Thread: Ron Paul on the Issues

Will Defecting from the GOP Help Ron Paul's Supporters Take It Over?

Submitted by Robin Koerner on Sun, 09/09/2012 - 19:36
Bio | Blog | facebook.com/bluerepublican | watchingamerica.com

Robin Koerner is the original "Blue Republican", a term he coined in this article. He also runs WatchingAmerica.com. He is a British permanent resident of the United States.

Over the last year, many of Paul’s supporters have claimed that the GOP can’t win without them. That’s either a threat or a promise. As any parent knows, neither should be made emptily.

Following all of the shenanigans against them throughout the Primary season, and the RNC’s decision in Tampa to alienate them completely, Paul’s supporters have been considering how to vote in November.

Although most of them would like nothing more than to write his name in, they know that in most states, such write-in votes would not be counted, so as a statement of principle or protest, they would be rather ineffective, however satisfying they’d be to cast.

Therefore, I recently polled the 13,000-strong community of Blue Republicans, all Ron Paul supporters, to find out for whom they intended to vote for President.

An overwhelming 66% said they would be voting for Gary Johnson – the Libertarian candidate who shall be the only candidate other than Obama and Romney on the ballot in every state (absent yet more GOP mafia tactics). Sixteen (16) percent will be writing in Ron Paul, even though most don’t expect their vote to be counted, and Romney will attract the votes of a negligible 6%. (Margin of error +/-4%.)

These results may have serious implications for November’s election and signal the real possibly of an exciting shift in the trajectory of American politics.

The liberty movement is united in its belief that America’s two-party system, rather than a single party alone has brought America to crisis. Its members understand that those issues of agreement between the parties are much more important than are any issues on which they traditionally disagree.

There are myriad examples. Both parties support a monetary system that systematically moves wealth away from productive earners to a financial elite that operate under special government license; both parties favor cronies with well-paid lobbyists; both support a militaristic foreign policy that leads to loss of innocent life in countries from which we are not threatened; both parties have worked hard to eliminate the first, fourth, fifth and tenth amendments of your Bill of Rights through, for example, the Patriot Act, the National Defense Authorization Act and FinCEN (look it up), to name just a few.

The duopoly has for decades ensured that when the partisan Elephants and Donkeys agree on an issue, the people have no way of democratically acting on their own interests at the ballot box. This used to be the case because it was impossible for any third party to receive enough votes to influence the outcome of an election or even the flavor of politics that would follow it.

But today, things may be different. The liberty movement, two million of whom voted for Dr. Paul in the Republican primaries, is now a large, politically active and unusually coherent political force. Many of its core themes are consistent with much of what the Republicans say they stand for, but have arguably not acted on since Eisenhower retired to his farm.

Every presidential election since Reagan has been won by a margin of no more than 8.5%. That translates to about 11 million votes today.

For all I know, there may well have been 11 million people in this country who would have preferred a more pro-liberty, pro-Constitution, anti-cronyism, anti-militarism, smaller-government president to the guy who actually won in all of those elections. Indeed, on the two occasions a non-establishment candidate, Ross Perot, campaigned with full media coverage, his vote exceeded this 8.5% - and that was without benefiting from an organic and passionate political movement with a well-defined philosophy.

More importantly, right now, millions of Paul’s supporters who are against the status quo have an even deeper revulsion of the party that should embrace them, the GOP, than of the other party whose politics are even more antithetical to their own. The RNC’s disenfranchisement of Paul’s supporters have made large numbers of them feel in their gut that the “lesser of two evils” is really more “evil” than “lesser”, and a vote for the Republicans would be something like buying a “thank you” gift for the man who just burgled your house.

Is eleven million impossible? That rather depends on how many Ron Paul supporters there really are.

Despite the fact that a significant minority of Paul’s supporters feel that differences between their man and Johnson are show-stoppers, a large showing for Johnson could have some of the significant practical effects that they have been seeking all along.

First, it would help expand the liberty movement’s rEVOLution by getting it televised – at least, as a discussed statistic on the news shows on election night. That’s important because the rest of the country is awaiting proof that the liberty movement has the size and the wherewithal to impose itself on the mainstream.

