Ron Paul reveals strategy for winning the Republican Nomination

[Taco John]

January 28, 2008


When I started this campaign more than a year ago, I was a somewhat reluctant candidate. I knew our message of freedom, peace, and prosperity was the right one for our country, but frankly, I didn't know how many people today would have ears to hear it.

Well, did I learn a lesson! Millions of Americans understand what ails our country, and what is needed to fix it. So, with you at my side, I am in this effort to win. Not only by building the ideas of liberty, but by getting the nomination. Our opponents would call that nuts -- you know, the advocates of more inflation, more spending, more taxes, more war. But let me explain why they are, as usual, all wet.

For one thing, for the first time since 1952, we are headed towards a brokered convention. Instead of a coronation of one of the establishment candidates, the delegates, influenced by the people, will decide. And I am afraid that this will take place in a time of heightened economic crisis. That means even more Americans will be ready to hear our message. But it also means I am really going to need your help.

One would never know this from the mainstream media, but we've only had a few primaries and caucuses, and even after the extremely important date of February 5th, we will still have more than half to go. And the Republican nominee will not be decided by the popular vote among the "leading candidates" in a few states also handpicked by the media. The nominee will be decided by the delegates. So let me tell you a little about our "under-the-radar" strategy to get those delegates.

On "Super Tuesday," February 5th, there will be 22 primaries and caucuses. I have a hunch that we're going to do very well. But, of course, the media and the rest of the establishment refuse to recognize that. It's the attitude of the small child who covers his eyes to make something scary go away. But we are not going away.

While the media focus on the couple of states they claim are important, we're competing everywhere. And the reason that we're able to do that is because of your grassroots support. You all are an asset that no other campaign has: donors, and activists who want no special deals from the government, just the Constitution.

We're competing very strongly in all the caucus states, and in all other states where delegates are up for grabs. And we're going to keep picking up delegates. Our strategy's already working.

And we're committed to winning states. I have little doubt that if we can double our efforts in this coming week, we're going to grab many delegates from other candidates. Then we'll start getting ready for the biggest moment of all - the convention in September.

The path to the convention is twisty, however. When we were in Iowa, we got 10% of the vote. But no delegates were awarded that night. That's because voters didn't directly choose national convention delegates; they selected the county and state delegates who will make that decision. And if another candidate like Mike Huckabee is no longer in the race at the time of the state convention in June, his delegates are free to support whomever they want. If we work extra hard, we can convert them into delegates for our campaign!

A similar thing happened in Nevada. We won 14% of the straw poll vote that the media reported on, but what they didn't tell you was that we may have gotten up to a third of Nevada's delegates to their county conventions! I always laughed when I heard some people say Nevada didn't matter. Nevada chooses more delegates to the national convention than South Carolina.

So, while the media will focus on the results from Florida, and probably take down the campaign of my friend Rudy in the process, those results are less important to you and me. Let them fight in Florida while we bring our message to Americans in other areas, like the economically hard-hit state of Maine.

We want to win as many delegates to the Republican National Convention as possible, even if other campaigns don't see some areas of the country as "important. But in this work, I need your help. Help me get many, many delegates to this historic convention, by these three methods.

1. Donate. Your generous contributions are essential if we're going to keep going until September. We need, frankly $5 million by February 5 to run more TV and radio ads in the Super Tuesday states. Your help means everything: https://www.ronpaul2008.com/donate.

2. Canvass. You can help us identify those who support our message in your precinct. You can help us to convert others, too. After all, your neighbors pay attention to you. I am going to visit as much of the country as I can, but I need you as my partner in your area: https://voters.ronpaul2008.com.

3. ASK others to sign-up on our website. I meet so many people on the campaign trail who don't even receive my letters! I've told my campaign to make communication with you, the engine of all this, much better. But if people don't sign up for my e-mails, that won't happen. If you could just get one extra person to sign-up, that would be great. More would be tremendous.

Help me by forwarding this e-mail to every other Ron Paul supporter you know, and urging them to join our efforts! https://www.ronpaul2008.com/join.

