Ron Paul Wins Exit Poll for Iowa Straw Poll

voteinsunshine.blogspot.com

As if it couldn't get much worse with Mary Mosiman connected to the Romney for President Leadership Team. We now have the results from the Vote in Sunshine Coalition exit poll where Ron Paul clearly won!

Ron Paul 332

Tom Tancredo 150

Mike Huckabee 187

Fred Thompson 8

Tommy Thompson 39

Mitt Romney 90

Duncan Hunter 12

Hillary Clinton 1

John McCain 5

Sam Brownback 62

John Cox 4

Dennis Kucinich 1

Rudy Giuliani 6

Total 897


This shows us that Ron Paul got nearly 37% of the votes cast. This exit poll only recorded 6% of the votes, which is very low. However, I believe there is a bit of a discrepancy here with Ron Paul's total in the official poll. Nine percent and 37% are a huge difference. Now unfortunately, this exit poll is not scientific and it did only get 6% of the total votes made in the straw poll. If it had captured 40-50%, then this information would be more accurate and could be used to stir up an investigation. Regardless though, we need to take another look at these voting machines and Mary Mosiman's role in this straw poll.

I blame my horrible sinus infection for not fully understanding all of this. It is wrong for Ron Paul's official campaign volunteers to be involved in this exit poll. However, I thought it was said that Ron Paul's campaign was telling his supporters not to be involved. I apologize for the misunderstanding. If Ron Paul's campaign were involved this would be a conflict of interest too and it would be no better than what Romney did.

Campaign: Statement on Iowa Straw Poll

On behalf of Dr. Ron Paul and his wife Carol, and the Ron Paul 2008 campaign staff, I thank our supporters and volunteers in Iowa and throughout the country for the strong showing in the Iowa straw poll. We are pleased and encouraged by the results.

We have the three ingredients for success:
1. The message: freedom, peace and prosperity.
2. The man: Ron Paul.
3. You.

Our campaign has begun.

Kent Snyder
Chairman, Ron Paul 2008
http://www.ronpaul2008.com

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Sorry Kent Snyder I will have to disagree with you on this one.
Is the Ron Paul campaign investigating the results of the straw poll? I certainly hope so and if not, why?

• Why Mr. Snyder is the campaign acting like 5th place is a good showing at the Iowa Straw poll?
• Why Mr. Snyder is evidence of possible conflicts of interest being ignored?
• Why Mr. Snyder was action not taken before the straw poll to put pressure on certain individuals to ensure fraud could not occur?
• Were the voting machine failures looked into or are we believing Mary Mosiman and David Vaudt who are friends of the Romney campaign?
  
• Why Mr. Snyder is the Ron Paul campaign allowing the Iowa GOP and Story County Auditor walk over them with their demand of $184,000 for a recount?
  

Please help me understand why I should spend hours a week supporting Ron Paul. Especially after a straw poll that was run by a Romney Leadership Team member, which was allowed to continue without any resistance from the Ron Paul campaign?

If we cannot agree that there was potential fraud in a non-binding straw poll, then how exactly are we going to win a Primary or Caucus where fraud is even more likely because of higher stakes?

Perhaps your campaign will pay more attention to the concerns of your supporters rather than letting them out to dry. I tried to warn you, but no one wanted to listen.

Mike Huckabee Wins, Ron Paul Loses

Donklephant.com

Well, Mitt actually placed first, and that was to be expected.

But what wasn’t expected is that Ron Paul would lose to Huckabee, Brownback and Tom “Bomb Mecca” Trancedo.

From the Des Moines Register…

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee had said his campaign’s future depended on a strong showing in Ames. He finished in second place, with 2,587 votes or 18.1 percent. Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas placed third with 2,192 votes, 15.3 percent after campaigning aggressively to be the choice of the Iowa GOP’s influential social conservatives.

“Obviously this was an incredible day and victory for us,” Huckabee said. “What happened for us today was stunning.”

Huckabee said he and his campaign staff had been saying they had momentum and it proved true.

“We overperformed,” he said. “The bigger story is we did it with not a dime of paid advertising.”

Kudos to Huckabee and his team. He could be the dark horse in this campaign, as he’s been getting high marks from voters for his earnestness and likability. Seems like a guy they think they can trust.

Getting back to Ron Paul, I really do think this is a big blow for his campaign. A strong showing here would have rocketed him into the mediasphere, but losing to Tancredo? It means he remains an internet oddity, somebody that the media and the other candidates can dismiss as just a guy who figured out how to create some buzz on the internet.

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A few days before the vote, people were saying RP would take 2nd or 3rd. That sounded about right to me.

I am not sure who planted this idea in the RP supporters that 5th place is good. It's not good. We lost guys! The media is telling us we did good, but I ensure you we did not. If we cannot win a straw poll how exactly are we going to win a Primary or Caucus?

Also those machines really troubled me too and it just so happens that a company who tracks billions and billions of dollars a day in their ATMs can't seem to count 14,000 ballots. Ahem...sure they can't. They can't when they don't want to.

Now what happens with these results is that the field is NOT going to be any smaller. Tancredo, Huckabee, Brownback will all be on the stage till the Primaries. The debates will still be crowded giving the candidates a small amount of speaking time. Perhaps Ron Paul won't be invited to them now with his "victory" of 5th place. It almost makes me laugh saying that.

I agree completely with Justin's take on this. Ron Paul is finished. The supporters may still go "rah rah" and hold signs on intersections, but this was the first and last test of Ron Paul. This may be harsh, but 5th place is pathetic especially in a race where 2 of the frontrunners were not even present. We lost to "2nd tier" candidates, so where does that put Ron Paul?

A Partial Recount Confirmed

Marc Ambinder

AMES -- Mary Tiffany, an Iowa Republican Party official, confirms that at least one voting machine malfunctioned and that tabulators recounted at least 1500 ballots.

The state party rented optical scan machines from Diebold, a company at the center of several recent voting controversies. Recently, the state of California de-certified Diebold machines for the 2008 election.

Yesterday, Iowans who support Ron Paul failed to get a judge to require a voter-verified paper ballot be used in today's straw poll. Separately, the state party told the Paul campaign that a full paper recount would cost $184,000.

Already, some Paul supporters are whispering about a challenge.

--

I think the results are pretty far fetched and it is worth a challenge. I really hope the Ron Paul campaign does not let them walk all over them. This needed to be addressed BEFORE the straw poll and it wasn't. I was called the wacko, weirdo, or the person hurting the campaign.

Here we are now after the poll, where the winners are announced all over TV and radio and TV interviews are being set up as I type. Instead of being proud of the results I would guess that every single Ron Paul supporter, in the back of their minds, are questioning the results. In my opinion, we are in a worse position challenging this after than we would have if we challenged it before hand.

This should be a learning experience for everyone involved.

Straw Poll Results

Rightsfield.com

1. Mitt Romney 4,516 31.6%
2. Mike Huckabee 2,587 18.1%
3. Sam Brownback 2,192 15.3%
4. Tom Tancredo 1,960 13.7%
5. Ron Paul 1,305 9.1%
6. Tommy Thompson 1,039 7.3%
7. Fred Thompson 203 1.4%
8. Rudy Giuliani 183 1.3%
9. Duncan Hunter 174 1.2%
10. John McCain 101 0.7%
11. John Cox 41 0.3%

Oh, and there were major voting machine problems. Thank you, Diebold!

Straw Poll Voting Machine Failures

Marc Ambinder

AMES -- The announcement of tonight's straw poll results has been delayed due to what one informed source says was a voting machine malfunction. About 4,500 ballots had to be re-run.

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The results were delayed due to a voting machine failure. Oh gee! Isn't this what we were trying to tell people BEFORE the straw poll? These machines are not reliable. No one wanted to listen, but maybe they will now. Paper ballots put in clear boxes is the MOST reliable method out there.

Since we know what the unofficial results are the large number of votes that needed to be re-run is quite significant. That is 32% of the votes and let's not forget Romney only got 4516 votes... Therefore, 4500 votes is quite significant no matter how you look at it.

Amazing Speech on C-Span

I don't know what made me think to turn on C-Span's live broadcast from the Iowa Straw poll, but when I did it was the one and only, Ron Paul.

He sounded amazing. He was firm, strong, and his voice was thunderous!

The speech literally brought tears to my eyes and the enthusiasm in the room was spectacular. It makes me wish I was there right now to help my fellow Ron Paul supporters. After that victorious speech Ron Paul just gave, if that doesn't persuade you to vote for him, I doubt anything would.

