Adventures on the Sunday before a Primary Election

Published by
SueM
at January 7, 2008 in Supporters and Primaries. 0 Comments

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Here we go …. after months of being consumed by the candidacy of a certain Congressman we want to be president, after months of emails and ad designs and sign waves and lit drops and phone calls and rallies and yes, even moneybombs, here we are on the Sunday before a Primary Election in New Hampshire.

I started off my day with a little project that had been pulled together earlier in the week and which I had decided just the night before to join. A few phone calls, a pick up of tri-folds from a car parked next to a Catholic church in Nashua, and I found myself at a second church in Nashua, tri-folds at the ready, listening to the Mass in French. Resurrecting my long-ago but still surprisingly intact knowledge of that language, I began rehearsing what I would say to people as they left the parking lot after Mass. As it turns out, they all speak English, but it was still nice to practice, and to listen to the spoken word of the beautiful language that is French.

Mass ended and handouts were handed to those who wanted them. Unfortunately some assumed that mine was “just another candidate,” or even mistook my offering for the literature they had just retrieved from their car windshield, placed there on behalf of another candidate. No, this was something quite different, “Catholics for Ron Paul,” with an absolute must-read on the back “Theology, not Politics – Ron Paul, April 2005.”

Then it was on to the 10:30 Mass at another church in Nashua. I arrived in plenty of time to actually attend, which is something I’m not often able to do, so this was a quite wonderful addition to my day. Hand-outs were again handed out after that Mass and then it was back to the New Hampshire Liberty Forum to hear Ron Paul speak at noon. Or was it one pm? In my barely minimal checking of emails that morning, I had noticed a schedule change. No time to confirm it, so just go. This is a common theme in the Campaign, this waiting on where to be and what to do. It takes a certain degree of faith and patience which are always good qualities to have, so that’s another benefit that comes from campaigning for Ron Paul.

This turned out to be the best speech I’ve ever heard the good doctor give, and he did say that we, the audience, were the reason. We were all just so happy to hear the things he was saying being said. Two men later told me, separately, that his speech had brought tears to their eyes. I can see the headline now “Ron Paul Makes Grown Men Cry.” Of course we all know that it isn’t Ron Paul, it’s the message, the one we have held so near and dear and quietly in our hearts for so long, and we just love to hear it being shouted.

Speech ended, hustle and bustle and crowd control ensues. Ron Paul disappears. Roger and I ask each other what to do next. Oh yes, you’ll want to know who Roger is. I had met him the previous night at the Liberty Forum because he was in need of a ride to Providence. Altogether at least three people had stepped forward to get him there – me being one of them – and the decision that it be me had been reached just before Ron Paul’s speech. Again, the nature of our campaign. Wait and see, and the best possible alternative will naturally present itself.

Now we were back in wait-and-see mode. There were rumors flying everywhere at this point. Canvassing packets to be had at Murphy’s Taproom (should we pick some up and canvass for a few hours?) Phone banking in Concord (but a few people had just been sent up there so the phone bank might now be full.) A rally at 5 pm on Commercial Street in Manchester (was this where the infamous Fox Forum was being filmed? or was it where the Ron Paul Town Meeting was being held – his response to being shut out by Fox? Or had the campaign purchased an hour of TV time to have our man’s message run concurrent with the Forum?) And what about the rally of 10,000 at St. Anselm’s in Goffstown? I had been seeing bits pieces about that online for a good week. Was it real, or phantom? Impossible to know. Questions, questions, questions and no answers at this point.

However, since you constantly run into people you know, you almost always have someone to ask. One calls Concord to see if the official campaign has anything planned. No answer. They must be busy up there (duh!) Another says St. Anselm’s it is, but don’t bring signs, they won’t let you bring them on campus. What we need to do is to bring our voices, so that even though we will probably be restricted to a “First Amendment Zone,” perhaps we’ll be able to shout loud enough for the world to hear what we think of the “fair and balanced” Fox News Channel.

But is the Forum still even being held at St. A’s? Someone claims they’ve changed the venue to a bus that is now on the road. I wonder why they would do that. And the time. I had heard 6 pm, now someone was saying 4:30.

Then something brought us back down to earth. We realized that we were hungry. Hmmmm, Murphy’s Taproom definitely has food, and may have canvassing packets … that seems like a good idea. So we left the Crowne Plaza and headed north to Manchester, and as we drove we watched a plane trolling a Ron Paul banner overhead. This was great!

We reached Murphy’s to find a strange scene. There was parking everywhere. It seems there never is parking at Murphy’s when Ron Paul is in town, and sometimes even when he’s not, but there it was, empty spaces to be had. I was pretty thrilled actually, to be able to use real Murphy’s parking for once in my life. This we did, only to find the front door locked, with a closed-for-the-day sign upon it. And inside, Murphy’s didn’t even look like Murphy’s, they were re-fitting it for some private party being held that evening. Okay, well, let’s see if there are canvassing packets. We can always find food somewhere else. We knocked and someone answered. By now three others had shown up. We all stepped inside. Roger went looking for canvassing packets as we four remaining RP supporters chatted. Then Rand Paul showed up. They were looking for lunch too. We overheard the recommendation, a place called PJ’s further up the road.