No revolution in a country with such a dispersed population as the USA will likely be successful without being televised: because the beaming of a thing into every living room is the only way the people who are sitting in those living rooms – its non-participants – will really believe it’s happening. A political or cultural revolution changes a society only if it is visible and dramatic, for then people find that their old ideas no longer enable them to make sense of what is happening around them or, at least, make them curious enough to see what all the fuss is about.

A large Johnson vote beamed into American homes on 6 Nov. may do more to get people Googling his views and seriously considering the possibility of something other than the two-party system than any campaign ads he can make or money he can spend. And if his vote exceeds the margin of victory of the winner, and the pundits point out that Ron Paul’s following is mostly responsible, the Paulites will have ceased to be politically marginal, by definition.

Second, a large Johnson swing could hugely boost Ron Paul’s supporters in realizing one of their greatest political ambitions - a takeover of the GOP. Ron Paul has said – and proven in the last year – that the weakness of our democracy is such that working within a Republicrat party allows people to have a much larger platform and affect many more minds. If Gary Johnson does really well as a third-party candidate in November, it will likely be because Ron Paul didn’t run as one.

A Romney loss in November by less than the Johnson vote could force the GOPowers-that-be to consider a leader in 2016 who is credible with Constitutional voters who like their individual liberties.

As of now, the obvious beneficiary of such an outcome would be Rand Paul. Some in the liberty movement have never quite forgiven him for endorsing Mitt Romney, but that is probably to mistake a man’s methods for his principles and to take too lightly the importance of having an insider for an ally. Politics is a place for principles - not purism.

Saying Rand isn’t broadly pro-liberty because he endorsed Romney is like saying Obama isn’t broadly progressive because he has not collectivized farms. To both claims, the appropriate response is simply, “Look at everything else he’s done”. And most importantly, in supporting Romney, Rand kept a promise he made when he ran for Senate in Kentucky. That promise won him the support of the party that put him in the Senate, where, among other things, he defeated legislation that would have enabled the indefinite detention of Americans found innocent in a court of Law. Keeping one’s word is justification for anything that does no harm.

When it does good, all the better.

But the ultimate justification for Rand’s approach would of course come be his presence on the inside when the party realizes it needs a liberty-focused Constitutionalist to lead its makeover after a few months of pondering defeat.

Very Sun-Tzu: “He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.”

If not Rand, then others: politicians support what is becoming more popular so that they may become more popular. If a large turn-out for Gary Johnson reveals that that civil rights are growing in popularity with the speed that the main parties are losing theirs, then all those peace-loving liberty fans who have worked so valiantly to take over positions in their county and state GOP may find that in a few years they’ll be able to vote for someone in their own party with a completely clear conscience.

And that would be a rEVOLution, indeed.

Will Defecting from the GOP Help Ron Paul's Supporters Take It Over? | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Revolution

Open Letter To Oklahoma GOP Chairman, Matt Pinnell Regarding the Republican National Convention

Submitted by QFish on Sun, 09/09/2012 - 21:54
Delegates
DP Original
Oklahoma

Dear Matt,
I was at the RNC last week, as well as the week prior due to the contest committee. There are some major issues that I feel need to be addressed.
I know you said at our State Convention in May that you would go to bat for the Executive Committee slate 365 days a year. If the slate had been elected by the Oklahoma State Party rules, I would have no problem with that. But, the slate was elected by breaking the rules of the Oklahoma Republican Party, as well as the Convention Rules.

As you know very well, I was present as a witness at the Contest Committee of the RNC, as well as the Credentials Committee. So much of what I heard come out of your mouth were complete lies, just to get this slate of wrongfully elected delegates seated. I won’t argue over all of that again, as we heard each other’s arguments multiple times in Tampa.

On the OK GOP website you wrote that we had “a successful RNC Convention” last week. What you call a “successful RNC Convention” was a complete sham. As we saw numerous times in the week leading up to the Convention, the Committee on Contests & the Credentials committee unseated duly elected delegates from Maine, Louisiana, Oregon & Massachusetts. The Rules Committee also rammed through rules that completely take away the power from the grassroots.

