tangent4ronpaul
07-01-2007, 04:09 AM
Don't Get Distracted
by Raymond Barrett
There are many issues that are associated with Dr. Paul's campaign and
apparently many groups/movements that share his views on some topic
see Dr. Paul as *their* candidate. The pro-gun groups, the
anti-immigration groups, the anti-taxation groups. Of course we want
*everyone's* support, but I think it's important to remember our
objective as supporters of Dr. Paul's campaign - to get him elected.
There is a danger here of becoming sidetracked by peripheral issues,
when what is needed is to stay focused and "keep your eyes on the prize".
What really concerns me here is that individuals with their own
agendas, or their own ideological axes to grind may try to highjack
the campaign - that they may hold up Ron Paul posters and yell, "Ron
Paul in 2008", but when you look at the materials they produce it
quickly becomes evident that they have an agenda - not to get Dr. Paul
elected, but to promote their own beliefs, even if these are not
entirely in line with what Dr. Paul has said himself.
My suggestion is that whatever the issue, our first response should
always be to turn it around and say what Dr. Paul himself has said.
I'm not here to promote the elimination of the IRS, for example. I'm
here to promote Ron Paul. When the issue of the income tax or the IRS
comes up we should be prepared to say, "Well, Dr. Paul said," or, "I
believe that Dr. Paul wrote," or, "I was watching this debate on
YouTube and Dr. Paul commented that..."
As campaign supporters we are essentially advertisers, and our product
is *Ron Paul*. Everything else is like a particular _quality_ of our
product. "RP is against the income tax; RP is against Federal control
of gun ownership; RP is opposed to any international alliance that
tries to affect American foreign policy or economics; RP is for *less*
Federal government involvement in the lives of citizens, and more
personal responsibility." No matter _which_ quality you stress with
your particular audience, your *product* doesn't change, and should
always be the focus. It's not my intent to sell you on immigration
control; it's my intent to sell you on Ron Paul.
Yesterday I received an invitation to join a Yahoo Group that was set
up for debate between Christians and non-Christians. One of my
personal interests is religious philosophy and theology, so I was
tempted to accept the invitation - until I considered the fact that
the Yahoo ID the invitation was sent to had the name "Ron Paul" in it.
Why was I sent this invitation? (The person doesn't know me.) And what
might the effect be when others on that forum see a Ron Paul supporter
arguing for or against any number of issues?
Here was my reply to this invitation:
[...]
click through if you are interested in the rest:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RonPaul2008/message/3647
by Raymond Barrett
There are many issues that are associated with Dr. Paul's campaign and
apparently many groups/movements that share his views on some topic
see Dr. Paul as *their* candidate. The pro-gun groups, the
anti-immigration groups, the anti-taxation groups. Of course we want
*everyone's* support, but I think it's important to remember our
objective as supporters of Dr. Paul's campaign - to get him elected.
There is a danger here of becoming sidetracked by peripheral issues,
when what is needed is to stay focused and "keep your eyes on the prize".
What really concerns me here is that individuals with their own
agendas, or their own ideological axes to grind may try to highjack
the campaign - that they may hold up Ron Paul posters and yell, "Ron
Paul in 2008", but when you look at the materials they produce it
quickly becomes evident that they have an agenda - not to get Dr. Paul
elected, but to promote their own beliefs, even if these are not
entirely in line with what Dr. Paul has said himself.
My suggestion is that whatever the issue, our first response should
always be to turn it around and say what Dr. Paul himself has said.
I'm not here to promote the elimination of the IRS, for example. I'm
here to promote Ron Paul. When the issue of the income tax or the IRS
comes up we should be prepared to say, "Well, Dr. Paul said," or, "I
believe that Dr. Paul wrote," or, "I was watching this debate on
YouTube and Dr. Paul commented that..."
As campaign supporters we are essentially advertisers, and our product
is *Ron Paul*. Everything else is like a particular _quality_ of our
product. "RP is against the income tax; RP is against Federal control
of gun ownership; RP is opposed to any international alliance that
tries to affect American foreign policy or economics; RP is for *less*
Federal government involvement in the lives of citizens, and more
personal responsibility." No matter _which_ quality you stress with
your particular audience, your *product* doesn't change, and should
always be the focus. It's not my intent to sell you on immigration
control; it's my intent to sell you on Ron Paul.
Yesterday I received an invitation to join a Yahoo Group that was set
up for debate between Christians and non-Christians. One of my
personal interests is religious philosophy and theology, so I was
tempted to accept the invitation - until I considered the fact that
the Yahoo ID the invitation was sent to had the name "Ron Paul" in it.
Why was I sent this invitation? (The person doesn't know me.) And what
might the effect be when others on that forum see a Ron Paul supporter
arguing for or against any number of issues?
Here was my reply to this invitation:
[...]
click through if you are interested in the rest:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RonPaul2008/message/3647