There were no canvassing packets to be had, so we left for PJ’s. We figured if it’s good enough for Ron Paul, it’s good enough for us. And it was good. Soon after Roger and I had sat down, a waitress came by asking if we had any campaign literature. She said there was a cook out back – a young man of 18 - who was a huge Ron Paul fan and wanted to ask for his autograph, but had nothing for him sign. Campaign literature? You’ve come to the right place. Have him come over and we’ll go to my car and he can take his pick.

The nice advantage to this was that it reminded me that I had finally remembered to bring the something I had been hoping to have autographed, and frankly if the waitress hadn’t come over I probably would have forgotten to even ask for it. This 54-year-old brain of mine is just way too full of stuff and I’m constantly forgetting little details like that.

Next arrived the three we had met at Murphy’s, a young lady and two young fellows. They took the table next to ours and we all had lunch. At some point in the middle the young cook came out and we went to my car, talking a blue streak of course. His mom’s a supporter and so is his roommate. I told him how my generation is thrilled that his generation loves Ron Paul too.

We did a little strategic planning as to how to ask for the autographs – you can’t interrupt someone’s lunch after all – and finally we managed to do so. I told Dr. Paul what I thought of the speech he had just given. He thanked me.

Then the three from Murphy’s approached us. It turned out that two of them had to leave that very minute to catch their flight back to Michigan and the third, a young fellow named Chris, needed a ride – could we take him along?

Hmmm … I pictured my daughter’s Chevy Aveo, which she had traded just that morning for my Kia Amanti in order to move her stuff back to school. I pictured it with Roger’s luggage and my 2 x 4 Ron Paul signs, among others, in the back seat, and my four small bags of stuff. Then I said “sure.” He’s thin, he can fit. So, off the two went to Michigan and we three, Roger, Chris and me, rearranged a few items and squeezed into the Aveo, in search of what’s next.

We now had two choices. Too late to do any good up in Concord, so shall we head for Commercial Street, or St. Anselm’s? Roger had been to the latter just the day before. Not that he knew how to get there, but he did have a pretty good idea of what to expect should we be able to find it. The GPS I don’t own would have come in handy just then, but I had the next best thing – my brother lives a stone’s throw away, and he was home and answered when I called, lost, somewhere on the east side of Manchester.

He got us there where we discovered that you needed a pass to get onto the campus. Now what? Park somewhere and walk? Are the 10,000 even there? It was pretty quiet, so we figured not. I called my contact who had earlier advised me of the Commercial Street thing. She said “come on down, there are people over here.” So, it was back to the west side of Manchester where, after getting lost again, we managed to find a piece of the crowd. Word was that there were more people up at Bridge Street, or at some 1 Plaza place. We wandered around on Commercial Street for twenty minutes or so. The first word had been that something (Town Hall Meeting?) was happening at 540 Commercial and they wanted people outside with signs when Ron Paul left the building. Then someone said it’s at 545 Commercial. Then someone said no, we should go up to Bridge Street, there are tons of people there. And that’s what we did.

It was somewhat of hike up what seemed to be ten stories, to the bridge overhead, then a trudge in the snow up a small hill, to Elm Street where there was, indeed, somewhat of a crowd. It seemed rather small but at least it knew what it was doing, standing there on four corners with signs and chants and many, many people driving by and beeping for Ron Paul, better than the crowd that had been milling around down below debating what to do, but still not quite in the range of 10,000.

Then someone came up and said that it was actually seven blocks south where the ton of people were. This made sense because that’s where the media were hanging out. Should we go, and if so, should we walk or go back for the car? Chris and I decided on the car plan and Roger headed off to the new rallying point. We got there some twenty minutes later, with lots of beeping and shouting Ron Paul out the window as we drove through the packed intersection. Some policemen were just starting to arrive – I guess it had gotten big enough for that. We parked and joined the crowd. There was a little restaurant on the side street we were on, with a separate crowd outside of it. Word was that they were waiting for Sean Hannity to come out, which he did soon after. He and a companion headed for the nearby Radisson Hotel and the crowd followed, shouting epithets at Fox News (relatively nice ones as far as I could hear, it was a very well-behaved crowd). I managed to see Mr. Hannity in profile, confirming that it was indeed him. Not long after this I noticed a crowd plastered against that same restaurant, again yelling Fox News epithets. The unconfirmed report was that the infamous Frank Luntz, “pollster” was inside and the speculation was that a hallowed Fox News Focus Group was being conducted at that very place. And so virtual reality meets the real world as those who spin are confronted by those who just want to know the truth.

