I was down about Iowa until...

[Eryxis]

Well let me set this story up. I'm a pharmacist at Walgreen's in Alabama. I tell any patient I hear bitching about government/healthcare etc about RP. I have a RP 2008 button on my white coat. I will hand out slim jims to anybody I think would be receptive. I'd say I average 2-4 people a day who have never heard about RP who really like what he has to say. Then usually 1 person every other day who is a real supporter. Needless to say I've forgotten who I've talked to about RP sometimes. Anyway, I was checking a customer out tonight and they saw my button and commented about how well he did in Iowa. I'm sure my mouth dropped open, but I stumbled and muttered something about how I had my hopes set higher, but he did much better than everyone expected. Anyway I got the impression that combined with my introduction and his "better than expected" showing in Iowa my customer was seriously considering RP. To people who aren't political junkies like most of us on RPF Iowa was a real eye opener. It made them think he's not some loser. He's in the same league as McCain and Thompson "frontrunners". Anyway I'm not down anymore and I'm very hopefuly. I've definitely stepped up my "canvassing" from behind the counter :)

Ery

[Dorfsmith]

Well let me set this story up. I'm a pharmacist at Walgreen's in Alabama. I tell any patient I hear bitching about government/healthcare etc about RP. I have a RP 2008 button on my white coat. I will hand out slim jims to anybody I think would be receptive. I'd say I average 2-4 people a day who have never heard about RP who really like what he has to say. Then usually 1 person every other day who is a real supporter. Needless to say I've forgotten who I've talked to about RP sometimes. Anyway, I was checking a customer out tonight and they saw my button and commented about how well he did in Iowa. I'm sure my mouth dropped open, but I stumbled and muttered something about how I had my hopes set higher, but he did much better than everyone expected. Anyway I got the impression that combined with my introduction and his "better than expected" showing in Iowa my customer was seriously considering RP. To people who aren't political junkies like most of us on RPF Iowa was a real eye opener. It made them think he's not some loser. He's in the same league as McCain and Thompson "frontrunners". Anyway I'm not down anymore and I'm very hopefuly. I've definitely stepped up my "canvassing" from behind the counter :)

Ery

I am seeing this first hand and reading/ hearing lots of reports like this! Iowa was a victory :cool:

[JMO]

That is what many of us have been trying to tell the nay sayers. It was a disappointment to us RP supporters because we built our hopes up, but for the casual voter 10% from Ron Paul was amazing, and now he will get the attention of some people who never considered Ron Paul, however the rest of us will still vote for him.

[Mark37snj]

Thats one hell of a job Eryxis, thats one hell of a job. Your right too, alot of people a down but if they read and heard what the journalists are saying about our solid performance plus what non political junkies are saying, we actually did very well.

[Finn]

Iowa was a victory :cool:
No, not even close. We're talking about revolution here people. Revolution is not fifth place. Stop fooling yourselves.

However, we're mad as hell and not giving up till the last breath, I hope. THAT is revolution.

[Eryxis]

I did not say Iowa was a victory. Merely making a point that it wasn't a total loss like I felt it was.

[Eponym_mi]

I had a similar reaction from one of my customers. He asked me how well RP did yesterday, and I said not as well as I'd hoped. He said, "oh, only 2% huh". After I told him the real result, I could tell he was impressed.

[Dorfsmith]

No, not even close. We're talking about revolution here people. Revolution is not fifth place. Stop fooling yourselves.

However, we're mad as hell and not giving up till the last breath, I hope. THAT is revolution.

It may not have been a large victory but it was still a victory. Failure would have been placing behind Rudy. The one Rudy supporter I know was not in a good mood today :D

[jgmaynard]

Double digits is not bad. We keep hearing the media talking about how he is "only getting single digit support," yet now the 10% ACTUAL vote total in Iowa knocks us up a bit, I believe. I STILL wouldn't describe it as a "victory" though. ;)

JM

[PimpBlimp]

Donations are up about 20k today if that is any indication.

