RSDavis
12-12-2007, 01:27 PM
http://laceylibertarian.us/wp-images/rPaulRev.jpg
Ron Paul Roundup (12-12-07)
by RS Davis (http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=194780914&blogID=337411808&Mytoken=FF68EF22-1CD3-4465-94B46FCA71A9428034706163)
Part Two...
Over at The Nolan Chart, they are comparing (http://www.nolanchart.com/article434.html)Hillary to Ron:
The last issue I am going to look at today is America's place in the world. Ron Paul believes we need to trade, talk and travel with all but never use force unless it is to preserve our own security. He believes in peace. He believes America leads best when leading by example and not forcing our way of life on others through the barrel of a gun. Historically colonialism and forced assimilation does not ever end well, we cannot intervene in the matters of other nations. Hillary Clinton wants us to intervene in other nations. According to her website she wants us in Darfur, she wants us to interfere with Hamas, she wants us to be involved in Northern Ireland. She also wants to send tax money to support the public schools of other nations and that " America is stronger when we lead the world through alliances". I don't think the American people want this, I think the American people want peace. It is one thing to activily pursue terrorist threats against our nation, but it is quite another to be using our money to set up beaurcracies and alliances with nations across the globe. The American people will not elect Hillary Clinton against Ron Paul. Unfortunately for the GOP, if they do not nominate Ron Paul then a large group of voters will go third party or simply "write in Ron Paul" and the GOP will be crushed.
Julian Sanchez thinks (http://juliansanchez.com/notes/archives/2007/12/statists_are_a_superstitious_c.php)Ron Paul might be the "comic-bookiest" of all the candidates:
Therefore, a politician must be able to strike fear into their hearts. I shall become... Ron Paul! Well, that's how it could have happened, anyway. Ron Paul tells ComixMix that his favorite superhero is the "Berlin Batman," aka "Baruch Wayne," from an Elseworlds story by the awesome Paul Pope.
In a tale now notorious among libertarians, Pope had his bohemian alternate-universe Batman rescue the manuscript for Ludwig von Mises' Human Action from the Nazis. Given that Ron Paul's major fund-raising coup was itself linked to V for Vendetta, this may make him Our Comic-Bookiest Presidential Candidate.
Over at The Chicago Tribune, they are talking (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-paul11dec10,1,4510646.story?ctrack=3&cset=true)about all of Ron Paul's young supporters:
Cheese pizza powers the Ron Paul revolution.
So do Doritos, Cheerios and beer. Junk food in general dominates the menu at this rented house, full of young people who've moved in from Seattle, South Florida and points in between to push for the Texas Republican's long-shot presidential bid in the Jan. 8 New Hampshire primary.
At first glance, the abundance of T-shirted youths with laptops gives this outpost the air of a fraternity or an Internet startup. Instead it represents a new type of political fundraising and may be a sneak peek at campaigns to come.
The Modesto Bee is saying (http://www.modbee.com/local/story/147441.html) that Ron Paul has some fervent local supporters:
Regular letters to the editor readers probably are noticing frequent mentions of a presidential candidate with an unfamiliar name.
But to hear the Stanislaus County supporters of Texas Rep. Ron Paul, he's the only candidate worth supporting by a long shot.
"I started hearing his name pop up, and I looked online," said small-business owner Mike Monaghan, 67, of Turlock. "When I saw what he stood for, I thought, here's someone I can support."
The Washington Post is reporting (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/12/10/a_paul_on_paul_supporters_craz_1.html)about Dr Paul's son, Rand, and his stumping for Dad:
Rand Paul, a 44-year-old who shares his father's slight build and bright, impish smile -- though he favors a more colorful wardrobe (orange shirt, blue tie, green cords) -- marveled at the movement that has sprung up around the campaign, particularly in New Hampshire. "It's sort of organized chaos. These people are crazy," he said in an interview with The Trail, before adding quickly, "Crazy in a good way."
