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Thread: Paul eyes pivotal role with Alaska win

  1. #1

    Paul eyes pivotal role with Alaska win

    Paul eyes pivotal role with Alaska win

    Mary Vallis, National Post
    Published: Tuesday, February 05, 2008


    Republican presidential hopeful Rep. Ron Paul takes questions
    during the MTV/MySpace "Closing Arguments" presidential
    forum Feb. 2, 2008, in New York City.

    While Mitt Romney and John McCain fight over Super Tuesday's biggest prizes -- California, New York and Georgia -- one Republican candidate is looking north. Way north.

    Ron Paul's supporters are convinced he will carry Alaska. The candidate's unique take on gun owners' rights, his anti-tax message and call for limited government all resonate in the northwestern state, says Craig Bergman, Mr. Paul's political director in Alaska.

    "In Fairbanks, they've been doing sign-waving in temperatures so cold that the plastic signs shatter," he said.

    Although Mr. Paul's popularity hovers around 6% in national polls, Mr. Bergman is confident he will win the state's 29 Republican delegates after today's caucuses.

    "They like to go with the underdog. They like to go with the outsider," he said from the Paul campaign office in Anchorage. (The political nerve centre is located behind a pub called the Moose's Tooth, a local landmark.)

    "They still have that independent American streak."

    He points to Alaska's tradition of voting differently from the lower 48 states: Pat Buchanan won the Alaska Republican straw poll in 1996, Pat Robertson took the party caucuses in 1988 and in 2000 Steve Forbes came just a few votes from beating George W. Bush.

    After analyzing Mr. Paul's chances in about 20 states to decide where the campaign's money would be best spent, Mr. Bergman settled on Alaska.

    He expects Mr. Paul could become a kingmaker if he wins the state and a close battle between Mr. Romney and Mr. McCain results in a brokered convention.

    Indeed, Mr. Paul, a libertarian, is the only candidate actively courting votes in a state easily forgotten during national political races. His team of 12 full-time staffers in Alaska is larger than his political machines in Michigan, South Carolina and even Florida.

    The other Republican candidates have only dallied in the state, say the Paul campaign workers. They have relied on relatives to get their message out: Mr. Romney's son dropped by last week and Mike Huckabee's wife visited on the weekend.

    In contrast, Mr. Paul held a conference call with reporters in Alaska and bought newspaper ads. His team also organized a series of events. (Last night it was a town-hall meeting titled, "Who is Ron Paul and Why Is He Trying To Save My Country?")

    The 10-term Texas congressman is also advertising the endorsement of 35 Alaska war veterans. His campaign claims it has received more military donations than the other three Republicans combined. This is although Mr. Paul advocates an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

    Despite the frigid weather -- the expected low in Anchorage today is –22 C -- Mr. Bergman is confident that enough Paul supporters will attend GOP caucuses to make the difference. Party organizers are expecting up to 5,000 registered Republicans to turn out.

    "There is a fairly strong libertarian presence that doesn't show up at the polls a lot," said Carl Shepro, a professor of political science at the University of Alaska in Anchorage.

    "But a strong libertarian candidate would certainly attract them."

    The Paul campaign has tried to organize five co-chairs in each of Alaska's 40 legislative districts to organize support in a pyramid fashion, with each Paul supporter trying to find five more, but Mr. Bergman will not reveal how successful the strategy has been.

    National Post

    mvallis@nationalpost.com

    Link



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  3. #2
    A win, any win, that is undeniable would make me smile so large my teeth would hurt.
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  4. #3

    C'mon Alaska! Give me a reason

    to liquidate some of my gold and buy a new home in Alaska!

  5. #4
    I'm up for moving to Alaska.
    rewritten history with armies of their crooks - invented memories, did burn all the books... Mark Knopfler

  6. #5
    Please move up here!!! We need more Ron Paul Republicans!!

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by brianbb98 View Post
    Please move up here!!! We need more Ron Paul Republicans!!
    What is the cost of living like?
    Can a hardware computer tech make a living?
    if not, how much do servers make in tips in Alaska?

    How much is rent typically?
    How much is property by the acre in populus areas?
    rewritten history with armies of their crooks - invented memories, did burn all the books... Mark Knopfler

  8. #7
    I say we move to Alaska, drill ANWR and sell the oil for Euros!

    And we could mine gold and mint our own money!

    OK, I am being silly

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Original_Intent View Post
    I say we move to Alaska, drill ANWR and sell the oil for Euros!

    And we could mine gold and mint our own money!

    OK, I am being silly
    It's doable. Just have to watch out for U.S. troops invading.
    rewritten history with armies of their crooks - invented memories, did burn all the books... Mark Knopfler



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  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by torchbearer View Post
    What is the cost of living like?
    Can a hardware computer tech make a living?
    if not, how much do servers make in tips in Alaska?

    How much is rent typically?
    How much is property by the acre in populus areas?
    Cost of living in Alaska is good and they pay excellent wages for almost all jobs.

    I know computer hardware techs with no college degree and A+ certifications making ~$50,000. Lots of skilled labor jobs you can make six figures or so I hear.

    Downside - it is dark six months of the year.

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Original_Intent View Post
    Cost of living in Alaska is good and they pay excellent wages for almost all jobs.

    I know computer hardware techs with no college degree and A+ certifications making ~$50,000. Lots of skilled labor jobs you can make six figures or so I hear.