If you want to watch live, see this link. And click on whatever format suits you.

Ron Paul, "Go tell the Romney people to do the right thing!"

In this article on The New York Time's blog called "The Caucus", Ron Paul tells his supporters who are not from Iowa to help persuade as many people as possible today.

He also had something to say to the Romney crew.

If you’re an Iowan, please go vote!” he said. And if not? “Go tell the Romney people to do the right thing!”

This made me smile! Ron Paul is great with words and this is a great one liner that I hope the entire Romney campaign hears this including his Leadership team member, Mary Mosiman. At least it lets them know we are watching.

Judge okays use of machines for straw poll

DesMoinesRegister.com

A federal judge shot down a request from a group of Iowans who distrust computerized voting machines and wanted ballots at today’s Republican straw poll to be stored in clear plastic containers then hand counted.

U.S. District Judge James Gritzner of Des Moines denied their request Friday for a temporary restraining order and an injunction against the straw poll’s use of the Diebold machines. The judge said there are no previous legal rulings that an unofficial straw poll offered by a private political entity is a public election that would be entitled to Constitutional protections.

The group of voting machine watchdogs oppose the Iowa Republican Party’s Presidential Straw Poll’s use of Diebold Election Systems machines. California elections officials decertified Diebold machines last week after a “top to bottom” security review found fundamental weaknesses. The California machines can still be used in that state, but new security measures are in place.

The machines at the straw poll are owned by Story County; 71 counties in Iowa use Diebold machines.

The watchdog group thinks the machines leave voting “ripe for fraud or machine failure – or even sabotage,” according to a complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court.

The plaintiffs included five Iowans: Jennifer Maki of Dubuque, Pam Wagner of Homestead, Troy Reha of Des Moines, Ginger Corbett of Maquoketa and Roger Leahy of Fairfield. Three other plaintiffs, James Condit Jr. of Ohio, founder of Citizens for a Fair Vote Count; Robert L. Schulz of New York, leader of an organization called We the People; and Walter Reddy of Connecticut purchased the $35 tickets to the event but are not qualified to vote in the straw poll.

The complaint was filed against Story County election commissioner Mary Mosiman, Iowa Republican Party Chairman Ray Hoffman, the state of Iowa, Story County, and State Auditor David Vaudt. Voting will take place on the Iowa State University campus and be overseen by Mosiman’s office, with assistance from the state auditor’s office.
Mosiman on Friday expressed confidence in Story County’s machines, saying testing shows they’re counting the votes correctly.

“This is a very secure process and we wouldn’t want a machine that wasn’t functioning properly,” she said. (emphasis mine)
--End Article--

Let's not forget that Mary Mosiman is on Romney's Leadership Team.

I wonder who she wants to win? According to this article on IowaGop.net, it is interesting that she is one of several people who have full access to the machines.

"The Global Election Management System (GEMS) computer is used to prepare ballots and voting equipment programs, and to compile and report election results. The GEMS shall not be used for any other function. The GEMS computer is not and shall not be linked to the Story County network or to the Internet. Access to the GEMS computer is limited to the Story County Auditor, Assistant Auditor, Deputy Auditors, and designated election staff member(s)."

Well I think someone is going to be shamed today and it's going to be Ron Paul and his supporters. Action should have been taken earlier to correct this potential disaster.

Iowa Straw Poll Is Here

Well today is the day. It's everything we have been waiting for these past few months! The voting in the Iowa Straw poll will open at 10am and continue until 6pm. Ron Paul needs to show he has a large amount of real offline support or it will hurt him significantly. I can see the headlines now if Ron Paul finishes poorly...That's why this straw poll is so important and I think in some ways it is more important to this campaign than the others.

There will be tons of media anxiously awaiting for the events of the day and of course the final voting results. According to this website, there were 600 journalists from more than 250 news media organizations on hand at the 1999 straw poll. That's why we need a good showing. All eyes are on Ron Paul! I certainly hope Ron Paul's campaign can pull this off for the future of our country.

I have butterflies in my stomach because of the latest developments with the conflict of interest. However, I am trying to give everyone involved the benefit of the doubt. All we want is a fair vote and if Ron Paul gets 5th in a honest, fraud free vote, then so be it! However, if he gets last place and there is evidence of fraud, I will be extremely upset. I may have to change my focus from Ron Paul to the voter fraud because Ron Paul will NEVER get the nomination if these electronic machines are in place.

If I were supporting another candidate, I would still be as concerned as I am right now. This has nothing to do with what candidate I am cheering on the sidelines. It has everything to do with the idea that if our elections are fraudulent then our country is already gone. If we cannot elect leaders of our choosing, then we live in a dictatorship. Simple as that!

Today I will be watching the news and first hand accounts from people on the ground in Iowa.

For those of you interested in the official schedule, you can view that here.

Romney Leadership Team Member Overseeing Straw Poll

I could certainly write volumes about this, but I think the facts paint the picture themselves.

The Iowa GOP is facing possible suit over their use of the same Diebold machines that were just de-certified. Story here.

They are claiming of course, that there is nothing to worry about since the voting procedure will be conducted with the assistance and oversight of the Story County Auditor's Office. Story here.

If we look here we see the Story County Auditor is Mary Mosiman.

Mary Mosiman also happens to be on Mitt Romney's "Romney for President Leadership Team".

So there you have it, the Story County Auditor who will take part in overseeing the voting on the questionable machines is part of a team dedicated to "help Governor Romney share his vision for America".

That's a blatant conflict of interest and this is something we cannot ignore.

PS. It's also worth noting that according to this article, Romney's Commonwealth PAC gave State Auditor David A. Vaudt $1,000 in 2004.

Iowa GOP Extorting Ron Paul Campaign

VERY IMPORTANT!
nationalexpositor.com

Director of communications for the Ron Paul Campaign, Jesse Benton, stated today that the Iowa GOP would charge the Paul camp $184,000 if they wanted to verify a paper count of the coming Iowa straw poll. Today, on the Dale Williams radio show, Mr. Benton said there will be a manual electronic count of the Iowa poll results. What Mr. Benton did not explain, as exposed in a previous National Expositor Article, “it is commonly known that this manual count” with Diebold machines “would only consist of spot checks of the voting machines for device calibration purposes. This does not constitute a verifiable check of the accuracy from either an engineering or statistical perspective.”

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Click here to Listen to the --- Interview

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In what amounts to extortion, the Iowa GOP is telling the Ron Paul campaign they must pay an excessive amount of money to manually verify the results in this weeks’ poll. Both Florida and California have recently decertified the same electronic Diebold voting machines that will be used in Iowa. The validity of the upcoming Iowa straw poll should not rest on one campaign but is the responsibility of the Iowa GOP.

You must let the Iowa GOP know that you disapprove of the use of decertified Diebold electronic voting machines and nothing short of a verifiable manual paper ballot would be acceptable for the Iowa straw poll this week.

This is a call to action, anyone who wants a verifiable election must call the Iowa GOP and demand a back up paper count. Iowa Republican Party - (515) 282-8105

Ron Paul Odds Slashed From 15 to 1 to 8 to 1

Gambling911.com

Following this weekend's Republican debate in Iowa and some extensive mainstream coverage and sound bytes., 2008 US Presidential candidate Ron Paul's odds to become the next Commander-in-Chief have been slashed further from 15 to 1 to 8 to 1.

The Presidential betting odds for most candidates have barely moved in recent weeks at Sportsbook.com and Ron Paul's odds have remained steadfast at 15 to 1 for the past two months after heavy action forced the online bookmaker to slash his odds from 100 to 1.

There are usually very little fluctuations this early in the campaign as most of the betting takes place the few months leading up to Election Day while in 2004, several million dollars were bet on Election Day alone.

Sportsbook.com is heavily referenced by Gambling911.com for its political betting odds menu. Sportsbook.com is the largest North American-facing sports betting website in terms of overall volume of customers.

2008 Presidential candidate Ron Paul sat down with Gambling911.com's Kira Wissman for a few moments Friday night following his speech at a rally in Mars, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh. The time spent was brief since Paul had to rush out on his way to Iowa the next morning.

Paul was very adamant regarding Internet gambling prohibition and Internet prohibition across the board.

Dr. Paul is co-sponsoring with Barney Frank (a Democrat). He said that Congressman Frank had approached him about co-sponsoring the bill to legalize online gambling and he had agreed.