We've come so far, but now the fun is really starting! I have a feeling the mainstream media will move from ignoring us to attacking us. But that will be a sign of our success. Join me as we continue this great movement into year two, and to a hot convention in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. We can do it!

Sincerely,

Ron

[orinjkrush]

we can do it??

koolaid anyone?

[Taco John]

Already downed a pitcher...

[baja]

This is really fun!!!!

[lazarus4444]

Reasonable men rarely make it to the Oval Office and when they do they get assassinated.

[iforgotmypassword]

im a freshman at college, Montana Tech, I'm aboslutely not impressed with any canidate except for Ron Paul, still I feel I don't know enough about him, I'm in petroleum engineering(so i should probaly hate him and love any man with the last name bush) taking 20 credits, playin football, it's tuff for me to get an unbiased oppinion about anybody...... convert me TJ, i've already had my immidiate freinds and family and my extended family watch some stuff on him that I got from you off here.

What are some of his main plans, all I've heard are Liberty Peace Freedom etc. What are some main central Idea's of his Cut back on taxes? Flat Tax? I'm a pretty firm beleiver that Socail Security Tax should not have a limit...... but beyound that I'm a beleiver that a better step would be to not spend all our damn money.

Whats his oppinion on border control?

[cutthemdown]

Paul won't win enough to be the nominee but I like his thinking when it comes to not giving our money away to other countries. We just paid for a huge freeway in Nicaruaga and they don't even like us to begin with. We need to spend the money on American infrastructure right now, get rich agian, then maybe start helping other countries again.

[Taco John]

Here's a post from a liberal on Ron Paul from the Ron Paul forums... This should give you an idea of why you should be looking further into Ron Paul and consider throwing your support behind him, even if you don't believe that he'll win.



I don't belong here....

---

Strange sounding post, I know, but bear with me.

I am what you would probably call a liberal. I am very much pro-choice. I hate guns. I am an atheist. I do think the government should take on certain tasks in which profit should not be a motive. i.e. Air traffic control, health care, and a few other smaller items.

So now, allow me to explain why I am a Ron Paul supporter. I am going to use the example of Guns and Abortion (2 sensitive subjects) for this.

Guns are stupid. Just plain stupid. I'm not going to go into the reasons why, there is no reason to. Im not posting this to argue about guns. Let's just say thats how I feel about the issue, and you'll have a tough time changing it.

Abortion? Right or wrong, it has to remain legal. Why? So it can be regulated, preventing "back-ally" abortions. I don't consider it ethical after the 1st trimester, but, as an atheist, I am conflicted in my own views about this topic, so no reason to force my speculative views upon you.

So... There are my arguments. A lot of people on here would fight me tooth and nail about them, but first let me explain my support of Ron Paul.

Guns? The second amendment. The constitution is NOT pick and choose. Its all or nothing. I hate guns, but understand that gun control only takes guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens. I hate guns period, but tough **** for me, the constitution doesn't. If I want to take your guns away, I have to fight to AMEND the constitution. Not just make a law saying "no more guns for you..." And I do understand why our founding fathers wanted the second amendment.

Abortion? Roe v Wade is actually on my side. It upholds my beliefs. Oh, wait though. Its AGAINST THE CONSTITUTION, and like I said people, ITS NOT PICK AND CHOOSE. Ron Paul wants it gone. Not so he can replace it, but because its not the federal governments place.

Thats why I am a Ron Paul supporter. I don't agree with a lot of peoples politics, but I do agree that what we have isn't working. We all need to find a common ground, and what better place than our own constitution.

Anyway, to sum it up, It's NOT about politics anymore! It's about getting back to our senses. Its about waking America up! It's about saying "HEY! Freedom means people can do things you dont approve of! As long as they don't impose upon your freedoms!" (im sure there is a better way to phrase that)

So, while I find I don't agree with many people I meet, I couldn't agree with the movement more.

And let's be honest with ourselves. What fun would any of this be if we all agreed on every issue? Might as well work for fox news then...


