Does this explain Iowa? "Former LP dir. to blame for Iowa"? [Admin- disputed info]

[Dave Wood]

http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/01/04/ex-lp-director-to-blame-for-iowa/

I am sorry if this is a repost. It is the first that I have heard about this. What do you all think? This seems to explain a lot!:(

I cant edit the title.....it was the title of the article. It is misleading though. Can the mods do something to help here?

[Thomas Paine]

I'm skeptical. If true, then the campaign should have had backup files. Shame on them if there were no backup files since shit happens.

[yoshimaroka]

During the day of the vote I remember some students who were involved in the Christmas vacation saying that the data and computer system was down(reported on Facebook)
shiiiit

[ecliptic]

Who is the kid named in this ( is it true or disinformation? ) story. Read through the comments section below and the veracity is called into serious question. If true it smells of planted saboteur - and keep in mind that whenever you hire a "fantastic new computer guy" you had better damn well check him out thoroughly! That is any campaigns' number one weakness - inside tampering with computers and the information they contain.

1. GET RID OF ANYTHING RUNNING WINDOWS

2. Run the campaign on Apple computers - just like our highest level military is doing because they don't have built-in "back-door" access for spooks...

3. Create a continuous-backup secure storage system and beyond that have multiple local backups which are secure.

Most of all - Boycott Microsoft because they put "back-doors" in their system for the N.S.A. and therefore deserve neither your trust nor your business.

[spacebetween]

During the day of the vote I remember some students who were involved in the Christmas vacation saying that the data and computer system was down(reported on Facebook)
shiiiit

This is true. Apparently the guy in charge of the database departed the morning of the crash. :confused:

[Thomas Paine]

This is true. Apparently the guy in charge of the database departed the morning of the crash. :confused:

If true, then quite frankly Ron Paul is lucky to have even won 10% of the vote in Iowa.

[Patronus]

After 5 days of canvassing and evenings phone banking, the 50 students at my camp (and from what I understand all other students too) did nothing but sit on our hands Thursday waiting for the database lists. We got them at 6pm.

Not sure about what precinct captains were able to do, you will have to hear that from them. I also have no information regarding the cause of the mishap.

[Thomas Paine]

After 5 days of canvassing and evenings phone banking, the 50 students at my camp (and from what I understand all other students too) did nothing but sit on our hands Thursday waiting for the database lists. We got them at 6pm.

Not sure about what precinct captains were able to do, you will have to hear that from them. I also have no information regarding the cause of the mishap.

Now that is a major clusterfuck!

[Shink]

I'm gonna hop on facebook and try to get some answers. Mike Peterson is a great guy, and he was one of the volunteers who came up here to help out. Maybe he can confirm or refute some of the claims.

[bolidew]

A commercial software, probably expensive too, suddenly "malfunction"s on the most important day???
If so, what to prevent it from happen again?

Why other campaigns don't have such problems? They probably use the same thing.

[fade]

I was in davenport, IA for the Christmas Vacation. We literally did NOTHING all day of the caucus. They told us to get up and leave by 9 AM, so that we could get an early start figuring out everything, calling people, figuring out which precincts we'd be in.

They didn't have a list of names, and most names weren't even supporters, until an hour from the caucus.

The leaders of the Christmas Vacation did a VERY poor job. I was disappointed in the leadership and organization the ENTIRE trip.

[Dave Wood]

I was in davenport, IA for the Christmas Vacation. We literally did NOTHING all day of the caucus. They told us to get up and leave by 9 AM, so that we could get an early start figuring out everything, calling people, figuring out which precincts we'd be in.

They didn't have a list of names, and most names weren't even supporters, until an hour from the caucus.

The leaders of the Christmas Vacation did a VERY poor job. I was disappointed in the leadership and organization the ENTIRE trip.


Dr. Paul HAS to be informed of this personally. Can you and others get ahold of Kate Rick in NH to let her know what happened so she can pass the info to Moore and Paul??

[Thomas Paine]

I was in davenport, IA for the Christmas Vacation. We literally did NOTHING all day of the caucus. They told us to get up and leave by 9 AM, so that we could get an early start figuring out everything, calling people, figuring out which precincts we'd be in.

They didn't have a list of names, and most names weren't even supporters, until an hour from the caucus.

The leaders of the Christmas Vacation did a VERY poor job. I was disappointed in the leadership and organization the ENTIRE trip.