“I believe strongly that the internet should not be regulated by the federal government and believes even more strongly that people should be free to engage in the activities they wish, as long as they are willing to take responsibility for their actions.”

I also asked about the likelihood of such a bill passing. He agreed its chances were remote because of the stigma attached to the internet.

“The majority of people in Washington were afraid to support the internet for fear it would label them ‘pro-porn’ or ‘pro-gambling’.”

Paul voted against anti-Internet gambling and poker legislation attached to an unrelated port security bill last October (The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, also known as UIGEA).

Heavy fluctuations in betting odds is typically caused by the amounts of money coming in (public betting action). For sporting events, news related to injuries and weather could play a role in line changes without relying first on public response (betting volume on a particular side).

At press time, Ron Paul's payout potential sat at $800 for every $100 bet. Amazingly, he was listed with the same odds (8 to 1) as Mitt Romney, who is widely considered to be among the front runners in the Republican party.

John McCain's odds remained at 5 to 1. Rudy Giuliani remained at 3 to 1 odds.

"The old taunt reflects a deep economic principle: Talk is cheap, but if someone is willing to risk money, it means they're serious," writes Tim Harford of Slate.com, a general-interest publication offering analysis and commentary about politics. "Put the principle into action and you realize that electoral forecasters should pay as much attention to the betting odds as to the opinion polls.

"When money is on the line, informed people, perhaps including insiders, have an incentive to turn their knowledge into cash by making big bets. In the process they make the odds more accurate. And of course, there are several reasons to lie to pollsters, but no reasons to make a money-losing bet."

Iowa Straw Poll Voting Machines in Question

nationalexpositor.com

VERY IMPORTANT: PASS THIS AROUND TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!

National Expositor Exclusive – Yesterday, Ernest Hancock, candidate for Arizona secretary of state spoke with Mary Tiffany, communications director for the Iowa state Republican Party. During the conversation, Tiffany confirmed that there will be no manual recount for the Iowa straw poll that occurs on Saturday. [Emphasis mine]This weeks Iowa straw poll is to take place using the same Diebold electronic voting machines that have come into question in recent days. In an article in the Washington Post, Debra Bowen, California’s Secretary of State made the decision to withdraw approval of future use of the Diebold systems. “All of the voting systems studied had serious design flaws that have led directly to specific vulnerabilities, which attackers could exploit to affect election outcomes," Bowen explained.

Computerworld, this week reported that Florida’s Secretary of State, Kurt Browning also withdrew approval of the same Diebold voting systems. “In a letter sent to Diebold Election Systems President David Byrd on Tuesday, Browning said that vulnerabilities cited in the report must be fixed by Aug. 17 or the vender’s certification would be denied.”

Both Florida and California in one week have decertified Diebold’s electronic voting machines. This should send a clear message to Iowa’s GOP that anything other than paper ballots would be unacceptable in this weeks straw poll. The Republican party of Iowa may claim that they will be doing manual checking of the Diebold systems, however, it is commonly known that this manual count would only consist of spot checks of the voting machines for device calibration purposes. This does not constitute a verifiable check of accuracy from either an engineering or statistical perspective.

Based on the same evidence that has forced California and Florida to decertify electronic Diebold voting machines it is not only reasonable to request a manual count of the votes in Iowa, but highly advisable. Anything short of a verifiable paper count will be unethical.

CALL:
Iowa Republican Party - (515) 282-8105

Please be polite but firm in your stance that there needs to be at least a manual recount of the vote at the Iowa Straw Poll. This could be the end of Ron Paul's campaign!

Why I Have Been Slacking...

Since I can barely make posts once a week on Ron Paul, I just wanted to give a brief explanation why. My intent was to make this one of the biggest blogs on Ron Paul on the internet. Unfortunately due to my worsening health, I am just unable to dedicate as much time as I need to do this.

I am in stage 5 (out of 7) of adrenal fatigue and it's caused a lot of trouble for me. I can barely get out of bed some days now and I certainly can't think clearly enough to make posts. Some days are better than others, so when I can I try to post. One of the worst symptoms is this overwhelming frustration I feel every day.

That's my deal. I am making a blog about my problems, so I can vent my frustrations. You can visit it at this link adrenal-fatigue-nightmare.blogspot.com.

Ron Paul: "The Internet Should Not be Regulated"

Gambling911.com

This is an article by Kira Wissman. I remember seeing her at the rally and am very glad to see this article is positive.

While heading down the Pennsylvania Turnpike on my way to the Ron Paul Rally in Mars, PA, I was thinking about what to expect. “Maybe 100 or so people filling a small banquet room” – that’s what I was expecting. I pulled into the parking lot at the Four Points Sheraton, and quickly realized how wrong I was. The parking lot was jammed. I took one of the last spots in the lot, and I was 45 minutes early! The cars in the lot resembled something you would see at a Jimmy Buffett concert – many were painted with various slogans all supporting Ron Paul for president.

There were thousands of people streaming into the event. As I walked into the lobby of the hotel, I was greeted by volunteers handing out posters, t-shirts and bumper stickers. I made my way to the conference room where the rally was to be held and found a seat relatively close to the front. I was sitting near a group of people from Ohio who had driven a long way to see Dr. Paul speak. There were groups from Philadelphia encouraging the crowd with cheers and chants. The entire room was alive with excitement and anticipation.

Shortly after 8pm, Dr. Paul’s press secretary, Jesse Benton took the stage and introduced Dr. Paul with a short speech and a video clip that showcased the campaign thus far. Soon after, Dr. Paul took the stage and began a speech that lasted nearly an hour and a half. He covered many topics – all of which supported a basic theme – one’s individual freedom. To full story

Pittsburgh Rally Huge Success!

The Pittsburgh rally was a huge success on Friday evening! I suspect there were at least 1,500 people there and that does not include the number of people who were in the hallways and standing on the sides.

Ron Paul gave an excellent speech that ran for over an hour! I truly feel this man is being empowered by a Being much higher than us. He is a 71 year old man, traveling from one end of the country to another, attending to his duties in Congress, doing multiple interviews a day, being a good husband, father and grandfather, in all the while as he makes his march for the White House. I am in my 20's and cannot possibly imagine doing this! I look up to him because of the amount of motivation and willpower he has to keep doing this each day. He knows that his message is what can change this country around and bring all of us together.

This was the first time I have ever heard Ron Paul speak and it was like no other political rally I have been to before. There wasn't that fluffy rehearsed nonsense or the weird zombie-like supporters that other candidates have. He spoke, not like the other candidates who have their fake sense of strength in their voice, but with a sense of honesty and courage. Anyone in the audience that was not a Ron Paul supporter certainly left the rally feeling a large amount of pride in our Constitution, our country, and trust in Ron Paul.

The best part of the whole event last night was when my husband and I turned down our street to find a new Ron Paul sign in one of our neighbor's yards. It was so unbelievable that we both shrieked with joy when we saw it! This just goes to show that there are supporters of Ron Paul all over the place.

If we all put a sign in our front yard, we could show America our real numbers. I encourage everyone to buy a Ron Paul sign and proudly place it in your front yard for ALL to see! We have been getting honks and I can only contribute them to our nice new Ron Paul sign. There are supporters out there! As we saw in Cranberry Township yesterday, more than just a few internet spammers and crazed wackos!

What Have I Been Doing?: Iowa Mail Program

Well I know it's been a few days since I made a post and I wanted to let everyone know why.

My husband and I committed to sending 500 letters to Iowan voters. This is an opportunity that the campaign made available about a week ago. You can find out more information here if you are interested. Just be sure you know that these letters need mailed ASAP and you are expected to pay for postage. We must allow at least 4-5 days for transit time, so the latest I would mail them is Wednesday or Thursday of this week.

Everyone can do at least 20 letters. Really if you do it the way my husband and I did, each person could do 100 if they had a few hours of time available. This is something you could do while watching T.V. and we all waste way too much time that way now!

Do not handwrite the whole letter. I know the campaign says that they would like them handwritten, but let me give you my reasons why I think it's a dumb idea.

1. People with bad handwriting automatically are turned off
2. It drastically limits the number of letters you can complete
3. You will get carpal tunnel after writing out 20 letters.
4. Even though it is a personal letter it will look sloppy and hard to read

Number 1 and 2 are key here. When I heard of this I knew right away I was NOT going to handwrite them. My writing is not the nicest looking and it would have cut my 500 down to about 100. Now does handwriting the whole letter outweigh losing 400 potential straw poll voters? NOPE!

