Ron Paul Roundup (02-14-08)
by RS Davis
Hello Freedomphiles! Happy Valentine's Day! Here's to deep love, great sex, and finding both in the same person! So, let's get started, lovebirds.
The Northwestern reports of a billboard campaign launched by Paul supporters:
- Ron Paul supporters are launching billboards throughout Fox Valley.
The project was initiated and paid for by members of the Fox Valley Ron Paul Meet-up group, in coordination with the American Liberty Coalition PAC, a Wisconsin based political action committee.
The 4 billboards will be in Green Bay, Appleton and Oshkosh.
The Ron Paul 2008 campaign did not authorize or have any involvement in the concepts, designs or funding of the billboard, according to a press release from the with the American Liberty Coalition PAC.
LawFuel is writing about a group that want to sponsor a racecar for Paul:
- The Project for Excellence in Journalism notes that the presidential candidacy of conservative Republican Ron Paul gets virtually no coverage by the news media. So supporters of the small-government Constitutionalist have had to become guerilla marketing experts as they strive to get their underdog candidate more media play. Their latest effort is an 11th-hour deal to sponsor two high-profile drivers in NASCAR's 2008 Nationwide Series (formerly the Busch Series.)
The grassroots group, known as Ron Paul Racing, announced today that the proposed season-long sponsorship deal would include the Fitz Motorsports Dodge number 36, driven by Kenny Wallace, and the Fitz Motorsports Dodge number 22, driven by Mike Bliss.
"We know NASCAR fans tend to be more conservative and more patriotic, and very supportive of the military…so they're a perfect target for Ron Paul's message low taxes, secure borders, and strong national defense," says Kathleen Hanover, the spokesperson for Ron Paul Racing.
The racing season kicks off on February 16th at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida, and, like the Presidential campaign, runs into November. If the group is able to raise $100,000 of the $300,000 sponsorship fee by Friday, Feb. 15th, the Ron Paul sponsorship will become official in time for the inaugural race of the season, and the massive media attention that accompanies it.
Press Media Wire elaborates:
- The grassroots group, known as Ron Paul Racing, announced today that the proposed season-long sponsorship deal would include the Fitz Motorsports Dodge number 36, driven by Kenny Wallace, and the Fitz Motorsports Dodge number 22, driven by Mike Bliss.
The racing season kicks off on February 16th at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida, and, like the Presidential campaign, runs into November. If the group is able to raise $100,000 of the $300,000 sponsorship fee by Friday, Feb. 15th, the Ron Paul sponsorship will become official in time for the inaugural race of the season, and the massive media attention that accompanies it...
...Wallace, known as "The Hermanator," is a popular TV host on The Speed Channel, appearing on My NASCAR and NASCAR Race Day every week. In a recorded message to Ron Paul Racing supporters, Wallace stated his support for Ron Paul and his economic platform, calling the 10-term Congressman from Texas "a breath of fresh air."
I think that's a great idea. Excellent creative thinking, guys! Speaking of raising money, left-libertarian Jamie Beaudry writes on The Nolan Chart that the money keeps rolling in:
- Contributions to his war chest continue to come in, with an average of half to one third coming from first-time donors in recent days. Is Ron Paul's Revolution just starting to blossom? Perhaps this late bloomer comes from hardy seedstock after all.
If one were to take recent headlines at face value, they might think that his campaign was fading into obscurity. Upon closer examination, however, reality stands in stark contrast to the projections and persuasions of the mainstream media. No surprise there - Paul's campaign has been anything but orthodox from the start. What else would one expect from 600,000 independent-minded Americans?
What becomes readily apparent to those who take a few minutes to explore this movement is that leadership - of the most authentic and awe-inspiring variety - shines forth from the works of Dr. Paul. It shines with a brightness that burns through the fog of censorship and deceit like a warm morning sun penetrating cloud and mist, chasing away the chilly remnants of that dark night which came before it. This patriotic spirit burns hot and bright from a distance, so that a gentle warmth might find its way down to the eagerly upturned faces of those waiting for its illumination.