Your efforts are greatly appreciated by all of us. Sounds like the campaign had enough Indians but not enough (qualified) Chiefs.

[fade]

Dr. Paul HAS to be informed of this personally. Can you and others get ahold of Kate Rick in NH to let her know what happened so she can pass the info to Moore and Paul??

I know there were quite a few of us there were pissed off about this. I feel it was more of a learning experience of what NOT to do in a campaign.

I spent 6+ hours a day canvassing, and 3-4 hours a day phone banking... The fact that most of my time was wasted pisses me off quite a bit.


I know of one person in particular who runs the Austin Meetup group who is personally going to inform the campaign of this screw up.

In all honesty, the Team leaders did a terrific job. Those that were volunteering were great, everyone working hard - everyone doing exactly what needed to be done. Unfortunately, it was the work of Jeff Frazee and Dallas Moorhead that screwed the whole thing up.

These were the only two in charge of the vacation that were being paid, and they were so ill-prepared I can't believe they still have a job. The planning seemed as if it was for 60 people, not for 270+.

if there's anymore questions, i'll be happy to clear it up.

[ecliptic]

I know there were quite a few of us there were pissed off about this. I feel it was more of a learning experience of what NOT to do in a campaign.

I spent 6+ hours a day canvassing, and 3-4 hours a day phone banking... The fact that most of my time was wasted pisses me off quite a bit.


I know of one person in particular who runs the Austin Meetup group who is personally going to inform the campaign of this screw up.

In all honesty, the Team leaders did a terrific job. Those that were volunteering were great, everyone working hard - everyone doing exactly what needed to be done. Unfortunately, it was the work of Jeff Frazee and Dallas Moorhead that screwed the whole thing up.

These were the only two in charge of the vacation that were being paid, and they were so ill-prepared I can't believe they still have a job. The planning seemed as if it was for 60 people, not for 270+.

if there's anymore questions, i'll be happy to clear it up.

1. Who is the snotty little egotistical "computer kid" that ruined Iowa for us?

2. What computer OS and software was involved?

3. How did the campaign come to hire this kid? Who recommended him? What is his background?

[fade]

1. Who is the snotty little egotistical "computer kid" that ruined Iowa for us?

2. What computer OS and software was involved?

3. How did the campaign come to hire this kid? Who recommended him? What is his background?

I can't answer any of these, the team leaders would know a lot more.. They really didn't inform us about much at all.

I'm sure this will be cleared up by some of the team leaders on here pretty soon.

[Thomas Paine]

Before we start forming a posse to lynch this former IT kid, let's just remember that what's done is done and learn from this experience. First, the campaign has to do a better job screening its employees and improve internal security. Second, you can never have enough system backups. Third, if someone is not cut out for the job, then s/he must be replaced with someone who will get the job done.

[spacebetween]

I know there were quite a few of us there were pissed off about this. I feel it was more of a learning experience of what NOT to do in a campaign.

I spent 6+ hours a day canvassing, and 3-4 hours a day phone banking... The fact that most of my time was wasted pisses me off quite a bit.


I know of one person in particular who runs the Austin Meetup group who is personally going to inform the campaign of this screw up.

In all honesty, the Team leaders did a terrific job. Those that were volunteering were great, everyone working hard - everyone doing exactly what needed to be done. Unfortunately, it was the work of Jeff Frazee and Dallas Moorhead that screwed the whole thing up.

These were the only two in charge of the vacation that were being paid, and they were so ill-prepared I can't believe they still have a job. The planning seemed as if it was for 60 people, not for 270+.

if there's anymore questions, i'll be happy to clear it up.

Just so you know, that guy you think runs the Austin Meetup group does not, in fact, run the Austin Meetup group. I know exactly about whom you are talking.

[Shink]

Comment Section of the OP link:

# Ben Hodges Says:
January 4th, 2008 at 11:47 pm

Argh! This is my email that I send out to the Meetup group I help organize…one day later, it’s all over DailyPaul, RPforums, and here too.

The bottom line on the sabotage:

It was more immaturity than anything else. The person responsible for the meltdown abandoned ship for ego reasons. He still sabotaged it, but it may not have been too premeditated. People were assigned to back up and check his work and were getting a lot of credit for it in the process. So this kid got pissed because he didn’t think he’d get enough credit for his own work. So, because they wouldn’t remove the people who were backing him up, he ditched the campaign and left the database a mess. Call it sabotage if you want. Call it bull-crap if you want. I think it’s both now.
# Ben Hodges Says:
January 4th, 2008 at 11:47 pm

Btw, that info is “just in.”