So this is what we did and you can copy the letter I will post below. This letter was put together with input of a poster by the name of DavyDuke17 here.

First, I addressed ALL envelopes by hand. This part you MUST handwrite because it will get the letter opened, which is extremely important in our case.

Now according to USPS, you do not need to put a return address as long as you refrain from using the pre-printed labels for your postage. If you want your letters opened, you should be using a real stamp any way. Do not use those pre-printed machines because it will look like junk mail.

Lastly, the letter inside should be signed on the bottom. It will make it more personable.

The Letter: *Drum Roll* Spacing and HTML is a little off because I had to paste it first into notepad for this to work. I went back and tried to fix up the styling. It fits perfectly on a 8.5x11 sheet of paper.


Dear Friend,

We are unpaid volunteers writing to you in support of presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul. Like most Americans, we believe that this country is headed in the wrong direction and Ron Paul is the only presidential candidate that offers real hope for America.

What would make us devote our free time writing you today in support of this man?

Ron Paul is currently in his 10th term in Congress and has proved time and again that he votes on principle before party. He takes his vow to uphold the Constitution very seriously, as well as his commitment to lowering taxes and lowering the size of the federal government.

Here is a 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 Ron Paul is very tough on the fight against illegal immigration. While he agrees that strong border enforcement is crucial, he realizes that we must end the incentives that cause the flood of illegal immigrants to come into this country. This includes ending the free handouts for illegal aliens that we cannot afford and putting an end to birthright citizenship or "anchor babies".


Ron Paul has been an outspoken leader against the Iraq War since before the invasion and advocates a humble foreign policy overseas while keeping us strong here at home. The Iraq War has diverted us from our fight against Al Qaeda and our hunt for Osama Bin Laden, which has only strengthened our enemy.


We would like you to consider supporting Paul for President at the Iowa Straw Poll in Ames on Saturday, August 11 from 10 am to 6 pm.


We invite you to visit his website at www.ronpaul2008.com or call toll free at 1-800-Ron-Paul to learn more about him and his positions. The best way to support him is to vote for Ron Paul at the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa. To RSVP and get more information, go to www.ronpaul2008.com and click the Iowa icon at the top of the page. We hope you can join us and we appreciate your time.

Sincerely,

The Brown Family

"In times of change, the Patriot is a scarce man; brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."

The overall cost for sending 500 letters came out to about $300. Here were the expenses so you know what you may be getting yourself into.

• Envelopes w/ sticker seal - $20 for 500 Envelope
• Paper/Off-white color - $8 for 500 sheets
• Stamps - $205 for 500 stamps
• Copies - $37 for 501 copies @ $0.07 a piece
• My Time - $0 ;-)
• Total $270

If you want to add any inserts to your letters watch out for the weight of your letters. You may accidentally bump yourself into the next tier of postage costs.

Feel free to post this anywhere, where more people could become involved in this program. We need more people to take action! Any questions, please put them in the comments section. TY!

Paul stands tall with talk on freedom

It looks like Rick Beltram was happy with this weekend's turnout. The article written in the Spartanburg Herald Journal is extremely positive and is probably one of the most fair articles written to date in the Old Media. I am glad that we are all getting along now. Thank you Rick Beltram you surprised me!

Click here for the full article in SHJ:

A little-known Texas congressman seeking the Republican nomination for president visited Spartanburg Saturday and seemed to arrive with all the makings of rock-star candidate for his party - despite low polling, little name recognition and a relatively small campaign staff.

Supporters call it the "Ron Paul Revolution." You might have seen it on signs or T-shirts. Or MySpace.

"We've lost our faith and confidence that freedom really works," Paul said to an enthusiastic, almost fanatical, crowd.

"In most countries, tyranny reigns. Freedom is under attack. It's under attack in this country, as well."

Paul said he believed a stronger adherence to the Second Amendment over the past decade could have thwarted the 9/11 terror attacks - and that this country has gone in the wrong direction with "government bureaucrats taking away our toothpaste at the airport." He said America can't afford to continue to support its military presence abroad, which he called a "world empire." He accused the government of "creating money out of thin air," straying from the constitutional monetary standards of gold and silver. And he said he's against abortion because a fetus has the same rights as an adult human being.

He also made several references to Gov. Mark Sanford's voting record while in Congress, noting that, "If you found two people voting together, it was Mark and myself. He would make an exceptionally good vice president." Full Story Here

Rick Beltram: Small number of people on the Ron Paul bandwagon

Goupstate.com which is the website for Spartanburg Herald Journal, is reporting there will be a low turnout for the Spartanburg County Ron Paul rally being hosted by Rick Beltram. Now Rick hasn't been the most friendly person in the past. Perhaps he is being hit by some blowback. He really should have listened to Ron Paul in the debates or he would have seen this coming.

In an article previously published in the Spartanburg Herald Journal, Rick Beltram stated:

"He can stay home," said Beltram, who for months held that this county would welcome all Republican candidates.

"Well, the door's closed for him."

"I'm not going to extend him an invitation to come here because he has managed to insult and in many ways abuse Republican activists with his strident lingo. When he attacked Bush, that we created 9/11 - that's an absolute lunatic talking," Beltram said.

"I can't put up walls to keep him out, but I don't have to invite him here to a county function."

Rick, why do you think Ron Paul supporters want to pay your county's republican party $25/ person to see Ron Paul, when they can see him for free in the next town over in Greenville?

However, I know exactly what Beltram will do and if Ron Paul's support is larger than anticipated, it won't be reported or it will be overlooked. Beltram won't look to see who comes to Greenville. He will only see those willing to fork out $25 to support his county and to invite other candidates that don't even want to talk about the Constitution or our freedoms. That is why I personally could never go to that rally in SC. I know the type of people it is indirectly supporting.

I don't think this will be another "Iowa" because of the cost involved. Jesse Benton from the Paul campaign thinks the "low" turnout has to do with the cost as well.

We will have to wait and see what happens.

Ron Paul in Pittsburgh!

Since I am from the Pittsburgh area, I am excited to report that Ron Paul will be in Pittsburgh on August 3rd! He will actually be where I grew up and where my parents still reside, which is Cranberry Township.

I plan on having my camcorder and Ron Paul T-shirt on me. Ready to partake in a historical Presidential rally. This is the type of thing I will be telling my children about!

If you are within driving distance and want to see Ron Paul in person, please consider coming to the area. The Western PA Meetup group has a message board you can visit to help organize. It's very likely we will be meeting up with people from West Virginia and other parts of PA. There are MANY hotels available in the area ranging from the cheap rooms to very expensive, so you can spend the night while not breaking the bank.

Please come and hear Dr. Paul talk about freedom, peace and prosperity in the city that helped shape him in his youth and taught him the importance of family and work ethic.

The event will be held at the Four Points Sheraton North.

The address of the hotel is: 910 Sheraton Drive, Mars, PA 16046. The phone number is 724-776-6900.

The event will be free of charge, contributions are welcome.

The main campaign is asking for people to RSVP, which you can do here.

Ron Paul Leads in Polls of People Who Have Heard Him Speak

By Jennifer Haman from LewRockwell.com

After the first three debates on National television, three mainstream news channels featured polls asking the American people who won. After the first debate on May 3rd, MSNBC ran a poll obtaining over 72,000 responses showing Ron Paul was the most convincing candidate receiving 45% of the vote. His nearest competitor was Mitt Romney who received 18%. Fox news ran its own poll after the second debates on May 15, and with over 40,000 votes Ron Paul came in second with 25% of the vote. Watching Sean Hannity's face was priceless as while he was saying that Ron Paul's chances were over in this election, Fox's polling numbers flashed across the screen and had Ron Paul in the lead. He immediately did his best spin to claim the polls had been rigged. MSNBC also ran a poll about that debate and discovered Ron Paul was, again, the most convincing candidate with 64% of the over 25,000 responses. After the third debate on June 5, CNN's poll of over 25,000 respondents showed Ron Paul won with 60% of the vote.

One would think with such a strong showing on the online polls for a "second tier" candidate that the mainstream media (MSM) would have discussed this phenomenon at length and on the front page. However, no such stories appeared. In fact, MSM pundits did their best to ignore these figures and instead focused mainly on who they deemed to be the top three choices; effectively, taking control of the election and deciding quite undemocratically who was a "real" candidate.

