My letter - feedback needed

[RonPaulWisconsin]

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[Bern]

The first principle in crafting a persuasive argument is to know your audience.

Your letter is good if you are trying to reach libertarians IMO. For mainstream Republicans... not so much. You should focus on the issues that they are concerned about IMO (see links in my sig for more info).

[RonPaulWisconsin]

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[Bern]

On another forum where I have been vocal in support of Ron Paul, a member went to the campaign site after reading through the threads/posts for a while. He quoted the following as clinching the deal for him (and he even contributed to the campaign):

Brief Overview of Congressman Paul’s Record:

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.

Congressman Paul introduces numerous pieces of substantive legislation each year, probably more than any single member of Congress.

YMMV

[RonPaulWisconsin]

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[all4one]

Yes, but again - "he voted against the war" ...

We need to convince people who still support the war and this is the major hurdle with a lot of Republicans. And talking about Corporatism, Inflation, attacks on Civil Liberties, etc. are the key points when converting them to our message.
...

To clarify for the Republican base:

Congressman Paul voted against those bills which (per the Constitution) illegally gave President Bush the authority to go after the terrorists which were camped out Afghanistan and then in Iraq. What he did do, however, was introduce to Congress a LEGAL bill declaring war on terrorist/Afghanistan/Iraq.

From my American Government and Economics class, I recall that the President may seek a declaration of war (I.e. FDR's speech on December 8th, 1941) but only Congress may officially declare war against another country. For that matter; the people of this country may also seek a declaration, but only Congress has the authority to declare war.

Again, Ron Paul voted against the illegal methods used to start this war - but he introduced the correct legislature for a legal war into the House of Representatives. This legislature was - of course - voted down.

[Bern]

You could say that he advocated going after Osama Bin Laden and al queda (sp?) following 9/11 instead of invading Iraq.

[rs3515]

These are letters to independents, right?

You need to be VERY CAREFUL. Each group of addresses are to different people. PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS AND FOLLOW THE TEMPLATE LETTER.

[linusPAULing]

You need to be VERY CAREFUL. Each group of addresses are to different people. PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS AND FOLLOW THE TEMPLATE LETTER.

Hi RPW,

I have to agree with the people here. While well written and thought-out, I don't think it's well tailored for a variety of MI voters. I also would recommend being more concise and sticking more closely to the template.


Here's an attempt at sticking to the template while capturing your primary thoughts at the same time. Feel free to incorporate some of these ideas if you wish.

____________

My name is XXXXXXXX and I am writing this letter to you because I am
deeply concerned with the direction of our country. With this in mind,
I would like to ask you to consider supporting Dr. Ron Paul in your
Republican presidential primary on January 15, 2008.

Our Founding Fathers understood the history of tyranny, so they
installed an elaborate system of checks and balances into our
government to limit the concentration of power. Unfortunately, this
system is being methodically undermined with deficit spending, an
unconsitutional monetary system, undeclared wars, the recision of
habeus corpus, the "patriot" act, corporate cronyism, and more. Ron
Paul, who is a 10-term Congressman from Texas, has been relentless in
fighting this damaging departure from constitutional government.

Beyond his work in Congress, Ron Paul is a former flight surgeon
in the US Air Force and a medical doctor (OB/GYN) that has delivered
more than 4,000 babies. He has been married to his wife Carol for over 50
years, and in my estimation is the most principled, honest, and
genuine politition I've seen. You can rest assured that you know where
he stands on any issue.

In Congress, Dr. Paul has never voted to raise taxes and never voted
for an unbalanced budget. He does not participate in the lucrative
Congressional pension program because he does not think it is fair to
taxpayers. He is a strong supporter of the second amendment and he
wants to secure our borders. He has a clear plan for restoring value
to our dollar and eliminating the causes of inflation that distribute
wealth from the working classes to the rich. He believes in a strong
national defense and receives more campaign donations from the
military than any other candidate.

Regardless of whether or not you and I share the same interests,
concerns, and political perspectives, I do hope that we share one
desire - to leave the country in a better state than we found
it. Today the Federal Government is over 9 trillion dollars in debt,
and has obligated itself (our children, rather) to spend over 70
trillion dollars more. I fail to see how we're delivering a brighter
future to our next generation of Americans. If elected, Dr. Paul would
work to stop the run-away spending that is leading our great nation to
bankruptcy and to end our financial dependence on China, Saudi Arabia
and other foreign countries.

Dr. Paul's message of limited government, freedom, peace, and
prosperity has ignited the hopes of hundreds of thousands of
disillusioned Americans. He has set two fund-raising records,
including the largest 24 hour tally raised in history ($6.4 million),
he has won more straw polls than any other candidate, and he is the
most popular candidate on the internet - by far. It has been a long,
long time since we've heard a candidate speak on these issues and
ideas.

If you agree with Dr. Paul's fervent belief in following the
Constitution and the rule of law, please take a moment to learn more
about his specific positions. You can call Ron Paul's headquarters
toll-free at 1-877-RON-PAUL (7285) or visit his website,
RonPaul2008.com.

Please consider voting for Dr. Paul in your upcoming primary on
January 15. 2008. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this
letter.

[RonPaulWisconsin]

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