[Rebel Resource]

There are always going to be spies and saboteurs in our campaign.

Let this be an important early lesson.

[fade]

Just so you know, that guy you think runs the Austin Meetup group does not, in fact, run the Austin Meetup group. I know exactly about whom you are talking.

My mistake, I meant he helps organize a few of the events.

Were you at the Christmas vacation?

[stevedasbach]

Is there any evidence to suggest that Seehusen was in any way responsible for the screw up in Iowa? If not, could a Mod please edit the title of this thread? It's really not fair to man (or the LP) if he isn't in fact responsible.

[spacebetween]

My mistake, I meant he helps organize a few of the events.

Were you at the Christmas vacation?

haha He exaggerates sometimes, so I didn't want you to get the wrong idea.

But yeah, I was at Scott then moved to Cedar Rapids.

[spacebetween]

Is there any evidence to suggest that Seehusen was in any way responsible for the screw up in Iowa? If not, could a Mod please edit the title of this thread? It's really not fair to man (or the LP) if he isn't in fact responsible.

No, there is no solid evidence. It's pretty much speculation and hearsay.

All we know for a fact is that the database was corrupted, and chunks of data were missing.

[Hook]

Who is the kid named in this ( is it true or disinformation? ) story. Read through the comments section below and the veracity is called into serious question. If true it smells of planted saboteur - and keep in mind that whenever you hire a "fantastic new computer guy" you had better damn well check him out thoroughly! That is any campaigns' number one weakness - inside tampering with computers and the information they contain.

1. GET RID OF ANYTHING RUNNING WINDOWS

2. Run the campaign on Apple computers - just like our highest level military is doing because they don't have built-in "back-door" access for spooks...

3. Create a continuous-backup secure storage system and beyond that have multiple local backups which are secure.

Most of all - Boycott Microsoft because they put "back-doors" in their system for the N.S.A. and therefore deserve neither your trust nor your business.

Great, another Apple snob. :rolleyes:

If you are paranoid about back doors, install Linux on a PC. All code is peer-reviewed, and the PC architecture is open. Much more open than any Apple proprietary stuff. Plus it is free.

Got any sourced links backing up your NSA accusations?

[stefans]

so this really is true.
a lot of people reported one or the other version of this story in a non-conspiratorial way.

sad...

[Nefertiti]

It was more immaturity than anything else. The person responsible for the meltdown abandoned ship for ego reasons. He still sabotaged it, but it may not have been too premeditated. People were assigned to back up and check his work and were getting a lot of credit for it in the process. So this kid got pissed because he didn’t think he’d get enough credit for his own work. So, because they wouldn’t remove the people who were backing him up, he ditched the campaign and left the database a mess. Call it sabotage if you want. Call it bull-crap if you want. I think it’s both now.
”

Why does this not surprise me? Remember what happened in Philly? This sounds like a variation on that. There are just too many self-centered, self-absorbed types who are attracted to the Ron Paul message but also want to make a name for themselves along the way. We see it in the forums all the time with these long-winded posts about how everything should be run from a bunch of 20 year olds who just wish to be important.

[fade]

Here's one thing that stood out to me as a huge mistake.

The night before the caucus we had a video conference, we were all to go to a wifi hotspot and watch the conference. At one point some people couldn't hear the audio from the computer - so they suggested we call the conference number and listen in.

One person asked what the conference number was on the video conference chat - an open chat. Dallas Moorhead then proceeded to give the number, and extension so that ANYONE - even the anti-paul people writing in the chat, could listen in to the "private strategy" we were going over.

[Joseph Story]

Fellow RPers and RP Iowans, I have a small rant for you. Quit sniveling. It's disgusting. I've never heard so many babies at one time cry and whine with excuses about losing. The fact is, we got beat. Pick yourself up and start fighting. No one has sabotaged jack crap.

If you think calling an extra 6000 Iowans would make them come out for Paul, you all have the backbone of a soup sandwich. I seriously doubt the 1st tier campaigns in Iowa did that. And if we had to, then boy oh boy are we are in real trouble.

And let me say something else: forget this "Dr. Paul isn't negative." That's bovine scatology. This is war. No other campaign was successful because they didn't fight. We're responsible for everything. That means the official campaign and the official grassroots. One can't be blamed without the other. It's one for all and all for one.

