Thread: Ron Paul on the Issues

IMPORTANT - become a delegate in New Hampshire enrollment starts June 6


Submitted by joeinmo on Sun, 06/03/2012 - 10:25

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Time to Come to the Aid of Your Republican Party in New Hampshire….

IMPORTANT - become a delegate in New Hampshire enrollment starts June 6 | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012

Ron Paul's supporters ready to fight for his principles at GOP convention in Fort Worth Texas

Posted Saturday, Jun. 02, 2012
40 Comments

Special to the Star-Telegram/Stephen Maske
"We will convert the Republican Party into defenders of liberty," U.S. Rep. Ron Paul says.

By Anna M. Tinsley
atinsley@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH -- A revolution may be coming to Texas this week.

Republicans are heading to Fort Worth to attend their party's state convention -- a time dedicated to energizing the party faithful, setting goals and unifying behind presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney. But they are likely to find themselves embroiled in the never-say-die movement by followers of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Lake Jackson.

Paul's supporters have become a presence at state GOP conventions nationwide, working to send more of their delegates to the national convention, where they hope to make the libertarian-leaning Paul the presidential nominee or put key proposals of his, such as reducing the federal government and abolishing the Federal Reserve, in the GOP platform.

"We are tired of getting the same stuff over and over again," said Kory Watkins, 29, of Mansfield, who supports Paul and is a delegate for the first time. "Every day, more and more people are waking up ... and becoming more in tune to what's going on.

"There's a new world order and big-government establishment is taking over," he said. "We want to go back to the country our forefathers built for us through the Constitution."

Paul supporters hope to have a large enough presence among the 18,000 delegates and alternates meeting in Fort Worth to send a sizable number of like-minded Republicans to the national convention.

Along the way, there may be a Texas-size fight over party rules to allow those national delegates to support the presidential candidate of their choice rather than requiring them to be bound by the choice Texans made when they voted in Tuesday's primary.

And there may be efforts to alter the state party platform to incorporate more of Paul's beliefs, which include limited government, personal liberty and a balanced budget.

Longtime Republicans say they hope the party doesn't lose sight of the goal: reclaiming the White House in November.

"My hope for the convention is that we rally behind our nominee," said longtime local Republican Kyleen Wright, a state delegate. "We need to help push [Romney] up with our numbers, and we need to be prepared to do strike force teams in other states to help.

"There's a lot at stake," she said. "We all understand the need to beat [President] Barack Obama, and the Republican nominee offers us the best opportunity."

The convention

The gathering kicks off Thursday at the Fort Worth Convention Center with speeches from Gov. Rick Perry and state Attorney General Greg Abbott.

Committees will meet through the week to decide on delegate challenges, potential rule changes and the party platform before presenting the issues to the full convention.

Congressional leaders -- U.S. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn -- will speak Friday, along with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, state Comptroller Susan Combs and Texas House Speaker Joe Straus.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson are expected to speak Saturday, according to a tentative schedule.

The three-day convention also features Paul, who is making his third bid for president; former presidential candidate Rick Santorum; and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, both of Wisconsin.

By the end of Saturday, the party should have adopted a platform and chosen delegates for the national convention in Tampa, Fla., in August.

"We hope at this time we can unite as a party and move forward to November and victory," said Chris Elam, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Texas.

Potential fights

Paul supporters are expected to influence three key areas: amending the party platform, setting party rules and seeking delegate slots to the national convention.

"We are trying to influence the party platform and kind of get the Republicans back to our conservative roots," said Justin Machacek, 32, of Fort Worth, a first-time delegate who is on the national advisory board of the Evangelicals for Ron Paul Coalition. "We want to get back to the true conservative platform -- fiscal responsibility, civil liberties and strong national defense."

Paul supporters are expected to challenge a rule adopted this year that requires national delegates' votes on the first ballot for the presidential nominee to reflect the choice made by Texans in the primary.

Traditionally, Texas' delegates have been required in the first four rounds of voting at the national convention to reflect the choice made by primary voters.
The rule change releases them from that requirement after the first round.

But Paul supporters may push to not be bound to the state's presidential pick during the first round of voting.

Some say a rule change isn't necessary at the Texas GOP convention because state rules don't apply to the national convention.

"Once you get to national, the rules will be adopted there," said Watkins, who delayed his wedding this year to make sure that he and his wife, Janie, who is also a delegate, could attend a senatorial convention to support Paul.

