Local blogger, Darin Codin, is on the ground in Iowa covering the Iowa caucus. Darin normally blogs as Branson Missouri (and some of the Iowa footage is on this blog), but has set up a a separate site, Iowa Caucus 2008, for this effort.
My understanding is that Darin is in charge of some local students who are imbeded with each campaign. He probably deserves a medal just for that.
Members of Springfield Ron Paul Meetup were out on the the square last night, ringing in the New Year by showing their support for Ron Paul.
In addition, this Meetup has been successful in getting billboards up around town.January 9th: Last day you can register to vote for February presidential primaries!
If the Republican die-hards really want to beat Hillary in 2008, they should be looking at Ron Paul. From The Walk:
Zogby's Director of Communications and polling analyst Fritz Wenzel says that Congressman Ron Paul is the strongest of the Republican frontrunners to go up against Hillary Clinton, underlining the fact that the rest of the field are just ringers as the establishment prepares to install Clinton and prolong the Bush-Clinton power monopoly.
"Among Democrats, yes, he would be a much stronger candidate than any of the other three (Romney, Giuliani, Thompson)" Wenzel told the Alex Jones Show yesterday.
A new Zogby poll commissioned by Jones Productions found Ron Paul the GOP winner in a blind poll that included Democrats, Republicans and Independents nationwide. "He is anti-war and the majority of Democrats are anti-war, he has some other ideas and policies and stances on issues more attractive to Democrats, particularly conservative Democrats," said Wenzel.
"Even among independents, he is far and away a more attractive candidate," he added.
While I've had it with voting for the lesser of two evils (hence my support of Ron Paul), I realize that many of the GOP faithful simply want to beat the Democrats. Maybe they should be rethinking their strategy and start giving the good doctor some support.
We The People Foundation
For Constitutional Education, Inc.
2458 Ridge Road , Queensbury , NY 12804
Phone: (518) 656-3578 Fax: (518) 656-9724
www.GiveMeLiberty.org info@givemeliberty.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For information contact:
Doug Bersaw: 603-239-8827
Jim Condit, Jr.: 513-602-0627
Walter Reddy: 203-858-2677
50 States Sued To Block Computerized Vote Counting
Federal Court Will Be Asked to Delay Primaries
QUEENSBURY, NY-- Nov. 6, 2007. On November 1st chief election officials in all fifty states were named as Defendants in a federal voting rights lawsuit spearheaded by the We the People Foundation for Constitutional Education to ensure the integrity of the upcoming primary elections and next year's general elections.
Plaintiffs from every state brought the suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York and maintain that current election practices, including the widespread use of computerized voting machines, are unconstitutional because they are ripe for fraud and error and effectively hide the physical vote counting process from the public, effectively denying citizens their legally protected Right to cast an effective vote. The lawsuit seeks an Order from the Court prohibiting the use of all voting machines and which forces election officials to instead use utilize paper ballots and to count and total all votes by hand, always in full view of the public.
The lawsuit, called the NCEL, National Clean Elections Lawsuit, follows documented vote machine failures during August's Iowa Straw Poll, persisting claims questioning the integrity of the 2004 presidential election, and the official de-certification in August of virtually every major electronic voting system by the California Secretary of State based upon several comprehensive academic studies documenting the systems' significant vulnerabilities to software "hacking" and vote fraud.
This week, the Plaintiffs will file a motion for injunctive relief, asking the Court to preliminarily prohibit and enjoin the States from conducting their primaries and caucuses until the questions presented to the Court are finally determined. James Condit Jr., head of Citizens for a Fair Vote Count, and the lead plaintiff from Ohio, has asked all concerned citizens to support the case. Mr. Schulz has publicly said that he expects the case to go to the Supreme Court. The case number for the current case is 07-943. The We the People Foundation was formed in 1997 in order to defend the Constitution and the People's Right to hold the Government accountable to it.
Ron Paul Girl - Register Now! - The funniest videos clips are here
Missouri has open primaries (you don't have to register with a party) but, you DO have to be registered to vote by January 9, 2008.Everyone knows Ron Paul supporters are 911 conspiracy theorists, hate America, belong to Code Pink, or are Democrat operatives, right? We're all alike and we're all crazy.
News flash: We are not a homogenous group. Some of the things about this Paul supporter:
So why am I supporting Ron Paul? I'll get to that.
