PledgeForPaul
12-24-2007, 06:48 PM
I live in Iowa and am drafting a letter I'll likely send through Facebook to my friends here (somewhere between 50 and 100). This is still very rough, but I'm going out of town soon without internet access, and wanted to see if I could get any criticism first.
Hello Iowa friends. I’m writing because I want you all to vote in our state primary election coming up on January 3rd. There are 2 reasons I think you should:
1. It is an educational and fun experience that takes very little time and effort. It is virtuous to learn how our system of democracy works, especially with the current US agenda to spread Democracy.
2. A single Iowa primary vote has more political impact than any other state primary or general election vote in the country. The Iowa Republican caucus will likely have ~75,000 people show up, while the Democratic caucus will have ~90,000. This means a 1% change in a candidates score from Iowa requires fewer than 1,000 votes. Hillary Clinton getting 24% in Iowa instead of 23% could easily mean the difference between her winning or losing the national nomination. Another way to illustrate this: If the 50 of you I’m sending this to all told 20 Iowas to vote, who told 5 Iowans to vote, who told 1 Iowan to vote, it would be enough sway any candidate to winning the entire Iowa election. For better or worse, Iowa primary votes have a lot of power.
Wikipedia is the best source for looking up the stances the candidates hold. I contend that with less than 30 minutes of Wikipedia reading, you will be able to make a more educated vote then over half of other Iowa caucus goers.
So all that said, I am going to give a plug for my candidate, Ron Paul (but know I would not have a second thought in encouraging you to vote, even if you support his rivals). I have spent many hours researching and following candidates over the last year, and would like to share 4 reasons I will Caucus for Ron Paul.
1. Ron Paul has the best understanding of the problems with US monetary policy. Having a degree in economics and working research for a fixed income trading desk, this is an important issue to me. Since 1987 the Federal Reserve has been pushing the US economy into a blowup to the benefit of Wall Street Bankers (the Fed Reserve is run by non-elected Wall Street Bankers). The dollar has been falling for 3 years (especially in the last year). The transparency of the money supply was significantly reduced in 2005 (M3 no longer reported). Inflation was above 4% in the most recent consumer price index report. This means reduced wealth for citizens and a higher chance the purchasing power of savings we have for retirement will decline . I believe Ron Paul has the best grasp and care for these issues.
2. Ron’s integrity (as measured by statements and voting record) is unmatched by anyone running (I would put Joe Biden in second place). A couple examples:
- Ron believes the Congressional Medal of Honor should be funded by members of congress, not tax payers. Every year he votes no to giving the medal, and instead offers $100 of his own money. He takes heavy criticism for this (voting “against” many great people).
- Ron believes the congressional pension program is an excessive use of taxpayer money (it uses tax dollars to make multi-millionaires out of everyone in congress). He tries to reduce this program every year and more importantly declines to take this money. He is not rich, and that is a significant gesture.
- Every member of congress is opposed to the system of “pork” spending in congressional bills, yet every member must participate if they want any money their district. There is not a single congressmen who does not participate (including Ron Paul). Paul has, however, voted against every bill with any pork spending in it (including bills he has added pork to himself). He has not deviated from this in all 10 terms he has served.
3. In 2002, Ron Paul was correct about the war in Iraq. He said he was skeptical Saddam has weapons of mass destruction, he didn’t see a clear goal for the war, and was worried it would drag on many years beyond the “6-month” estimate members of congress and political pundits were discussing. Regardless of any opinions you have about this war, some credit must be given to Ron for being correct on this. {{insert youtube link?}}
4. Aside from all integrity/issues/records, I believe Ron Paul is a vote for a more intelligent way of doing politics – I view a vote for Ron Paul is a vote against soundbyte politics and 30 second rhetoric “debates”. The youtube format is not based on sounbytes, and it makes his message dominate all other candidates. In some ways he shares this characteristic with 2004 Democratic candidate Howard Dean. A vote for Ron Paul is a vote for improved political discourse.