"Say at the national convention, Romney has the majority [of delegates] and wants his delegates to be bound to him there," then he would be chosen as the nominee.

In turn, though, if Paul supporters hold a majority and approve rules that release delegates from being bound to the candidate chosen by voters, they could vote to make Paul the Republican presidential nominee, Watkins said.

Either way, the issue is likely to arise at the state GOP convention.

"I have a tendency to avoid changing the rules in the middle of the game in order to achieve a specific outcome that is not what the rules would make right now," said Steve Hollern, a former Tarrant County Republican Party chairman who will be a delegate and a member of the convention's rules committee. "But I'm open to discussing these things."

Paul has encouraged his supporters to keep fighting for the cause they share, and he said he sees progress.

"The revolution is working," Paul said last month, as he stood in front of the Texas Capitol for a rally.

"We have infiltrated the Republican Party, and we will convert the Republican Party into defenders of liberty."

Anna M. Tinsley, 817-390-7610

Twitter: @annatinsley

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/06...#storylink=cpy

Ron Paul Wins Louisiana Convention


Submitted by zooamerica on Sun, 06/03/2012 - 11:47
Daily Paul Liberty Forum

Ron Paul sending 27 out of 46 Louisiana delegates to Tampa...

59% !!!

Ron Paul Delegates Arrested As They Win a Majority at Louisiana GOP Convention

After Convention Chairman Henry Herford’s arrest, the delegates proceeded to elect a new chair and continued with the business of the convention. They reportedly elected a slate of 27 Ron Paul supporters to fill 12 of the 18 district delegate slots and 15 of 20 at-large delegate slots, before certifying the results with the RNC.

.....

In spite of the disorder at the Louisiana State Convention, many Republicans expressed satisfaction that they were able to select a strong delegation of constitutional conservatives to attend the national convention. “[This] proves that the Ron Paul Revolution is alive and well in the state of Louisiana.”

WIN

Ron Paul Wins Louisiana Convention | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012

Ron Paul Delegates Arrested As They Win a Majority at Louisiana GOP Convention

Hamdan Azhar
2012 Elections
2 hours ago

Ron Paul Delegates Arrested As They Win a Majority at Louisiana GOP Convention

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“I’m handicapped! I need a doctor!” “Sir, this is the chairman!” The Louisiana State Republican Convention descended into chaos Saturday morning, with several delegates being arrested and the convention chairman being thrown to the ground by police. Sources report that state party officials panicked when it became clear that Ron Paul delegates commanded a decisive majority of the delegates on the floor – at least 111 of 180 (62%).

The convention began peacefully with a prayer and invocation. Roger Villere, Chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party, then attempted to recognize the former Chair of the Convention’s Rules Committee who had been ousted from his position last night. When Alex Helwig, the newly elected Rules Committee chair, rose to address the delegation, Mr. Villere ordered him removed from the floor. Video footage shows Shreveport police dragging Mr. Helwig out of the room despite his protests that he was a duly elected delegate.



At this point, a motion was made to elect a new convention chairman. Henry Herford, Jr., was elected by an overwhelming majority. Nevertheless, Mr. Villere – who had appointed himself the convention chairman – refused to relinquish control of the gathering. As the delegates began turning their chairs around, Mr. Herford, the newly elected chairman, rose to call the convention to order. Sources report that, in an act of desperation, Mr. Villere and state party officials then ordered police to attack Mr. Herford.

Video footage shows an older gentleman in a blue shirt being violently dragged away by police and then shoved to the ground. When Mr. Herford protests that he is handicapped and would like to press charges for assault against the police officers, a Shreveport police officer is seen smirking in response. Sources report that Mr. Herford, 57, has a prosthetic hip that was dislocated during the assault.

2nd Video: Alex Helwig assaulted by Shreveport Police at LAGOP State C - YouTube!

Many observers expressed shock that the establishment would resort to such violent tactics against fellow Republicans. Saturday morning’s incidents come on the heels of increasing panic among state party leaders in the aftermath of Ron Paul’s decisive victory in the Louisiana caucuses in April.

For example, on Thursday night, the State Central Committee (SCC) of the Louisiana Republican Party voted to completely overhaul the existing convention rules. Fearful of a resounding Ron Paul victory, the SCC’s “supplemental rules” were designed to substantially weaken the authority of the State Convention, reportedly making it nothing more than a rubber-stamp for the dictates of state party insiders.

