"What is office is Ron Paul running for?"

[Heather in WI]

This was the question asked last night during a 3 minute pro-Ron Paul speech at a local Republican Christmas party! My jaw dropped!

The person who asked this is a retired judge and was completely serious!!!

The biggest obstacle I have come across for Dr. Paul in real life (as opposed to internet forums and blogs) is lack of name recognition.

At the Christmas party (my first ever Republican Christmas party!), another Ron Paul supporter and I got the chance to pass out lit., speak for a few minutes to the entire group, and mingle with people afterwards.

I overheard a few comments during the speech by a local state senator that she thought it was great that Ron Paul was bringing in so many political newbies. (The other RP Supporter who gave the speech is a married mom of two small children and has never been involved in politics before -- she mentioned this in her speech.)

And the judge, who asked the question, was interested & supportive of Dr. Paul's position on privacy rights! :D

I guess I'm saying all of this to STRONGLY encourage you to get active in your local GOP group! Not a single person was antagonistic. It was a very positive experience and we got the chance to share why we support Ron Paul with about 30 prominent local activists.

~Heather

[ronpaul.in]

hopefully name recognition will improve in a week or so :)

[aspiringconstitutionalist]

I can't tell you how many times I've heard this same question. "Huh, Ron Paul for...PRESIDENT?? How did I miss that?" I got about a month and a half ago. "What? I've never seen Ron Paul in the debates... Wait, has he been in the debates?" I got a couple of weeks ago. And funny enough, I got asked exactly the same question a few days ago: "Ron Paul? Is he running for some local office or something?" I've talked to people who were paying attention to the race and knew who Alan KEYES was, and not Ron Paul.

People DON'T EVEN KNOW who Ron Paul is, and we're running out of time to make our introduction. Campaign needs to stop sitting on our fucking donations and blitz the media.

[dsentell]

Yes, it is sad.

It seems that every day, I still get the "Who is Ron Paul?" question . . .

[Elwar]

My sister, who I most likely have her convinced to vote for Ron Paul, was watching coverage of the CNN debates on Hardball and she called me to ask which one was Ron Paul. I told her it's the old cute grandfatherly guy...she said "second from the right?"...yep

She said she'd keep watching TV to see what they say about him.

I told her Ron Paul's not on TV, he's on the Internet.

[Heather in WI]

She said she'd keep watching TV to see what they say about him.

I told her Ron Paul's not on TV, he's on the Internet.

Ooh! Have her watch the NOW show on PBS this Friday night. It looks **really** good from the previews!!

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/350/preview.html

[austin356]

Local GOP people are usually pretty receptive to new comers.

[rory096]

I can't tell you how many times I've heard this same question. "Huh, Ron Paul for...PRESIDENT?? How did I miss that?" I got about a month and a half ago. "What? I've never seen Ron Paul in the debates... Wait, has he been in the debates?" I got a couple of weeks ago. And funny enough, I got asked exactly the same question a few days ago: "Ron Paul? Is he running for some local office or something?" I've talked to people who were paying attention to the race and knew who Alan KEYES was, and not Ron Paul.

People DON'T EVEN KNOW who Ron Paul is, and we're running out of time to make our introduction. Campaign needs to stop sitting on our fucking donations and blitz the media.
Keyes is known from last time, it's not that people have heard of him because of his run this year.

[AisA1787]

Yes, it is sad.

It seems that every day, I still get the "Who is Ron Paul?" question . . .

Who is John Galt? :D

[kylejack]

You should have said Supreme Overlord.

[Revolution9]

This was the question asked last night during a 3 minute pro-Ron Paul speech at a local Republican Christmas party! My jaw dropped!

The person who asked this is a retired judge and was completely serious!!!

The biggest obstacle I have come across for Dr. Paul in real life (as opposed to internet forums and blogs) is lack of name recognition.

At the Christmas party (my first ever Republican Christmas party!), another Ron Paul supporter and I got the chance to pass out lit., speak for a few minutes to the entire group, and mingle with people afterwards.

I overheard a few comments during the speech by a local state senator that she thought it was great that Ron Paul was bringing in so many political newbies. (The other RP Supporter who gave the speech is a married mom of two small children and has never been involved in politics before -- she mentioned this in her speech.)

And the judge, who asked the question, was interested & supportive of Dr. Paul's position on privacy rights! :D

I guess I'm saying all of this to STRONGLY encourage you to get active in your local GOP group! Not a single person was antagonistic. It was a very positive experience and we got the chance to share why we support Ron Paul with about 30 prominent local activists.

~Heather

I bought myself a nice tailored jacket to wear to these events with my son today. Not that my wardrobe is slack on very cool suit stuff but...ya gotta get dolled up to go to these things. Some nice cowboy bootds with a good shine goes over well down south here . Ya don't have to go all yuppified..but ya gotta have style..No *****s Eye for the straight guy BS either. Plus I sculpted the largest motherfucking statue in the whole southeast.. Ten point five tons of pure copper erected the year before Dr Paul returned to congress
http://www.chowbaby.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/atlantatopten.jpg
Never gonna be a larger landmark piece so when I mention that I got their attention. They alll have seen it.

