Thread: Ron Paul on the Issues

Straw Polls vs. Collecting Delegates

Last night was a good night for Ron Paul. But it was a better night than many might realize.

The desire to accumulate as many delegates as possible has long been the campaign’s primary focus. After all, this is how one becomes the nominee. But collecting delegates is not the same thing as winning the straw polls, which obviously make the headlines.

Ron Paul 2012 campaign chairman John Tate explains:

“We are thrilled with the yesterday’s results. Our campaign to Restore America continues to gain ground, and we are poised to pick up even more delegates from Minnesota and Colorado adding to our delegates in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada.

“As people across the country view the results of yesterday’s contests, it is important to consider a few facts that have not been clearly reported. Not one single delegate was awarded yesterday, instead the caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado were the very first step in the delegate selection process. And there are still over 40 states left to go. The Ron Paul campaign plans to continue to vie for delegates nationwide.”

Indeed. Below is a pie chart created by a supporter that shows how Paul’s straw poll performance measures against collecting delegates in particular Colorado precincts. You will notice in each example, the delegates selected exceed the straw poll results. To say the least:




Straw Polls vs. Collecting Delegates*|*Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee

Ron Paul Winning the Battle for Delegates

Campaign is well-positioned in delegate race

LAKE JACKSON, Texas – The Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign released the following statement regarding the results of yesterday’s election results. See comments below from Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Manager John Tate.

“We are thrilled with the yesterday’s results. Our campaign to Restore America continues to gain ground, and we are poised to pick up even more delegates from Minnesota and Colorado adding to our delegates in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada.

“As people across the country view the results of yesterday’s contests, it is important to consider a few facts that have not been clearly reported. Not one single delegate was awarded yesterday, instead the caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado were the very first step in the delegate selection process. And there are still over 40 states left to go. The Ron Paul campaign plans to continue to vie for delegates nationwide.

“There are a few significant takeaways from yesterday’s contests to remember:


1) The Missouri primary means nothing. It was a non-binding beauty contest, and the contest that matters in the ‘show me’ state won’t take place for another month. The Ron Paul campaign is well positioned to win delegates in Missouri’s caucus a month from now.

2) As in Iowa where not 1 of the 28 delegates has been awarded yet, in Colorado and Nevada the Paul campaign will do very well in the state delegate counts. We will have good numbers among the actual delegates awarded, far exceeding our straw poll numbers.

3) In Minnesota where we have finished a solid second, we also have a strong majority of the state convention delegates, and the process to elect delegates has also just begun, the Paul campaign is well-organized to win the bulk of delegates there.

“We are confident in gaining a much larger share of delegates than even our impressive showing yesterday indicates. As an example of our campaign’s delegate strength, take a look at what has occurred in Colorado:

In one precinct in Larimer County, the straw poll vote was 23 for Santorum, 13 for Paul, 5 for Romney, 2 for Gingrich. There were 13 delegate slots, and Ron Paul got ALL 13.
In a precinct in Delta County the vote was 22 for Santorum, 12 for Romney, 8 for Paul, 7 for Gingrich. There were 5 delegate slots, and ALL 5 went to Ron Paul.
In a Pueblo County precinct, the vote was 16 for Santorum, 11 for Romney, 3 for Gingrich and 2 for Paul. There were 2 delegate slots filled, and both were filled by Ron Paul supporters.

We are also seeing the same trends in Minnesota, Nevada, and Iowa, and in Missouri as well.

“We may well win Minnesota, and do far better in Colorado than yesterday’s polls indicate.

“In the latest national poll from Reuters/Ipsos Poll, Ron Paul places a strong second with 21 percent, gaining ground on his main competitor nationally, Mitt Romney, whose support seems to be fading at 29 percent. Congressman Paul’s support has grown by 5 percentage points nationally since January, while Romney has seen a 30 percent decline in his support since January.