While the state party insisted that the “supplemental rules” were unamendable and overrode the existing rules as well as Robert’s Rules of Order, legal observers remarked that the new rules were in material violation of the Rules of the Republican National Committee.

According to RNC Rule 15(c)(12), “No delegates or alternate delegates shall be elected, selected, allocated, or bound pursuant to any Republican Party rule of a state or state law which materially changes the manner of electing, selecting, allocating, or binding delegates or alternate delegates… if such changes were adopted or made effective after October 1 of the year before the year in which the national convention is to be held.”

After Convention Chairman Henry Herford’s arrest, the delegates proceeded to elect a new chair and continued with the business of the convention. They reportedly elected a slate of 27 Ron Paul supporters to fill 12 of the 18 district delegate slots and 15 of 20 at-large delegate slots, before certifying the results with the RNC.

Meanwhile, state party leaders held their own convention in one corner of the room with about 30 delegates in attendance. Local media is reporting that the minority convention also elected a slate of delegates, although it is unlikely that the legitimacy of their slate will be recognized by the RNC.

According to a statement released by the national Paul campaign, the newly elected delegates met with Scott Sewell, the Louisiana Chair of the Romney campaign, who said “he would do everything he could to make sure the delegation was seated.” The State Central Committee also met after the convention but reportedly disbanded due to lack of quorum.

Opinions remain divided as to whether the convention chaos that has been witnessed at recent state conventions across the country is a result of a coordinated national effort by Republican party leaders to disenfranchise Ron Paul delegates.

In both Maine and Nevada, for example, Romney supporters were caught distributing counterfeit delegate slates. In Arizona, there were complaints of ballot stuffing and the convention was eventually shut down when it appeared likely that a Ron Paul supporter would be elected as the national committeewoman. In Massachusetts, after Ron Paul supporters won 16 of 27 district delegate slots, state party leaders quickly moved to try to invalidate the results.

http://www.policymic.com/articles/91...mmand-majority

Thaddeus McCotter Failed to Make Ballot! - RP Republican Kerry Bentivolio Can Win Seat in Congress!

Submitted by Freightrainblues on Tue, 05/29/2012 - 20:31
Politics & Law
Michigan

THIS IS HUGE!

Congressmen Thaddeus McCotter failed to make the ballot for his own primary. The only other Republican on the ballot is Ron Paul supporter KERRY BENTIVOLIO.

GOP Establishment will run a massive write in campaign to prevent Bentivolio from advancing to the general election.

Kerry's record is impressive and exactly who we need to represent us. He enlisted in the army and served in the Vietnam War. He was an MP in Desert Storm, served on the national guard and managed artillery for convoy missions in Iraq 2007. He has multiple degrees in education and worked as a teacher and as a design engineer in the automotive industry. His website is loaded with content you agree with.

Kerry Bentivolio for Congress IF YOU LIVE IN THE METRO DETROIT AREA and would like to help with the campaign please contact the campaign and let them know you're from the daily paul. THIS IS ANOTHER MAJOR SEAT IN CONGRESS - SPREAD THE WORD!

(HIGHLAND, MILFORD, LYON, SOUTH LYON COMMERCE, WHITE LAKE, WALLED LAKE, NOVI, NORTHVILLE, PLYMOUTH, CANTON, FARMINGTON CITY, SYLVAN LAKE, KEEGO HARBOR, LIVONIA TROY, CLAWSON, BIRMINGHAM, BLOOMFIELD HILLS, AUBURN HILLS, LAKE ANGELUS)

Thaddeus McCotter Failed to Make Ballot! - RP Republican Kerry Bentivolio Can Win Seat in Congress! | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012

To the Point! Listen on RonPaulRadio.com!


Submitted by HOSTAmanda on Sun, 06/03/2012 - 15:57

Events

Listen to To the Point today, from 5-6 pm EST on Ronpaulradio.com

http://ronpaulradio.com/

Today we'll be discussing the Louisiana State Republican Convention, as well as lack of unity within the Republican Party!

My special guest host is James Burns from the show FreedomFiles also on RonPaulRadio.com

Don't miss it!

To the Point! Listen on RonPaulRadio.com! | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012

Judy Morris Report: Is the GOP in Full Throttle Suicide Mode?


Posted by Admin on Jun 3, 2012 in Election 2012, Politics, Ron Paul | 2 comments
by Judy Morris

It’s no secret that the GOP is old, white, gray and dying. In 2008, Obama won the youth vote by a whopping 68% to 30% when he defeated McCain. This election cycle, the youth vote has energetically supported Ron Paul. Could it be that the young really don’t want to march off and die in neocon wars or return home minus their limbs and junk?

