Micahyah
12-31-2007, 01:07 AM
Spread this virally:
http://www.tomsbigpicture.com/2007/12/30/day-of-reckoning-for-the-ron-paul-revolution/
Day of Reckoning for the Ron Paul Revolution
The Day of Reckoning for the Ron Paul Revolution has come.
At first, they dismissed us.
Then they ridiculed us.
Then we outraised them in money, setting an all-time record for grassroots fundraising.
Now they fear us. Even the belly of the neoconservative beast, the Wall Street Journal, once dismissing Paul, is now hedging its bets, preparing its readers for the possibility of a Paul victory.
All of the hope and labor and sweat and tears of the last year has come to this. The time is now.
It is time to win where it counts, in the coming voting over the next six weeks, particularly the imminent contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. This may all be over by Valentine’s Day.
But instead of a pep talk, I am writing this to give a warning.
For months we have complained of biased polls showing Dr. Paul with single-digit support among “likely” voters. This has not shaken our faith because it conflicts with what we see with our own eyes.
We see the bumper stickers and yard signs for Dr. Paul.
We see the enthusiasm of our local meetup groups.
We see the overwhelming victories of Dr. Paul in straw polls, online polls or almost any forum requiring a modicum of active effort to participate.
But there is something yet missing from this reasoning. The polls, though biased, do measure one thing. They measure the opinions of people with a history of voting. And that, frankly, scares me for our Revolution.
In my experience in local politics, I have found one thing to be true: voters are voters and non-voters are non-voters, and never do the two meet. Despite hours of effort and thousands of dollars, there seems to be nothing in heaven and earth than can motivate the non-voter to vote.
The statistics are grim. In one campaign I managed, people who voted infrequently, despite being contacted personally by the campaign and even agreeing to vote for my candidate, were only 15% as likely to show up and vote as someone with a solid voter history.
So in some sense the polls are accurate. They are a snapshot of where Dr. Paul stands among those who’ve voted and are likely to vote again. Which means the test of our Revolution has come: for Dr. Paul to win, something must change.
What must change is that the conviction of our hearts and the desire of our souls to begin the political redemption of this country must exceed our apathy.
No matter how much you’ve read and watched about Dr. Paul or how much you’ve given to him, none of that does a bit of good unless you, yes you, your physical person shows up and votes.
If you don’t, nothing happens. Either this Revolution permanently destroys the statistical models of the pollsters by bringing millions of new voters they never guessed would show up or WE LOSE.
Dr. Paul is 72 years old. Though he’s in excellent health, he can’t run again. There’s no one else like him in a comparable office or with a comparable following.
And the momentum we have right now is a gift, a precious gift of a once-in-a-generation coincidence (for those who believe in coincidences, though I certainly do not!) that has left no heir apparent to the nomination and has cleared the path to victory if we will only reach out and take it.
This is the time and this is the hour to save our country.
Show up and vote. Get as many people as you can to do the same, or else watch this great country run into the ground by Tweedledee or Tweedledum (for it matters not which is elected!) as you spend the rest of your days in painful contemplation of something that almost was and might have been.
This is either the turning of the tide or the last death throes of the Old Republic.
The choice, for better or for worse, is yours and yours alone.
http://www.tomsbigpicture.com/2007/12/30/day-of-reckoning-for-the-ron-paul-revolution/
Day of Reckoning for the Ron Paul Revolution
The Day of Reckoning for the Ron Paul Revolution has come.
At first, they dismissed us.
Then they ridiculed us.
Then we outraised them in money, setting an all-time record for grassroots fundraising.
Now they fear us. Even the belly of the neoconservative beast, the Wall Street Journal, once dismissing Paul, is now hedging its bets, preparing its readers for the possibility of a Paul victory.
All of the hope and labor and sweat and tears of the last year has come to this. The time is now.
It is time to win where it counts, in the coming voting over the next six weeks, particularly the imminent contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. This may all be over by Valentine’s Day.
But instead of a pep talk, I am writing this to give a warning.
For months we have complained of biased polls showing Dr. Paul with single-digit support among “likely” voters. This has not shaken our faith because it conflicts with what we see with our own eyes.
We see the bumper stickers and yard signs for Dr. Paul.
We see the enthusiasm of our local meetup groups.
We see the overwhelming victories of Dr. Paul in straw polls, online polls or almost any forum requiring a modicum of active effort to participate.
But there is something yet missing from this reasoning. The polls, though biased, do measure one thing. They measure the opinions of people with a history of voting. And that, frankly, scares me for our Revolution.
In my experience in local politics, I have found one thing to be true: voters are voters and non-voters are non-voters, and never do the two meet. Despite hours of effort and thousands of dollars, there seems to be nothing in heaven and earth than can motivate the non-voter to vote.
The statistics are grim. In one campaign I managed, people who voted infrequently, despite being contacted personally by the campaign and even agreeing to vote for my candidate, were only 15% as likely to show up and vote as someone with a solid voter history.
So in some sense the polls are accurate. They are a snapshot of where Dr. Paul stands among those who’ve voted and are likely to vote again. Which means the test of our Revolution has come: for Dr. Paul to win, something must change.
What must change is that the conviction of our hearts and the desire of our souls to begin the political redemption of this country must exceed our apathy.
No matter how much you’ve read and watched about Dr. Paul or how much you’ve given to him, none of that does a bit of good unless you, yes you, your physical person shows up and votes.
If you don’t, nothing happens. Either this Revolution permanently destroys the statistical models of the pollsters by bringing millions of new voters they never guessed would show up or WE LOSE.
Dr. Paul is 72 years old. Though he’s in excellent health, he can’t run again. There’s no one else like him in a comparable office or with a comparable following.
And the momentum we have right now is a gift, a precious gift of a once-in-a-generation coincidence (for those who believe in coincidences, though I certainly do not!) that has left no heir apparent to the nomination and has cleared the path to victory if we will only reach out and take it.
This is the time and this is the hour to save our country.
Show up and vote. Get as many people as you can to do the same, or else watch this great country run into the ground by Tweedledee or Tweedledum (for it matters not which is elected!) as you spend the rest of your days in painful contemplation of something that almost was and might have been.
This is either the turning of the tide or the last death throes of the Old Republic.
The choice, for better or for worse, is yours and yours alone.