There came a time when we decided it was time to leave, to drop Chris off not far away, in Manchester, and set off Providence-way. Just then we met Steve from New York, and struck up a conversation that could have continued all night, frankly, because it was that interesting. Steve’s truck was parked back down on Commercial Street, so of course the question “would you like a ride” came up and he said yes. I drove him down, we talked for another 15 minutes, and then I pulled myself away, thinking of Chris and Roger waiting back up on Elm. I got a little bit lost trying to get back to them. I really don’t know how I ended up on the outskirts of Bedford when they were something like five blocks away, but anyway, no harm done. I turned around and found my way back, arriving some twenty minutes later. They didn’t seem to mind the wait at all. There was still plenty going on. We dropped Chris off at a house full of Ron Paul supporters crashing for the night and then finally Roger and I headed south.

Roger thanked me at least five times for taking him to Providence that night. And I said, at least five times, no problem at all. In fact, the value of the conversations we had during our nearly two-hour trip far outweighed the extra time I had taken to get him there. This was in part due to the fact that Roger practices law and I have a very keen interest in that, mainly in what the law actually says versus what people assume it says. The question that keeps coming to my mind is how and why did our law, so simple and true at the founding, get to be so cumbersome and confusing?

Now, about this revolution we are having, I have a friend who will forever say that it takes just ten people to turn a town around. Just ten to send state government packing, out of the town schools (if the townspeople choose to have schools), out of its finances, out of everything that makes up the life of the town, and its Liberty. Ten people to put that state government back under the guidelines by which it was created in the first place. Ten people to remind everyone that their town is not a vassal of the state it created, but rather a Sovereign, an extended family not unlike the one forming today via the Ron Paul Revolution, incorporated for the protection of all who live there.

And so, as this family we call the Ron Paul R3VOLution grows, I wonder, where will this lead? Will it be ten Ron Paul supporters town-by-town, until we get them all back? Or will it be some other mechanism, still unclear, something new and of these times in which we live? Time will tell and I wonder what my children and my children’s children will inherit.

I know that those who came before us wondered this too as I turn to the Preamble of my state constitution to read this:

We, therefore, the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the goodness of the great Legislator of the universe, in affording us, in the course of His providence, an opportunity, deliberately and peaceably, without fraud, violence or surprise, of entering into an original, explicit, and solemn compact with each other; and of forming a new constitution of civil government, for ourselves and posterity; and devoutly imploring His direction in so interesting a design, do agree upon, ordain and establish the following Declaration of Rights, and Frame of Government, as the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

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Ron Paul is a Non-Interventionist, NOT an Isolationist

Published by
MichaelC
at December 6, 2007 in Foreign Policy. 0 Comments

I watched the CNN/Youtube debate on November 28th with a handful of fellow members of the Boston Ron Paul Meetup Group. I was intrigued by the new format that asked questions to the candidates in a Youtube-styled format. The videos were at times as interesting to watch as the candidates answers. The videos tackled political issues in creative ways that brought an element of light-heartedness to the typical partisan contest. I can remember a few moments that stood out in my mind during this new-style political forum. One of them was when John McCain referred to Paul as an “isolationist” for not wanting to continue the Iraq War.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRQ41bKLyzU

I just want to also say that Congressman Paul, I’ve heard him now in many debates talk about bringing our troops home, and about the war in Iraq and how it’s failed. And I want to tell you that that kind of isolationism, sir, is what caused World War II. We allowed Hitler to come to power with that kind of attitude of isolationism and appeasement. And I want to tell you something, sir. I just finished having Thanksgiving with the troops, and their message to you is — the message of these brave men and women who are serving over there is, “Let us win. Let us win”

Isolationism is very different from non-interventionism. Isolationism involves both non-interventionism and protectionism. One can be a protectionist interventionist or a pro-free trade non-interventionist. Ron Paul advocates “peace and commerce with all, entangling alliances with none,” the same view as the Founding Fathers. Under a Ron Paul presidency the US economy would be anything but isolated under REAL free trade, not managed trade (a topic worthy of its own separate article.)

At a recent event a former congressman and friend of Ron Paul shared a quote of Dr. Paul’s with us: “As a libertarian I can see that there are some times when it is justifiable to go to war. But shouldn’t it be rare?” Indeed, since the Second World War, War has been anything but rare. Before then, we did not intervene abroad as often. Since then we have intervened in Korea, Vietnam, Iran, Cuba, Chile, Grenada, Panama, Kuwait, Somalia (twice), Haiti, Angola, Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq (three times.) What John McCain said is much more deep and dangerous than that single debate. Since non-interventionism had been given scapegoat status for “causing World War II,” that has been used as a tool to justify ANY opportunity for foreign intervention. “You better not oppose this or else you’ll cause World War II!” These interventions for a New Age Imperialist foreign policy have cost America a lot: money to fund these interventions, lives of brave men and women and reputation. This last element, as Ron Paul and the CIA call “blowback” is key. Blowback describes the “unintended consequences” of past operations. When people are attacked or feel threatened/occupied they might strike back at some time. The CIA is required to learn about blowback. If only we had a similar standard for presidential candidates.