Once we were on the Convention floor on Tuesday, both Reince Priebus and Speaker Boehner could have cared less for what the delegates wanted. The delegates made their voice loudly heard when a large amount voted against the Credentials report. And then an even larger amount voted against the Rules report. Even our own National Committeewoman, Carolyn McClarty, was opposed to the changes that were shoved through the Rules Committee. There was division called for over and again & points of order raised, yet because it was not on the teleprompter, Chairman Priebus and Speaker Boehner didn’t acknowledge the voice of the people (the delegates).

I would hope this would disturb you, Matt. But, when I see your complete disregard for rules to be followed at the State level, it doesn’t surprise me that you don’t seem to blink an eye at the railroad job that was our National Convention last week.

What happened last week was a complete embarrassment to the Republican Party.

How do we expect to change the terrible course our nation is on when our own Party can’t follow the rules? When our own Party won’t hear the voice of the people (delegates)? By supporting what happened last week, you are supporting shunning the voice of the people, breaking rules, & unseating rightfully elected delegates.

What the Oklahoma Republican Party should be doing right now, instead of supporting what happened last week, is standing up to the RNC and pointing out the disgusting tactics that were used at the Convention.

How can we say the Republican Party is for the people when our Party won’t even hear the voice of the people at the National Convention level? Or how can we say we’ll get this country back on track, when we do things just as bad as the Democrats at the Party level? It’s time we stand up for what is right, even if it involves exposing our own Republican Party. People need to see the hypocrisy that the Republican Party has in it. If we don’t fix our own Party, how do we expect to fix the country?

Matt, I know you have the potential to go far in the Republican Party, but if you continue to ignore the breaking of rules and support the kind of things that went on at the Convention last week, you are doing yourself and the Republican Party more harm than good. I plan to stay in the Party, speak up for what is right, even if people don’t want to hear it, and hope to change this Party. I plan to stay involved so that people who condone breaking the rules and ignoring the will of the delegates are held accountable, and cannot get away with this corruption any longer. I hope you will consider what I say here and change your ways before our Party is destroyed even more.

Sincerely,
Qadoshyah Fish

Reblogged from: http://libertyliveblogteam.wordpress.com/2012/09/08/open-let...

Open Letter To Oklahoma GOP Chairman, Matt Pinnell Regarding the Republican National Convention | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Revolution

We have ONE Party - with TWO marketing campaigns.

Submitted by jetguy on Sun, 09/09/2012 - 18:00
Liberty Candidates
DP Original

Think about it.

You will never get business executives and old money, cheering with union member and community organizers. No party tent is big enough for these diverse groups. They would simply look at one another and say "If THIS guy represents YOUR interests, then by definition he doesn't represent mine."

So we have two very different marketing campaigns for the same thing.

The incumbent party is not the first product marketed to different groups differently. Its done all the time. Pickup trucks are marketed one way to construction companies and a completely different way to recreationalists - but its the same product.

The Democrat Party and the Republican Party are simply different marketing campaigns for the same bankster, constant war, fascist party.

The Liberty movement is not a third party - its a second one.

We have ONE Party - with TWO marketing campaigns. | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Revolution

Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk 9/10/12: The U.S. is a Republic, NOT a Democracy!

New Mexico Tampa 8 Strike Back

Submitted by paddysforronpaul on Sun, 09/09/2012 - 11:35
Delegates
DP Original
New Mexico

This is being sent to every major Newspaper in New Mexico

Title: Epic Fail in Tampa

Dear Editor,

When the history of the 2012 presidential election is written, historians will likely identify the Republican National Committee’s treatment of Ron Paul delegates at the 2012 RNC convention as the major mistake of the campaign. Around 500 delegates and alternate delegates arrived in Tampa to support Ron Paul. It was known from the start that Ron Paul did not have enough votes to get the nomination, however the Ron Paul delegates wanted to place his name in nomination and count every vote. In other words, they wanted a little respect for Dr. Paul and an acknowledgment of the liberty movement. They also expected a compromise from the RNC that would throw a few bones to the liberty movement in exchange for a unified party coming out of the convention.

