilot who leads Paul's New Hampshire MeetUp group, predicted.

What has been most impressive about Paul's online popularity is how it is translating to offline, on-the-ground operation. Forsythe helps organize door-to-door canvassing, while Vijay Boyapati is trying to recruit 1,000 volunteers from across the country to help canvass for Paul through OperationLiveFreeorDie.

Matt Labash of The Weekly Standard is writing (http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/432dygie.asp)about all the music videos Ron Paul supporters have been making and uploading to YouTube:

Despite their prodigious output, however, Deaniacs were positively slothful compared with those called everything from Paulheads to Paultards to Ronulans--the supporters of Ron Paul. On the Bands4RonPaul MySpace page, there are 16 artists listed who've written original Paul songs, with 181 more bands who support Ron Paul listed beneath them: everyone from Larry's Broken Biscuits to Bloody Holly to White Trash and the Catholics to Fresh Cut Salads. So long is the line to throw one's musical backing to Paul that bands like MouthRot, Crash Martinez, and Clown Vomit posted demands to be included. And this page represents just a tiny fraction of the original Paul songs available on YouTube. Good luck finding them all.

To give an idea of Paul's viral velocity, if you hit "Rudy Giuliani" or "Mitt Romney" into YouTube's search engine, you'll turn up about 3,700 hits apiece. Do the same with "Ron Paul," and you'll be wading through 63,000 offerings. Coupled with the fact that Paul holds the one-day record for online fundraising ($4.2 million) and that money is pouring in from all sorts of unpredicted sectors (more active-duty military have given to Paul than to any other candidate), it's small wonder Paul's followers insist that they are underrepresented by conventional polling.

The National Journal is wondering (http://beltwayblogroll.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/12/a_ron_paul_setu.php)if RedState is planning to set up Ron Paul:

The curious part is that RedState included GOP underdog Ron Paul on the invitation list. RedState's leaders so dislike Paul that they have banned his supporters from commenting at the blog. That makes RedState's debate offer sound at least as hostile, if not more so, as CNN's proved to be, at least for Paul.

"This has all the markings of a set up," RedState's directors said of CNN after its debate. I wouldn't be surprised if Ron Paul and his supporters were thinking the same thing now about RedState's offer.

Either way, I think Ron Paul needs as much exposure as he can get. Just like with the Glenn Beck invitation - sure, he's going into hostile territory - but he's used to it. I mean, Washington DC is hostile territory for anyone who wants to limit state power, and he's been there for decades.

Thanks to Freedomphile agapecpus, I'd like to share with you an essay (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=44516) by the always paragraphically-challenged Szandor Blestman of American Chronicle. Szandor, while not helping Buffy slay vampires, is writing about how it's not about Ron Paul - it's about the message:

Now, I think Ron Paul does an excellent job of getting the message across. That message is of course the message of freedom, personal responsibility, and smaller government handcuffed by the constitution so that those in charge can't wantonly violate the rights of individuals they are supposed to be considerate of. This is a message that libertarians of all stripes have espoused since before the bill of rights was utilized to codify these ideas into law. It is a message that has been censored, hidden and removed from public discourse as much as possible during these last few decades, going back perhaps as much as a century, as little by little, bit by bit, the freedoms we hold so dear have eroded away at the hands of a ruling elite. These Democrats and Republicans, this duopoly of power, have in the past passed laws making it difficult for honest, principled third party candidates to run for office. They leave third party candidates out of their debates so the public is denied consistent, well reported access to excellent ideas, the same ideas that helped to found this great nation of ours. We are instead treated to a steady diet of minor issues that should be handled at a state level while major constitutional issues that need to be discussed at the federal level remain unheard. This is why Ron Paul has been so successful, because he can finally bring these issues to the forefront of national consciousness. These ideas he brings to the debate, ideas that his rivals and others in power have for so long sought to silence, are ideas that resonate with the general public. His message is what people are responding to, not the man. The message he espouses of peace, freedom, liberty and the hope that we can once again be a great nation that offers these things to the downtrodden and oppressed of the world is the message that so many of us want to hear. Yes, Ron Paul has an excellent persona and delivers the message expertly and gracefully, but so did Harry Browne and many others. The difference is that not only does Ron Paul have a more visible platform from which to announce the message, but I believe the American people are finally ready to once again pay attention to it.

If you think I rag on Szandor too much about his long paragraphs, note that the above is just one paragraph! It could easily be split in two, and would be a lot more readable.

Did you guys get the campaign message from Paul yesterday, where he commented about Rudy's stunned disbelief at all the Ron Paul supporters in the crowds at the YouTube debate? Many of us did, and some of us are talking about it.

USADaily reports (http://www.usadaily.com/article.cfm?articleID=185226):

Describing the number of supporters that turned out outside the debate in St Petersburg Florida for the debate, Paul said, "We, on the other hand, had about 500 enthusiastic revolutionaries, plus a boat, a trolley, and two planes towing lighted signs. As I looked out at the crowd, I thought: the establishment has no idea of what they are facing. We have an army of freedom, prosperity, and peace."

