PDA

View Full Version : Drama in San Francisco: Straw Poll Cancelled




jj111
12-05-2007, 05:10 AM
Drama in San Francisco: Straw Poll Cancelled

After Ron Paul Supporters Showed Up in Overwhelming Numbers to San Francisco GOP Straw Poll, the Straw Poll was cancelled.

The San Francisco Republican Alliance’s Common Sense Supper Club announced that local Republicans were invited to attend a holiday buffet party and Presidential straw poll vote on the evening of Tues. Dec. 4. On the morning of the event, a Ron Paul supporter spoke by phone with the chairperson and hostess. The supporter was told that if he and any other Ron Paul supporters wanted to attend, they could either participate in both the buffet starting at 6:45pm and the later straw poll for $33, or come later at 8:15pm solely to vote in the straw poll for a discounted entrance fee of $5, provided they did not eat any food. The Ron Paul supporter then posted the event on Meetup, and we ended up with a huge crowd of Ron Paul supporters arriving at the event. At least 15 or more of the 80 guests seated at the buffet were Ron Paul supporters, while those who came at 8:15pm solely to vote for Ron Paul numbered an additional 40. These 40 people were forced to wait outside of the event standing in the lobby for at least an hour until 9:30pm or later. Finally, the 40 people were allowed into the event room after paying the previously-quoted entrance fee of $5. The total of approximately 55 or more Ron Paul supporters, who wore Ron Paul buttons and carried Ron Paul signs, made it clear to all in the room that the Ron Paul supporters outnumbered supporters of all other candidates. As a side note, the Fred Thompson supporters had during the entire event posted a huge Fred Thompson sign on the wall inside the event, and had distributed Fred Thompson campaign literature at every place-setting at every table.

When the Fred Thompson supporters saw that the room was dominated by the huge number of Ron Paul supporters, the Fred Thompson supporters complained to the hostess that the Ron Paul supporters who did not pay the $33 should not be allowed to vote. They said the Fred Thompson supporters had not been given the same instructions the Ron Paul supporters had about the opportunity to come later and vote at a discounted price. Many Ron Paul supporters offered to pay the $28 difference to vote, but this offer was not accepted. The hostess in the heat of the moment decided to cancel the poll given the disagreement in opinion as to how best to handle the situation.

A representative of the Ron Paul supporters was given the microphone for about four minutes, during which time he mentioned that there was a Revolution going on, that the Revolution has been censored at previous straw polls and in the corporate media and their debates, and at which time he also mentioned that if the Republicans continue to refuse to learn about Ron Paul and ignore the Ron Paul Revolution, they are destined to likely lose the 2008 general election to the Democrats, given the fact that 70% or more of Americans want a quick withdrawal from Iraq.

Many Ron Paul supporters expressed their anger about the sudden cancellation of the straw poll, and demanded a return of their money, and I have been told that some of the Ron Paul supporters who paid $5 to vote got their $5 refunded to them although I have not gotten confirmation of this fact. I know I personally paid $33 to get into the event, only ate a tiny piece of cheescake (almost all the food was gone) and I never got a chance to vote, yet I was never offered a refund of any part or all of my $33.

In the end, the attendance of the large number of Ron Paul supporters succeeded in demonstrating our numbers, addressing the audience for four minutes about the Revolution, and preventing what might have otherwise been a Straw Poll win for Fred Thompson, with the end result being the cancellation of the poll.

Some Ron Paul supporters expressed empathy with the hostess, as it was understood that there was no way she was going to be able to make a decision that could have pleased both the Fred Thompson supporters and the Ron Paul supporters.

tronPaul
12-05-2007, 05:20 AM
That may be the best version of what happened yet.

One thing I want to point out is that I paid $5 to get in and I did get it refunded.

I'm still stunned about the whole ordeal! What did the organizer think would happen?

