first draft: My letter to a local liberal rag:

[jimmyjamsslo]

fellow forum members, here is a letter that I will be sending to my local left-leaning widely-read periodical, The New Times. Please read it and give any suggestions or comments Thanks, Jimmy



Dear New Times Editor:

I wish to inform New Times readers of a truly viable presidential candidate for 2008: The Republican Texas House Representative, Dr. Ron Paul.

Ron Paul has been a hero of mine since he voted against the Iraq war, and sounded the alarm about and voted against the Patriot Act. Mr. Paul is an economics expert who has called for the abolishing of the Federal Reserve, which prints fiat-based money without backing by a commodity, such as gold. This creates inflation by devaluing the worth of the dollar. This invisible 'inflation tax' hits the lower and middle class the hardest. He is also against the costly "War on Drugs", the hypocritical "Death Penalty", as well as the misnamed 'free-trade acts', the WTO and the FTAA, that have contributed to the impending demise of our economy.

Dr. Paul has been getting very little mainstream media coverage because he is the only candidate who is eloquently expressing the root causes of terrorism against us, which is our government's constant meddling interventionism in the Mideast. He is the only anti-war 'dove' running on the Republican ticket. The spin-machine is trying to paint the good doctor as 'an isolationist' because of his suggestion that we stop interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, either covertly (CIA) or militarily. They are also trying to spin the idea that 'our government's foreign policy lead to the attacks' into; 'the American people provoked the attacks'. This is as deceptive as the "they hate our freedoms" rhetoric that Bush shills such as Rudy Giuliani have used since 911, which is pure propaganda.

I re-registered as a Republican so I can vote for Dr. Paul in the primaries, and believe me, that was a daunting task, since I've always been a registered Democrat. But party alliances do not matter here, nor do popularity contests. Ron Paul is the best man for the job, period. That is why I will not be voting for 'the lesser-of-two-evils" like I did when I voted for John Kerry. I am voting from my conscience this time. Ron Paul is a genuine conservative who is calling for the Republican party to remember its roots: Limited Government, Fiscal Responsibility and a humble foreign policy of Non-Interventionism. I have long considered myself a liberal, although I may not agree with all of Mr. Paul's viewpoints on the issues, he has demonstrated great integrity and courage as a politician, which is indeed rare.

Mr. Paul's campaign is a desperately needed breath of fresh air, and has given me much hope about the future of this country. His bid for presidency will alter the political landscape for years to come.


Sincerely,
James Edward Theobald
San Luis Obispo, California

[NMCB3]

I like it, you probably should try to work in these points also.

He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.
He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

[jimmyjamsslo]

thanks for the suggestion. I had to get the word count down to around 250-ish...

[lifeasariver]

awesome. you write well, why don't you come up with a more generic one, include the points NMCB3 mentioned, and we all can send it to all the major newspapers. Just a thought.

[mdh]

I like it, you probably should try to work in these points also.

Not all of these talking-points play well to a liberal base, and since the OP stated he was targetting a liberal print publication, I'd like to add a few comments.

He has never voted to raise taxes.

This one I'd avoid, right off - liberals like higher taxes in general. There're better ways to spin his views on taxation than this.

He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.

This one will take some complex spinning to be useful.

He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.

Avoid this one. Liberals generally hate gun rights.

He has never voted to raise congressional pay.

A good point to touch on. Easy to figure out a good spin here. (The rich don't need to be made richer, or whatever.)

He has never taken a government-paid junket.

Not really worth too much with this audience, more than likely, since the modern liberals in office do this even more frequently than modern conservatives.

He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

I would spin this in such a light that it is "anti-the-current-administration" - liberals hate Dubya. Anti-Dubya = win points.

He voted against the Patriot Act.

For sure. Always a good point.

He voted against regulating the Internet.

Sure. Maybe call him "Pro-bloggers-rights" or somesuch. Or just spin it as pro - freedom of speech.

He voted against the Iraq war.

Gotta hit this point.

He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.

I don't know that this one will really gain or lose much. May as well touch on it if it isn't increasing your length beyond what you consider reasonable or desireable.

He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

Sure, this is alright.

[jimmyjamsslo]

Dear New Times Editor:

I wish to inform New Times readers of the only viable anti-war presidential candidate for 2008: The Republican Texas House Representative, the Honorable Dr. Ron Paul.

Ron Paul has been a hero of mine since he voted against the Iraq war, and sounded the alarm about and voted against the Patriot Act. Mr. Paul is an economics expert who has called for the abolition of the Federal Reserve, which prints currency without backing by a commodity, such as gold. This creates inflation by devaluing the worth of the dollar. This invisible 'inflation tax' hits the lower and middle class the hardest. He is also against the costly "War on Drugs" as well as the so-called 'free-trade acts' that have contributed to the impending demise of our economy.

I re-registered as a Republican so I can vote for Dr. Paul in the primaries, and believe me, that was a daunting task, since I've always been a liberal Democrat. But party alliances do not matter here, nor do popularity contests. Ron Paul is the best man for the job, period. That is why I will not be voting for 'the lesser-of-two-evils" like I did when I voted for John Kerry. I am voting from my conscience this time. Ron Paul is a genuine conservative who is calling for the Republican Party to remember its constitutional roots: Limited Government, Fiscal Responsibility and a humble foreign policy of Non-Interventionism.

Mr. Paul's campaign has given me much hope about the future of this country and will alter the political landscape for years to come.