The Republican Party used to get by in generals elections because it managed to cobble together a collection of antagonistic constituencies including Libertarians, independents, Buchananites, paleo-conservatives and others. But this paradigm permanently changed in 2006 when the GOP dissidents could no longer even hold their noses and vote Republican. The Democrats took the House of Representatives in 2006 and again won big in 2008.

Recently, Jonah Goldberg of the statist neocon National Review actually said that young folks are ‘so frickin stupid’ that they should not even be allowed to vote! Appearing in a video published online on Thursday, Jonah Goldberg, editor-at-large for the neoconservative National Review Online website, explains that he believes letting 18-year-old Americans vote is a big mistake that should be taken back. Advocating that conservatives should “literally” beat young people into political submission, Goldberg said that young voters are “so frickin’ stupid about so many things,” which is why, in his view, the system must change.

Beating young folks into political submission or denying them the right to vote is, obviously, the delusional rant of a very frustrated establishment Republican. If the Republican Party wasn’t already in trouble with the youth vote, crazies like Jonah Goldberg certainly won’t improve the situation and will only make it much worse.

Over at Red State, a hugely popular website adored by establishment Republicans, its vitriolic attacks on Ron Paul have no boundaries whatsoever when it comes to demonizing Ron Paul and his supporters:

“Let me start off with the disclaimer that I am not a Paulite (not a synonym for libertarian) or a Romney supporter (meaning that I am not enthused about Romney). But the blight known as Ron Paul is a cancer on the Republican Party. Ordinarily we laugh at Ron Paul and his fanatical followers as a bunch of loons on par with cooked vegetables and Obama supporters; however, his supporters are a part of the Republican Party, and Paul is continuing in the GOP nomination race. His followers are playing the caucuses to get a higher proportion of delegates than Paul receives via popular vote: in Minnesota, for example, he has 20 of 37 delegates that are going to Tampa, according to the American Spectator. Romney’s campaign is reportedly afraid of the sleeper delegates that are Paulites at heart.”

As a Libertarian and Ron Paul Republican, I was glued to the GOP debates and I profoundly shuddered in absolute horror. As Texas Gov. Rick Perry boasted that he was proud of his execution record, a record that may in fact include the execution of innocent folks, the crowd cheered. When healthcare was brought up and somebody said just let the uninsured die, there were more cheers. Gingrich went on a foreign policy rant and when this psychopath shouted ‘kill em’, he got a standing ovation from the SC crowd and went on to win the SC primary.

From the Oops Campaign to the guy who managed to moon himself right out of the race, the GOP primary season evolved into a most entertaining reality show and one with lots of road kill to appease a Republican base hungry for a ‘kill em’ orgasm as they cheered murder and genocide. Shockingly, or not so shockingly, Republicans have even nullified the Golden Rule which was greeted with loud jeers when mentioned by Ron Paul. The cheers and jeers speak a telling but horrifying truth about the rancid soul of the GOP and its vociferous base.

Americans watched these debates and could only conclude that Republicans were a gang of bloodthirsty, war-mongering Evangelical whackjobs. With the exception of Ron Paul and Huntsman, they were all on a mission to out-neo-con each other. The Republican Party wasn’t always full throttle bat shit crazy but it certainly has been for many years (decades). The Republican Party once opposed foreign interventions. Who got us involved in WW I, WW II, the Korean War, Vietnam and the Balkan Wars? All liberal progressive Democrats – Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman, Johnson and Clinton.

What happened to the Republican Party? First it was taken over by early neo-cons, most of whom switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. Then these Republican statists recruited the wackiest Christians in America – the Dispensationalist Biblical literalist Evangelicals. They are like Nazis as they scream for more war, more murder, more executions and more restrictions on civil liberties. They are extremely socially intolerant and they have no use whatsoever for the concept of natural rights, the rule or law or the Constitution. They are led by dangerous folks like the severely demented Rev. Hagee in Texas who said that the Pope was the Whore of Babylon and the Anti-Christ.

The Republican Party is definitely aware that it’s got a problem attracting voters and the young. But the Republican Party has also dramatically intensified its ruthless attacks on the young, the Libertarians, Ron Paul, the Ron Paul supporters, the anti-war conservatives, the fiscal conservatives etc. and a whole lot more.
If we are witnessing anything that is politically relevant it’s probably the permanent demise of the Republican Party, an organization so repugnant and vile that its death should be a welcome sigh of relief for a tortured humanity facing the constant horrors of endless missiles, invasions, occupations, bombs and drones. Ditto for the equally worthless Democrat Party!