    Downside - it is dark six months of the year.
    I like dark days. Not much of a sun person.
    I'm of viking decent so the louisiana weather kills me...
    I have A+ cert and college degree, can you find me a job?
    If we can't take our country back... I will move to the southern part of alaska in a heartbeat.
    rewritten history with armies of their crooks - invented memories, did burn all the books... Mark Knopfler

  13. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by torchbearer View Post
    I'm up for moving to Alaska.
    I will think about it too!
    Simpson did it before!

  14. #12
    Just believe he can do it.. He can!!
    "GPP are ready to pay you, but are you ready to receive it?"

    We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. ~William Faulkner

  15. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Original_Intent View Post
    I say we move to Alaska, drill ANWR and sell the oil for Euros!

    And we could mine gold and mint our own money!

    OK, I am being silly
    Don't forget our own Army.
    Ron Paul is my President.

    Quote Originally Posted by josephadel_3 View Post
    Pardon my French, but you're an asshole!

  16. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by torchbearer View Post
    I'm up for moving to Alaska.
    So am I.

  17. #15
    Are you guys on the West coast? I'm in Maine, pretty far away.
    Ron Paul is my President.

    Quote Originally Posted by josephadel_3 View Post
    Pardon my French, but you're an asshole!

  18. #16
    Do we know how to call people in Alaska?



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  20. #17

  21. #18
    My brother and sister moved up to Fairbanks, Alaska a couple years ago. I just might have to go up there and join them if we get a Clinton or McCain in the white house.

  22. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by torchbearer View Post
    What is the cost of living like?
    Can a hardware computer tech make a living?
    if not, how much do servers make in tips in Alaska?

    How much is rent typically?
    How much is property by the acre in populous areas?
    Tech jobs pay REALLY good up here. I have a AS and am making $120k working on the Pipeline. Conoco/Phillips and BP are hiring a lot recently for the North Slope.

    You can check with Northwest Technical Services (Debbie) and ask about positions or Google them. PDS is their parent company. You should expect starting at $25+ hr. and going up from there. If you want to move to Fairbanks (A real $#@! hole IMO) you can make more. APSC maintenance is located there and we can't find any competent radio repair techs. Valdez (most sea level snow in the western hemisphere) also hires a lot for the pipeline...really good wages.

    Rent for a 2 bedroom apartment is Anchorage starts around $850 in the slums to about $1500 in the nice areas. Houses have taken a beating so you can find deals, but not much land in Anchorage on acre lots unless you have $750k+.

    Tips are good for servers if you can find a good restaurant. People go out a ton up here. Even when it's -30°F, the restaurants and clubs are packed.

    PM me if you have any more ??

  23. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Malum Prohibitum View Post
    Gas is $6 a gallon.
    Build more refineries, keep all your own oil, you have more than enough for your own population.
    Stop shipping the oil off...
    rewritten history with armies of their crooks - invented memories, did burn all the books... Mark Knopfler

  24. #21
    Gas is cheaper here than in Idaho where I live. I commute 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off. It is about $3 a gallon!

    We are called Alaskans.

    Believe it or not, the weather is worse in the Great Lakes area than in Anchorage. We have a ton of people from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota and they say it is colder there. The summer rains a lot though.

  25. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by torchbearer View Post
    Build more refineries, keep all your own oil, you have more than enough for your own population.
    Stop shipping the oil off...
    agreed. gas should be less than a dollar a gallon there.

  26. #23
    what do you think a freshly minted JD with 10 years of IT experience could command in anchorage in the private sector?

  27. #24
    I have 5 acres in the Kenai peninsula and am trying to get there now.



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  29. #25
    I always wanted a small cabin in Alaska
    With guard dogs and big guns
    and a sentry tower

  30. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by Malum Prohibitum View Post
    what do you think a freshly minted JD with 10 years of IT experience could command in anchorage in the private sector?
    The cost of living is high here. Real estate is over priced compared to wages.
    I do not think IT pay is high here unless you are working on the slope.

    Gas in Anchorage is just over $3/gallon.

    This thread has so much misinformation is comical.

    Also, if you live in Idaho, and work in AK, you are not an Alaskan.

  31. #27
    Looks like the Free State Project should have chosen Alaska...

  32. #28
    Actually I am an Alaskan resident. I have been for many years. I spend well over half the year up here and have a house in both states. I am allowed to split my time between the 2 and still be a resident. It is nice to get out every now and then to some nicer weather.

  33. #29
    Hey, this actually sounds fun...

  34. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by samwe View Post
    The cost of living is high here. Real estate is over priced compared to wages.

    This thread has so much misinformation is comical.
    The cost of living is high almost everywhere in the country compared to wages. It's called inflation. Couple inflation and the housing boom of the last 7 years, and it is not hard to see why. Prices are coming down, but if you weren't in the housing market 5 years ago, it is still hard to get in. If you go elsewhere and look at goods and food and utilities, Anchorage is only slightly above average for cost of living. Google it and you will see. There are many other places in the country with worse wages and much higher housing costs. In North Idaho, houses are only slightly cheaper, but wages are horrible. In Central California (Valley) housing is still expensive and wages totally suck unless you commute 4 hours a day to the Bay Area.

    FYI...all of my info is assuming you have a skill, experience, and or a college degree. If you are trying to make it on a high school diploma, it is very hard. However, even the lowest paying jobs in Alaska pay at least $10...i.e. McDonald's or the car wash.

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