“This poll follows a January 30th Gallup Poll showing Dr. Paul within the margin of error of defeating Obama. Also, a January 16th CNN/ORC Poll showed Congressman Paul and Obama in a virtual tie in a general election showdown.

“Yesterday’s contests were significant, but not a decisive or a conclusive end to this race. Our campaign will keep pushing forward and continue to take our message of liberty all the way to the convention. This race after all is about delegates, not about beauty contests.”

Ron Paul Winning the Battle for Delegates*|*Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee

Like I have been saying all along... it is far better than what it seems in the Delegate count

No One But Ron Paul MONEY BOMB! *** February 14th *** <---LINK

Ron Paul on Rick Santorum’s Liberalism

CNN reports:

Ron Paul said Thursday the recent spike in support for rival Rick Santorum was a result of dissatisfied Republicans, though he said the former Pennsylvania senator hardly qualified as a conservative alternative…

“But I think it’s a lack of enthusiasm for any of the other three. It’s been around for a bit, but there’s a bit of irony, though, for Santorum to be the one that’s criticizing Mitt Romney as sort of being liberal. When we do the analysis and look at his voting record, he’s not a moderate. He has voted for a lot of big government things.”

Paul is absolutely correct. Before Barack Obama became the most big government president in American history, George W. Bush held that title. No one went to bat more often and more loyally for Bush’s agenda than Sen. Santorum–No Child Left Behind, Medicare Plan D, debt ceiling raises, you name it. Santorum is just as culpable in saddling America with a monstrous national debt as the current occupant of the White House. Ron Paul is right to note that a president Romney or Santorum would offer nothing but more of the same.

Ron Paul’s message is that constitutionally, the federal government shouldn’t be doing most of what it’s doing. Romney and Santorum’s message is that they can manage big government marginally better than the Democrats.

Ron Paul on Rick Santorum's Liberalism*|*Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee

Ron Paul Interview on CNN 2/9/12

Ron Paul on CNN 2/9/12 - YouTube

Ron Paul Issues Statement on Obama Contraception Decision

“I am the only GOP presidential candidate who has consistently opposed the federal promotion, funding, and mandating of contraception and abortion”



LAKE JACKSON, Texas– Congressman and 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul issued the following statement regarding the Obama Administration’s announcement that religious organizations must pay for contraception and sterilization under the national health care law: “Forcing private religious institutions to pay for contraception and sterilization as part of their health care plans is a direct assault on the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious liberty. On my first day as President, I will reverse this policy. Repealing the unconstitutional monstrosity known as ObamaCare is a major part of my Plan to Restore America.

“I am the only GOP presidential candidate who has consistently opposed the federal promotion, funding, and mandating of contraception and abortion. Unlike Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, I never voted to provide taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood. And unlike Mitt Romney, whose Massachusetts health care plan contained a contraceptive mandate similar to the one contained in ObamaCare, I have never supported any government health care mandates.

“When one compares my record with that of my opponents, it is clear that I am the only choice for Americans seeking a candidate they can trust to reverse the Obama administration’s assault on their religious and other liberties.”

This is the most recent statement in a series of comments issued by Paul regarding this move by the Obama Administration. You can find the August 4th statement here, and find the October 3rd statement here, and the statement applauding Becket Fund’s defense of Belmont Abbey College here.

Ron Paul Issues Statement on Obama Contraception Decision*|*Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee

SCHEDULE: Ron Paul Campaigning in Maine

Will attend three caucus sites, address caucus-goers


FALMOUTH, Maine – The Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign announced today Congressman Paul’s campaign schedule. Dr. Paul will visit three local caucus sites as well as address caucus-goers ahead of the Maine Caucuses. Ron Paul will also give a speech to supporters following the announcement of the results in Portland.Details of the events are as follows. All times eastern.