Here are some cell phone photos of the event.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=170718556&blogID=335084599

Wyle
12-05-2007, 05:27 AM
Yup, everything said here is true.... I was one of the 15 people who showed up and paid the full $33 for the dinner. I was told via meetup that we could show up around 6:30 and pay $33 for the dinner and straw poll or you could show up after dinner and pay $5 for just the straw poll.... anyways

We showed up around 6:15pm pst. we were told by the coordinator that she needed more time for prep so we went and had drinks... we got in (after the delay) around 7:30pm to have dinner. The host stated how she was contacted by the media already and they asked for the straw poll results.. she said that after the vote she would tally the votes and release the results in a email and to the media.

My initial view of the event was a good one... it was a friendly environment, but every table had a thompson fact sheet on it with his views, but no other candidates info was around :) there was a huge thompson banner on the wall....

After the dinner we Sat through a senator talking about fred thompson for about an hour, someone asked a ron paul question and he said he liked ron paul but did not think he had a chance. during this time Ron Paul supporters from around the SF Bay area started showing up to pay the $5 to participate in the straw poll. They waited in the lobby area while we listened to the senator speak. After the senator finished he left immediately.

They started to do a raffle and let the rest of the ron paul supporters in the room... approx 30 more supporters

eventually the coordinator got up and started saying how she was so proud to see all the activist in the room and how she talked to a few of us and we were very well mannered and educated :) lol... started saying how she hopes all of us keep up our political activities in the future and get involved in the party.... however she lead into saying that she was going to cancel the straw poll do it not being fair to the people who paid $33. Things kinda got loud pretty quick.... couple people said that if money was an issue with the vote that they would pay the $33 for each and every person there who only paid $5... some people had waited in the lobby for 1-2 hours to vote... place got really loud... It was total BS the way it went down. Everyone was looking forward to voting then bam... no vote sorry!

I heard They gave a re-fund to all the people who paid the $5 to vote.. I'm not sure of this thought... but they did cancel the straw poll. After the event when most people left the coordinator spoke with a few people and stated that she was going to hold another straw poll where anyone and everyone could come.... i guess she did not expect people to bring all there supporters to the polls.... so she wants to do a new one and tell everyone to bring there supporters out. I kinda felt sorry for her at first but she dug her own grave on this one.... i mean... if it would have been 30 thompson supporters she would of done the vote I bet...... That plus she planned on releasing the results to the media... if we would have not showed up they would of done the vote and released the results to the media.... Whole thing turned out horrible, one Thompson guy started complaining saying how we should be ashamed of ourselves for our behavior... but hey..... were not the ones throwing astraw poll and promoting only one candidate with unequal speech time.... then canceling it when it looks like a landslide for a different candidate.


don't mind my spelling and grammar... im tired :)... ooh and someone has this on video... just need to find him and get it posted :)

SwooshOU
12-05-2007, 05:55 AM
You guys are awesome.

american.swan
12-05-2007, 06:02 AM
Very clear rather unbias post. very nice.


Drama in San Francisco: Straw Poll Cancelled

After Ron Paul Supporters Showed Up in Overwhelming Numbers to San Francisco GOP Straw Poll, the Straw Poll was cancelled.

The San Francisco Republican Alliance’s Common Sense Supper Club announced that local Republicans were invited to attend a holiday buffet party and Presidential straw poll vote on the evening of Tues. Dec. 4. On the morning of the event, a Ron Paul supporter spoke by phone with the chairperson and hostess. The supporter was told that if he and any other Ron Paul supporters wanted to attend, they could either participate in both the buffet starting at 6:45pm and the later straw poll for $33, or come later at 8:15pm solely to vote in the straw poll for a discounted entrance fee of $5, provided they did not eat any food. The Ron Paul supporter then posted the event on Meetup, and we ended up with a huge crowd of Ron Paul supporters arriving at the event. At least 15 or more of the 80 guests seated at the buffet were Ron Paul supporters, while those who came at 8:15pm solely to vote for Ron Paul numbered an additional 40. These 40 people were forced to wait outside of the event standing in the lobby for at least an hour until 9:30pm or later. Finally, the 40 people were allowed into the event room after paying the previously-quoted entrance fee of $5. The total of approximately 55 or more Ron Paul supporters, who wore Ron Paul buttons and carried Ron Paul signs, made it clear to all in the room that the Ron Paul supporters outnumbered supporters of all other candidates. As a side note, the Fred Thompson supporters had during the entire event posted a huge Fred Thompson sign on the wall inside the event, and had distributed Fred Thompson campaign literature at every place-setting at every table.