Read Full Story Here

Ron Paul Tops In Military Donations

With the second quarter numbers finally publicized, Ron Paul takes the lead in military donations. This comes as a surprise for some people because we keep hearing them beat the war drums. However, it seems that the very people who are serving this country, like what Ron Paul is saying and dare I say agree with him on his foreign policy!

This is great news because it just shows more proof that his support is the real thing.

Here are the numbers listed below. All credit is given to thespinfactor.com

RON PAUL: 23,465 [6,975] [6,765] [4,650] [5,075]
McCain: 15,825 [6925] [6305] [1795] [800]
Romney: 3,551 [2,051] [0] [1500] [0]
Rudy: 2,320 [1,450] [370] [250] [250]
Hunter: 1000 [0] [1000] [0]
Huckabee: 750 [250] [0] [500]
Tancredo: 350 [350] [0] [0]
Brownback: 71 [71] [0] [0]
Thompson: 0 [0] [0] [0]

Units are contributions in dollars by employees of the respective military organizations.

VIDEO CLIP: Ron Paul at Google Headquarters

In-Fighting Is Dividing Us

Since Ron Paul was on Alex Jones show on Thursday, the chatter on the web has become that of Ron Paul being a conspiracy theorist or a "9-11 truther". I can understand this coming from the Old Media because they love to smear his name and his character. However, what I cannot believe is the amount of chatter I am seeing on the web from fellow Ron Paul supporters. What's the deal here?

Ron Paul has been a guest on Alex Jones' show many many times over the years and just because a man likes to talk to Alex's audience does not mean he is a 9-11 truther. There is no proof or evidence to this statement other than him speaking on Alex Jones' show. If we want to start creating weird connections like this, then anytime Ron Paul goes on the Old Media shows does that then make him a neo-con? A Bush supporter? Or perhaps a Liberal? As Ron Paul has said, we need to come to our senses here. Why are we allowing the media to undermine the growing movement of Ron Paul?

Can't we all just agree that the Old Media is intentionally using this as an excuse to smear Ron Paul? There is no basis to these claims because the interview in which Ron Paul spoke, I don't recall hearing anything about 9-11. In this article on infowars.com, there is no mention of 9-11 either. Now it does say that Ron Paul believes we are in danger of false-flag terror. Did we just forget a few days ago Michael Chertoff said that he had a "gut feeling" we would be hit by al-Qaeda. So it's okay for the Homeland Security chief to use his instincts to predict terrorist attacks-mysteriously not being able to stop them though-but it's not ok for Ron Paul to say a similar thing?

The media is doing a very good job of creating conflict internally within the Ron Paul grassroots. They are experts at dividing people and are using this intentionally. If Ron Paul thought it was a bad idea to go on the Alex Jones' show, then he would not have done so. Since he went on the show on his own accord, the blame should not be placed on the Alex Jones' audience. The 9-11 movement, Alex Jones, and even Ron Paul is improperly being blamed for something that have no control over. And as it seems a good portion of the Ron Paul supporters are pointing fingers to anyone who gets in the way or who speaks about a topic that differs from their belief systems. This is a dangerous mindset and attitude we have embraced and it's causing in-fighting.

We can't afford to be fighting with each other if we want Ron Paul as our next President.

Who's Really Hurting Ron Paul's Campaign?

I used to be a regular visitor to www.ronpaulforums.com but have decided to never visit this place again. You may be asking, why? Well let me give you a little background information so that you can understand.

Ron Paul believes in freedom of the individual. He knows that our civil liberties are vanishing rapidly all in the name of the "War on Terror". Ron Paul understands that you must protect all speech whether or not you may agree with it because that is what we are guaranteed by our Constitution, The Bill of Rights and our Creator. We have these documents to guide us through out our lives and to keep tyrannical governments at bay. Well recently our government has become more and more tyrannical and Ron Paul knows this.

As we know the media attempts to smear Ron Paul's name on a daily basis by constantly adding "longshot candidate" to every article written about him. They take his words out of context and intentionally attempt to link him to movements that have a bad connotation associated with them. The media is not hurting his campaign at all in my eyes because their attempts to cover up his message is actually stimulating more support. Human beings are naturally attracted to things we are not allowed to do or see. So when the mainstream media smears or tries to completely ignore a presidential candidate, it encourages people to look into Ron Paul on their own.

Well when a person begins to do research on the matter, they may find themselves on one of the Ron Paul forums that are run by Ron Paul supporters. This is exactly what happened to me. I was looking around for more Ron Paul information, news articles, and video clips and came across ronpaulforums.com

Now this forum is an excellent resource for campaign materials and it's a great place to see information that is not indexed in the Google search engines. However there is a significant attempt at censoring those who talk about any other subjects that the admin does not agree with.

It is a private forum, but it scares me that a Ron Paul forum, a man who believes in individual freedom, is attracting supporters that wish to censor any discussions of a new investigation of how our government failed us on 9-11.

It does not matter if you agree with the official story or another theory, people are allowed to speak about what they wish. Just the mere talk of this is not hurting the campaign. The discussions are not in the general forum and are moved to a section where anyone lurking knows they are heading into an area where there will be debates.

The real people who are hurting Ron Paul's campaign are ourselves. The in-fighting that is currently going on within the Ron Paul grassroot campaign is shameful. Completely shameful! We all want Ron Paul to win the presidency. Our personal reasons behind why we want him to win may be slightly different. However, at the end of the day we ALL want our rights back. We ALL want the government out of our lives. We ALL want to live our lives without having to worry about being wiretapped, video taped or harassed by police on a daily basis.

For those who are trying to stifle free speech on Ronpaulforums.com I urge you to dig within yourself to see why you do not want debates and discussions to take place? Why are you sending a chilling effect to those who are proud, big time supporters of Ron Paul? Those of you trying to stop free speech are driving people away from the forums.

So who's really hurting the Ron Paul campaign? We are! Yeah that's right.

The media does not need to destroy us because we are destroying ourselves by going against the fundamental ideas of this campaign; Individual freedoms.

Ron Paul Moves Into the Top Tier, Suggesting All His Support is Real

From Gambling911.com

Gambling911.com Special Contributor Jennifer Reynolds has a lot to say about 2008 Presidential candidate Ron Paul and the continued "disrespect" he is receiving in the media, a "disrespect" not shown by online oddsmakers who give Ron Paul a respectable 15 to 1 odds of winning the 2008 US Presidential Race.

Ron Paul continues to be among the most sought after subjects on the Gambling911.com website. His political web-based strategy has caught the attention of other politicians across the US from Hillary Clinton - who incorporated a brilliant online video taken from the Sopranos finale - right down to local political races including those in Gambling911.com's own stomping grounds of Miami Beach where preservationist mayoral candidate Matti Bower is planning a major YouTube-focused campaign while Commissioner Michael Gongora (running for re-election) already is.

"Paul at his age is the last person you would think to be Internet savvy," says Gambling911.com's political analyst, Carrie Stroup. "For all we know, he may not even be able to log onto a computer. But he's got great people behind him that are pushing the online initiative and it is working in a major way. The appeal is to a younger, more Internet experienced audience whereas the mainstream media tends to gather opinions from a much more mature segment of society who may not be quite as familiar with the Internet." Continue here

VIDEO CLIP:Ron Paul on This Week with George Stephanopoulos

Ron Paul Wins Big in First New Hampshire Straw Poll

Press Release: Ron Paul Wins Big

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2007

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – Presidential candidate Ron Paul today won the Coalition for New Hampshire Taxpayers (CNHT) straw poll at their annual picnic in Hopkinton, New Hampshire. Dr. Paul received 182 of 294 votes cast, or 65 percent. In second place was Rudy Giuliani with 24 votes, or 8 percent.

"Today's strong victory is further proof that Dr. Paul's message is resonating throughout New Hampshire," said campaign manager Lew Moore. "Dr. Paul is the only candidate in this race truly dedicated to smaller government and lower taxes for all Americans."

CNHT is a statewide, grassroots organization dedicated to reducing the size of government at all levels, stopping judicial activism, providing students and parents with a choice of educational opportunities, expanding job markets, and protecting property rights.

Ron Paul Tops McCain In Cash On Hand

ABC News



Ron Paul has more cash on hand than McCain! I think that puts him in the 1st tier category, right?

In an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Ron Paul stated that he has 2.4 million dollars on hand, which puts him ahead of McCain at 2 million.

