Devil_rules_in_extremes
07-02-2007, 12:32 PM
Ron Paul getting more press! Found this article released today in the Albuquerque Tribune. A good article.
N.M. supporters motley but passionate for Texas presidential hopeful Ron Paul
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/jul/02/nm-supporters-motley-passionate-texas-presidential/
The banner-making party for a maverick Republican presidential candidate wasn't held at a gun shop just for the symbolic panache.
A Ron Paul supporter happens to manage the shop, Caliber's National Shooting Center in northeast Albuquerque.
Just as important, the ventilation system at Caliber's indoor shooting range would keep the 20 or so members of New Mexicans for Ron Paul, a fledgling group formed on MeetUp.com, from asphyxiating on spray-paint fumes.
Even among political optimists, Paul's supporters are a special breed. With Gov. Bill Richardson fighting for the Democratic nomination, New Mexicans have heard plenty about presidential candidates of both parties. But they might not have heard much about Paul.
Paul, a 71-year-old Texas congressman and obstetrician, does indeed oppose gun control, so the symbolism of the gun shop might be inferred. But then, Paul also opposes the war in Iraq, income taxes, the Federal Reserve bank, illegal immigration, the Patriot Act, abortion, welfare, foreign intervention, and much of the legislation passed during his 10 terms in Congress, which he sees as unconstitutional.
That kind of discontent with both parties might just be a key factor in the upcoming presidential race. Ron Paul likely won't win a nomination, but his supporters - and those who support other fringe candidates flying far below the electoral radar - say they're going to make sure they're heard.
Even the gun shop manager said gun control is just one item on a menu of discontents that draws him to Paul.
"Gun control is a symptom of a larger ideology that I disagree with," Jared LeValley said. "The thought that you can control somebody else's life and tell them what to do and not to do."
The small cadre of Paul believers who turned out for a recent meeting hope to change that. And though the group was small, its members brought a wide range of backgrounds from the disaffected of both parties.
Some were Republicans disaffected by what they saw as that party's turn away from libertarian, leave-me-alone, small-government principles. At least as many were Democrats who said they were tired of that party's mincing stances and corporate ties.
"I'm not real happy with the Democrats right now," said Jeff Pappert, who campaigned for Dennis Kucinich in the last election. "They voted to prolong the war by voting for funding it. Ron Paul wants to get us out right away."
Most, however, agreed that Paul is an entirely different sort of candidate from the front-runners on both sides - a candidate who they say eschews political pork and canned, relentlessly on-message baloney.
"What we need is a Mr. Smith," Sally Chapman, the MeetUp group's founder said in a reference to the 1939 movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," about a straight-shooting Everyman. "We almost have one."
Paul's credentials on that count are hard to assail. He returns part of his congressional salary and says he's never voted for legislation that isn't expressly authorized by the Constitution, earning him the nickname "Doctor No."
Though traditional polls place Paul in the low single digits, the imperfect measures of Internet popularity show he has enjoyed burgeoning success in recent weeks.
As of June 25, Paul's official profile on MySpace.com had 36,441 friends, less than 2,000 behind John McCain and gaining fast. Bill Richardson's official MySpace page had just 18,000 friends, though Democratic front-runners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama each had more than 100,000.
But on MeetUp.com, Paul is in a league of his own, with 12,128 members in 368 groups - four times Obama's total.
Jesse Benton, a spokesman for the Paul campaign, said the congressman was enthusiastic about his Internet following. Though Paul's MySpace page is designed by younger staffer, it couldn't be accused of pandering to pop-culture sensibilities.
Who would he like to meet?
"Grover Cleveland," his page says. "I believe he was the last of the great constitutionalists. I share his belief in the importance of the gold standard."
But while the spokesman said the "wildfire" of Web-based interest in Paul had already led to an uptick in fund-raising, he acknowledged that such free-form support could make it a challenge for the campaign to stay focused on a message that accurately reflects Paul's views.
Among his supporters in Albuquerque, not all were on exactly on the same page.
"The Federal Reserve bank - that is the 1 percent that owns 90 percent of the wealth, and they want all of the wealth," said John Buckley, who described himself as a political independent.
"That's a big issue for people to swallow," Lee Gonzales, a libertarian Republican, interjected. "Ron Paul delivered 4,000 babies. He's totally against any kind of an abortion."
Putting down their spray cans for a pizza break, the New Mexicans for Ron Paul discussed the latest news. The Iowa groups that had sponsored a Republican debate Saturday had refused to invite Paul, who clashed with other candidates over the war at a previous debate.
Most of those at the gun shop saw it as another example of attempts to suppress Paul's message. But within a few days, Chapman had posted a new message on the MeetUp site suggesting a trip to the Iowa debate.
"(Maybe) we wear our Ron Paul shirts under a regular shirt if we go in," the message says. "Then at a signal, we all reveal our shirts and hand out info as long as we can get away with it."