When the Fred Thompson supporters saw that the room was dominated by the huge number of Ron Paul supporters, the Fred Thompson supporters complained to the hostess that the Ron Paul supporters who did not pay the $33 should not be allowed to vote. They said the Fred Thompson supporters had not been given the same instructions the Ron Paul supporters had about the opportunity to come later and vote at a discounted price. Many Ron Paul supporters offered to pay the $28 difference to vote, but this offer was not accepted. The hostess in the heat of the moment decided to cancel the poll given the disagreement in opinion as to how best to handle the situation.

A representative of the Ron Paul supporters was given the microphone for about four minutes, during which time he mentioned that there was a Revolution going on, that the Revolution has been censored at previous straw polls and in the corporate media and their debates, and at which time he also mentioned that if the Republicans continue to refuse to learn about Ron Paul and ignore the Ron Paul Revolution, they are destined to likely lose the 2008 general election to the Democrats, given the fact that 70% or more of Americans want a quick withdrawal from Iraq.

Many Ron Paul supporters expressed their anger about the sudden cancellation of the straw poll, and demanded a return of their money, which was not refunded to them.

In the end, the attendance of the large number of Ron Paul supporters succeeded in demonstrating our numbers, addressing the audience for four minutes about the Revolution, and preventing what might have otherwise been a Straw Poll win for Fred Thompson, with the end result being the cancellation of the poll.

Some Ron Paul supporters expressed empathy with the hostess, as it was understood that there was no way she was going to be able to make a decision that could have pleased both the Fred Thompson supporters and the Ron Paul supporters.

Myerz
12-05-2007, 06:20 AM
Right On!

FireofLiberty
12-05-2007, 06:35 AM
Does anyone have a link to a good news article on this? I'd like to post it somewhere.

leonster
12-05-2007, 06:36 AM
That sucks.

May I suggest that people not bring Ron Paul signs and pins to Republican events? It labels you as an "activist" immediately, and doesn't really sit well with traditional Republicans... just go in some nice clothes, chat with other people in a nice way, and maybe you'll even convert some of them around to our side... stealth approach. :)

AlexMerced
12-05-2007, 06:51 AM
how about we organize a straw poll or two and get the word out to the other campaigns to be fair.

speciallyblend
12-05-2007, 07:02 AM
this is sad ,kinda of funny everywhere republicans cant figure out the ron paul revolution,what they dont understand is we are everywhere.We are over the crap and we are not going to take it.

the gop has one chance to win the next election Ron Paul:)

RonPaulFTFW
12-05-2007, 07:04 AM
Maybe this will get some publicity in the big media.

mosquitobite
12-05-2007, 07:07 AM
That sucks.

May I suggest that people not bring Ron Paul signs and pins to Republican events? It labels you as an "activist" immediately, and doesn't really sit well with traditional Republicans... just go in some nice clothes, chat with other people in a nice way, and maybe you'll even convert some of them around to our side... stealth approach. :)

I agree. I stated something along those lines in another post on this topic.

Please understand their point of view, as irrelevant as it may be. They see us as outsiders (probably most assume we're Democrat) who are trying to take over the Republican party.

Perhaps we need to be looking at joining our county's GOP stuff. Volunteer. Make friends.

sunghoko
12-05-2007, 07:35 AM
I think these straw polls are meaningless but this really sucks. To a fred supporter this was a fred event and RP's guys were trying to crash the event.

Even if it was huck's, rudy's or romney guys if they showed their colors before the poll, they'd have protested. I say put away the signs and lapels because as soon as they see they are outnumbered they will quickly put up their defenses and try to do what happened last night. I think this type of tactic will just harden their stance.