Saturday, February 11, 2012
8:00 a.m.
Greet caucus attendees

Veterans Memorial Gym
678 Main Street
Sanford, Maine 04073
10:00 a.m.
Greet caucus attendees and address caucus

Geiger Elementary School
601 College Street
Lewiston, Maine 04240
12:30 p.m.
Greet caucus attendees and address caucus

The Memorial School Gymnasium
86 Intervale Road
New Gloucester, Maine 04260
6:00 p.m.
Maine Caucus Night Party*

Seasons Event and Conference Center Ballroom
155 Riverside Street
Portland, Maine 04103
*Doors open to media at 1:00 p.m. Doors open to the public at 5:30 p.m.

SCHEDULE: Ron Paul Campaigning in Maine*|*Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee

$204,803.00 Donated to "NO ONE BUT PAUL"

No One But Ron Paul MONEY BOMB! *** February 14th *** <---LINK

Mitt Romney ‘Wins’ The Maine Caucuses, Unless Ron Paul Actually Won Them

Michael Brendan Dougherty
Business InsiderFebruary 12, 2012




Maine’s Republican Party reported the results of their state caucus tonight, even though not all of Maine has finished voting, and not all the votes have really been counted.
The results?

Mitt Romney won 39% with 2,190 total votes.
Ron Paul came in second at 36% with 1,996 votes.
Rick Santorum cam in third 18%; 989 votes.
Newt Gingrich was fourth with 6%; 349 votes).

But of course the Caucus results are non-binding, and there may be more votes coming in.

If the outstanding votes tip for Ron Paul (and they might, since the outstanding votes are mostly from rural areas), Mitt Romney may be dealing with a replay of the Iowa Caucuses where he is declared a winner the night after voting stops, but then has the victory snatched away later.

So what are the takeaways?

1) Mitt Romney avoided more bad news. A win for Romney in Maine is nothing to brag about, but this ‘victory’ isn’t a shame either. An outright defeat by Paul would have sent the media into talk of Romney going 0-4 in February.

2) Ron Paul still slightly underperforms when the votes come in. In part it could be that some of his supporters have been so disillusioned with politics for so long that they are more difficult to get to the polls or to make participate in caucuses.

3) No one in the media has any idea how many delegates Ron Paul is actually amassing in these contests. Is it a lot, or is this just talk from the Paul campaign. Everyone seems to be aware that his campaign is training people to volunteer to be delegates. But there is no way to really count them until the convention at Tampa.

4) These results aren’t really final.

» Mitt Romney ‘Wins’ The Maine Caucuses, Unless Ron Paul Actually Won Them Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!

Ron Paul Refuses to Concede Maine: Official

Business Wire
February 12, 2012



LAKE JACKSON, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Tonight the campaign of 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul sent an email to supporters regarding today’s caucus results from the state of Maine. See below for a portion of comments from Ron Paul 2012 Campaign Manager John Tate.

“Ron Paul will win the most delegates out of Maine tonight.

“In fact, he will probably even win the ‘beauty contest’ straw poll the media has already called for Mitt Romney – even before all the votes have been tallied.

“In Washington County – where Ron Paul was incredibly strong – the caucus was delayed until next week just so the votes wouldn’t be reported by the national media today.

“Of course, their excuse for the delay was ‘snow.’

“That’s right. A prediction of 3-4 inches – that turned into nothing more than a dusting – was enough for a local GOP official to postpone the caucuses just so the results wouldn’t be reported tonight.

“This is MAINE we’re talking about. The GIRL SCOUTS had an event today in Washington County that wasn’t cancelled!

And just the votes of Washington County would have been enough to put us over the top.

“This is an outrage. But our campaign is in this race to win, and will stay in it to the very end.

“Congressman Paul’s message of liberty and Constitutional principles is resonating with Americans everywhere who are sick and tired of the status quo establishment, and we plan to take this campaign on to ‘Super Tuesday’ and beyond.”

Authorized and paid for by Ron Paul 2012 PCC Inc. Ron Paul 2012 Official Campaign Website

Contacts
Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee
Gary Howard, 855-563-6620

» Ron Paul Refuses to Concede Maine: Official Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!