This is excellent news. Be sure to spread this around and digg this story.

Ron Paul Liberty Dollar Announced

Libertydollar.org has announced Ron Paul Liberty Dollars. If you do not know much about what the Liberty Dollar is you can read their about page here.

In celebration of The 4th of July, 2007 you are invited - even urged - to flex your independence with the Volunteer Network's 'secret weapon' - the Ron Paul Dollar bringing new meaning to the U.S. Mint's "Presidential Dollars" and symbolizing the Congressman's values. WOW! Now the Internet's favorite Presidential candidate has his own money to help turbo-charge his shot at the White House.

Impossible, you think? Long shot? Dark horse? Think again. This election is different. Want to stand this Presidential election on its head? Well guess what? As utterly amazing as it may seem, we the people, could actually get Ron Paul nominated. Why? Because there are so many Republican liars running for President and the field is so fractionized, that a classic dark house candidate could win. And that is amazing!

Yes, we all know that politicians are pathological liars. And this campaign has an unusually large number of liars. Fortunately, Congressman Ron Paul speaks the truth. He speaks the truth about the government, about money and about the war. Ron Paul is dedicated to the truth and a government as defined by the US Constitution. Continue here

To see the products available, you can use this short cut.

Ronpaulforum.com Hacked!

According to this thread on another ron paul forum, ronpaulforum.com was hacked very early this morning. It still have not been secured close to 2pm EST. The person who has done this left a lovely message on the front page that you can view here for the time being.

I don't know why someone would want to do this, but it is a bit strange to me! We are obviously hitting them hard, so I suppose we should take this as a compliment.

Ron Paul's Rally in Iowa a Success!

Well the rally in Iowa was a great success. The total number of people in attendance has been a largely debated topic today, but it looks like conservatively over 1000 people rallied in support of Ron Paul. The main reason why this number is being debated is because mainstream media sources are saying 600 while people who attended claim that all 1,000 seats were filled and it was standing room only. Obviously 600 and 1000 is quite a huge difference and we know darn well that if Ron Paul's rally failed it would have been ALL OVER the news. The fact that there are only 2 or 3 mainstream media articles about the rally tell me it was largely successful. When a day before the rally, there were 30+ mainstream newspapers that picked up the headline "Ron Paul Crashes Iowa Forum", but now that his rally was successful those outlets are dead quiet. Fair and balanced media...right.

It's rather amazing that a presidential candidate not invited to a rally because of his 'lack of organizational skills' and credibility can bring in more supporters than 6 other candidates. This forum was televised and had properly been advertised and promoted for MONTHS. What this displays is the total disconnect between reality and what the mainstream media chooses to report. I am fed up with the treatment here. Yes I know that the media has the right to report on whatever they please, but not when these organizations claim to be fair and balanced. These news organizations shape what food Americans eat and drink, the clothes on their backs, and down to the type of vehicles they drive.

Some people say we need to be kind to the mainstream media so they begin to report on Ron Paul, but I think these people are way out of touch with what we are dealing with. These news organizations aren't just mistakenly forgetting Ron Paul's name, they are being TOLD to leave out his name and to downplay any good news from his campaign. Whether you may understand this or not, but Ron Paul is a threat to the larger agenda of a few individuals in this country. They are so scared of his message of individual freedom, the right to bear arms, and abolishing the federal income tax.

Ron Paul is a man who could turn this country around. He genuinely cares about this country and the freedom of the individual.

His words are not just rhetoric, but the truths he holds in his heart and lives by on a daily basis not just while the camera is on him.

Gathering Ron Paul Materials

I have been trying to get together some Ron Paul materials, so I can hand out business cards and bumper stickers to people willing to listen to me. It is truly amazing how quickly this stuff all adds up. 1 t-shirt, 3 oval stickers, 1000 bumper stickers and I am already spent about $150. Thankfully the meetup group I am in is helping with the costs of the bumper stickers, but it's still a lot of money this early on. We haven't even gotten into mass production of signs, yard signs, or large amounts of literature. It is so easy to spend $1000 on all this stuff.

Once you hit $1000 if I am not completely misunderstanding the law, you are supposed to form a PAC. In this day and age, $1000 is nothing. Shouldn't this amount be changed with the rise of inflation! haha I am not law student or lawyer so hopefully someone can set me straight on these PAC rules. From what I understand you have to file and it's a big deal. This is all the more reason why we need Ron Paul in office. These campaign rules only hurt the little guy. These big organizations just hire some $6/hr college student to handle all this unnecessary paperwork.

I am very excited about this campaign. I think everything is going fairly well with exception to some of the bad publicity these reporters are digging to make up.

Well that's all for today. I have been slacking a little with the blog and I apologize. My health hasn't been the greatest.

Tomorrow is a HUGE day in the RP campaign. He will be at Iowa!

Ron Paul Rocketed From Fifth Place to First

Clickz.com

There is an extraordinary report from Clickz.com that gets the headline ALL wrong. Rather than focusing on Ron Paul's unbelievable jump from 5th place to 1st place in the amount of website traffic, they pull a stupid statistic about Hillary beating out Obama. Who cares? No other candidate from either party has jumped this far up in ranking.

It becomes an even bigger deal when you look at Ron Paul's numbers from the month of April. He was ranked 8th out of all the candidates and in only two months of debates, television interviews and limited media attention, he takes first place in May.

Ron Paul's market share of 27.35% is in line with Barack Obama who has 27.64% and Hillary who has 32.15% No other Republican candidate even comes close. Mitt Romney sits at 2nd place with 20.87% and it drops significantly from there. John McCain has 12.62% and Rudy Giuliani has 11.00%

What does this really say about our media who doesn't speak of Ron Paul as a frontrunner? What does it say about those opinion polling companies who mistakenly leave out Ron Paul's name from the options? What does it say about the allegations that Ron Paul's support are only a bunch of spammers?

It says that they are lying, covering up, and purposely trying to smear his name for no reason. The supposed frontrunners Giuliani and McCain received less than half web market share than Ron Paul and they still call them frontrunners? I think our media needs to answer these questions. Don't you think it's time for an answer? What is really going on here!

Ron Paul: Iowans for Tax Relief Prove They Are Not Credible

Gambling911.com

This is an little excerpt from an article written by Jennifer Reynolds. To read it in its entirety just follow the link above.

In a stunning twist of events this week, the Iowans for Tax Relief (ITR) are holding a Presidential Forum in the Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines, IA and only one presidential candidate from the nationally televised debates was NOT invited. Who is this man? Ron Paul, the best friend the American taxpayer has in Washington DC.

Congressman Ron Paul has been recognized as a top advocate for taxpayers in the U.S. Congress for the tenth year in a row, earning the nonpartisan National Taxpayers Union’s annual award as a ”Taxpayers’ Friend” for 2006. In what might be called the most ironic reason for not doing something, Ed Failor, Executive Vice President claims the reason for the decision is that Ron Paul is not a "credible" candidate.

Let's not forget about this article I wrote last week. It got spread around the internet like wildfire!

It actually shows that Ed Failor has donated $1250 to the McCain campaign not the $1000 this article from Gambling911 states. He is also involved with an organization that has corporate interests.

Well I am just glad that people are seeing this organization for their true colors. Now what really matters is that the members of ITR wake up to their conflicts of interests.

My Ron Paul Meetup Experience

I went to the first Ron Paul Meetup in my area and was pleasantly surprised at the reactions of people. For a little background, I live in an area where the population's age is generally 50+ and a lot of them are what you would consider Neo-conservative. My feelings towards the area is that most are living in the past and don't want to change anything. Some older people also tend to look down upon the young people.

We went to a flea market that is just down the road from me and set up a table with fliers, buttons, and free cookies. No one can resist free food! I was amazed by how many people are upset with what's going on in this country and looking for a change. People are also upset about this war and we heard some very personal stories from mothers and wives whose loved ones are "stuck".

Some people did not even know who Ron Paul was nor that he was running for President! Don't we just love the mainstream media for that. Some people mistaken my husband for Ron Paul, but we set them straight rather quickly. haha Even those that did not know who he was they became interested and took some literature that we had available.

Now I don't know if we converted any of them onto the Ron Paul bandwagon, but it was nice seeing people question the world. They are questioning what's going on and what we are being told on the television. I had some of the best conversations at this flea market. The message of liberty, peace, and love brings people together who would normally say have nothing in common.