Ron Paul’s foreign policy, the same as that of the Founding Fathers, would be “peace and commerce with all, entangling alliances with none,” and we can expect a dramatic decline in direct attacks upon the US because of the disintegrating influence of the blowback effect. Peace prosperity and freedom…quite different from a World War, wouldn’t you say?

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What’s Wrong with Our Money?

Published by
SueM
at December 4, 2007 in Monetary Policy and Ron Paul Awareness. 1 Comment

What’s wrong with our money? Well, for one thing it makes us exchange something of value — e.g. a house to live in, a book to read, gasoline to get you somewhere — for something that has no intrinsic value, in our case, paper.

What paper money does to a society over time is well documented. The 1912 classic FIAT MONEY INFLATION IN FRANCE How It Came, What It Brought, and How It Ended by Andrew Dickson White, LL.D., Ph.D., D.C.L., tells the story well. Here is an excerpt from his Introduction as published in Project Gutenberg’s EBook:

In 1876, during the “greenback craze,” General Garfield and Mr. S. B. Crittenden, both members of the House of Representatives at that time, asked me to read a paper on the same general subject before an audience of Senators and Representatives of both parties in Washington. This I did, and also gave it later before an assemblage of men of business at the Union League Club in New York.

Various editions of the paper were afterward published, among them, two or three for campaign purposes, in the hope that they might be of use in showing to what folly, cruelty, wrong and rain the passion for “fiat money” may lead.

It can be hard to be aware of what paper money is doing to your world when you are focused on just doing your best to get by, even though just getting by is getting harder every year. Life seems normal, so you don’t complain.

Then someone comes along and says “hey, things could be better.” One such person is Ron Paul. From The Case for Gold which he co-authored with Lewis Lehrmann:

Having a unit of account that has no definition or one that changes continually produces a situation equivalent to a carpenter using a yardstick that on an hourly basis changes the number of inches it contains. It is easy to see how foolish it would be to have any other unit of measurement changing in definition on a constant basis, yet many believe that a whole nation’s economy can operate with a monetary system in which the “dollar” has no definition and its measurement and value depend on politicians and bureaucrats. (page 158)

For an excellent review of the gold standard as a political issue in American history please read Howard Katz’ Report from New Hampshire of November 30, 2007, in which he points out that whenever this issue is fought out in the open the gold standard wins. By bringing it out in the open Ron Paul has started the ball rolling back to sound money.

The damage caused by paper money escalates in exponential fashion. It is only a matter of time before the house of cards collapses. However, just as paper money has damned mankind throughout history, so has gold always redeemed these most dire of situations. And so, quoting from the Constitution of my Commonwealth, Massachusetts, I look forward to a future when the “principles of humanity and general benevolence, public and private charity, industry and frugality, honesty and punctuality in their dealings; sincerity, good humor, and all social affections, and generous sentiments among the people” will be simply a matter of course.

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The National ID Card Cometh…

Published by
MichaelC
at December 1, 2007 in Federal Government. 0 Comments

The REAL ID Act, signed into law in 2005, provides for nationally-standardized ID cards to be designated to residents of the US by each individual state.  It originally was scheduled to take effect in mid-2008, but that deadline has since been rescheduled for late 2009.  Ron Paul, as a congressman and as a candidate for president, has consistently opposed the measure.  This may not seem threatening to some people at the moment.  After all, it’s just a harmless card with your picture on it-right?  Wrong.  As Ron Paul has pointed out in his speeches, a national ID card is just another assault on civil liberties on the part of the federal government in the name of war.  Paralleling the issue of gun control, measures that require guns or a certain type of gun to be “registered” with the government may seem harmless.  After all, it’s no big deal-the government just wants to know where those guns are so they can fight crime better.  Right?  Afraid not.  Some time later when the government decided to ban assault weapons entirely, they simply used the registration list they compiled before to confiscate the guns from private law-abiding citizens and render them powerless against criminals who possess such guns illegally.  In the end the gun registration laws served as nothing but a tool to empower the government to infringe upon the rights of the people.  It did not help fight crime any more than the national ID card will help fight terrorism.  Rounding up registered guns may be mirrored by the rounding up of people unjustly.  And rest-assured, this “war-time measure” will not disappear when the war ends.  In the Shadow Children Series by Margaret Peterson Haddix, which I started reading a few years ago a futuristic totalitarian government keeps track of its citizens through an ID card, deprives them of virtually any inalienable right and pulls strings on their lives from behind the scenes without their knowing about it.  That is not the kind of society we want to become.