The good thing about Ron Paul is that he is a policy wonk. It's also a bad thing, as American voters are enamored with fluffy sound bites, which explains the Fred Thompson factor.
Listen as presidential hopeful Ron Paul discusses monetary policy with Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. (Hat Tip: Jeremy Hermanns)
This may come as a surprise to Sean Hannity. According to recent FEC filings, Ron Paul leads all other candidates in campaign donations from military personnel (declared, active and retired). Link: PHREADOM
Military support for staying in Iraq may be waning, if a recent poll on Military.com is any indicator. Tom Engelhardt has more at The Nation.
It went something like this:
You Tuber: My life sucks 'cause minimum wage doesn't pay enough. How am I supposed to raise 5 kids on minimum wage?
Democrat's answer: This is the richest country in the world! Nobody should have to flip burgers for less than $10/hour.
You Tuber: But I still won't be able to afford healthcare for all those kids on $10 bucks an hour!
Democrats: This is the richest country in the world! We'll give everyone healthcare!
You Tuber: Obama, are you really black?
Obama: I'm blacker than Bill Clinton, you twit.
Hillary: I'm not black, but I'm not butch. I'm wearing pink!
You Tuber: Yo man. What about reparations for black folk. You gonna fork it over?
Kucinich: Sure!
Obama: Have you considered educating yourself? Twit.
Rest of Dems: WTF?! Uh, no.
Gravel: In my lucid moments, I have good ideas.
Me: America, we're so screwed.
CNN pretended Ron Paul wasn't there.
Rudy uses the "n" word--NATION BUILDING--as in we must start training our troops in nation building. Can we assume that a President Rudy would be invading lots more countries?
Arriana Huffington must have been huffing something because she thought John McClain looked like a winner tonight.
Romney, Brownback, and Thompson? YAWN
Tancredo went too far by suggesting that we should stop LEGAL immigration.
Huckabee gave a brilliant answer to the question on whether he believed in evolution, but later gave a broad hint that he would be a big, BIG spender when it comes to social issues (something you already knew if you've been paying attention to his record in Arkansas.)
The "top tier" was totally uninspiring tonight.
While the the mainstream media blathered on about Romney, Giuliani, and McCain, Ron Paul is the only candidate who got a huge boost in the MSNBC poll after the debate. He is, in fact, the LEADER in the poll.
Having watched the debate live, and then again several times on MSNBC's website, I have a few thoughts:
Please, let's have no more putrid little people as moderators, no more Politico operatives stalking about the stage a la Al Gore, and no more dumbass questions.
Notice how Keith Whats-His-Face just can't believe that one of the media-approved candidates isn't winning their poll.
Here's Ron Paul in the debate. (Listen to the endorsements beforehand!)
There are rumors going around the net that Ron Paul is being excluded from the GOP debate in South Carolina. According to SC's own site, this simply is not true:
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Ten candidates to participate in historic First-in-the-South Presidential Candidates Debate
Contact: Rob Godfrey, Communications Director
803.988.8440COLUMBIA, S.C. – Excitement surrounding presidential politics in South Carolina continues to grow as South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson today announced that invitations will be extended to ten Republican presidential candidates to participate in the 2007 First-In-The-South Republican Party Presidential Candidates Debate.
Dawson said, “We would like to extend a warm South Carolina welcome to ten White House hopefuls who are seeking the Republican nomination to be the next President of the United States.”“The participants in our debate ensure South Carolina voters and Republicans visiting Columbia from across the country get a chance to hear candidates for President candidly discuss important issues facing our future. We are extremely proud to host the first truly national presidential candidates debate,” Dawson added.
The following candidates will be receiving formal invitations from the South Carolina Republican Party to the 2007 First-In-The-South Republican Party Presidential Candidates Debate (in alphabetical order):
U.S. Senator Sam Brownback – Kansas
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani – New York City
Former Governor Jim Gilmore – Virginia
Former Governor Mike Huckabee – Arkansas
U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter – California
U.S. Senator John McCain – Arizona
U.S. Congressman Ron Paul – Texas
Former Governor Mitt Romney – Massachusetts
U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo – Colorado
Former Governor Tommy Thompson – Wisconsin
The 2007 First-In-The-South Republican Party Presidential Candidates Debate will be televised live by FOX News Channel at 9:00 PM from the University of South Carolina’s Koger Center for the Arts on Tuesday, May 15, 2007. FOX News Channel Washington Managing Editor Brit Hume will moderate the debate and FOX News Sunday Anchor Chris Wallace and White House Correspondent Wendell Goler will ask questions of the candidates.