Even if Ron Paul doesn't get the nomination, I know that I have made some great friends in the progress.

Ron Paul Rally in Iowa: Take that Ed Failor

Just released from the Ron Paul campaign office:

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul will celebrate life and liberty at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday, June 30th.

Dr. Paul will share his message of freedom, peace and prosperity at the Hy-Vee Hall, Room C, Iowa Events Center, 730 Third Street, Des Moines, Iowa. The rally will start immediately following the conclusion of the Presidential Candidates Forum sponsored by Iowans for Tax Relief and Iowa Christian Alliance at approximately 4:30 p.m.

The public is invited. Food and beverage will be provided to the first 500 people who arrive.

Just incase you do not know, the Hy-Vee Hall is where Iowans for Tax Relief are holding their presidential forum.

This rally needs to be HUGE. Everyone in the tri-state region needs to be there to support Ron Paul. Let's show Ed Failor that Dr. No won't take no for an answer.

Meatheads for Tax Relief

From Roth & Company, P.C.

Meatheads for Tax Relief

The group "Iowans for Tax Relief" has a name that belies its purpose. It supports special interest carve-outs and corporate welfare tax subsidies that shrink the tax base and raise the rates on the rest of us. It also refuses to even consider eliminating the deduction for state income taxes in exchange for lower rates.

I came across this article complaining about Iowans for Tax Relief and could have sworn it was written recently because it's quite relevant to this whole fiasco with Ed Failor. This was written on March 1 2006!

Wow so it appears this organization already has a reputation in Iowa. They keep raising taxes on the regular tax payer and lowering taxes on the corporations according to this article. This isn't hard to believe because Ed Failor has been tied to American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) who has corporate interests.

Ed Failor Digs A Larger Hole

From Ron Paul's campaign:

Jan Mickelson of WHO News Radio 1040 in Des Moines interviewed Ron Paul 2008 chairman Kent Snyder today about Ron Paul being excluded from the upcoming candidates forum sponsored by Iowans for Tax Relief and Iowa Christian Alliance. Ed Failor of Iowans for Tax Relief joined the interview later to explain why his group decided to keep Ron Paul out.

Here is the MP3 that was made available by the Ron Paul campaign. Fast forward to 1:01:16 to hear the interview and exchange with Ed Failor.

I just couldn't believe what I was hearing coming from this gentleman's mouth. The host of the show Jan Mickelson couldn't either because you can hear him laughing. He even called Ed Failor's explanation "lame".

Well this is a call out to those who live in Iowa to call Ed Failor at his office number. He says that Ron Paul is not a credible candidate. He says that Iowans aren't interested in Ron Paul! He says that we have "fringe type behavior". I do not know if this is true but he accuses Ron Paul supporters of hacking into his website. I find that completely absurd, but what do I know.

I do wish Jan Mickelson was a little more pointed in his questioning, but I think he was caught off guard. Let's not forget that Ed Failor has ties to a whole bunch of companies through the organization American Legislative Exchange Council. To show his involvement you can see this page that includes his profile. He also has given the McCain Campaign $1250 on March 31, 2007.
I would like to hear his response to this.

Edward Failor
Iowans for Tax Relief
2610 Park Avenue
Muscatine, Iowa 52761
Phone: 563-288-3600 or 877-913-3600
Fax: 563-264-2413
E-mail: itr@taxrelief.org
Web Site

Petition For Ron Paul's Inclusion in Iowa

Last night there were a few petitions written in response to Ed Failor from Iowans for Tax Relief and Steve Scheffler from Iowa Christian Alliance. These two gentleman decided that Ron Paul's views should not be included in a presidential candidate forum that is taking place on June 30. Rather than try to fudge his speaking time like the mainstream media loves to do in the debates, they decided NOT to invite him at all!

I have come across this petition that is written a lot better than the first few I say just before midnight last night. Please sign this to see how many signatures we can get!

Remember to email and call these two gentleman too!

Edward Failor
Iowans for Tax Relief
2610 Park Avenue
Muscatine, Iowa 52761
Phone: 563-288-3600 or 877-913-3600
Fax: 563-264-2413
E-mail: itr@taxrelief.org

Steve Sheffler, President
Iowa Christian Alliance
939 Office Park Road, Suite 115
West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
Phone: 515-225-1515
Fax: 515-225-1826
E-mail: slscheffler@iowachristian.com

Also if you haven't done so already, check out my other article explaining the reasons why Ed Failor would turn a blind eye to Ron Paul. This is more than just politics!

The Truth Why Ron Paul Is Excluded From Iowa Forum

All credit goes to Dailypaul.com on this one.

It appears that Ed Failor Jr. is senior adviser on the McCain Campaign in Iowa! Talk about a conflict of interest, huh? This is another site that says he is with the McCain Campaign just in case they try to say it's not true. And why not another which is a press release from McCain's Campaign itself!

Not only is he an adviser, but he has donated $1250 to the McCain 2008 campaign on March 31, 2007. This information is confirmed here.

How much more ridiculous will this get? Do they really think they can get away with something this blatantly obvious?

After about a half hour of Google searching, it appears that Failor has had a blind eye towards Ron Paul all along. In every single article, they say how "all" the presidential candidates each have their own challenges to overcome with Iowa's religious conservative views. Now rather than say Ron Paul matches their views, they completely leave out his name in every single article I have read.

Another aspect that Dailypaul.com has on their site is that Ed Failor is tied to an organization called American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) with a lot of big corporate money at stake. Here are some of the companies involved.
"ALEC has the financial support of more than 200 corporations including Coors, Amway, IBM, Ford, Philip Morris, Exxon, Texaco and Shell Oil. William Bennett, Jack Kemp, John Sununu, and George Bush have all addressed ALEC sessions in recent years."

Now as if it can't get any worse. Here are more companies that support their missions.

"Companies and industry organizations supporting ALEC's mission include Enron, Amoco, Chevron, Texaco, R.J. Reynolds, AT&T, the American Nuclear Energy Council, the Chlorine Chemistry Council, the American Petroleum Institute, and the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America."

You can read the whole scoop here. Just seeing the list of companies this gentleman is dealing with, scares the heck out of me! Obviously these businesses do not like Ron Paul's message of truly free market activity and getting rid of corporate welfare.

This presidential campaign has turned into a soap opera, but I am not sure if that's a good thing or not. I used to watch those when I was 15 and they weren't very good. haha

Ron Paul Excluded in Iowa

I just got this in my email from Ron Paul's Campaign office. I am subscribed to his press releases and important news. This is extremely important. Please email the two organizers below and tell them you are disgusted with this. I wrote a very short email telling them how ridiculous it is that they are excluding a candidate that has won the debates AND is for abolishing the federal income tax.

From Ron Paul's campaign,

Iowans for Tax Relief and Iowa Christian Alliance will host a presidential candidates forum on Saturday, June 30th in Des Moines. Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Sam Brownback, Jim Gilmore, Mike Huckabee, Tommy Thompson, and Tom Tancredo will participate.

Ron Paul, however, will not participate. Why? Because he wasn’t invited.

We heard about this forum from numerous supporters in Iowa who asked why Dr. Paul was not going to participate. Those supporters assumed that Dr. Paul was invited.

The campaign office had not received an invitation so we called this morning; thinking we might have misplaced the invitation or simply overlooked it. Lew Moore, our campaign manager, called Mr. Edward Failor, an officer of Iowans for Tax Relief, to ask about it. To our shock, Mr. Failor told us Dr. Paul was not invited; he was not going to be invited; and he would not be allowed to participate. And when asked why, Mr. Failor refused to explain. The call ended.

Lew then called Mr. Steve Sheffler, president of the Iowa Christian Alliance, to talk with him. Mr. Sheffler did not answer so Lew left a message. He has yet to respond.

Why are the Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Christian Alliance excluding the one Republican candidate who scored at the top of every online poll taken after the MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN debates? Why are they denying Iowans the opportunity to hear from the Republican presidential candidate whose popularity is growing by the day?

We couldn’t get answers to these questions from Messrs. Failor and Sheffler. Maybe you’ll have better luck. Their contact information is below.

It's ironic that on the same day we learned the Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Christian Alliance excluded Dr. Paul from their candidates forum, we received a call from ABC News confirming Dr. Paul’s participation in its nationally broadcast August 5th debate to be held in Des Moines.