 

Besides the obvious threat to freedom, the REAL ID Act can be viewed as just another example of Big Government.  In practice the REAL ID Act would require an expansive and expensive bureaucracy to operate.  The bill for this would be sent to the common taxpayer-just another example of the Neoconservatives failing to live up to the limited government promises of the 1994 Contract with America.  The Act is also not in line with the principles of the Constitution-with the Federal Government over-imposing itself on state-run systems, which is counter to the spirit of the 10th Amendment.

 

There is hope for opposing the act.  18 states have already refused to comply with this law of the federal government and legislation is pending in 20 more.  This means that we may potentially have ¾ of all states challenging the National ID Card.  Not only does the REAL ID Act rely on the state governments to enforce it, but states have been able to nullify laws passed by the Federal Government in the past.  In the late 1790s, when Adams was President and Jefferson was Vice President, the Federal Government passed a law that prohibited criticism of the government by common citizens.  Jefferson, who was actually the political rival of Adams and his Vice President, due to the electoral system at the time, took it to the states and the states subsequently decided that the law in question was unconstitutional and therefore nullified it.  With Ron Paul as president, the executive branch would no longer pursue the standards of the REAl ID Act.  His term would begin in January 2009, almost a year before the Act takes effect-and plenty of time for action.

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The Significance of December 16th

Published by
MichaelC
at November 30, 2007 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments

234 years ago, this December 16th, American colonists placed over 300 casks and over 40 tons of tea, which they were unjustly taxed on through the Stamp Act, into Boston Harbor. On the anniversary of this heroic event this year-several thousand Ron Paul supporters will place millions of dollars worth of cash, which they are unjustly taxed on through the Federal Income Tax and the ever-evasive Inflation Tax (which, as Doctor Paul says, no one talks about) into his very own campaign fund. Both actions precipitate a revolution of freedom that will change not only American, but Human History—forever!

I was talking to my fellow campaign volunteer-Bob, on November 5th, our first big fundraiser. I said to him: “Did you see his latest fundraising numbers on the website?” He replied “yeah, I checked this morning after I donated-it’s what-two and a half million?” I stared in awe at the screen-it was about five and a half million-midday! I informed him and we both knew we were experiencing history first-hand.

As Samuel Adams said: it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brushfires in people’s minds. The Founding Fathers were that minority and so are we! Each and every one of us should be proud to be a part of this historic movement. There is something very important to realize that not every Ron Paul supporter I have corresponded with gets. This struggle we are involved in neither begins nor ends with Ron Paul-nor with us. What is going on now that we fight is nothing new. If you have seen Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, then you understand the dangers of too much power in the hands of government in the name of “War.” Lew Rockwell speaks of never-ending war and government’s desire to retain power through it. That is why we have wars on drugs, terrorism, poverty, etc. Curtailing of civil liberties during the time of war has happened in the Civil War, World War I and II and the current war. History often repeats itself. Perhaps the word “revolution” is misused in the name of freedom. For “revolution” implies something happening once. But this does not characterize defense of freedom. It must not only be one, but kept and protected. As Ben Franklin described our Constitutional system-“It’s a republic IF you can KEEP it!” Freedom is not “won” once, but is preserved and protected by every generation-or else lost. Ours is no different.

A few days ago I engaged in an interpersonal conversation with a career political strategist. We had a pretty fun conversation involving our mutual history of politics. The conversation eventually drifted toward the current primary phase. This yielded what was, to me, by far the most encouraging part of the dialogue. This man was a lifelong democrat and no friend to Ron Paul. We knew of each other’s political leanings, though. I said to him “I think that Ron Paul has a realistic shot of winning the nomination and the White House-people just don’t know it yet.” He replied “so do I.” If only everyone were as open-minded as that, our battle would be a lot easier. Then again, battles as important as this one rarely are-nor should they be-easy.

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Get Out the Ron Paul Vote

Published by
MichaelC
at November 13, 2007 in Supporters and Uncategorized. 1 Comment

Ron Paul is faring higher now than he was before the November 5th fundraising surge. The latest polls show Ron Paul at 7% in New Hampshire and at around 6% nation-wide. This is of course a poll taken from all possible respondents. It is intended to be representative of the whole. In online polls and straw polls, Ron Paul’s percentage is significantly higher. In fact…he dominates them. He has all along. Some of them he wins with 80-90% of the vote. Ron Paul supporters know to use the internet advantage to its full potential and are there at every poll, which anyone can vote in (usually.) So Ron Paul is currently on the rise-we now see 6-7% at one end and 80-90 at the other. And this will continue to grow. On Primary Day I think that we will see something in between.

The online polls and straw polls are nice to look at and they provide a good image for the campaign…Ron Paul winning nearly every one of them so far. The media tries hard as they can to ignore the message…but they can only go so far when the polls are consistent as they are.