Laurence Vance writes on LewRockwell.com that Huckabee slammed Paul on abortion:
- On January 22--the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision--Ron Paul was the only presidential candidate who spoke at the March for Life in Washington DC. Huckabee did speak at a Right to Life rally in Atlanta, but said: "The logic that each of the states can come up with their own definition of how to respect human life is the logic of the Civil War." This is a slap at Ron Paul, who, although he strongly opposes abortion, believes that it should not be the concern of the federal government. Huckabee, like every other current and former presidential candidates (except Ron Paul), thinks that the solution to everything is a federal government solution. Could he explain the concept of federalism without consulting a dictionary? More proof: When asked last year if he would sign a bill to outlaw smoking in public places, Huckabee replied: "I would, certainly would." A Huckabee administration would be a big brother, nanny state--a religious big brother, nanny state.
And CBSNews writes about Romney's Montana delegates:
- If Romney does release Montana's delegates, all 25 should vote to nominate Ron Paul, said Ellen Finnegan, an organizer for the Missoula Ron Paul 2008 Meetup Group.
In the caucus, Paul won Missoula County and placed second in state with 25 percent of the vote to Romney's 38. John McCain won 22 percent and Mike Huckabee won 15 percent.
In 2007, Ron Paul also raised almost $89,000 in Montana, more than any other candidate, Republican or Democrat, according to the Federal Election Commission. Romney received less than half that, $41,500 in contributions from Montanans.
"If the people of Montana have any say, Ron Paul should get the delegates," Finnegan said.
On the LRC blog, they break down Paul's support by region:
- I'm not sure what the rules are for primaries, but to vote in North Dakota in general elections, you just show up. See here. It's not outlandish to suggest that Ron Paul would do quite well in a state where there is that kind of ballot access, and where the voters apparently think that is a good idea.
The fact is that the Religious Right has only ever had limited penetration in the far north and in the Rocky Mountain region (Utah excluded) and voters have long tended to be more libertarian and less religiously fanatical out here. It's only natural that Ron Paul would do better.
As James noted, Virginia delivered a paltry 4% for Ron Paul. The only Southern state in which Ron has done well is Louisiana - in the caucuses. In the primary, he received 5% in Louisiana.
Here's a nice chart that shows that Paul tends to receive a minimum of 8% in caucuses, ranging up to 25% (in Montana). His best primaries were in New Hampshire and New York (and D.C.!?) with 7-9%
Even excluding caucuses though, the chart confirms that Paul's worst states were primarily in Bible Belt Land or the 3 most leftist states in the Union: Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma, Utah, Missouri and Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts. (Florida has both crazed bible belters and rich retired lefty Northerners.
Stephen Dinan writes in The Washington Times that Republicans would be stupid to ignore Ron Paul's supporters and all the money we've been sending him:
- Without Paul's $20 million raised from individuals, Republicans would have totaled $45 million for the period from October through December, compared with Democrats' $58 million.
Paul also set the standard among candidates in both parties last year for tapping into average Americans. He raised 61 percent of his funds from small-dollar donors, defined as those who gave $200 or less, compared to just 14 percent of Hillary Rodham Clinton's funds, 12 percent of Mitt Romney's funds and 8 percent of Rudy Giuliani's 2007 campaign funds.
The question for Republicans is what happens to Paul's voters and donors. Though he has not yet won any state contests, he has garnered support from hundreds of thousands of voters, many of whom are nontraditional Republicans. There were even some pundits who said an uptick in polling on Republican affiliation resulted from Paul's outreach.
What Paul does to try to keep them in the Republican fold, and whether they are open to such an appeal, is anybody's guess.
I doubt Paul would do anything to keep us in the "Republican fold." If he backs out, the only way to get our support is going to be in advocating personal freedom and small government, and I don't see any candidate of either stripe doing that. I see him backing a libertarian in the general election if he isn't running himself.
Centrist libertarian World writes about the proposed march on Washington in support of the Constitution on The Nolan Chart:
- I say rally the troops. Ron Paul has opened the eyes of hundreds of thousands of Americans to the wayward course American policy is headed. His leadership has united many formerly divergent groups of discontented citizens with the message of peace, prosperity, and liberty.
Will a march propel the movement to the attention of mainstream America? How will we ensure that armchair Americans will be forced to hear our message? By making this a rally so large that we cannot be ignored. The march needs a slogan, and that slogan has to be larger than just Ron Paul.