N.M. supporters motley but passionate for Texas presidential hopeful Ron Paul
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/jul/02/nm-supporters-motley-passionate-texas-presidential/
The banner-making party for a maverick Republican presidential candidate wasn't held at a gun shop just for the symbolic panache.
A Ron Paul supporter happens to manage the shop, Caliber's National Shooting Center in northeast Albuquerque.
Just as important, the ventilation system at Caliber's indoor shooting range would keep the 20 or so members of New Mexicans for Ron Paul, a fledgling group formed on MeetUp.com, from asphyxiating on spray-paint fumes.
Even among political optimists, Paul's supporters are a special breed. With Gov. Bill Richardson fighting for the Democratic nomination, New Mexicans have heard plenty about presidential candidates of both parties. But they might not have heard much about Paul.
Paul, a 71-year-old Texas congressman and obstetrician, does indeed oppose gun control, so the symbolism of the gun shop might be inferred. But then, Paul also opposes the war in Iraq, income taxes, the Federal Reserve bank, illegal immigration, the Patriot Act, abortion, welfare, foreign intervention, and much of the legislation passed during his 10 terms in Congress, which he sees as unconstitutional.
That kind of discontent with both parties might just be a key factor in the upcoming presidential race. Ron Paul likely won't win a nomination, but his supporters - and those who support other fringe candidates flying far below the electoral radar - say they're going to make sure they're heard.
Even the gun shop manager said gun control is just one item on a menu of discontents that draws him to Paul.
"Gun control is a symptom of a larger ideology that I disagree with," Jared LeValley said. "The thought that you can control somebody else's life and tell them what to do and not to do."
The small cadre of Paul believers who turned out for a recent meeting hope to change that. And though the group was small, its members brought a wide range of backgrounds from the disaffected of both parties.
Some were Republicans disaffected by what they saw as that party's turn away from libertarian, leave-me-alone, small-government principles. At least as many were Democrats who said they were tired of that party's mincing stances and corporate ties.
"I'm not real happy with the Democrats right now," said Jeff Pappert, who campaigned for Dennis Kucinich in the last election. "They voted to prolong the war by voting for funding it. Ron Paul wants to get us out right away."
Most, however, agreed that Paul is an entirely different sort of candidate from the front-runners on both sides - a candidate who they say eschews political pork and canned, relentlessly on-message baloney.
"What we need is a Mr. Smith," Sally Chapman, the MeetUp group's founder said in a reference to the 1939 movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," about a straight-shooting Everyman. "We almost have one."
Paul's credentials on that count are hard to assail. He returns part of his congressional salary and says he's never voted for legislation that isn't expressly authorized by the Constitution, earning him the nickname "Doctor No."
Though traditional polls place Paul in the low single digits, the imperfect measures of Internet popularity show he has enjoyed burgeoning success in recent weeks.
As of June 25, Paul's official profile on MySpace.com had 36,441 friends, less than 2,000 behind John McCain and gaining fast. Bill Richardson's official MySpace page had just 18,000 friends, though Democratic front-runners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama each had more than 100,000.
But on MeetUp.com, Paul is in a league of his own, with 12,128 members in 368 groups - four times Obama's total.
Jesse Benton, a spokesman for the Paul campaign, said the congressman was enthusiastic about his Internet following. Though Paul's MySpace page is designed by younger staffer, it couldn't be accused of pandering to pop-culture sensibilities.
Who would he like to meet?
"Grover Cleveland," his page says. "I believe he was the last of the great constitutionalists. I share his belief in the importance of the gold standard."
But while the spokesman said the "wildfire" of Web-based interest in Paul had already led to an uptick in fund-raising, he acknowledged that such free-form support could make it a challenge for the campaign to stay focused on a message that accurately reflects Paul's views.
Among his supporters in Albuquerque, not all were on exactly on the same page.
"The Federal Reserve bank - that is the 1 percent that owns 90 percent of the wealth, and they want all of the wealth," said John Buckley, who described himself as a political independent.
"That's a big issue for people to swallow," Lee Gonzales, a libertarian Republican, interjected. "Ron Paul delivered 4,000 babies. He's totally against any kind of an abortion."
Putting down their spray cans for a pizza break, the New Mexicans for Ron Paul discussed the latest news. The Iowa groups that had sponsored a Republican debate Saturday had refused to invite Paul, who clashed with other candidates over the war at a previous debate.
Most of those at the gun shop saw it as another example of attempts to suppress Paul's message. But within a few days, Chapman had posted a new message on the MeetUp site suggesting a trip to the Iowa debate.
"(Maybe) we wear our Ron Paul shirts under a regular shirt if we go in," the message says. "Then at a signal, we all reveal our shirts and hand out info as long as we can get away with it."