While I understand just how boring the debate would be if we had to listen to just Giuliani, McCain, and Romney, you need to get a grip folks!
Richard Viguerie, author of Conservatives Betrayed, doesn't believe conservative voters should support Giuliani, Romney, or McCain. He does, however, have good things to say about Ron Paul.
I'm not a Kucinich fan, but I'm annoyed by Dana Milbank's article, Kucinich's Battle Against Cheney Not So (Im)Peachy Keen, in today's Washington Post.
Rather than an intelligent discussion on the wisdom (or lack thereof) of Kucinich's drive to impeach Vice President Cheney, Milbank used the article as an occasion to make sly digs at a presidential candidate for whom he obviously has no respect.
There were the inevitable snarks about Kucinich's appearance:
[...] Standing perhaps 5 feet 6 inches tall in shoes, he wore a solemn face as he approached the microphones, which nearly reached his eye level. He beckoned to aides, who handed out thick binders detailing the case."
Kucinich read at length from his articles of impeachment,undeterred by rush-hour traffic noise on Independence Avenue ("I'll wait till the truck goes by here," he said at one point) and wind that ruffled his text and the few strands of his hair that were insufficiently weighted by Brylcreem.
Milbank made sure readers knew that other Democrats weren't taking this seriously:
[...] A reporter from the Cleveland Plain Dealer encouraged USS Kucinich to contact planet Earth. "But Nancy Pelosi says this is not going anywhere," she pointed out.
And this:
[...]
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), chairman of the House Democratic caucus, was equally dismissive -- "Dennis can do what he wants; I'm not going to support it" -- but used the occasion to try out some Cheney material: "This is the biggest setback for the vice president since oil went under 65 bucks a barrel."
While we can surmise this is a ploy by Kucinich to grab some attention, I'm wondering what tone Milbank (or Rahm Emanuel for that matter) would have taken if Clinton or Obama had been the one to call this news conference.
Not that that is likely to happen; it would ruin Clinton's new centrism, and Obama couldn't find a way to wax poetic on the subject.
For those of you who had given up on voting the the Pajamas Media Presidential Straw Poll, as did I, there's good news. Ron Paul is once again listed as a selection.
And yet another pledge. At this rate, I may have to start working some overtime!
"I will donate $100 to the Ron Paul for President campaign but only if 100 other people will do the same."
— Jon Isaac, personal liberty activist
Deadline to sign up by: 20th April 2007
43 people have signed up, 57 more neededCountry: United States
More details
Congressman Ron Paul, the leading voice in today's freedom movement, is running for President of the United States. Dr Paul represents our best opportunity to infuse the 2008 presidential elections with a conversation on personal freedom. But he can't succeed without the help of you and me! I'm putting my money where my mouth is by pledging a paltry 100 bucks to help his campaign, and I urge you to do the same.
Let's send a message to Washington and the media that this man and his message will not be ignored!
Source: 'I will donate $100 to the Ron Paul for President campaign' - PledgeBank
Dr. Paul was interviewed on the "Because You Asked" segment of Fox News on March 21st.
Here's the video.
Hat Tip: Daily Paul
You can go to MySpace EVENTFUL and tell Ron Paul you want him to come to your town!
The Constitution Party's 2004 V.P. candidate, Chuck Baldwin, is no fan of current Republican presidential hopefuls.
It appears that conservatives will be asked to choose between the chameleon Mitt Romney, the pro-amnesty-for-illegal-aliens John McCain, and philanderers Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani. A few conservatives seem slightly excited that former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson is mulling entrance into the presidential race. However, a closer inspection of his voting record finds him to be just another globalist neocon, who would do little to change things in Washington, D.C. For example, Americans for Better Immigration gives him a puny career grade of "C."
...It is past time for conservatives to admit that the national Republican Party has crossed the point of no return and has no intention of nominating a genuine conservative for president. The GOP has become nothing more than a big-government, no-borders, war party. If true conservatives are going to have a voice in Washington politics, it will have to come through an independent party.
That is not to say that there are not genuine conservatives in the GOP presidential race. Congressman Ron Paul of Texas embodies everything the CEP is looking for. Beyond that, if he should miraculously win the nomination, he would, no doubt, receive broad support in the general election. He would solidify the conservative base of the GOP and would be very popular among independents, libertarians, and even conservative Democrats.