[eldeeder]

Well let me set this story up. I'm a pharmacist at Walgreen's in Alabama. I tell any patient I hear bitching about government/healthcare etc about RP. I have a RP 2008 button on my white coat. I will hand out slim jims to anybody I think would be receptive. I'd say I average 2-4 people a day who have never heard about RP who really like what he has to say. Then usually 1 person every other day who is a real supporter. Needless to say I've forgotten who I've talked to about RP sometimes. Anyway, I was checking a customer out tonight and they saw my button and commented about how well he did in Iowa. I'm sure my mouth dropped open, but I stumbled and muttered something about how I had my hopes set higher, but he did much better than everyone expected. Anyway I got the impression that combined with my introduction and his "better than expected" showing in Iowa my customer was seriously considering RP. To people who aren't political junkies like most of us on RPF Iowa was a real eye opener. It made them think he's not some loser. He's in the same league as McCain and Thompson "frontrunners". Anyway I'm not down anymore and I'm very hopefuly. I've definitely stepped up my "canvassing" from behind the counter :)

Ery




Thanks for sharing! Its great to hear its being recieved that way.

[RPinSEAZ]

Same thing happened to me today. A coworker said, "Hey Ron Paul did pretty good." I said, something like "Yeah, not bad for a guy with a couple of spammers on the internet as supporters."

[bolidew]

Thank you Eryxis, keep up the good work!

[CountryboyRonPaul]

And IA is one of the states we can expect to do bad in, so I think 10 % is pretty decent seeing as the MSM says we've only got single digit support. Not to mention we were only 3 % away from 3rd place.

Ok, so it's not the super boost we were all hoping for. But if you can't take bad news then maybe politics isn't for you. :)

[madRazor]

I am absolutely pumped about tomorrow's debate. The first debate where people know he is to be taken seriously. And only 6 people in this one IIRC.

The snowflake has landed on the mountain and started rolling...

[Mark37snj]

And IA is one of the states we can expect to do bad in, so I think 10 % is pretty decent seeing as the MSM says we've only got single digit support. Not to mention we were only 3 % away from 3rd place.

+1 :D

[techxplosion]

Thank you Eryxis!!!!

[TwiLeXia]

Great job Ery!

I think it's great if people like you who are pharmacists, clerks, storeowners, etc, who meet tens or hundreds of people per day can talk about Ron Paul. It's a fantastic conversation topic and frankly it's certainly one of the best ways to convert someone, even better than canvassing, because they come to you instead of you going to them.

[WV Freedom Fighter]

It's amazing! We considered it a loss because we didn't place in the top three and other people who aren't hardcore Ron Paul supporters yet, thought we did great! This just put Ron Paul on the map and opened peoples eyes. It was a victory after all.

[tboss]

This is exactly how I feel about it. Think... he had hardly ANY media coverage and he did that well! It's a really good sign.

[RPatTheBeach]

I was down about it too, until earlier this evening. I was visiting my parents and sister for dinner, and they started talking trying to figure out what was soooooo important about Iowa. After talking to them for a bit, I informed them that their original favorite candidate only pulled in 4% of the vote. They gave some snide remark like "and what did your guy do?" I stated "10%, just a touch below McCain and Thompson, more than double your guy." They were in shock. Complete and total shock.

They also expressed some anger at the media for not reporting anything other than who finished in the top position.

[eldeeder]

No, not even close. We're talking about revolution here people. Revolution is not fifth place. Stop fooling yourselves.

However, we're mad as hell and not giving up till the last breath, I hope. THAT is revolution.

I Disagree, Iowa was a total victory. Is anyone writing Juliani off? Paul got 2 and a half times more votes. You dont go into Iowa (Im from the area originally) tell them that you want to take away farm subsidies, and gain a sweeping victory. It just wouldn't happen. Iowa showed the country we need to be taken seriously. New hampshire will only further that. Lets chalk it up as a victory, but work as though it was a defeat. Iowa showed the movement is working, we just need to work harder!

[krott5333]

theres a debate tomorrow?

crap.. im gonna be in cleveland getting drunk.

what a predicament

[Dorfsmith]

I Disagree, Iowa was a total victory. Is anyone writing Juliani off? Paul got 2 and a half times more votes. You dont go into Iowa (Im from the area originally) tell them that you want to take away farm subsidies, and gain a sweeping victory. It just wouldn't happen. Iowa showed the country we need to be taken seriously. New hampshire will only further that. Lets chalk it up as a victory, but work as though it was a defeat. Iowa showed the movement is working, we just need to work harder!