Paul was optimistic about the campaign's ability to have a major impact in New Hampshire, noting that the rise of Mike Huckabee in Iowa could set back the current New Hampshire front-runner, Romney. "If Huckabee brings Romney down a couple notches, and if we pull off an upset here, it could be Romney staring at the exit signs," he said.
On previous visits, he said, he had drawn blank stares when he gave his name. On this visit, he said, his handshakes at restaurants met with knowing remarks. Still, he acknowledged, he does not get anything like the wild reaction that his septuagenarian father does. He hopes that may change at the Boston Tea Party celebration, when he will likely be the only Paul family member in attendance.
"I've always wanted to be a rock star," he said. "I'm trying to get them to play that Kiss song, 'Calling Dr. Love.' I'd love to have the band there do it as 'Calling Dr. No,'" the nickname given his father for his lonely libertarian stands in Congress.
Computer World says (http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9052302&intsrc=hm_list)that if the election were held on the web, Paul would be a shoo-in:
If presidential elections were determined by the success of the Web 2.0 efforts of candidates, the leaders today would be Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).
Both candidates have found much success in getting voters to view their videos on YouTube, their photos on Flickr and their profiles on MySpace, according to a new study released Monday by Internet research firm Compete Inc. The study set out to measure the time 2 million online users spent interacting with the candidates through MySpace, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Meetup (a site for organizing groups) and candidate Web sites.
Paul led all the candidates in what Compete called "FaceTime," or the total time users spent viewing content about him on the Web 2.0 sites, with 167,760 total hours in October, according to Compete. Obama came in second with 86,548 hours, and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) rounded out the top three with 60,876 hours.
KMEG14 is pondering (http://www.kmeg14.com/Global/story.asp?S=7483631&nav=menu609_2_3) how this wacky race will end:
There are two types of political candidates. There are those who start strong and those who finish strong. Republican Ron Paul says he's shooting for the second option.
The Texas Congressman is in Sioux City Tuesday spreading what he calls the Ron Paul Revolution. KMEG 14's Denise Hnytka explains.
Tim Morgan over at The National Ledger says (http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272617654.shtml)the field is still wide open for Paul to surge in the primaries:
The Republican field is so wide open that Mike Huckabee now leads the field in many polls. He once sat next to Ron Paul in the polls near the bottom and it now appears that Republican voters are quite dissatisfied with this particular roster of candidates. The Huckabee surge seems to suggest that this race is wide open, and it can take less than a month for a candidate to go from the bottom to the top.
So what's next, a Ron Paul wake up call? One can hope. While many conventional pundits have already written off "Dr. No" (yes, that's his nickname in Congress) as a fringe candidate with nutty supporters and little chance it now appears that the dissatisfaction is so high among voters that this mess of a field may never produce a frontrunner.
The Los Angeles Times agrees (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/12/mainstream-medi.html):
It's a shocking political development, to be sure, but news about Ron Paul and what his determined, fervent bands of supporters call the Ron Paul Revolution is beginning to spread like some kind of wildfire before strong primary winds...
...Supporters of the 72-year-old 10-term libertarian representative from Texas think he has a real shot at shocking the political establishment and snatching the Republican presidential nomination away from all those presidential pretenders like Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, and Fred Thompson with higher numbers in what must be obviously fraudulent polls.
But now comes news that news about Paul is creeping onto television, that great Satan that reaches so many potential voters but normally ignores quiet-spoken grandfathers with radically simple political views such as political power belongs to the people and America should return to following the Constitution. That makes no sense in an age of proliferating political promises.
So does (http://www.nolanchart.com/article440.html) Westmiller over at The Nolan Chart:
It is certainly true that Ron Paul represents a minority view in Congress. However, bear in mind that those who are elected to office actually represent a tiny percentage of the American public. Over the past decade, the majority of potential voters have been so sickened by the political norms that they have dropped out altogether. Almost 25% no longer associate themselves with political parties. Many party nominations are won with the support of less than 5% of party registrants. To win a general election, a candidate only needs a majority of those who vote, commonly for the lesser of two evils. At best, a winning candidate actually represents less than 20% of the citizens in their district. The impediments to ballot status and public attention, to say nothing of self-interested districting, have been institutionalized to preclude any electoral competition. A minority viewpoint in Congress could very well be an accurate representation of the opinions of an overwhelming majority of American citizens.