This is just the opening salvo in the 1st quarter and already there are too many of you who couldn't even fight your way out of a pissed soaked paper bag. I almost can't stand posting right now because I feel like I'm walking among sissies clinging to my arm crying. Stop acting like little French school girls. We got beat fair and square in Iowa. Turn your flippin' computer off, grab your slim jims and go do a literature drop.

Or, how about drive to NH. I'll bet if you do, you can insure Paul gets 4th place and maybe even 3rd. Imagine that.

That is all.

[Carole]

I noticed this comment following the article.

Remeber this guy"


Eric Dondero Says:

January 5th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
This echoes Ron Paul’s 1988 Libertarian Party Presidential campaign. There were all sorts of screw-ups with data bases, ad deadlines not being met, and fundraising mailings and such, particularly towards the end.

But Ron got better with his Congressional campaigns in the 1990s.

Still, we had a few screw-ups back then too. So, I’m not surprised here. But all campaigns do this. So, it evens out in the end.

[Carole]

There should have been multiple backups of ALL important information.

This sounds amateurish that something like this could happen.

And someone shold also have never left the site for a moment if it happened at a campaign office. Poor security.

Dirty tricks are spread throughout politics. One must always be on guard and double-triple protected.

I am so sorry for everyone’s disappoinment.

[Bradley in DC]

I am not prone to wild conspiracies (OK, I LOVE the X-Files, but I know it's fiction, right?)

I don't think there is malice or deliberate intent here.

There is unquestionably a problem with control freaks out of their league and incompetent for the jobs they're being asked to do. Also, it was Seehusen who highjacked and destroyed the grassroots call Iowa Operation Spooner campaign.

[Santana28]

+1 for Apple computers!

[WilliamC]

I am not prone to wild conspiracies (OK, I LOVE the X-Files, but I know it's fiction, right?)

WHAT! Say it isn't so! Of course the X-files is true, I can't have watched it for all those years for nothing!

I WANT TO BELIEVE!

The X-files was the last TV show that I actually followed on a weekly basis, back when I still watched television. Who was that Senator that Fox Mulder sometimes got information from? Maybe he was based on Ron Paul?

[Thomas Paine]

WHAT! Say it isn't so! Of course the X-files is true, I can't have watched it for all those years for nothing!

I WANT TO BELIEVE!

The X-files was the last TV show that I actually followed on a weekly basis, back when I still watched television. Who was that Senator that Fox Mulder sometimes got information from? Maybe he was based on Ron Paul?

All along I thought the X-Files was a documentary!?!?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ucaYp0ZK4Q

[Exponent]

How does all this square with this post (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?p=819717#post819717)?

I was there and was one of the students who waited for hours to get the lists...
It wasn't an issue of files being backed up... it was an issue of software malfunctioning that was supposed to match up the addresses we wrote down while canvassing door to door with the person's name, phone number, and caucus location.
80 students stayed up all night on the 2nd and manually fixed most of this. At the end of the day the corrupt data really only amounted to 2-3k of the voters...and these 2-3k were hardly supporters most were people we had listed as 25% chance of turning out if we were extremely lucky. So if everything had worked out we might have had an extra 750 votes. Still would have been 5th.
EVERYONE on the identified and potential supporters lists was called often more than once to get turned out.

(emphasis added)

[freelance]

Got any sourced links backing up your NSA accusations?

Try Wired. I believe they were all over it. It was either Wired of CPNet or one of those technie publications.

Oh, and MS admits that they built VISTA WITH the CIA for "security" input. LOL!

[Patronus]

Unfortunately, it was the work of Jeff Frazee and Dallas Moorhead that screwed the whole thing up.

As far as I could tell, Jeff and Dallas were the only two paid by the campaign and responsible for the entire operation of 270+ students and the 8 or so camps spread all around Iowa. I have to hand it to the both of them. They worked their butts off. Unfortunately though, it was an impossible task - and it showed.

Regardless, I feel the efforts of the students canvassing and phone banking played a decent role in Iowa. We were polling at 8% before we showed up for week 2. The lack of GOTV on caucus day really was a blow though, and probably worth another percentage point or two. Again, I'm unsure as to the fault. This facebook post is the most I can discern so far that syncs with what I heard while in Iowa: http://ua.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2229718737&topic=27016

I was decently in the know, being a team captain at Scott camp and eventually moving to Cedar Rapids (that should give you a good idea who I am, fade). Lastly, I hope the Austin meetup member you mention has learned to be more constructive in his criticism.