He goes on to state the obvious, which is that Ron Paul can expect no support (excepting the Liberty Caucus) from the Grand Pooh-Bahs of the GOP.
Link to Food For Thought From the Chuck Wagon
Hat Tip: Third Party Watch
Ron Paul announces that he is running for the Republican nomination; he discuses government spending, Iraq, etc.
Congressman Ron Paul has accepted Nancy Reagan's invitation to participate in a presidential debate to be held at the Reagan Presidential Library on May 3, 2007. MSNBC will moderate and televise the 90-minute debate starting at 5:00 p.m. ET. The debate will also be simulcast by politico.com to give citizens the opportunity to submit questions online. (Link)
Daily Paul reports that Ron Paul has gone from the exploratory stage to candidate:) He will make the announcement on C-Span's Washington Journal on Monday, March 11th, 6:00 a.m. CST.
Hat Tip: Friends of Ron Paul
Michael Badnarik (Libertarian presidential candidate in '04) proposes a fusion candidacy at the New Hampshire Liberty Forum:
In his Friday night keynote address, Badnarik, who is also a member of the Free State Project and plans to move to New Hampshire by the end of 2008, urged over 200 attendees to support Ron Paul for president by making campaign contributions and activating grassroots support.
"You cannot do it yourself," he said. "You have to have wide, wide grassroots support."
Badnarik also urged the Libertarian Party to nominate Ron Paul as well. "I hope the Libertarian Party is smart enough to say, 'Oh ho, somebody we can trust!' and nominate Ron Paul as our nominee," he said. "We should set the Republican, Democrat, Libertarian labels aside, and vote for Ron Paul the person." (Link: Homeland Stupidity)
Hotline reports that Rudy Giuliani and John McCain won't be making that first GOP debate in New Hampshire after all.
McCain will be in the Middle East and Giuliani cited unspecified scheduling conflicts, a person with direct knowledge of the debate refusals said.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer and WMUR's Scott Spradling are the hosts.
Both McCain and Giuliani accepted Nancy Reagan's invitation to participate in the 5/3 debate scheduled for the Reagan Library. (MARC AMBINDER)
Why, one could almost think they were sitting this one out so they could watch Dr. Paul from a safe distance.
I find this Ron Paul video to be very inspiring. Ron Paul for 2008!
Speaking of voting, isn't it interesting that week four of the Pajamas Media Poll no longer includes Ron Paul, who came in second the week of 2/11 and handily WON week three.
Their reason? "From this point on, our weekly poll will be updated to those national candidates of both parties that score at least one percent on the previous month’s Gallup Poll (via RealClearPolitics).
I think a commenter named Richard summed it up best:
What a farce. I have to choose between statist Republicrats and statist Demopublicans. On a real ballot I have more choices than that and several of the 3rd party choices will gather more votes than most of these dweebs. This is the same sort of rigged poll (by artificially constraining the choices) that makes most US "polls" and "debates" meaningless compared to the actual choices available to voters. I expected better from Pajamas Media than to continue this MSM tradition of shutting out alternative voices.
In a seeming reversal, Pajamas Media states in the comments "Thompson, Paul and other viable candidates will be added for next week's poll. We will not add candidates while a poll is under way."
*Ron Paul's site will be set up to take online donations on Tuesday, Feb. 20th.
NewsMax.com, Dave Eberhart: "...this independent thinking man is no slave to a strict libertarian agenda — voting against the Central American Free Trade Agreement (bigger government, he says), supporting border security, and opposing illegal immigration — all postures that would rattle the Libertarian core."
SmallGovTimes: "Unfortunately, the American people have grown comfortable with big
federal government control, and Paul’s campaign knows it will be a
tough battle positioning him for victory in 2008. “There is no question
that it is an uphill battle,“ Kent Snyder, the chairman of Paul’s
exploratory committee, said. "
George Will: "Paul, who really believes in limited government, will infiltrate that confabulation of sedate candidates in order, he says, to find out 'how many real Republicans are left.' This could be entertaining, meaning embarrassing." (Hat Tip: The Liberty Papers)
Politizine: "I don't agree with everything, but given the choice between him and some of the other Republicans, I would take him in a heartbeat. He knows in his core what freedom means."