I, for one, would welcome the demise of the phony baloney left- right paradigm, so the American people can focus on real important issues like peace, liberty and restoring prosperity with free markets and sound money.

Judy Morris Report: Is the GOP in Full Throttle Suicide Mode? | Spread Liberty News

Rotten To The Floor


Submitted by D Simpson on Sun, 06/03/2012 - 18:44
Ron Paul 2012
DP Original
Louisiana



From a delegate to the LA State Republican Convention:

That politics has devolved from reason and principles to base emotions and power-plays is a fact that we will all rue one day…probably soon. Still, we can pray for the return of statesmen whose principle concerns are the nature of good government and the ethical considerations of how a people ought to be governed.


For now, we are left with the dysfunctional political parties. Witness the recent Louisiana State Republican Party convention, which I attended as a duly elected delegate. Suffice it to say that there was a difference of opinion as to how the delegates to the National Convention should be allocated. That question is still very much at issue and would be worthy of considerable debate.


Instead, the leadership of the Republican Party, along with some fawning bootlicks, tried to preemptively dictate the outcome in violation of any standards of fairness and decency. Though the majority of delegates (111 of 180) are variously depicted as “Ron Paul followers”, “libertarians” or “whackos”, the reality is that this majority delegation of certified republicans is principally a group of concerned citizens motivated by two primary notions:


• First, that America is in serious decline, and

• Second, that this is due in large part to our refusal to follow our foundational law, the Constitution. (For sake of clarity, we’ll call this subset, and rising power, of the republican party “constitutionalists”).


What is so radical about those ideas?


But the LAGOP leadership would have none of this. No discussion. No debate. We had no rights, they said. However, consider this. All delegates to the convention were elected on April 28th by republican voters throughout the state and the majority of these voters wanted the aforementioned constitutionalists. Each week thereafter, these delegates met, planned, formed committees, and debated issues in accordance with the known rules of the Republican Party.


Then, on May 31st at 3:30 pm, less than 48 hours before the convention, Roger Villere, Chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party, issued a set of “supplemental rules” completely undoing the month’s work of the delegation and seizing control of the convention for himself. Then to shore up his power grab, Mr. Villere emailed a “supplement to the supplement” at 11:21 pm on Friday, June 1st, less than 12 hours before the start of the convention.


The rest you can see on YouTube. When the leaders of the majority of delegates sought “requests for information”, “points of order” or objected to the proceedings, they were ignored, told not to speak and that they had no rights, and that they needed to sit down and be quiet…like good serfs…or be physically removed.


Some might say that this is just an internal squabble of the Republican Party, so why should we care? I answer that if your leaders (and remember that political conventions are all about selecting leaders) can be selected by such draconian means, then it won’t be long before we have an equally draconian leader. And for those who believe that the LAGOP leadership was justified in their actions, I submit the following evidence in contradiction.


• It was the constitutionalists who were the majority party. If you believe and respect democratic institutions at all, then the majority of republican caucus voters were denied their voice.

• It was the majority delegation, the constitutionalists, who respected and followed the rule of law. It was Mr. Villere who attempted to change the rules at the midnight hour.

• And finally, it was the constitutionalists, the majority party, who attempted to engage in rational, political debate and it was the republican leadership who responded with brute force to silence any objections.


For those who love “the land of the free”, this is not your father’s GOP.

Rotten To The Floor | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012

King County Leadership Called Out at WA State Convention


Submitted by RonPaulGirl22 on Sun, 06/03/2012 - 20:13
Videos
Washington



King County Chairwoman Lori Sotelo and Executive Director of the King County GOP Office Staff are called out at the WA state GOP convention for shenanigans they pulled at district caucuses.

During the delegate speeches, one candidate decided to use his time to explain to the body some of the problems brought on by those in leadership positions during the caucuses in King County.

Afterwards, a few Romney folks from around the state commented to fellow RP supporters that they did not know things like this had been taking place.

King County Leadership Called Out at WA State Convention | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012

A Louisiana delegate breaks it down.

Submitted by Idontknow on Sun, 06/03/2012 - 21:17
Delegates
Quicklink

Great summary of the Lousiana GOP convention.



A Louisiana delegate breaks it down. | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012