DR. RON PAUL ----> The only candidate who is ACTUALLY bringing people together!

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by iforgotmypassword

im a freshman at college, Montana Tech, I'm aboslutely not impressed with any canidate except for Ron Paul, still I feel I don't know enough about him, I'm in petroleum engineering(so i should probaly hate him and love any man with the last name bush) taking 20 credits, playin football, it's tuff for me to get an unbiased oppinion about anybody...... convert me TJ, i've already had my immidiate freinds and family and my extended family watch some stuff on him that I got from you off here.

What are some of his main plans, all I've heard are Liberty Peace Freedom etc. What are some main central Idea's of his Cut back on taxes? Flat Tax? I'm a pretty firm beleiver that Socail Security Tax should not have a limit...... but beyound that I'm a beleiver that a better step would be to not spend all our damn money.

Whats his oppinion on border control?

The answer is really simple:

Do you believe in The Constitution and the rule of law. If you believe that the government should be required to follow the constitution, amending it when it needs amended rather than ignoring it, then you should vote for Ron Paul.

If you believe that the Constitution is quaint, not really worth following, and that government should just make up laws as they see fit regardless of what the Constitution says, then you have no use for Ron Paul and can find any number of candidates who will pander to whatever interest you have ignoring the constitution to deliver it.

With regards to your question about immigration, Ron Paul has the only viable plan to stop it. His plans all center around the economics of the problem, which is to say he looks at the source of the problem, not the symptoms. Dr. Paul has got what I call the "Disneyland Solution" for illegal immigration. Disneyland is the greatest place in the world, but at the end of the night, nobody has to be escorted or forced out. They simply turn off the music, shut off the lights, and close the rides. People self deport themselves to the parking lots and head home.

Here is his plan:

The talk must stop. We must secure our borders now. A nation without secure borders is no nation at all. It makes no sense to fight terrorists abroad when our own front door is left unlocked. This is my six point plan:

-Physically secure our borders and coastlines. We must do whatever it takes to control entry into our country before we undertake complicated immigration reform proposals.

-Enforce visa rules. Immigration officials must track visa holders and deport anyone who overstays their visa or otherwise violates U.S. law. This is especially important when we recall that a number of 9/11 terrorists had expired visas.

-No amnesty. Estimates suggest that 10 to 20 million people are in our country illegally. That’s a lot of people to reward for breaking our laws.
No welfare for illegal aliens. Americans have welcomed immigrants who seek opportunity, work hard, and play by the rules. But taxpayers should not pay for illegal immigrants who use hospitals, clinics, schools, roads, and social services.

-End birthright citizenship. As long as illegal immigrants know their children born here will be citizens, the incentive to enter the U.S. illegally will remain strong.

-Pass true immigration reform. The current system is incoherent and unfair. But current reform proposals would allow up to 60 million more immigrants into our country, according to the Heritage Foundation. This is insanity. Legal immigrants from all countries should face the same rules and waiting periods.
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[TDmvp]

Sorry TJ , but like i said in another thread ... Ron Paul the man is a good guy ... but the canidate Ron Paul is nutty ... and the Dems would LOVE to run against him .

[Bronco Bob]

I just don't see how a candidate that only gets 3% of the Republican vote
in a state like Florida, which has a closed primary that only lets Republicans
vote, can get the Republican nomination. Plus Florida is a winner take
all state, so McCain gets all of Florida's delegates and Ron Paul gets none.
And Florida isn't the only state that has a closed primary or is a winner
take all state. Giuliani is going to drop out, and Huckabee is running as
McCain's VP and will likely give his delegate to McCain. So it now amounts
to a 3 person race between McCain, Romney, and Paul.
Do you honestly think Republicans, especially in closed states, and winner
take all states are going to pick Ron Paul over McCain or Romney?
So far Ron Paul has exactly 4 delegates, and those 4 were picked up
in Nevada, which every other candidate but Romney had abandoned.
(McCain still picked up 4 and Huckabee 3).