I mean if we go up there and say "this is a revolution" what purpose does that serve and who benefits from that? We have to be more inviting, friendly and an ambassador for Ron.

speciallyblend
12-05-2007, 07:36 AM
I agree. I stated something along those lines in another post on this topic.

Please understand their point of view, as irrelevant as it may be. They see us as outsiders (probably most assume we're Democrat) who are trying to take over the Republican party.

Perhaps we need to be looking at joining our county's GOP stuff. Volunteer. Make friends.

are you crazy,if the gop doesnt nominate ron paul ,not your problem or mine,its the gop's problem and they will lose.

I will show my sign and support,if they cant handle the truth,they can get use to hillary for all i care.

hide in your caves,no need to show support for ron paul,you dont want to offend anyone with a sign or verbal support for a candidate oooo the horror

If the gop chooses to be deaf dumb and blind let them train wreck

CelestialRender
12-05-2007, 08:26 AM
Well reported. Nice to read a thread about a local happening, and not have to watch a 5 minute poorly-shot Youtube video to make sure no brawls happened between RP & Rudy supporters.

Alawn
12-05-2007, 10:09 AM
This sort of thing is just wrong. I can't believe they did this again. Are they really that determined to fix the election?

Dorfsmith
12-05-2007, 10:11 AM
Wow, this story is on the front page of Drudge. :D

tmg19103
12-05-2007, 10:23 AM
So liberal, anti-gun San Fran is for Fred - who practically lives at gun shows.

I see this as good. Fred mimmicks RP on most things except the war. When Fred drops out, hopefully we can get a bunch of his supporters.

WilliamC
12-05-2007, 10:31 AM
Greetings All,


Wow, this story is on the front page of Drudge. :D

I sent Drudge a "tip" about this early this morning, linking the LewRockwell blog story. I'm sure I'm not the only one who did this.

Fantastic, show the world how scared the GOP is of Ron Paul!

William C Colley

WilliamC
12-05-2007, 10:38 AM
bump

Wickwire
12-05-2007, 10:41 AM
Maybe this will get some publicity in the big media.


The front page(as though there's a second page) of Drudge should help :) He's only had 17,444,436 visitors in the past 24 hours. :D

Indy Vidual
12-05-2007, 10:42 AM
...the gop has one chance to win the next election Ron Paul:)

:)
I hope they figure this out soon.

paul_v
12-05-2007, 12:36 PM
Wow, this story is on the front page of Drudge. :D

Drudge took it off :( I'm wondering if the GOP Neocons made him do it

Madison
12-05-2007, 01:05 PM
Please DIGG this: http://www.digg.com/2008_us_elections/SF_Straw_Poll_Cancelled_Too_Many_Ron_Paul_Supporte rs_2

xd9fan
12-05-2007, 01:11 PM
this is sad ,kinda of funny everywhere republicans cant figure out the ron paul revolution.......

which is a joke because all we are doing is slamming the gop limited Govt platform back down their collective throats.

after watching that video:
IMHO this is really really big
you damn SF Paul supporters are awesome!!

This party will die on the vine if it does not look in the mirror soon.

werdd
12-05-2007, 01:12 PM
It's not like this is the first time this shit has happened, remember in texas when they wouldnt even let the Ron Paul supporters in while ushering others in to vote?

FireofLiberty
12-05-2007, 01:14 PM
Anyone have a link to the story from when it was on Drudge?

Madison
12-05-2007, 01:17 PM
Anyone have a link to the story from when it was on Drudge?

It was a link directly to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_GADQv3vKs

robatsu
12-05-2007, 01:24 PM
That sucks.

May I suggest that people not bring Ron Paul signs and pins to Republican events? It labels you as an "activist" immediately, and doesn't really sit well with traditional Republicans... just go in some nice clothes, chat with other people in a nice way, and maybe you'll even convert some of them around to our side... stealth approach. :)

This is wise. The first thing is to be a Republican.

