bbachtung
12-08-2007, 01:40 AM
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Ron Paul supporters dominate at mock 'caucus'
Gathering in Winston-Salem was one of many that took place across the U.S. yesterday
By Patrick Wilson
JOURNAL REPORTER
Supporters of Republican congressman Ron Paul overtook a mock political caucus in Winston-Salem last night to help their man win big.
A group of liberal, conservative and nonpartisan political groups organized the meetings yesterday across the country. Called the National Presidential Caucus, the meetings were a way to give voice to voters who live in states whose primaries probably won’t matter in next year’s presidential race. The group’s Web site is www.nationalcaucus.com.
The host of the “caucus” here was Vernon Robinson, a former Winston-Salem City Council member and former Republican congressional candidate in the 5th and 13th districts.
“The point is that having a small number of voters in three or four states decide who the two nominees are so that it is irrelevant what anybody in North Carolina thinks is the wrong answer,” Robinson said.
The turnout at Forsyth Academy was heavy on libertarians and Paul supporters carrying pocket Constitutions and calling for major reductions in government.
In a poll of the group, Paul received 43 votes, Democratic U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio got two, and Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado got one.
“If anything, it’s a testimony to the effectiveness of grass-roots organizations,” said Jennifer Dale, the office manager of the Forsyth County Democratic Party and one of the two voters for Kucinich.
Paul, who voted against the Patriot Act and against war with Iraq, was the Libertarian Party’s candidate for president in 1988. He was elected to Congress from Texas as a Republican, and is using the Internet to raise millions of dollars for his presidential run.
Jim McCuiston of Winston-Salem explained why he likes Paul.
“I’ve always considered myself an independent,” said McCuiston, who had a “Ron Paul 2008” sticker on his chest. “Ron Paul cured my apathy. “There’s nothing I dislike about him. But he’s for returning to the Constitution, which means returning power to the states. His whole policy is tied together for it to work.”
Paul is the only Republican who could successfully challenge Hillary Rodham Clinton in the general election, McCuiston said, because Paul wants the U.S. military out of Iraq.
Robinson, an admitted Paul backer, said he was surprised at the makeup of the meeting.
He drove to Davidson County to meet a staff member for Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee as the staff member drove on Interstate 85 from South Carolina to Virginia. Robinson talked him into giving up three Huckabee yard signs. But no one wanted to take one home last night.
And the stack of 45 colorful Mitt Romney brochures billing his plans for “Revitalizing the American Spirit” went nearly untouched.
“I thought there would be more turnout for other candidate’s folks,” Robinson said. “The Ron Paul folks evidently are fired up. They want to come out and support their guy in the cold.…Assuming that’s the case all over the country, that might suggest something interesting that will happen in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.”
The 2008 Iowa caucus will be Jan. 3. North Carolina’s presidential primaries are in May, and by then the Republican and Democratic nominees will likely be all but determined.
Either way, the GOP headquarters in Forsyth County should soon have three Mike Huckabee signs available to the first takers.
I remember Vernon Robinson's 2006 campaign against entrenched Democratic incumbent Congressman Brad Miller; it involved some of the most amusing commercials in the history of politics.
Mr. Robinson is an African-American graduate of the Air Force Academy who has run for Congress twice in North Carolina after a long stint on the Winston-Salem City Council.
I personally enjoyed the one about gay illegal immigrants:
http://www.veiled-chameleon.com/video/vernonrobinson/miller_mariachi.mp3
Ron Paul supporters dominate at mock 'caucus'
Gathering in Winston-Salem was one of many that took place across the U.S. yesterday
By Patrick Wilson
JOURNAL REPORTER
Supporters of Republican congressman Ron Paul overtook a mock political caucus in Winston-Salem last night to help their man win big.
A group of liberal, conservative and nonpartisan political groups organized the meetings yesterday across the country. Called the National Presidential Caucus, the meetings were a way to give voice to voters who live in states whose primaries probably won’t matter in next year’s presidential race. The group’s Web site is www.nationalcaucus.com.
The host of the “caucus” here was Vernon Robinson, a former Winston-Salem City Council member and former Republican congressional candidate in the 5th and 13th districts.
“The point is that having a small number of voters in three or four states decide who the two nominees are so that it is irrelevant what anybody in North Carolina thinks is the wrong answer,” Robinson said.
The turnout at Forsyth Academy was heavy on libertarians and Paul supporters carrying pocket Constitutions and calling for major reductions in government.
In a poll of the group, Paul received 43 votes, Democratic U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio got two, and Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado got one.
“If anything, it’s a testimony to the effectiveness of grass-roots organizations,” said Jennifer Dale, the office manager of the Forsyth County Democratic Party and one of the two voters for Kucinich.
Paul, who voted against the Patriot Act and against war with Iraq, was the Libertarian Party’s candidate for president in 1988. He was elected to Congress from Texas as a Republican, and is using the Internet to raise millions of dollars for his presidential run.
Jim McCuiston of Winston-Salem explained why he likes Paul.
“I’ve always considered myself an independent,” said McCuiston, who had a “Ron Paul 2008” sticker on his chest. “Ron Paul cured my apathy. “There’s nothing I dislike about him. But he’s for returning to the Constitution, which means returning power to the states. His whole policy is tied together for it to work.”
Paul is the only Republican who could successfully challenge Hillary Rodham Clinton in the general election, McCuiston said, because Paul wants the U.S. military out of Iraq.
Robinson, an admitted Paul backer, said he was surprised at the makeup of the meeting.
He drove to Davidson County to meet a staff member for Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee as the staff member drove on Interstate 85 from South Carolina to Virginia. Robinson talked him into giving up three Huckabee yard signs. But no one wanted to take one home last night.
And the stack of 45 colorful Mitt Romney brochures billing his plans for “Revitalizing the American Spirit” went nearly untouched.
“I thought there would be more turnout for other candidate’s folks,” Robinson said. “The Ron Paul folks evidently are fired up. They want to come out and support their guy in the cold.…Assuming that’s the case all over the country, that might suggest something interesting that will happen in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.”
The 2008 Iowa caucus will be Jan. 3. North Carolina’s presidential primaries are in May, and by then the Republican and Democratic nominees will likely be all but determined.
Either way, the GOP headquarters in Forsyth County should soon have three Mike Huckabee signs available to the first takers.
I remember Vernon Robinson's 2006 campaign against entrenched Democratic incumbent Congressman Brad Miller; it involved some of the most amusing commercials in the history of politics.
Mr. Robinson is an African-American graduate of the Air Force Academy who has run for Congress twice in North Carolina after a long stint on the Winston-Salem City Council.
I personally enjoyed the one about gay illegal immigrants:
http://www.veiled-chameleon.com/video/vernonrobinson/miller_mariachi.mp3