Equally important is name identification. The reality is that a significant number of voters don't cast their ballot for candidates, they check-off a straight party-line vote. Most voters know the names of the candidates running for an office, including the office of President of the United States. Pew Research Center surveys over several election periods have found fewer than 50% of voters know the names of the major candidates for President. Only 7% of voters knew the name "Ron Paul" in October of this year. That has changed over a very short period, but more than 49% of likely Republican voters still don't know "anything at all" about where Ron Paul stands on the issues. That's both a challenge and an opportunity. What it means is that half of all GOP voters might vote for Paul, if they knew anything at all about him or his positions.
So, a realistic appraisal of Ron Paul's potential appeal is best projected from those voters who do know him. They are the residents of the 14th Congressional District of Texas, where Paul has been elected by increasing majorities in 10 elections, with over 60% support. These were not shallow, incumbent-protected majorities, but victories over strong Republican party opposition. IF – possibly WHEN – voters across the country become as familiar with Ron Paul as his own constituents, he has the potential to win 60% of a national vote, in spite of the wishes of the established political powers. In terms of electoral support potential, his own district may be the best and clearest "crystal ball." He not only can win … he has won.
And over at Liberty Unbound, they are talking (http://www.libertyunbound.com/archive/2008_01/ronpaul.html) about the implications of a Ron Paul surge:
Ron Paul is getting traction. I think everyone who's ever supported Ron Paul is shocked at the success he is experiencing — and no one seems more surprised than Ron Paul. Since modern political battle has become exclusive territory for narcissists and sociopaths, it's refreshing to see a candidate with humility.
I'm quite certain that there is a lot of surprise within the GOP hierarchy as well. I think that the Republicans have consistently dismissed libertarians and underestimated how much of their base is ex-LPers who got tired of losing elections.
I feel there are going to be two interesting outcomes from this primary that could have revolutionary impacts on the libertarian movement. First, there will be a much different LP — after Paul has drawn away manpower and resources for the duration of his campaign. And, if the Paul campaign gives the mainstream candidates any resistance, Republicans — for the first time in a long time — will have to recognize that there are a few libertarians in their big tent.
There's an Open Letter to Republicans (http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig8/ter-grigoryan1.html)on LewRockwell.com:
This is a letter to all of my fellow Republicans, written on behalf of the presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul.
If you have been following the Presidential campaign this year, the chances are good that you have encountered a candidate whose name is Ron Paul. Though underreported by the mainstream media (shakes fist at air angrily), the Congressional 10th-term Texas Republican candidate's run for the White House has amassed untold millions and has a legion of grassroots support across America. My fellow Republicans, if you are reading this and have decided to reject Ron Paul's candidacy, please allow me to explain why I so strongly believe that Ron Paul is the man that I believe will rescue our party and restore our Constitutional republic if we elect him into the White House.
Dr. Paul is truly a rarity in today's political environment. A strict adherent of the Constitution, Ron Paul his had the same consistent positions throughout his ten total terms in Congress, and has never compromised his values to a corrupt incentive or special interest. If you would like to read about Ron Paul's presidential platform, go to RonPaul2008.com (which just so happens to be the most visited website of any politician currently running for President, Republican or Democrat). Here is an overview of Ron Paul's positions on some of the major issues of this year's race for the White House...
The Quad City Times in Iowa is alerting (http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/12/10/news/local/doc4758e53b8497c796041827.txt)readers of where they can learn about Dr Paul:
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul's Quad-City 2008 Meetup group is sponsoring an informational booth Saturday and Sunday at the Big Bore Gun Show inside the Army Air National Guard Armory at the Davenport Mount Joy Airport.
People interested in learning more about Paul or more about the Quad-City Meetup activities can visit the booth from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. Saturday or 9 a.m to 3 p.m. Sunday.