[Bronco_Beerslug]

Originally Posted by Bronco Bob

I just don't see how a candidate that only gets 3% of the Republican vote
in a state like Florida, which has a closed primary that only lets Republicans
vote, can get the Republican nomination. Plus Florida is a winner take
all state, so McCain gets all of Florida's delegates and Ron Paul gets none.
And Florida isn't the only state that has a closed primary or is a winner
take all state. Giuliani is going to drop out, and Huckabee is running as
McCain's VP and will likely give his delegate to McCain. So it now amounts
to a 3 person race between McCain, Romney, and Paul.
Do you honestly think Republicans, especially in closed states, and winner
take all states are going to pick Ron Paul over McCain or Romney?
So far Ron Paul has exactly 4 delegates, and those 4 were picked up
in Nevada, which every other candidate but Romney had abandoned.
(McCain still picked up 4 and Huckabee 3).

Paul is history, always was.

Why in the world would people vote for men in their 70s to run this country anyway?

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by Bronco Bob

I just don't see how a candidate that only gets 3% of the Republican vote
in a state like Florida, which has a closed primary that only lets Republicans
vote, can get the Republican nomination.

I don't believe Ron Paul spent even a single day campaigning in Florida, so the 3% he did get is actually impressive.


People are discounting the guy with a $20 million dollar war chest... I don't blame them. The media pretty well has this thing wrapped up and put a bow on it.

He's being ignored now, but he's not going to be ignored once he starts flooding the airwaves with negative ads that paint the establishment candidates as liberals.




Ron Paul Backs up New Ad with Straight Talk: GOP Rivals are
Fake Conservatives
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2008

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – On the heels of a new television campaign contrasting his fiscal conservatism against the record of his opponents, Congressman Ron Paul today sharply criticized his Republican counterparts for their record of tax hikes, deficit financing and wasteful spending.

“A real fiscal conservative always votes for balanced budgets, lower spending and would never, ever raise taxes. Every one of my opponents fails that litmus test. These so-called conservatives are misleading the American people about their records,” said Dr. Paul.

In a newly released TV ad entitled "The Only One", airing in Super Tuesday primary states, the campaign says that Dr. Paul is the only candidate who has "Never supported a tax increase. Never supported an unbalanced budget. Never supported wasteful government spending.”

"It is interesting to see all of these guys calling each other liberals. The fact is they are all telling the truth. They are all a bunch of liberals...and Republican conservative voters know that. This is why real conservative leaders like Barry Goldwater, Jr. have endorsed me," continued Dr. Paul, a 10-term Republican Congressman from Texas.

Dr. Paul strongly supported Ronald Reagan's campaign for President in Texas in 1976 and was one of four members of Congress that year to endorse Reagan over Gerald Ford.

"When I was leading the Reagan delegation to the Republican National Convention, most of my opponents were voting for Democrats or cheering for Ford. And now they want us to believe they are true conservatives? It's all politics, it’s a sham and everyone knows it. That's why they are having a hard time getting true conservative voters to support them," concluded Dr. Paul.

Dr. Paul has consistently been named "The Taxpayers' Best Friend" by the National Taxpayers Union for having the strongest record in “voting for lower taxes, less spending, balanced budgets and upholding the Constitution."

###

[Taco John]

He's sitting on a gold mine right now. As soon as the front runner is established, he starts to unload on that front runner. What does that front runner then do? He either ignores the barrage, or he attacks back. Either way, it's going to be a net gain for Paul.

Ron Paul's strategy the entire time has been to force a brokered convention. The field has done most of his work for him. Now that they've busted eachother up and broke their banks, Ron Paul comes in with guns blazing.


Ron Paul always runs a late surge strategy...

[Bronco Bob]

Originally Posted by Taco John

I don't believe Ron Paul spent even a single day campaigning in Florida, so the 3% he did get is actually impressive.

Fred Thompson dropped out of the race a week ago and he got 1%
of the vote, almost 22,000 votes.