Reason Hit & Run, Dave Weigel: "...maybe there's not a web conspiracy to promote Paul. Maybe (1) the other Republican candidates are gobsmackingly lame and (2)lots of libertarians use this fancy 'internet' contraption."
The New Liberty: "...maybe it is just tolerance for the usual BS from the other candidates who flip flop, waiver, and sell out on the issues has reached critical mass, and it’s being shown on the Internet, the place where the voices of the little people can be most loudly heard."
AgricultureOnline: "Representative Ron Paul (R-TX), is a chief sponsor of H.R. 1009, the "Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2007.
'It is indefensible that the United States government prevents American farmers from growing this crop. The prohibition subsidizes farmers in countries from Canada to Romania by eliminating American competition and encourages jobs in industries such as food, auto parts and clothing that utilize industrial hemp to be located overseas instead of in the United States," said Dr. Paul. "By passing the Industrial Hemp Farming Act the House of Representatives can help American farmers and reduce the trade deficit- all without spending a single taxpayer dollar.'
...Farmers in Canada have reported that hemp is one of the most profitable crops that they can grow. "
Yannone: "When Ron Paul talks about reducing the size and scope of government, he is not talking about privatizing anything. He's simply talking about obeying the Constitution. That's the kind of scary talk that causes Ron Paul's 534 fellow congressmen--those in the House and Senate who line their pockets as they busy themselves redistributing your income--to hyperventilate, sweat, and swoon."
Jack Stevison: "Ron Paul Gets It"
News Blaze: "Ron Paul has been unafraid to criticize the neocon Bush Administration, and has been highly critical of their excessive spending."
Blogcritics: "He's earned a reputation as a pain in the ass to every fat cat and party hack on both sides of the aisle. Standing alone or with a few allies from the Republican Liberty Caucus he's always there to raise the uncomfortable truth or ask the question no one else will ask. He's voted against so many bills in his 18 years - including every budget and every expansion of government's size or power - that he's earned the title 'Dr. No'. He's one of very few representatives in Congress who can be counted on to always vote their conscience without making any political compromises."
Technocrat: "...For those who aren't aware of him, he is the major thorn in the Rs side on things (because he is traditional, not even close to being a neocon)"
ed: One thing's for sure, if Ron Paul starts polling too well, Sean Hannity's hair will catch on fire. Wouldn't that be something to see:)
Ron Paul has accepted an invitation to participate in the first national presidential debate in New Hampshire on Wednesday, April 4. It will be hosted by Wolf Blitzer and will be carried on CNN TV, radio, and cnn.com from 7-9 p.m. EST... Link to LewRockwell.com Blog: Ron Paul News
(Hat tip: Third Party Watch)
Update: Sadly, some have seen fit to spam the straw poll, therefore these figures are not accurate.
Support for Ron Paul on the PajamasMedia Presidential Straw Poll has jumped from
3.8% to 21.8% in one week. The Republican leader, Rudy
Giuliani is at 25.9%. Ron Paul is the current leader at 27.3%, just edging out Mitt Romney. Guiliani has slipped to 3rd, with 23.1%.
Larry's Log posted a letter from Ron Paul concerning the Fair Tax, and tax reform in general. Paul elaborates on the subject in the article Taxes, Spending, and Debt are the Real Issues, up at Lew Rockwell's site.
Dr. Ron Paul on Lowering the Cost of Health Care.
Here's a video of Ron Paul speaking before Congress on internet gambling and regulation of the internet in general.
The field of those considering a run for the White House in 2008 just got a lot more interesting now that Ron Paul (R, TX) is forming a presidential exploratory committee.
Paul was the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate in 1988.
Below is a video of Ron Paul speaking before the U.S. House of Representatives on June 29, 2006. Warning--this is a long video.
Reactions from bloggers:
Wonkette says "Save America! Ron Paul For President!"
Daystar51 for real: Congressman Ron Paul
Outlaw News calls Paul America's Braveheart
While there are a lot of things to like about Ron Paul, Area 417 is reserving judgment at this time.
Vin Suprynowicz: Send In The Waco Killers: Essays on the Freedom Movement, 1993-1998
Robert Higgs: Opposing the Crusader State: Alternatives to Global Interventionism
Jacques S. Jaikaran: Debt Virus: A Compelling Solution to the World's Debt Problems
Andrew P. Napolitano: A Nation of Sheep
Judge Napolitano urges Americans to reject profoundly the satanic bargain that less freedom equals more safety. Less freedom equals slavery.
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