And let's finish with Liv's last video:
http://www.metacafe.com/w/962019
http://www.brendangates.com/forumlogo.jpg
Ron Paul Roundup (12-12-07)
by RS Davis (http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=194780914&blogID=337411808&Mytoken=FF68EF22-1CD3-4465-94B46FCA71A9428034706163)
Part Two...
Over at The Nolan Chart, they are comparing (http://www.nolanchart.com/article434.html)Hillary to Ron:
The last issue I am going to look at today is America's place in the world. Ron Paul believes we need to trade, talk and travel with all but never use force unless it is to preserve our own security. He believes in peace. He believes America leads best when leading by example and not forcing our way of life on others through the barrel of a gun. Historically colonialism and forced assimilation does not ever end well, we cannot intervene in the matters of other nations. Hillary Clinton wants us to intervene in other nations. According to her website she wants us in Darfur, she wants us to interfere with Hamas, she wants us to be involved in Northern Ireland. She also wants to send tax money to support the public schools of other nations and that " America is stronger when we lead the world through alliances". I don't think the American people want this, I think the American people want peace. It is one thing to activily pursue terrorist threats against our nation, but it is quite another to be using our money to set up beaurcracies and alliances with nations across the globe. The American people will not elect Hillary Clinton against Ron Paul. Unfortunately for the GOP, if they do not nominate Ron Paul then a large group of voters will go third party or simply "write in Ron Paul" and the GOP will be crushed.
Julian Sanchez thinks (http://juliansanchez.com/notes/archives/2007/12/statists_are_a_superstitious_c.php)Ron Paul might be the "comic-bookiest" of all the candidates:
Therefore, a politician must be able to strike fear into their hearts. I shall become... Ron Paul! Well, that's how it could have happened, anyway. Ron Paul tells ComixMix that his favorite superhero is the "Berlin Batman," aka "Baruch Wayne," from an Elseworlds story by the awesome Paul Pope.
In a tale now notorious among libertarians, Pope had his bohemian alternate-universe Batman rescue the manuscript for Ludwig von Mises' Human Action from the Nazis. Given that Ron Paul's major fund-raising coup was itself linked to V for Vendetta, this may make him Our Comic-Bookiest Presidential Candidate.
Over at The Chicago Tribune, they are talking (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-paul11dec10,1,4510646.story?ctrack=3&cset=true)about all of Ron Paul's young supporters:
Cheese pizza powers the Ron Paul revolution.
So do Doritos, Cheerios and beer. Junk food in general dominates the menu at this rented house, full of young people who've moved in from Seattle, South Florida and points in between to push for the Texas Republican's long-shot presidential bid in the Jan. 8 New Hampshire primary.
At first glance, the abundance of T-shirted youths with laptops gives this outpost the air of a fraternity or an Internet startup. Instead it represents a new type of political fundraising and may be a sneak peek at campaigns to come.
The Modesto Bee is saying (http://www.modbee.com/local/story/147441.html) that Ron Paul has some fervent local supporters:
Regular letters to the editor readers probably are noticing frequent mentions of a presidential candidate with an unfamiliar name.
But to hear the Stanislaus County supporters of Texas Rep. Ron Paul, he's the only candidate worth supporting by a long shot.
"I started hearing his name pop up, and I looked online," said small-business owner Mike Monaghan, 67, of Turlock. "When I saw what he stood for, I thought, here's someone I can support."
The Washington Post is reporting (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/12/10/a_paul_on_paul_supporters_craz_1.html)about Dr Paul's son, Rand, and his stumping for Dad:
Rand Paul, a 44-year-old who shares his father's slight build and bright, impish smile -- though he favors a more colorful wardrobe (orange shirt, blue tie, green cords) -- marveled at the movement that has sprung up around the campaign, particularly in New Hampshire. "It's sort of organized chaos. These people are crazy," he said in an interview with The Trail, before adding quickly, "Crazy in a good way."
Paul was optimistic about the campaign's ability to have a major impact in New Hampshire, noting that the rise of Mike Huckabee in Iowa could set back the current New Hampshire front-runner, Romney. "If Huckabee brings Romney down a couple notches, and if we pull off an upset here, it could be Romney staring at the exit signs," he said.