The polls conducted by the media and other groups are not completely accurate and this is an important piece of knowledge when predicting the outcome of this election. For instance, when “likely voters” is on the polling label, it means that the poll is of people who voted in the last primary election-which comprises less than 10% of those eligible and among these are the most flamboyant of neoconservative Bush-supporters. This can hardly be considered representative during this competitive election cycle. But more important is the issue of VOTER TURNOUT. Elections are not merely about spreading messages, but getting your voters to the polls. Many Republican primary voters this year are disillusioned with the lineup of candidates that they have to choose from-and I can’t blame them. Statistics show that the Democrats are more satisfied with their candidates on average. Voter turnout is typically low in primaries and caucuses since it is not seen as being as important as the general election. However, as shown in straw polls and online polls. Ron Paul supporters can tend to be more motivated than their counterparts. They will most likely turn out to vote in higher numbers than those who support the other candidates, yielding a higher percentage in the primary.

Now that he has the money to compete, it is time for Ron Paul to make a push in New Hampshire. New Hampshire has a strong “live free or die” libertarian attitude that can be capitalize upon. Now is the time for TV ads and campaigning. He already had the diehard supporters, which I count myself among…so now he’ll start to attract the moderate block of voters, too. With the message spreading that shouldn’t be hard. Thank God people still love the message of freedom and there is indeed hope for America. The strong message will show consistent rise up until primary day. I believe that even us big fans are in for a pleasant surprise-they say 50% of New Hampshire voters pick their candidate in the last week before the election. So let’s get ourselves and get the moderates to the polls-offer them a ride-whatever it takes. I am optimistic.

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Who Are The Ron Paulers?

Published by
nonrate
at November 9, 2007 in Supporters, Primaries and Political Issues. 4 Comments

You may have recently begun to read about this Ron Paul character in the news. In addition to wondering who Ron Paul is, you may also be curious who these Ron Paul people are? Who are these guys running around frantically flooding website comments, waving signs and contributing to record breaking “money bombs?” And why do they care so much about this Ron Paul guy who barely registers in the polls? Well, I felt it was time you found out from the mouth of one of them.

Ron Paul, currently running for the slot of President of the United States, is a 10 time Texas Congressman running on the Republican ticket. Many call him out as a Libertarian. It’s true that he ran for President in 1988 on the Libertarian ticket –after leaving the Republican party for the time that he did it. And many gawk when they see the Republican label. He must be in support of the current Iraqi expedition, and an expansion into Iran. He must also be for all kinds of controls and laws to protect the American people, like listening into your phone conversations and suspending laws that were created to protect freedoms that could be used to hurt you. He must be married to the bible and committed to ruling the land by it’s word as he interprets it, regardless of what religion you hold true to yourself is.

No, no and no. Ron Paul’s support does not come from todays twisted and perverted platform once known as the Republican party. It comes from the twenty year old college student, who saw their parents get their education at a fraction of the cost of theirs, and now feel uncertain for the chance to labor toward the American Dream they’ve been working so hard for, and so many fought for. They’re the people that are irked at the fact that they’re either earning the same or less than they were five years ago, while every living purchase has skyrocketed, with no end in foresight. They’re those close to retirement who can easily envision little or no social security coming back to them, after they’ve had it taken from them all their lives. It’s the people in their golden years that struggle to survive on their own living and medical expenses who can’t figure out why those whom we fund for governance feel it’s more important to spend it on waging battles halfway across the world, based on false pretense, rather than battling for the welfare of the greatest generation that ever existed. The generation that delivered the most impressive fruits of the industrial revolution and created the comforts of life we enjoy so much today. And they see the product of their labor transformed into the instrument of conquest.

They’re people that believe America is what it was founded to be. A place where the people of each state can independently govern itself, bound by a set of common principals guided by liberty. Those that believe in equal rights for all of humanity and the rule of law, as outlined in the United States Constitution. We are the ones that not only want to see, but are determined to being a part of what makes America the best it can be.

And we’re against those who attempt to cloud the American way. Against the abuse of power that often delivers a rewritten message of what the American ideology is about. We are against any regression into an uncivilized structure of civilization that preys on the poor and promotes unnecessary militarist conflict.

any are now crafting articles in an attempt to not only label Ron Paul “crazy” or as a a “lunatic,” but also pass these sentiments onto his supporters. Fine. In my limited experience following politics, I don’t believe I’ve ever witnessed such a strategy where not only the candidate, but the American public in support are also attacked. However, it certainly demonstrates this campaign isn’t just about Ron Paul. It’s about we the people. It’s about the message of liberty, responsible government and those in support of it. It’s an attack on the very ideas and principals that created the worlds first highly successful free society. But we, the Ron Paulers, are not swayed by such romper room tactics.