Focusing the rally on Ron Paul, the leader who helped unite a varied crowd of anti-establishment interests is a good idea - it will undoubtedly not have enough people-power to move that mountain that blocks our way. Why not expand our expectations. Make this about a movement that cannot be scoffed at or ignored. Let us call it the "Restore the Constitution Rally". Ron Paul will be the leader of the rally, he has earned that right, but make the focus a return to constitutional governance and we can reach out to all Americans with the goal of re-educating America about the Constitution. That is a noble goal I would gladly support with my time and money, and I suggest it has the broad appeal to draw hundreds of thousands.
I'd go. Mother Jones writes about the proposed rally and some good ways to spend that war chest:
- For the time being, Paul suggests a new project. "We ought to make a grand display. We ought to have a true march to show what our numbers are," he says. A truly impressive "march on Washington" would mean the "media can't ignore us." He might want to rethink that — the media had an awfully easy time ignoring hundreds of thousands of anti-war protesters before the Iraq War.
My libertarian friend (a big Ron Paul supporter) dropped me an email and suggested that Paul use his cash haul to fund libertarian candidates in a couple key House races, and maybe even a Senate race or two. A couple libertarian House members likely wouldn't have much of an effect, considering the size of the Democratic majority in that body, but a single libertarian senator (needn't be a "Big L" Libertarian, just a "small l" libertarian) could have enormous sway, assuming the close margin of the Senate holds. Tiny minority parties in many other countries stay relevant this way — they partner with larger parties in exchange for key concessions.
The problem is, there isn't an army of libertarian candidates out there.
According to Sean Haugh, Political Director of the Libertarian Party, there are 80 announced candidates for U.S. House and nine for U.S. Senate (three in Texas) that are libertarians. In some states, those candidates have to register under different names in order to get on the ballot, but Haugh counts them as ideological allies. "We've never elected anybody to Congress," says Haugh. "And there's not really one running that I would name where I could say they're going for the win. We focus more on local office. We take a real grassroots approach to this. Those folks are running to make sure there is a libertarian choice on the ballot."
But while the enthusiasm and the dollars Ron Paul has churned up may not lead to more libertarian leadership in Washington, it will lead to more libertarianism nationwide. "Ron Paul's done a fantastic job for us," says Haugh. "The main thing is to get people active in politics for liberty and the Constitution. He's done a really amazing job on getting out people who had given up on politics and giving them a reason to be involved."
BusinessWire reports on Paul's Georgetown speech:
- This evening, Republican presidential candidate and Texas Congressman Ron Paul addressed a crowd of over 700 students, faculty, and supporters at a speech that was part of the Georgetown University 2008 Presidential Candidate Lecture Series.
The crowd addressed tonight was larger than that addressed in the same room the previous night by Condoleezza Rice.
"Young people are especially attracted to Dr. Paul's message of freedom, peace, and prosperity," said Ron Paul 2008 national spokesman Patrick Semmens.
The Georgetown Voice elaborates:
- Just days after scaling back his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, Congressman Ron Paul (R-Tex.) railed against the mainstream political establishment in Gaston Hall last night, advocating his libertarian philosophy of limited government and personal freedom.
"People don't have rights to jobs and they don't have rights to medical care or rights to education," Paul said. "What you have is a right to your life. That's what you have."
"We're told that's not compassionate," he added. "But if you look at all of history you'll find out that the most uncompassionate system of all is socialism and welfarism."
The event, sponsored by the Lecture Fund, College Republicans and GU Vote '08, attracted a sizable crowd that filled Gaston's first floor and part of its balcony. When Paul entered the room to an announcer who would have sounded more at home at a boxing match, he received a standing ovation.
Paul began his speech by addressing his campaign's failure to translate his support to the voting booth, despite his sizable online following and the fundraising record he set with a one-day haul of nearly $6 million.
"Why aren't we getting more votes?" Paul asked. "It is a problem. I don't have it fully explained, but there's only one law I'm proposing … From now on we're going to have our elections on the internet."
Szandor Blestman writes on American Chronicle that Ron Paul is the only candidate that understands reality:
- There is a reality most people in the United States of America are ignoring. That reality is that the national debt is unmanageable. Ron Paul is the only candidate for president that is facing up to this reality. The other remaining presidential candidates want to sell the American public a fantasy. They want to make believe that everything is fine with the economy. They want to pretend that they can keep printing money and accruing debt without consequence. They want to promise the populace entitlements such as health care and pretend they can do it without pain, just to get votes. If anyone knows about the reality of the state of health care in this country today, it´s Dr. Ron Paul, yet I hardly ever hear any news organizations ask him about that issue. The reality folks, is that our government simply cannot continue to spend at the rate they´re spending and remain solvent. Ron Paul is straight forward on this point not only because he understands this reality, but because he feels we the people can handle this reality. The other candidates, living in never never land where they wish the rest of us to join them, simply have no respect for us "little people." They must believe we are like children unable to handle the reality of the cold, harsh world.