Website: www.ronpaul2008.com

Sincerely,
James Edward Theobald
Morro Bay, California

[Gee]

I think the more we say how RP wants to get rid of the Fed, the more "fringe" he will seem. The Fed is legitimized in the minds of nearly every single American, and RP does not actually want to abolish it. He just wants to allow competition with it, which he thinks could eventually replace it.

[jimmyjamsslo]

agreed about the 'fringe' topics

I'm gonna start from scratch:

salient points:


*voted against patriot act, IRaq war and Military Commissions act, and against regulating the Internet
*founding father material
*leading advocate of personal liberty in washington dc.
*abides by the constitution
*over 9 terms in congress
*an economic expert - voted taxpayer's best friend
*serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee
*most focused platform and consistent vision
*humble foreign policy of non-interventionism
*respected across the political spectrum, from Pat Buchanan to Bill Maher
*watch speeches on youtube and visit ronpaul2008.com and here.
*I'm a liberal democrat who has re-registered republican to vote in the primaries
*true conservative points of limited government and fiscal responsibilty.



I'll also mention here that a friend of mine who used to canvas for the democratic party has offered to canvas for Ron Paul! I think we'll be seeing a lot of 'switching over' like this!!

[Therion]

Mention how he's against corporate handouts.

Your letter is good, you don't have to start from scratch!

[angelatc]

He has specifically mentioned that he is against big oil subsidies.

[Searchronpaul]

Here's a letter I'm currently running from our Paul fundraiser site; maybe you can use some of it.

To Whom It May Concern:

I urge you to give Presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul more visibility in the press. He is winning in every major online poll, and he exceeded all other Republican candidates in recent debates in both South Carolina and at the Reagan Library.

Ron Paul represents the interests of Americans and we are responding in kind. We do not want unending wars in foreign lands, wars that kill our children, waste our money and destroy our reputation in the world. We want a real leader who doesn't pander to special interests, a President who exhibits common sense and who understands that we have enough to accomplish here at home without the encumbrance of being the world police.

Most Americans are against the war; we resent the Patriot Act; we detest torture, we disapprove of government intrusion into our privacy and we are especially against a Real ID and illegal spying on our citizens, which is nothing less than a police state.

Transcending party lines, we are aligned with Ron Paul on nearly every one of his positions. America has spoken; voters clearly want Ron Paul -- the people want Ron Paul as their next President.

If your organization is pro-American, if you believe in freedom of speech, if you love the United States and its Constitution and what it stands for, please give Ron Paul more press; he deserves to be heard.

Sincerely,

A Concerned Voter and Taxpayer

[Suzu]

It always bothers me when I see the phrase "Patriot Act" in print (and online). The correct name is "USA PATRIOT Act".

Few people realize that the first two words are an aconym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism - and must therefore be in ALL CAPS.

I believe it is wise to make this point wherever possible or if space is an issue to at least use the correct term.

[Searchronpaul]

It always bothers me when I see the phrase "Patriot Act" in print (and online). The correct name is "USA PATRIOT Act".

Few people realize that the first two words are an aconym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism - and must therefore be in ALL CAPS.

I believe it is wise to make this point wherever possible or if space is an issue to at least use the correct term.

Personally, I do not recognize the authority by which the patriot rat act was passed, nor do I give a hoot whether this disgusting law is in caps, lower case, or the toilet. People know what I'm referring to; as for uniting and strengthening -- and terrorism in general -- hogwash; the patriot act is about as patriotic as making children's toys with depleted uranium, which by the way, is just another in a long list of assaults against Americans.

Unless used for legal purposes to record its repeal, I will suggest that others deface, disavow, spit on and rub their boot heels on the patriot act at every opportunity; I will never worship, legitimize or pay tribute to something so dishonorable and repugnant.

# # #

[JosephTheLibertarian]

Well, this is a liberal paper, so shouldn't we be focusing more on his social views?

[Suzu]

Personally, I do not recognize the authority by which the patriot rat act was passed, nor do I give a hoot whether this disgusting law is in caps, lower case, or the toilet. People know what I'm referring to; as for uniting and strengthening -- and terrorism in general -- hogwash; the patriot act is about as patriotic as making children's toys with depleted uranium, which by the way, is just another in a long list of assaults against Americans.

Unless used for legal purposes to record its repeal, I will suggest that others deface, disavow, spit on and rub their boot heels on the patriot act at every opportunity; I will never worship, legitimize or pay tribute to something so dishonorable and repugnant.

# # #

I understand your point, and I guess I didn't make my own point clearly. What I meant and stopped short of saying was that using the term without all caps will perpetuate -- in the minds of the ignorant, at least -- the false idea that the name was purposely designed to create: That the "act" should not be criticized by properly "patriotic" Americans.

[jimmyjamsslo]

the deceptively titled PATRIOT act. Classic doublethink, newspeak. I guess I have around 200-250 word limit, so I gotta keep it tight.

[Searchronpaul]

I understand your point, and I guess I didn't make my own point clearly. What I meant and stopped short of saying was that using the term without all caps will perpetuate -- in the minds of the ignorant, at least -- the false idea that the name was purposely designed to create: That the "act" should not be criticized by properly "patriotic" Americans.

Oh okay, I see your point more clearly. The "unpatriot act" is indeed misleading. Please forgive me if I sounded harsh -- I meant no disrespect.

# # #