We've got RP people (including me, www.jayroberts2008.com (http://www.jayroberts2008.com)) running in several Congressional primaries here in Maryland. I think we've all come to the same decision independently to much more prominently feature the message in our campaigns rather than the man RP.

microsect
12-05-2007, 05:32 PM
you can find some videos of the incident here:

From: Dustin SUPPORTS RON PAUL
Date: Dec 5, 2007 10:28 AM


Go to the youtube pages that these videos are on and Rate, Favorite, and Add them to a playlist! This shit has to stop!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiM10StfyBA

Caption for video below:

I paid my $33 for the dinner and vote. A $5 option was also offered to vote after the festivities. We patiently listened to the guest speaker support Fred Thompson and talk on the issues of water and budget problems in California. They then held a raffle, while all the "cheap" voters waited in the lobby. When they finally let them in, the room was flooded with Ron Paul supporters and the organizer notified us the poll was cancelled. I started the video after the initial announcement and pandemonium broke out. The sudden cancellation and an attempt to change the rules, understandably, upset quite a few people.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_GADQv3vKs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcNK3zYc5ts

This one just shows some RP supporters coming in to the room.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf84JjZeAWY

* The above was posted on myspace by sherrill

microsect
12-05-2007, 05:39 PM
Contact the sfgop and let them know how you feel.


San Francisco Republican Party
PO Box 475520,
San Francisco, CA 94147

Phone: (415) 989-1259
FAX: 415-989-1259
Email: contact@sfgop.org

jebba
12-05-2007, 06:14 PM
Lots are listing SF GOP, but this was actually put on by San Francisco Republican Alliance if I understand things correctly. Their contact info:

http://paginas.superpages.com/listings.jsp?SRC=portals__sp&C=Organizaciones+Politicas&T=San+Francisco&S=CA&PS=22&OO=1&PP=N&STYPE=S&F=0&paging=1&MCBP=true&PI=23
San Francisco Republican Alliance
5262 Diamond Heights Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94131
(415) 820-1430

In their voicemail message, they also say feel free to call: 415-821-4452

If I'm not mistaken its the same woman that's the voice in the voicemail prompt that was the one speaking at the podium that cancelled things.

Have fun,

-Jeff

jebba
12-05-2007, 06:34 PM
http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Neira_Gail_187344183.aspx

"On March 7, 2007, by absolute majority, the San Francisco Republican Party Central Committee passed a resolution censuring Gail E. Neira for statements regarding Michael A. DeNunzio, former Chairman of the San Francisco Republican Party, in violation of certain sections of Article IV of our Bylaws."

jebba
12-05-2007, 06:36 PM
This is probably a better link to the censure as it's the GOP's site!
http://www.sfgop.org/press/index.cfm/ID/38.htm

jebba
12-05-2007, 06:57 PM
Interesting... So she lost the election in 2000. Then lost in 2002. Then lost again in 2004, then in 2006 again. Then was censured. Now every ron paul supporter in the country thinks she's a ....

Here's another write up on her...
http://rangelife.typepad.com/rangelife/2006/11/gail_neiras_uni.html

torchbearer
12-05-2007, 07:07 PM
Fax for free over the internet: http://faxzero.com/
Make sure your opinion is heard or read! Black backgounds with white text always works best on fax machines to people who can't read well.

mojohnk2000
12-05-2007, 08:33 PM
OK I'm confused. Is Gail really a friend just trying to hold on to the little political capital that she has left?

Think about it. What would you do if you were in her shoes?

How about, a what if? What if Gail became a RP supporter? It seems to me that we should be protecting her from the S.F. GOP. Get her into our camp along with her supporters. She is a poly-Savvy female.

Feedback?

matthylland
12-05-2007, 08:39 PM
what email or number are you guys calling/emailing to?

jebba
12-06-2007, 07:36 AM
OK I'm confused. Is Gail really a friend just trying to hold on to the little political capital that she has left?

Uh, no, she appears to be a corrupt politician with a consistent losing streak.