Over half a million people voted for McCain, and over half a million for Romney.
And a quarter of a million for Giuliani, and a quarter of a million for Huckabee.
Actually about 1.9 million total Republican votes. Of those Ron Paul got a about
61,000 votes.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/pri...ults/state/#FL

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by Bronco Bob

Fred Thompson dropped out of the race a week ago and he got 1%
of the vote, almost 22,000 votes.

Over half a million people voted for McCain, and over half a million for Romney.
And a quarter of a million for Giuliani, and a quarter of a million for Huckabee.
Actually about 1.9 million total Republican votes. Of those Ron Paul got a about
61,000 votes.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/pri...ults/state/#FL

Yeah? So? I already told you, Ron Paul didn't step foot in the state of Florida. He left that for these other guys to throw their money and campaigns at.

He's not running the same type of do or die campaign that the rest of these guys are. He's picking up delegates, precinct leaders, and pushing towards a brokered convention where they would rebuild the Republican party plank by plank and vote based on the newly fortified planks. That could even mean bringing in a whole new slate of candidates. In a brokered convention, anything can happen.

Whether you like it or not, Ron Paul is not as distracted as the rest of you seem to be in the media storyline. He's got money banked, and a strategy to force the party to examine itself. So far, the other candidates have done all the heavy lifting for him, as the party seems split right in two between the Republican John Kerry, and the Republican Joe Lieberman -- with Huckabee carrying water for the latter. These guys are easy to attack for their liberal records, and in fact, they're already attacking eachother as liberals.

This thing is not over by a long shot. February 5th is going to come and what we'll learn from it is that nobody has the delegates to seal up the nomination. That's a mathematical impossibility at this point.

[Bronco Bob]

Originally Posted by Taco John

Yeah? So? I already told you, Ron Paul didn't step foot in the state of Florida. He left that for these other guys to throw their money and campaigns at.

He's not running the same type of do or die campaign that the rest of these guys are. He's picking up delegates, precinct leaders, and pushing towards a brokered convention where they would rebuild the Republican party plank by plank and vote based on the newly fortified planks. That could even mean bringing in a whole new slate of candidates. In a brokered convention, anything can happen.

John, Ron Paul has 4 delegates so far. Of the other three left in the race,
McCain has 93, Romney has 59, and Huckabee has 40.
And of the states that vote on Feb. 5, Ron Paul isn't in first place in
any of the polls for those states. Say what you will about the polls,
but so far they have been accurate about the amount of votes
Ron Paul got. In fact in some states he got less votes than the
polls predicted he would get. So where is he going to pick up the delegates
to carry him to the top. Name the states you think Ron Paul is going
to win, and how many delegates you expect him to have on Feb. 6.

[Rohirrim]

Ron Paul has got to launch a third party campaign. Rudy has announced he's dropping out and giving his endorsement to McCain. What this leaves is McCain and Huckabee both tearing into Romney until he finally figures out that it's not worth any more of his millions. The GOP bigwigs in the backrooms are swallowing hard and lining up behind McCain. They're nothing if not pragmatists. What they want to do now is restore harmony to their party, as best they can, and celebrate at their convention while the Dems continue to hammer away at each other. It's what they always do. Ron Paul won't get a piece of that. They'll freeze him out. He's got to go third party. I don't see why not. It's not as if the GOP has given him any respect whatsoever.

[Taco John]

February 5th is going to solve very little. It's going to throw the party into chaos because nobody will have enough delegates to claim the nomination. Only a McCain sweep will stop that from happening, and that doesn't look very likely.

[baja]

He would way better off as a third party candidate anyway.

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by Bronco Bob

Say what you will about the polls,
but so far they have been accurate about the amount of votes
Ron Paul got.

I won't call it a lie, because you probably think that you're telling the truth.

It's grossly inaccurate. Ron Paul was predicted last in Nevada. He finished in second place. He was predicted last in Louisiana. They had to combine tickets to beat him, and with provisional ballots left uncounted, it looks like he would have won the state outright. In Iowa he was predicted to finish in last place... Didn't happen. In Michigan, predicted last... Beat that one too.