"The British also thought they had no problem with the Americans--until Yorktown." Paul continued, "Rudy Giuliani walked up to me and said, 'Oooh, you sure have a LOT of supporters.' "It's only the beginning, I told him."

Paul also said, "The military-industrial complex, the biased media, the big banks, the Fed, the waterboarders, and the IRS don't like what we're doing. But every good American is applauding us, and daring to hope for a better future."

The Nolan Chart decided to highlight (http://www.nolanchart.com/article362.html)a different part of the letter - namely, Ron Paul's favorite debate moments:

In a recent letter to his supporters, presidential candidate Ron Paul detailed his two favorite moments of the Florida Republican debate: one involved John McCain and the other, an admission by Rudy Giuliani. Paul wrote in a campaign letter to his supporters: "I mean this: mainstream politicians NEVER attack an opponent they think is far behind. The McCain campaign, we've heard, is worried sick about New Hampshire, and they thought a slam at me would help. Ha! Of course, it only strengthened our forces." Strengthened indeed: within two days after the debate was held his campaign warchest brimmed over the $10 million mark. Undoubtedly the exchange with Senator John McCain over foreign policy also played a role in the uptake in funds.

(...)

Seems the revolution is in full force, and McCain feels the threat. Ron Paul is right: presidential candidates rarely waste their time attacking fellow candidates unless they perceive them as a viable threat to their own bids for the White House. I cheered when I watched the debate live and saw John McCain take a jab at Ron Paul, even invoking the name of Hitler in his attack. We all know what that usually means: John McCain is getting desperate, and is being put to shame by Ron Paul's campaign fundraising prowess. John McCain mentioned Hitler to get attention; Ron Paul responded with an uncomfortable fact for McCain and other neocons: Ron Paul has more money from active military donations than any other candidate running for president. That's got to hurt someone like McCain -- you could see the pain in his face as he listened to Ron Paul bombard him with the truth. Looks like Rudy might be following. My problem with Rudy is, the more he realizes that Ron Paul is one of the most well-funded candidates running in the GOP race, and also has bar none the most enthusiastic grassroots supporters out there, what kind of thuggish tactics can we expect from his supporters in the weeks to come?

The Wall Street Journal is assessing (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119672794515312455-_LUdo_s5AxFvcxTDAJ7SWQNqn0Q_20080102.html?mod=tff_ main_tff_top)Paul's chances in the Live Free or Die state:

http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-AO693A_PAUL_20071203194451.gif
New Hampshire seems a natural fit for Mr. Paul, whose libertarian strain of Republicanism, fiscal conservatism, opposition to the war, and pro-gun record play best here. He also boasts spirited grass-roots activism and a healthy campaign bank account that, spent wisely, could potentially shake up the Jan. 8 primary.

This past Saturday evening, as Mr. Paul arrived at Murphy's Tap Room, the supporters erupted in a chant: "What do we want? Liberty!" Murphy's provides free wireless Internet access, an indispensable tool for a campaign largely organized on the Web.

The 72-year-old lawmaker and obstetrician has been able to raise large amounts of money using the Internet. His poll numbers have climbed, passing Fred Thompson, whose loss to Mr. Paul would be a humiliating setback. Still, Mr. Paul has yet to break through the single digits, with an average 8% in recent polling. His official New Hampshire headquarters, 18 miles away in Concord, has only 10 paid staffers trying to coordinate operations.

And finally, David Gordon of The Ludwig von Mises Institute makes (http://www.lewrockwell.com/gordon/gordon31.html)the libertarian case for Ron Paul:

The libertarian arguments against Ron Paul fall into two main classes. First, supporting anyone for President involves accepting the political system of the United States. But isn't it a basic principle of libertarianism that, as Murray Rothbard put it, the State is a criminal gang? If it is, how can one justifiably support a candidate for Chief Gangster?

In contrast to this objection, the second group of complaints concerns points about Ron Paul specifically. Various writers criticize his stance on abortion, immigration, the constitution, and his "cultural style." The critics are in most cases "left libertarians" and Ron Paul decidedly is not.

Before responding to these difficulties, I should like to sketch the positive case for supporting Ron Paul. (Sometimes it doesn't hurt to spell out the obvious.) The Bush Administration has since March 2003 waged an immoral war against Iraq that has cost the lives of thousands of people. The suffering and destruction caused by the war has been immense. War, furthermore, is the principal means by which the State increases its power; and under Bush the government has made unprecedented inroads on civil liberties through the misnamed Patriot Act. Torture of those suspected of terrorism is common practice.

Ron Paul will end all of that. He calls for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq. Further, he would secure America from foreign dangers by a return to our traditional foreign policy of nonintervention. Under a Ron Paul administration, "America goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy" would again become our policy. Of this there is no room for doubt. His collection of speeches to Congress, A Foreign Policy of Freedom, displays thirty years of consistent advocacy of opposition to war and statism.

http://www.brendangates.com/forumlogo.jpg

kaleidoscope eyes
12-04-2007, 07:58 PM
Hello, RSDavis? don't even know if you'll read this, but, I love these roundups for sure it makes some of the more relevent news easy to find. Buuuuuut, could you perhaps post them in black or blue instead of red? It hurts my eyes. Otherwise keep up the great work!
RP Rocks! :D