What actually happened was devastating. The first inkling that something was wrong was at the security line where every single Ron Paul sign was confiscated. Once inside, the entire convention was embedded with Romney-Ryan signs.

The next major blow was the failure of the RNC to acknowledge that they lost the voice vote on credentialing. In fact, the teleprompter actually indicated a win for the RNC before the vote was taken.

The result of the credentialing vote was that the majority Ron Paul delegation from Maine was illegally stripped of their credentials. It was at this point, that the Ron Paul delegates realized the fix was in and the demonstrations began. So much for party unity. Despite all of the obstacles, the Nevada delegation submitted a list of six states that had plurality votes for Dr. Paul (sufficient by RNC rules to place his name in nomination). The RNC simply ignored their own rules and refused to place Ron Paul’s name in formal nomination.

The roll call itself was embarrassing to watch. The moderator would only acknowledge votes for Romney and ignored the Ron Paul votes, even in states like Iowa, Nevada, and Minnesota where Ron Paul actually won.

No points of order were acknowledged from the floor, no roll call votes were allowed, and no verbal dissent was allowed from the floor or the podium. Then to add salt to the wound, the RNC proposed and passed two rules that would stifle any future grassroots movement. Under these new rules, the Reagan grassroots effort of 1976 and the Ron Paul movement of 2012 would no longer be possible.

It would be a mistake to think that only Ron Paul delegates noticed this outrage. Former RNC chair Michael Steele called it, “the height of rudeness and stupidity.” Haley Barbour called it “overreaching” by the old guard. The end result was an epic failure on the part of the RNC.

Instead of a united party heading into a close election, there is now a schism in the party. The decision by the RNC and the Romney campaign to reject the Ron Paul wing of the party should trouble every member of the party. We should never forget that, Ronald Reagan, the greatest vote getter and most beloved figure in modern Republican history had this to say about the libertarian wing of the party, “I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism.”

David K. Clements (Alternate Delegate)
Bev Courtney (Alternate Delegate)
Aaron Henry Diaz (Alternate Delegate)
Lance Klafeta (Alternate Delegate)
Patrick Marron (Delegate)
Charles Mellon, MD (Alternate Delegate)
Gary Miles (Alternate Delegate)
Aaron Moskowitz (Delegate)

New Mexico Tampa 8 Strike Back | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Revolution

The GOP’s Gold Plank <--- LINK


Tim Kelly | The purpose of the “gold plank” is primarily political — to placate Ron Paul supporters.

Didnt Work your FIRED

Stockman: "Ron Paul Is Right: The Fed, And The Lunatics That Run It, Are The Heart Of The Problem"



Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/10/2012 10:07 -0400

Capital Markets
Ron Paul

Former Reagan OMB Director David Stockman was 'allowed' on CNBC this morning - much to their chagrin now we suspect - and espoused his own brand of truthiness, starting with this epic tirade:

"Ron Paul is the only one who is right about the Fed, and the Fed is the heart of the problem. They have destroyed the capital markets and the money markets; interest rates mean nothing; everything is trading off the Fed and Wall Street isn't even home - as it's now a bunch of computers trading word-clouds emitted by this central banker and that"

In this environment, he goes on, everyone is being given the wrong signal - i.e. the Ryan/Romney campaign is abnout restoring vibrant capitalism; how can you do that when the financial markets are dead - the lifeblood of a capitalist system. And that is the problem today.

An excellent discussion ensues diving into the lack of fiscal discipline (that is enabled by a Fed ZIRP) as "[politicians] will never do it when you can keep borrowing free-money forever" and summed up nicely with this subtle sentence:

"The Fed (and the lunatics that run it) are telling the whole world untruths about the cost of money and the price of risk."