On previous visits, he said, he had drawn blank stares when he gave his name. On this visit, he said, his handshakes at restaurants met with knowing remarks. Still, he acknowledged, he does not get anything like the wild reaction that his septuagenarian father does. He hopes that may change at the Boston Tea Party celebration, when he will likely be the only Paul family member in attendance.
"I've always wanted to be a rock star," he said. "I'm trying to get them to play that Kiss song, 'Calling Dr. Love.' I'd love to have the band there do it as 'Calling Dr. No,'" the nickname given his father for his lonely libertarian stands in Congress.
Computer World says (http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9052302&intsrc=hm_list)that if the election were held on the web, Paul would be a shoo-in:
If presidential elections were determined by the success of the Web 2.0 efforts of candidates, the leaders today would be Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).
Both candidates have found much success in getting voters to view their videos on YouTube, their photos on Flickr and their profiles on MySpace, according to a new study released Monday by Internet research firm Compete Inc. The study set out to measure the time 2 million online users spent interacting with the candidates through MySpace, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Meetup (a site for organizing groups) and candidate Web sites.
Paul led all the candidates in what Compete called "FaceTime," or the total time users spent viewing content about him on the Web 2.0 sites, with 167,760 total hours in October, according to Compete. Obama came in second with 86,548 hours, and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) rounded out the top three with 60,876 hours.
KMEG14 is pondering (http://www.kmeg14.com/Global/story.asp?S=7483631&nav=menu609_2_3) how this wacky race will end:
There are two types of political candidates. There are those who start strong and those who finish strong. Republican Ron Paul says he's shooting for the second option.
The Texas Congressman is in Sioux City Tuesday spreading what he calls the Ron Paul Revolution. KMEG 14's Denise Hnytka explains.
Tim Morgan over at The National Ledger says (http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272617654.shtml)the field is still wide open for Paul to surge in the primaries:
The Republican field is so wide open that Mike Huckabee now leads the field in many polls. He once sat next to Ron Paul in the polls near the bottom and it now appears that Republican voters are quite dissatisfied with this particular roster of candidates. The Huckabee surge seems to suggest that this race is wide open, and it can take less than a month for a candidate to go from the bottom to the top.
So what's next, a Ron Paul wake up call? One can hope. While many conventional pundits have already written off "Dr. No" (yes, that's his nickname in Congress) as a fringe candidate with nutty supporters and little chance it now appears that the dissatisfaction is so high among voters that this mess of a field may never produce a frontrunner.
The Los Angeles Times agrees (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/12/mainstream-medi.html):
It's a shocking political development, to be sure, but news about Ron Paul and what his determined, fervent bands of supporters call the Ron Paul Revolution is beginning to spread like some kind of wildfire before strong primary winds...
...Supporters of the 72-year-old 10-term libertarian representative from Texas think he has a real shot at shocking the political establishment and snatching the Republican presidential nomination away from all those presidential pretenders like Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, and Fred Thompson with higher numbers in what must be obviously fraudulent polls.
But now comes news that news about Paul is creeping onto television, that great Satan that reaches so many potential voters but normally ignores quiet-spoken grandfathers with radically simple political views such as political power belongs to the people and America should return to following the Constitution. That makes no sense in an age of proliferating political promises.
So does (http://www.nolanchart.com/article440.html) Westmiller over at The Nolan Chart:
It is certainly true that Ron Paul represents a minority view in Congress. However, bear in mind that those who are elected to office actually represent a tiny percentage of the American public. Over the past decade, the majority of potential voters have been so sickened by the political norms that they have dropped out altogether. Almost 25% no longer associate themselves with political parties. Many party nominations are won with the support of less than 5% of party registrants. To win a general election, a candidate only needs a majority of those who vote, commonly for the lesser of two evils. At best, a winning candidate actually represents less than 20% of the citizens in their district. The impediments to ballot status and public attention, to say nothing of self-interested districting, have been institutionalized to preclude any electoral competition. A minority viewpoint in Congress could very well be an accurate representation of the opinions of an overwhelming majority of American citizens.