I hope this letter is taken with understanding of good intention, and I hope you all have a happy new year!
Hello Iowa friends. I’m writing because I want you all to vote in our state primary election coming up on January 3rd. There are 2 reasons I think you should:
1. It is an educational and fun experience that takes very little time and effort. It is virtuous to learn how our system of democracy works, especially with the current US agenda to spread Democracy.
2. A single Iowa primary vote has more political impact than any other state primary or general election vote in the country. The Iowa Republican caucus will likely have ~75,000 people show up, while the Democratic caucus will have ~90,000. This means a 1% change in a candidates score from Iowa requires fewer than 1,000 votes. Hillary Clinton getting 24% in Iowa instead of 23% could easily mean the difference between her winning or losing the national nomination. Another way to illustrate this: If the 50 of you I’m sending this to all told 20 Iowas to vote, who told 5 Iowans to vote, who told 1 Iowan to vote, it would be enough sway any candidate to winning the entire Iowa election. For better or worse, Iowa primary votes have a lot of power.
Wikipedia is the best source for looking up the stances the candidates hold. I contend that with less than 30 minutes of Wikipedia reading, you will be able to make a more educated vote then over half of other Iowa caucus goers.
So all that said, I am going to give a plug for my candidate, Ron Paul (but know I would not have a second thought in encouraging you to vote, even if you support his rivals). I have spent many hours researching and following candidates over the last year, and would like to share 4 reasons I will Caucus for Ron Paul.
1. Ron Paul has the best understanding of the problems with US monetary policy. Having a degree in economics and working research for a fixed income trading desk, this is an important issue to me. Since 1987 the Federal Reserve has been pushing the US economy into a blowup to the benefit of Wall Street Bankers (the Fed Reserve is run by non-elected Wall Street Bankers). The dollar has been falling for 3 years (especially in the last year). The transparency of the money supply was significantly reduced in 2005 (M3 no longer reported). Inflation was above 4% in the most recent consumer price index report. This means reduced wealth for citizens and a higher chance the purchasing power of savings we have for retirement will decline . I believe Ron Paul has the best grasp and care for these issues.
2. Ron’s integrity (as measured by statements and voting record) is unmatched by anyone running (I would put Joe Biden in second place). A couple examples:
- Ron believes the Congressional Medal of Honor should be funded by members of congress, not tax payers. Every year he votes no to giving the medal, and instead offers $100 of his own money. He takes heavy criticism for this (voting “against” many great people).
- Ron believes the congressional pension program is an excessive use of taxpayer money (it uses tax dollars to make multi-millionaires out of everyone in congress). He tries to reduce this program every year and more importantly declines to take this money. He is not rich, and that is a significant gesture.
- Every member of congress is opposed to the system of “pork” spending in congressional bills, yet every member must participate if they want any money their district. There is not a single congressmen who does not participate (including Ron Paul). Paul has, however, voted against every bill with any pork spending in it (including bills he has added pork to himself). He has not deviated from this in all 10 terms he has served.
3. In 2002, Ron Paul was correct about the war in Iraq. He said he was skeptical Saddam has weapons of mass destruction, he didn’t see a clear goal for the war, and was worried it would drag on many years beyond the “6-month” estimate members of congress and political pundits were discussing. Regardless of any opinions you have about this war, some credit must be given to Ron for being correct on this. {{insert youtube link?}}
4. Aside from all integrity/issues/records, I believe Ron Paul is a vote for a more intelligent way of doing politics – I view a vote for Ron Paul is a vote against soundbyte politics and 30 second rhetoric “debates”. The youtube format is not based on sounbytes, and it makes his message dominate all other candidates. In some ways he shares this characteristic with 2004 Democratic candidate Howard Dean. A vote for Ron Paul is a vote for improved political discourse.
I hope this letter is taken with understanding of good intention, and I hope you all have a happy new year!