Ron Paul has consistently finished higher than the polls have shown. And this is in a scene where he's not been given the same kind of fair media coverage as the other candidates.

He's saved his dollars until the field narrowed because he knows that he can match his record against any one or two of these candidates and make a bigger impact than if he would have blown his wad early and scattered the field.

I understand that most people believe that Ron Paul is an insignificant speck. The other candidates feel the same way. But if Paul starts using his war chest to attack them on conservative principles, they're going to be stuck between a rock and a hard place: do they respond to the attacks and legitimize him, or do they ignore the attacks and hope that the conservatives out there will ignore them too.

Ron Paul has made it clear to his supporters that he's planning on pushing this thing all the way to St. Paul for a brokered convention. His strategy is slow and steady wins the race.

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by baja

He would way better off as a third party candidate anyway.

If Ron Paul goes third party, it wouldn't happen until after September. His strategy relies on keeping his spot on the Republican stage through a brokered convention process.

[baja]

Originally Posted by Taco John

If Ron Paul goes third party, it wouldn't happen until after September. His strategy relies on keeping his spot on the Republican stage through a brokered convention process.

Well he is a patient man with confidence in his beliefs. he is getting almost zero coverage during these state primaries.

[Bronco Bob]

Originally Posted by Taco John

I won't call it a lie, because you probably think that you're telling the truth.

It's grossly inaccurate. Ron Paul was predicted last in Nevada. He finished in second place. He was predicted last in Louisiana. They had to combine tickets to beat him, and with provisional ballots left uncounted, it looks like he would have won the state outright. In Iowa he was predicted to finish in last place... Didn't happen. In Michigan, predicted last... Beat that one too.

In Iowa RCP had Ron Paul in 5th place. Ron Paul finished in 5th place.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epo...aucus-207.html

In Michigan Ron Paul was predicted to be 4th. He finished 4th.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epo...imary-237.html

So Nevada was the only one they got wrong. And I think that had
more to do with everyone else abandoning Nevada to Romney.

Ron Paul has consistently finished higher than the polls have shown. And this is in a scene where he's not been given the same kind of fair media coverage as the other candidates.

Again not true. In New Hampshire the RCP average had Ron Paul at 8.2%. He got 7.7%.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epo...imary-193.html

In S. Carolina RCP had him at 4.4%. He got 3.7%

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epo...imary-233.html

In Florida he was at 3.6%. He got 3%

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epo...imary-260.html

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by baja

Well he is a patient man with confidence in his beliefs. he is getting almost zero coverage during these state primaries.

Yes. The media blackout started about two days before the Iowa primary. After that, all of the major networks essentially froze him out, throwing him scraps here and there. It's my understanding that the campaign expected this, but not to the extent that it's happened. The campaign figured that they media would have to do more reporting on Ron Paul as he beat candidates like Rudy and Fred, came in second in Nevada, and practically won Louisiana. I guess it was a real wake-up call to the campaign when the media didn't say a word about all of the business that went down in Louisiana.

That said, the "chatter" surrounding the official campaign has been ratcheting up the last week. Big name economic advisors have been brought in - Don Luskin and Peter Schiff. These are some mainstream heavyweights who have bought on to Ron Paul's economic revitalization plan. He's in fact, just released this plan, which he plans to start hitting heavily now that some of the noise is cleared. He's also added two additions to the leadership team, John Tate (national political director who is very well connected in evangelical communities) and Mark Elam (national media director). Let me make this clear: He's ramping up his campaign now - Just as all of the noise from the early primaries is winding down.

Also, there's talk of a "secret strategy" that is starting to surface. This is stuff for rumors right now, but there are certain signatures out there that make this look like it might be real... The rumor that is floating around is that several groups of Ron Paul supporters got elected as delegates for candidates other than Ron Paul. The idea behind this strategy is that once these candidates drop out of the race, their delegates are no longer committed and can vote their conscience. There's no way to confirm that this is true -- it's just the rumor that's floating around.