Equally important is name identification. The reality is that a significant number of voters don't cast their ballot for candidates, they check-off a straight party-line vote. Most voters know the names of the candidates running for an office, including the office of President of the United States. Pew Research Center surveys over several election periods have found fewer than 50% of voters know the names of the major candidates for President. Only 7% of voters knew the name "Ron Paul" in October of this year. That has changed over a very short period, but more than 49% of likely Republican voters still don't know "anything at all" about where Ron Paul stands on the issues. That's both a challenge and an opportunity. What it means is that half of all GOP voters might vote for Paul, if they knew anything at all about him or his positions.
So, a realistic appraisal of Ron Paul's potential appeal is best projected from those voters who do know him. They are the residents of the 14th Congressional District of Texas, where Paul has been elected by increasing majorities in 10 elections, with over 60% support. These were not shallow, incumbent-protected majorities, but victories over strong Republican party opposition. IF – possibly WHEN – voters across the country become as familiar with Ron Paul as his own constituents, he has the potential to win 60% of a national vote, in spite of the wishes of the established political powers. In terms of electoral support potential, his own district may be the best and clearest "crystal ball." He not only can win … he has won.
And over at Liberty Unbound, they are talking (http://www.libertyunbound.com/archive/2008_01/ronpaul.html) about the implications of a Ron Paul surge:
Ron Paul is getting traction. I think everyone who's ever supported Ron Paul is shocked at the success he is experiencing — and no one seems more surprised than Ron Paul. Since modern political battle has become exclusive territory for narcissists and sociopaths, it's refreshing to see a candidate with humility.
I'm quite certain that there is a lot of surprise within the GOP hierarchy as well. I think that the Republicans have consistently dismissed libertarians and underestimated how much of their base is ex-LPers who got tired of losing elections.
I feel there are going to be two interesting outcomes from this primary that could have revolutionary impacts on the libertarian movement. First, there will be a much different LP — after Paul has drawn away manpower and resources for the duration of his campaign. And, if the Paul campaign gives the mainstream candidates any resistance, Republicans — for the first time in a long time — will have to recognize that there are a few libertarians in their big tent.
There's an Open Letter to Republicans (http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig8/ter-grigoryan1.html)on LewRockwell.com:
This is a letter to all of my fellow Republicans, written on behalf of the presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul.
If you have been following the Presidential campaign this year, the chances are good that you have encountered a candidate whose name is Ron Paul. Though underreported by the mainstream media (shakes fist at air angrily), the Congressional 10th-term Texas Republican candidate's run for the White House has amassed untold millions and has a legion of grassroots support across America. My fellow Republicans, if you are reading this and have decided to reject Ron Paul's candidacy, please allow me to explain why I so strongly believe that Ron Paul is the man that I believe will rescue our party and restore our Constitutional republic if we elect him into the White House.
Dr. Paul is truly a rarity in today's political environment. A strict adherent of the Constitution, Ron Paul his had the same consistent positions throughout his ten total terms in Congress, and has never compromised his values to a corrupt incentive or special interest. If you would like to read about Ron Paul's presidential platform, go to RonPaul2008.com (which just so happens to be the most visited website of any politician currently running for President, Republican or Democrat). Here is an overview of Ron Paul's positions on some of the major issues of this year's race for the White House...
The Quad City Times in Iowa is alerting (http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/12/10/news/local/doc4758e53b8497c796041827.txt)readers of where they can learn about Dr Paul:
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul's Quad-City 2008 Meetup group is sponsoring an informational booth Saturday and Sunday at the Big Bore Gun Show inside the Army Air National Guard Armory at the Davenport Mount Joy Airport.
People interested in learning more about Paul or more about the Quad-City Meetup activities can visit the booth from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. Saturday or 9 a.m to 3 p.m. Sunday.
And let's finish with Liv's last video:
http://www.metacafe.com/w/962019
http://www.brendangates.com/forumlogo.jpg