Those articulating their opinions in such a manner hope it will sway the Ron Paul supporter, or one considering to garner its message. It’s a natural defensive position to take when one threatens another –attempt to discredit them in the hopes you won’t listen to them and accept their judgment. And it’s your choice if you do or not. I know it can be difficult to hear something very sensible from someone like Ron Paul and become confused when someone that’s supposed to be an authority on the matter in question says it can’t work, when it did in a day we consider more primitive. And I agree it’s easier to adopt someone else’s judgment on a particular position or issue rather than examine it independently. But Ron Paulers are those that have decided to take the more challenging route and judge for themselves.

All in all, I can promise you this. We Ron Paulers are not about to fade into the night. We’re growing in numbers day by day. We’re committed to the modern ideas of freedom and liberty as scribed in our 200 plus year old constitution, and we plan on preserving it. We believe in a sound economic system where the money you earn holds its value while you alone hold onto it. We have no problem receiving the petty childish antics that attempt to shroud the message of liberty as crazy, or zany. Because we foster one of the most important traits required to maintain a free and prosperous country –tolerance. You may want to consider being a part of it… because we’re not going away.

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Ron, Ron and the Republican Party

Published by
MichaelC
at November 8, 2007 in Republicans. 0 Comments

Watching the Republican candidates for the 2008 party presidential nomination talk gets kind of repetitive after a while.  Most of them support the War in Iraq, want to continue President Bush’s neoconservative policies and liken themselves to Ronald Reagan.  “I’m a true Reagan conservative.”  “No!  I’m a true Reagan conservative.”  Many of the candidates of today’s Republican Party like to characterize their leadership and platform with the Reagan Era-the supposed Golden Age for Republicans.  Ron Paul is different.  Ron Paul supported Reagan before it was the cool thing for a Republican to do-as a delegate to the 1976 national convention when Reagan challenged incumbent president Gerald Ford.  Ron Paul also does not refrain from criticizing Reagan in the places he went wrong-huge deficit spending and intervention in South America.

 

The infamous modern welfare state manifested itself during the 1930s under FDR.  The welfare state, which is a precursor to socialism, called for ever higher tax burdens on the American worker and increased government intervention in people’s lives.  The supposed “conservatives” in much of the 20th century made peace with the welfare state.  Coming to what would be known as the “Reagan Revolution” in the 1980s, President Reagan halted the growth of the welfare state.  With a little charisma and much-needed common sense, he said “government is not the solution, government is the problem.”

 

A “revolution,” by definition, must bring something new to the table.  This is not present in other Republican candidates-they are the same old business-as-usual.  While they claim the general platform of the Reagan Revolution, they do not innovate or expand upon it.  Just as Reagan helped to halt the growth of the welfare state-Ron Paul can finally shrink it.  This includes the neoconservative philosophy of policing the world-another form of welfare state.  Instead of mimicking Reagan like the other candidates like to do, therefore chasing after an impossible ideal, Ron Paul expands and innovates on what the Reagan Revolution helped to accomplish-thus creating a revolution of his own.  I assume that many of the readers of this blog have seen the “Ron Paul Revolution” signs.

 

Both revolutionary candidates were preceded by more mediocre Republicans.  Nixon campaigned on ending the Vietnam War-which he started to do originally-but later expanded it.  Our current president also campaigned with the promise not to intervene like with Kosovo, but we all see how that turned out.  Reagan employed an out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new philosophy that I am hoping Ron Paul will do as well.  Reagan had no need for the old elite that dominated the Nixon and Ford administrations.  “They have experience, yes, but it is experience in screwing up.”  Instead he hired young, enthusiastic believers in limited government (like many of Ron Paul’s supporters.)  This can help a revolution work.

 

There are still many naysayers of the Ron Paul Revolution.  I’d like to compare the current election campaign in 2008 to that of 1976 for a moment.  The 1976 campaign also featured a candidate far behind the frontrunners who came from behind to win the nomination and the presidency: Jimmy Carter.  For the record, Ron Paul is not comparable in any way, shape or form to Jimmy Carter as a politician-only his place in the electoral contest.  Carter, as disappointing a president as he was, learned to exploit an advantage for himself that gave him the edge over “top tier” candidates seeking his party’s nomination.  For Carter it was the new primary system and the modern media.  For Ron Paul it is the internet.  Ron Paul entered this race a long shot candidate-but has built a grassroots campaign largely through online popularity-which has helped him fundraise, get interviewed by the media and build the support of a recognized major candidate.  After all, what has happened so far in the Ron Paul campaign has been nothing short of phenomenal.

 

So how has the internet helped this dark horse candidate so much?  The internet is the newest, most personalized and most interactive form of media technology and it is a good medium to get to voters.  Arianna Huffington, former candidate in the California Recall of 2003, said “It was clear to me, the 2008 campaign was going to be dominated by what’s happening online — new technologies, new media like never before.”  Ron Paul saw an opportunity and capitalized on this resource, more than other candidates have.  This resource has not been a factor in past elections so it is only natural that they overlook it.  I believe that in all future campaigns the internet will play a stronger roll.  After all, the thought of a major candidate disregarding the primary or the news media in today’s elections is unthinkable.