Justin Riamondo, one of Paul's most ardent supporters, is very disappointed in his decision to not run as an independent or Libertarian candidate. I agree:
- The reality is that for Ron Paul to rule out a third-party run, at this point; when his announcement of just such a move would have had maximum impact;is a tragic error, one that we will look back on and regret all the more as time goes on. It is a major opportunity, forever lost--because the Paul campaign, for all its educational impact, in the end means nothing absent an effort to take it all the way to November, and beyond.
Paul's presidential campaign galvanized so much energy and enthusiasm that, at times, it mimiced the dimensions and depth of a real mass movement, that is, of a serious effort to recapture the GOP from the neoconservatives and inaugurate a new era on the Right. The Paul campaign ignited interest at both ends of the political spectrum, and drew in a broad array of activists and more passive supporters (contributors and voters) that, despite their ideological diversity, showed remarkable cohesion and an amazing degree of self-organization. As a grassroots phenomenon, it has outpaced anything seen in the libertarian movement or, indeed, on the far right side of the political spectrum; since the storied days of Barry Goldwater.
Even as he was announcing the de facto suspension of his presidential campaign, Paul was garnering 21 percent of the vote in the Washington state primary. Aside from which, Paul's dedicated activists have managed to pull off a number of similar coups in caucus states, where organization and dedication count for more. On Super Tuesday, a North Dakota newspaper reported, "In the northwestern corner of the state, a farmer spray-painted "RON PAUL" on seven large hay bales stacked beside a highway. The campaign set down roots in the Midwest, where the candidate's staunch antiwar views and strict constitutionalism resonated in places like Montana" western plains. But this was no regional phenomenon: in cities and towns, as well as the rural bastions of "isolationism" and hillbilly anarchism, the Ron Paul Revolutionaries were on the march. In San Francisco, Paulistas went door-to-door soliciting votes, while, in New York, the candidate's supporters rallied in Grand Central Station. Thousands flocked to his campaign rallies, and Ron Paul Meet-up groups have sprung up by the hundreds all across the country.
And finally, top-diamond libertarian Owen Bran writes on The Nolan Chart about his experience with McCain and Huckabee supporters:
- This brings me to my personal experiences with supporters from both of these camps and they are surprisingly similar. I was fortunate enough to volunteer during a state primary that borders my home state. Of course, I was there in support of Ron Paul. My friends and I were approached with great curiosity by folks from these camps. Many would say they really like Ron Paul and his ideas but felt they had to vote for someone who could win... So American... All were very polite and since they opened the door, we would politely ask why they supported McCain or Huckabee.
Aside from the obvious electability of these two, here are some of the answers we received. McCain's number one reason for support was his Veteran and POW history. Now, I do have great respect for John McCain's military service for this country but there are simply millions of veterans out there, not to mention thousands of former POWs. When do they get their shot at the White House? Why do they deserve less? Number two, I was completely flabbergasted by the number of folks, including one McCain staffer, that were convinced he had voted against invading Iraq! Other than that, I heard little comment, positive or negative, on McCain's stance on current issues. In fact, when we tried to have a friendly debate concerning policy, their interest would quickly fade and the conversation usually ended abruptly.
For Huckabee, the majority stated he was a Christian and a former pastor that would finally return America to it's moral roots. Now that sounds great to me, except I don't believe "outlawing sin" will get the job done. To Huckabee's credit, I haven't seen him campaigning on that platform but the supporters we spoke with surely gave the impression that's what they would expect of him. Again, like before, we were unable to have any real debate on current issues or where Huckabee stands.
My conclusion is that these, well meaning, folks are simply and terribly misinformed. I know, this is nothing new in American politics. However, we are really at a crossroads this time around and the only fellow who can do the job or even wants the job for the right reasons is getting passed over by the masses out of sheer ignorance. Most unfortunate for the GOP loyalists out there, he is the only one that could potentially win in a general election against either of the Democratic front runners.
See ya tomorrow! And get with the smoochies!
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Originally Posted by Scott Friday
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