Well said :cool:

[ScotTX]

I gotta thank the MSM for cheering me up today by hailing Ron Paul's 10% as 'remarkable", 'impressive", and "significant". We are our own worst enemy sometimes.

[Finn]

I Disagree, Iowa was a total victory. Is anyone writing Juliani off? Paul got 2 and a half times more votes. You dont go into Iowa (Im from the area originally) tell them that you want to take away farm subsidies, and gain a sweeping victory. It just wouldn't happen. Iowa showed the country we need to be taken seriously. New hampshire will only further that. Lets chalk it up as a victory, but work as though it was a defeat. Iowa showed the movement is working, we just need to work harder!
No one expected Rudy to make any better there, he's a total failure to begin with. I don't agree with you.

Won't start arguing with you in this thread though because it was meant to be positive. And I still feel positive. No matter what.

[bbachtung]

I visited the Iowa GOP's website and was surprised to see that ONLY Huckabee, Romney, and Ron Paul WON any counties.

Huckabee and Romney won all of the counties EXCEPT Jefferson County which Ron Paul won.

Ron Paul, then, came in 3rd in counties won.

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/1824/countiesvp4.png (http://imageshack.us)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/1824/countiesvp4.aa964443e1.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=517&i=countiesvp4.png)

[Mark37snj]

I visited the Iowa GOP's website and was surprised to see that ONLY Huckabee, Romney, and Ron Paul WON any counties.

Huckabee and Romney won all of the counties EXCEPT Jefferson County which Ron Paul won.

Ron Paul, then, came in 3rd in counties won.

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/1824/countiesvp4.png (http://imageshack.us)
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/1824/countiesvp4.aa964443e1.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=517&i=countiesvp4.png)

Good job digging up facts. So how are we doin in Oregon?

[madRazor]

theres a debate tomorrow?

crap.. im gonna be in cleveland getting drunk.

what a predicament

Yar, thar be one tomorrow.

Drunk is usually best btw. So drunk that when you get all pissed off and start throwing things at Rudy McHuckneyson, you won't hit the tv.

[eldeeder]

No one expected Rudy to make any better there, he's a total failure to begin with. I don't agree with you.

Won't start arguing with you in this thread though because it was meant to be positive. And I still feel positive. No matter what.
by "writing off" juliani, I meant the MSM. Not us. I know the guys a joke. All I am saying is Iowa wasnt our best, but it proves we're really out there, and we get votes...

[superlou]

I had a similar experience. I was talking with a friend at work about the election today and not knowing her political affiliation guessed and talked about Hillary's upset. She then told me that she noticed that the guy I like, Ron Paul, did well. I had mentioned I had been writing letters for him a few weeks back. I said yes he did, (and first reaction said) I had hoped he would even do better (and then mentally kicked myself). Then she said she was watching him too and that it was nice to have someone for her to root for on the Republican side. She and her husband had researched him and thought that his platform is unconventional and interesting. That's good coming from her. It made my day.

[Crickett]

Great job Ery!

I think it's great if people like you who are pharmacists, clerks, storeowners, etc, who meet tens or hundreds of people per day can talk about Ron Paul. It's a fantastic conversation topic and frankly it's certainly one of the best ways to convert someone, even better than canvassing, because they come to you instead of you going to them.

Not only that..but the salesmen and people who call from all over the country, vendors, utility co.s, credit card cos..today I talked to three that never even heard of him! It is real easy to get a dissatisfied- with-something-the -govt.-is-doing-statement out of them. Then I ask if they have heard about RP..works great. Who knows whose meetup group I am helping..LOL

[Crickett]

I visited the Iowa GOP's website and was surprised to see that ONLY Huckabee, Romney, and Ron Paul WON any counties.

Huckabee and Romney won all of the counties EXCEPT Jefferson County which Ron Paul won.

Ron Paul, then, came in 3rd in counties won.


And he NEVER went less than 5th in any county. BUT it sure would have helped his name recognition if they had filled out his piece of that pie. It still rankles me we never got our slice..