 

So once he wins the nomination…there is still the general election against a democrat (probably Hillary.)  During the general election, people will already know much of Ron Paul’s platform from the nomination race.  I think once he has time to go over it more in depth in the debates, a victory will be in sight.  As certain fellow campaigners of mine have said, “I cannot wait to see Ron Paul debate Hillary.”

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Ron Paul, Fruitcake?

Published by
nonrate
at November 7, 2007 in Media. 8 Comments

There comes a time during the course of ones candidacy where the attack phase begins. This usually occurs around the time a particular candidate becomes a threat to those considered “frontrunners,” and the frontrunners are generally those who have two pre-requisites: the most money and the highest traditional polling numbers.

Well, as Ron Paul begins to come up from behind rather rapidly, his attack phase begins. And one such attack is from one Kevin Drum of CBS news. Because Dr. Paul is essentially bulletproof when it comes to digging political dirt, the best these so called professional journalist can do is pull the childish “nutjob” or “fruitcake” card. Luckily, most of the educated masses never respond to such adolescent attempts, and those that do readily come to their senses when you simply ask them, “how does that make him a fruitcake?”

Kevin’s article can be viewed here; it is a 4 paragraph essay which attempts to characterize Ron Paul as someone who’s crazy, but like all hit pieces provides no substantive arguments to show it. Rather, it’s an amalgamation of emotion and contradiction. “In the last Republican debate I saw, this noted truth-teller gave a strange and convoluted answer about his economic policies that the audience plainly didn’t understand,” writes Kevin. Nor do I understand as Kevin forgot to cite what that example was. This is no different than the village idiot trying to sell someone three magic beans saying “trust me” they work.

He also goes on to contradict himself by suggesting the following, “Next time I expect to see some straight talk about how we should return to the gold standard and get rid of the Fed. This should be followed by a question about whether he supports the free coinage of silver at 16:1. Then some questions about the tin trust.” For someone who claims his audience is too dumbed down to understand the basic economics Dr. Paul has explained in the debates, how should he expect his audience to understand the tin trust, which is but a small tiny element in a larger spectrum of the economic engine?

I bask in the refreshment that the Ron Paul supporters I’ve met and worked with to date are intelligent, motivated, and focused individuals. We choose not to regress to grade school tactics and use emotional attack strategies. We are especially smart enough to avoid using the “fruitcake” labels, as we realize this is signal of an emotional response in the absence of issues of vital concern to the American public.

However, Kevin’s theme of the article itself is him ranting on about his readers being childish, and how they need to grow up. Yes my friends, this being professed by someone that used the term “buttload” in a so called professional journalistic entry for CBS. Kevin, you ask your readers to grow up. You’re the first ten year old that’s asked me to do that. Would you like a lollipop now?

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Am I Dreaming … ?

Published by
CorieW
at November 5, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Wow.

Seriously just … Wow …

I have literally lost all eloquence because I am utterly speechless. I cannot possibly express in words how sincerely proud I am of each and every Ron Paul supporter in this country and beyond. It was enough of a dream for me to simply find out that there was a Republican Presidential candidate who is, at his very core a Constitutionalist. Then, I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to meet him and was sincerely humbled by the power of his genuine nature and intelligence….

Now?

Now there is no possible way to ignore us! We all know that money talks, and you know what?

WE’VE GOT THE MONEY! (Plus 3 million and counting in LESS than twenty-four hours!)

This is as genuinely American as it gets! Real citizens donating their hard earned cash to the wonderful and inspiring Ron Paul because in their hearts, they are wholly sure that he transcends all the varying forms that political corruption comes in. It is inspiring to be a part of this, and even MORE inspiring to know that since the first day I learned of Ron Paul, my support for him was, and will continue to be entirely unwavering.

I can only pray that as us dedicated supporters continue to do more to give him the positive publicity he deserves, and that other like-minded Americans will find out about Ron Paul and feel as passionately as I do. That is sincerely what I ask at this given point in time. Everything else will fall into place with time after such a wish is fulfilled. I am 100% confident in that because I am 100% confident in the power of our Constitution.

I am so overly inspired right now that I am not even sure I can possibly convey it. This is my feeble attempt. The Ron Paul Revolution at its current point means something greater than any of us of us can express, and I can’t wait to continue watching this develop - and of course HELPING it develop!

The Great American Experiment WILL continue on because WE THE PEOPLE control it - not special interests, not the corporate media and not the privileged few.

As long as we follow our Constitution and amend it only with great care, I am confident that as a Republic, we will continue to flourish.

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