Son manages 14 Attorney office, so he gets cred too.

Best
Randy

[ckhagen]

Local GOP people are usually pretty receptive to new comers.

hm, that's not the feeling we've gotten down here at all...

Albeit, I believe I'll be giving a presentation representing Dr. Paul at the next Executive committee meeting here. Not sure how to even go about it or what format I should take. If anyone has any suggestions, especially for working with a pretty hostile crowd of old hardline neo-cons, let me know.

Btw, regarding the OP, I get asked that question all the time! I've stopped being shocked over it at this point.

I have a few nice clothes, but I'm picking up a new suit as well. I've been going to the meetings in dress slacks and blouses (don't forget the pearls!).

[Heather in WI]

Who is John Galt?


Isn't he the man who made me swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for the sake of mine?


Randy: That fish is the biggest fish I've ever seen! WOW!



ckhagen: You could start by reading this page verbatim: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/about :D Reagan is a huge among conservatives. I know the fact about Paul endorsing Reagan in 1976 went over big last night.

You can bring up the Republican Party Platform from 1980. (http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showplatforms.php?platindex=R1980) We are not trying to 'destroy' the party as some have claimed, but return it to its roots.


It has long been a fundamental conviction of the Republican Party that government should foster in our society a climate of maximum individual liberty and freedom of choice. Properly informed, our people as individuals or acting through instruments of popular consultation can make the right decisions affecting personal or general welfare, free of pervasive and heavy-handed intrusion by the central government into the decisionmaking process. This tenet is the genius of representative democracy.


Presently, the aggregate burden of taxation is so great that the average American spends a substantial part of every year, in effect, working for government. Substantial tax rate reductions are needed to offset the massive tax increases facing the working men and women of this country ... The Republican Party believes balancing the budget is essential but opposes the Democrats' attempt to do so through higher taxes. We believe that an essential aspect of balancing the budget is spending restraint by the federal government and higher economic growth, not higher tax burdens on working men and women.


The widespread distribution of private property ownership is the cornerstone of American liberty. Without it neither our free enterprise system nor our republican form of government could long endure. Under Democratic rule, the federal government has become an aggressive enemy of the human right to private property ownership. It has dissipated savings through depreciation of the dollar, enforced price controls on private exchange of goods, attempted to enforce severe land use controls, and mistreated hundreds of thousands of national park and forest inholders.

The essence of freedom is the right of law-abiding individuals to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness without undue governmental intervention. Yet government in recent years, particularly at the federal level, has overwhelmed citizens with demands for personal information and has accumulated vast amounts of such data through the IRS, the Social Security Administration, the Bureau of the Census, and other agencies. Under certain limited circumstances, such information can serve legitimate societal interests, but there must be protection against abuse.

Republicans share the concerns of our citizens as to the nature, use, and final disposition of the volume of personal information being collected. We are alarmed by Washington's growing collection and dissemination of such data. There must be protection against its misuse or disclosure.

The Republican Party commits itself to guaranteeing an individual's right of privacy. We support efforts of state governments to ensure individual privacy.


We understand and sympathize with the plight of America's public school teachers, who so frequently find their time and attention diverted from their teaching responsibilities to the task of complying with federal reporting requirements. America has a great stake in maintaining standards of high quality in public education. The Republican Party recognizes that the achievement of those standards is possible only to the extent that teachers are allowed the time and freedom to teach. To that end, the Republican Party supports deregulation by the federal government of public education, and encourages the elimination of the federal Department of Education.


The intent of the Founders, embraced and reflected by succeeding generations of Americans, was that the Central government should perform only those functions which are necessary concomitants of nationality, preserve order, and do for people only those things which they cannot do for themselves. The durability of our system lies in its flexibility and its accommodation to diversity and changing circumstance. It is notable as much for what it permits as for what it proscribes. Government must ever be the servant of the nation, not its master.


The Republican Party reaffirms its belief in the decentralization of the federal government and in the traditional American principle that the best government is the one closest to the people.


We favor the establishment or a commission of distinguished citizens to recommend ways of reorganizing and reducing the size and scope of the Executive Branch. Federal departments, agencies, and bureaus should be consolidated where possible to end waste and improve the delivery of essential services. Republicans pledge to eliminate bureaucratic red tape and reduce government paperwork. Agencies should be made to justify every official form and filing requirement. Where possible, we favor deregulation, especially in the energy, transportation, and communications industries. We believe that the marketplace, rather than the bureaucrats, should regulate management decisions.


Focus on the similarities and ignore the differences unless expressly asked was my tactic last night. HTH!

[ckhagen]

Big help! Thanks :D