Kent Snyder, Chairman
Ron Paul 2008


Contact Information

Edward Failor
Iowans for Tax Relief
2610 Park Avenue
Muscatine, Iowa 52761
Phone: 563-288-3600 or 877-913-3600
Fax: 563-264-2413
E-mail: itr@taxrelief.org

Steve Sheffler, President
Iowa Christian Alliance
939 Office Park Road, Suite 115
West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
Phone: 515-225-1515
Fax: 515-225-1826
E-mail: slscheffler@iowachristian.com

Video Clip: Why Ron Paul Will Win

Ron Paul Speaks at Phoenix Airport

Ron Paul gave an impromptu speech at the Phoenix Airport on June 16th 2007. He answers questions from the group of supporters there. I think this could be something you can pass around to friends and family members to introduce them to Ron Paul. He talks about illegal immigration, health care, a 9-11 investigation, the environment, alternative fuels and more!

This is probably the best speech I have seen in terms of the variety of questions he was asked and able to answer.

If you still haven't donated to Ron Paul's campaign you can do that here.

Ron Paul in The Washington Post

Who would have believed that The Washington Post made a pretty fair article about Ron Paul?

I check the news every single day for Ron Paul stories and honestly it's getting pretty difficult to find one that correctly lists what his beliefs are on immigration, foreign policy and among other issues. The mainstream media really hates Ron. They go out of their way to misquote him, twist his words, or base an entire article on what someone else thinks of Ron Paul rather than evaluate Ron Paul on his actions and words.

Well we got a great article, which may be read on The Washington Post website.

The only thing I find "wrong" with the article is the amount of money he has raised for his campaign, but I am not sure if those new numbers were officially released yet. It's implying that he has only raised 300,000 since the last three debates.

However, on June 7th FreeMarketNews.com stated that a source close to the Ron Paul campaign has said their contributions were coming in by the millions. Now it may be that Ron Paul is simply not letting his earnings out of the bag quite yet and has chosen to downplay them as much as possible until they need to be revealed. We will have to wait to find out!

Taking Ron Paul Seriously

I came across this remarkable column written by Matt Hutaff. He discusses Ron Paul's views and his unfair coverage in the mainstream media.

Please take the time to read it.

Taking Ron Paul Seriously by Matt Hutaff

VIDEO CLIP: Ron Paul on The Colbert Report

Spreading the Word: Just Tell 5 People

Everyone who reads this should vow to tell at least 5 people a day about Ron Paul. Whenever you go to Starbucks in the morning ask the girl if she knows about Ron Paul. Or if you get packages delivered to your home tell the UPS or FedEx person. Little things like this is what Ron Paul's campaign has that the other big names don't! Since the other candidates have that immediately name recognition, most people have already formed opinions on them. This makes it hard to talk to them and most people will completely write you off if you start talking about a democrat and they consider themselves a republican. However, whenever you say Ron Paul most Americans do not know who he is nor his party affiliation and probably don't even know he is running for President!

This gives the grassroots an excellent chance to inform those people on his views rather than letting the mainstream media do the talking. Let's face it the mainstream media doesn't think very highly of Ron Paul! Rather than wait for them to see his name on the TV we can plant that first seed into their minds. Hopefully then they will take it upon themselves to do some more research.

You only have to touch on a few things that most people will agree with you on. These are a few things I would bring up, but it will always depend on the person. He wishes to end the Iraq war now, not tomorrow, or in a year. Right now. He believes in small government that we control rather than the government controlling our everyday lives. He wants to remove the income tax and cut spending to reduce our debt!

Hopefully at the end of a 2-3 minute conversation, you have planted a seed. This is all that Ron Paul needs to win this nomination. Since his message is full of compassion and honesty I can't see how anyone could disagree with this man.

Don't Fall For Fred Thompson

It appears that the MSM has begun a campaign against Ron Paul. They really are quite scared of his message with the massive influx of Fred Thompson articles.

They are now stating that Fred Thompson is an alternative to Romney, Giuliani, and McCain. He is not an alternative to them. If you are being fooled by the media's attempt at trying to steal votes from Ron Paul, let me give you some quick facts about Fred Thompson.

1). Voting Record-* All voting information is taken from Ontheissues.org
Voted YES on enlarging NATO to include Eastern Europe. (May 2002)
Voted YES on authorizing use of military force against Iraq. (Oct 2002)
Voted NO on authorizing air strikes in Kosovo. (Mar 1999)
Voted YES on allowing all necessary force in Kosovo. (May 1999)<--Note the flip-flop
Voted YES on welfare overhaul. (Sep 1995)
Voted NO on allowing reimportation of Rx drugs from Canada. (Jul 2002)
Voted YES on increasing penalties for drug offenses. (Nov 1999)
Voted YES on limit welfare for immigrants.
Voted YES on favoring 1997 McCain-Feingold overhaul of campaign finance. (Oct 1997)
Voted YES on banning "soft money" contributions and restricting issue ads. (Mar 2002)

Compare to Ron Paul's Voting Record
Voted YES on disallowing the invasion of Kosovo. (May 1999)
Voted NO on declaring Iraq part of War on Terror with no exit date. (Jun 2006)
Abolish federal welfare; leave it all to states. (Dec 2000)
Voted YES on allowing reimportation of prescription drugs. (Jul 2003)
Voted YES on withdrawing from the WTO. (Jun 2000)
Voted NO on implementing CAFTA, Central America Free Trade. (Jul 2005)
Voted NO on implementing US-Australia Free Trade Agreement. (Jul 2004)
Voted NO on implementing US-Singapore free trade agreement. (Jul 2003)
Voted NO on implementing free trade agreement with Chile. (Jul 2003)
Repeal the gas tax. (May 2001)
Abolish the federal Department of Education. (Dec 2000)
War on Drugs has abused Bill of Rights . (Dec 2000)
Voted NO on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
Voted YES on reporting illegal aliens who receive hospital treatment. (May 2004)
Rated 100% by FAIR, indicating a voting record restricting immigration. (Dec 2003)

2). A quick Google search tells you that he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. This is a very very bad thing. The Council on Foreign Relations wants global government. Perhaps you have heard of the New World Order. Well this group of people are the think tanks behind the agenda. Other CFR members include David Rockefeller, Colin Powell, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Thomas Kean, Bill Clinton, and Paul Wolfowitz. They destroy sovereign nations and want to form the North American Union. They answer to higher ups and will vote for any measure that will further their goals. They believe in the idea that "the end justifies the means".

3). He "used" to be a lobbyist for Westinghouse and General Electric (which owns NBC Television). We do not need another lobbyist in the White House. Didn't we learn our lesson with Dick Cheney giving away no-bid contracts to Haliburton? A company of which he used to be CEO.

4). Linked 9-11 to Saddam as justification to go to war. His quote from a TV Commerical with Citizen United to advocate WAR. He made a TV COMMERCIAL saying we should go to war. That is unbelievable.
"FRED THOMPSON, ACTOR: With all the criticism of our president's policy on Iraq lately, Americans might ask, What should we do with the inevitable prospect of nuclear weapons in the hands of a murderous and aggressive enemy? Can we afford to appease Saddam, kick the can down the road? Thank goodness we have a president with the courage to protect our country. And when people ask what has Saddam done to us, I ask, what had the 9/11 hijackers done to us -- before 9/11?"

5). Served on the legal defense fund for Scooter Libby who was convicted of lying to federal investigators.
"Thompson, who describes himself as a friend of Libby's, is one of the members of the board of his legal defense fund, which is trying to raise $5 million. So far, the fund has taken in more than $3.5 million, an official with the fund said."

6). He supported McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act and the Shays-Meehan bill. On May 2nd 2003, the courts found Constitutional flaws in the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act. The other bill Shays-Meehan was also found to be unconstitutional by restricting free speech. On February 12th 2002, the ACLU urged representatives to vote no on this bill. Here is a nice overview of what it really does. Yet Fred Thompson voted yes to both!

Fred Thompson is no different than Giuliani, Romney, or McCain. Don't fall for the Mainstream Media's attempt at pulling votes from a true conservative, Ron Paul. We need to expose this attempt of the media because it is clear they know people are looking for an alternative. Obviously they are afraid of Ron Paul as that alternative since he is not under their control and will not continue their NWO, one world government agenda. Clearly Thompson is working towards an agenda that is not in line with our best interest, which can be seen from his voting record, his past lobbying positions, as well as his membership of the CFR.

Please donate to Ron Paul's campaign here. He needs your support today!