Video at the page Link

Stockman: "Ron Paul Is Right: The Fed, And The Lunatics That Run It, Are The Heart Of The Problem" | ZeroHedge

Marianne Stebbins: How we took 33 of 40 Delegates for Ron Paul MN Speech + Conference Call

Submitted by nmlifestyles on Mon, 09/10/2012 - 09:22
Ron Paul 2012
DP Original

“Live Free” Speech at the Ron Paul “We Are the Future” Rally, Tampa, August 26, 2012

by Marianne Stebbins | September 1, 2012

Five and a half years ago, throughout the state of Minnesota, something peculiar happened. Introverts and other nerds started crawling out of their parents’ basements to voluntarily make contact with unknown life forms, life forms who were luckily also introverts and a little nerdy. People who had never known each other started to talk, eventually started to meet. No, not just on forums and facebook, but in real, live person.

The Zombie Apocalypse, you ask? Even, better. The word in the underground was that a most unusual man was to run for President. But, wait! These people hated politics. A lot. The lying, the empty promises, the ever-encroaching government, distinctions without any difference, always two sides of the same coin.

So when word started circulating that a politician who dared to talk about forbidden topics such as the Federal Reserve and our inability to afford unconstitutional wars and, above all, had consistently upheld his oath to the Constitution, was going to run for the highest office, tens of thousands of people who had previously checked out of politics in disgust sat up and took notice.

Those early headwaters formed the streams and tributaries that formed the river, and when it all came together, we saw some modest political success in MN in 2008. But 2008 was not the end point. That message flowed stronger, farther and wider each year.

We used to joke about how we needed to clone Ron Paul. We don’t joke about it anymore. We’ve done it. Where there was one man carrying the message alone, there are now many thousands, perhaps millions of us working together to spread the message that we live better when we live free. So where did these thousands and thousands of clones come from?

No, not all from their parents’ basements. Someone, somewhere told each of them the truth, patiently and in small doses, and opened their eyes.

We will be hearing a lot this week about “our nation’s leaders.”

What are leaders? Our leaders are not in Congress or state legislatures. Congressmen and Legislators are followers. They are representatives. They change their views to fit that of the population. Most of them.

The leaders are in urban neighborhoods, suburbs, rural townships. They are the ones discussing ideas with their co-workers, family and neighbors.

Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that, when an idea is held by less than 10% of society, its growth is slow and difficult, but when just 10 percent of the population holds an unshakable belief, their belief will always be adopted by the majority of the society. The leaders, in their neighborhoods, are those that get us that 10%.

Read more here ...
http://mnlibertynetwork.wordpress.com/2012/09/01/live-free-s...

Also: PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS RECORDED CALL! A LESSON FOR 2014/2016!

Just recorded a call with Marianne Stebbins of MN- WOW!!!

Dial 605-475-4099 343231# <<< PLEASE SHARE!

Marianne Stebbins: How we took 33 of 40 Delegates for Ron Paul MN Speech + Conference Call | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Revolution

Joe Scarborough: 'Mitt Romney is in trouble' (Video)

Submitted by emalvini on Mon, 09/10/2012 - 11:40
Politics, General + Law(s)

By Jeff Poor | Daily Caller


A number of the latest polls have President Barack Obama expanding his lead over Mitt Romney, suggesting Romney’s presidential campaign is in need of a course correction.

On Monday’s broadcast of “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, host Joe Scarborough said the Romney campaign shouldn’t take the news lightly. Scarborough suggested Romney should start aggressively offering specifics.

“I mean, Mitt Romney is in trouble. You said what I felt on Saturday night, after reading this Politico article and a lot of other articles — that this is a moment where you can look back and say, ‘Alright, you know what? They had to change paths at this point, or else they couldn’t have won.’ And I think we are there. After the conventions on Labor Day, after Labor Day, they have to start being aggressive, and they have to start being specific, and they have to start telling Americans where they’re going to take this country. They’re going to have to jolt people with facts.”

Read more at the Daily Caller

Joe Scarborough: 'Mitt Romney is in trouble' (Video) | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Revolution

Why Switzerland Has The Lowest Crime Rate In The World

Submitted by Katniss Everdeen on Mon, 09/10/2012 - 17:51
Videos
Quicklink



Why Switzerland Has The Lowest Crime Rate In The World | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Revolution