In it to win it (Ron Paul)

[pmbug]

So last night I watched a little bit of the start of SNL and caught a skit where Romney and Santorum are at a bar reminiscing about the race and they are slowly joined by Perry, Bachmann, Cain and finally Gingrich, who they shun because his campaign is broke and he hasn't quit yet. The whole gist of the skit was that the race was over and and Romney has won. Guess who's name was never mentioned and who didn't make an appearance? I sat there watching and wondering if this might end up being a modern twist on "Dewey Defeats Truman".

This race isn't over yet. Lots of district and state conventions were held Friday and yesterday in several states to select the national delegates for the convention in Tampa and unofficial reports are that Ron Paul supporters are turning out in huge numbers:

Colorado - Ron 13 delegates, Mitt 13 delegates, Santorum 7 delegates, 3 super delegates expected to go for Mitt
Minnesota - Ron swept 9 out of 9 delegates and 9 out of 9 alternate delegates from the districts that convened
Oklahoma - Ron swept 6 out of 6 delegates and 6 out of 6 alternate delegates from districts 3 & 5.

Even more interesting are reports from people at the conventions that the Ron Paul and Rick Santorum campaigns were coordinating and pushing "unity" slates to thwart the Romney campaign. If the reports are true, this coordination came from the national campaigns and not the grassroots levels. If this continues, Romney may not get the 1,144 delegates he needs to secure the nomination outright.

The media is doing their best to ignore the Ron Paul campaign (I doubt you will find any coverage of what's really happening with delegate selections) and annoint Romney as the GOP nominee. However, money talks. There is a fundraiser for the Ron Paul campaign happening today - right now. This is a critical juncture. If you support Ron Paul, or even just don't like Mitt Romney, please consider donating whatever you can spare. Even $10 helps (the Paul campaign is very frugal and smart with their money - fiscal conservatism that walks the walk):



https://secure.ronpaul2012.com/

Release the hounds!

[stevkc]

Its over, man. Sending money to Paul at this point is about as useful as flushing it.

[Delawhere Jack]

Faux news allowed John Stossel to do an extended interview with RP on Sunday, after never mentioning his name thus far in the primaries. That tells me that TPTB consider his chances officially nil.

The media is the government. The government is the media. You can choose any flavor you like -- MSNBC to FOX -- it's all gubbernment pink slime.



(abbreviated version of the song, but it gets the point across).

[pmbug]

Its over, man. Sending money to Paul at this point is about as useful as flushing it.

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? /jk

The fat lady hasn't sung yet. Despite what the media would have you believe, this race isn't over. BTW, the money bomb garnered over $1.3MM so far.

[sparechange]

If the media doesn't recognize that he exists, it will be tough for him to continue unless he goes third party. Most sheeple will vote what media barfs up for them.

[Nickelmeister]

Its over, man. Sending money to Paul at this point is about as useful as flushing it.

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? /jk

The fat lady hasn't sung yet. Despite what the media would have you believe, this race isn't over. BTW, the money bomb garnered over $1.3MM so far.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[CtrlAltBernanke]

Its over, man. Sending money to Paul at this point is about as useful as flushing it.

I hate to say it but you are right. I was one of the grassroot state coordinators in Ohio and I am still suffering from post primary depression but not because Ron Paul lost Ohio. Ron Paul hasn't lost a single state, his campaign has and I'm not giving them another dollar. Yes, they are much better than four years ago but they still make stupid mistakes and stupid decisions because the family is mixed in with it and there are people in other states who feel the same way. The campaign did nothing but crap on us in Ohio. It was pretty sad. We had to form our own PAC and raise 10K on our own since they wouldn't lift a finger to help us. I no longer open any emails from John Tate or the rest of them and I really don't give a crap what that candy a** Jesse Benton has to say anymore. I certainly hope Rand doesn't use the same people that Ron is using but I doubt it. They are all family and the C4L click doesn't want to listen to anybody which is a shame because C4L members are dropping like flies.

[Ardent Listener]

Ron Paul had even less support here in Ohio than four years ago. He already said he would not run as an independent. The tea party highjacked his chance and because he was not republican enough for them. The voters have decided, it's over.

[Corsair]

Current delegates:

Romney - 685
Paul - 63

Hm.

[natsb88]

Current delegates:

Romney - 685
Paul - 63

Hm.

Funny how they can count all the UNBOUND delegates already. You'd think they'd have to wait for them to vote.

So either A) those numbers are estimates based on proportional allocation of unbound delegates (which is not how it works), not a hard count, or B) the GOP and media have already decided how those UNBOUND delegates are going to vote, and don't need to bother waiting for them to actually vote .

I'm not blind. In fact, I'm a pretty rational and logical person. I know what the television and national newspaper media says, and I know that the GOP would very much like to have had this race wrapped up months ago. But the fact is that the Paul campaign's strategy of getting supporters to volunteer and drudge through the caucus and delegate selection process is something the party establishment didn't expect, has been very successful, and has a good shot at denying Romney a majority on the first vote at the convention. If that happens, ALL delegates are UNBOUND on the second vote, and then it's anybody's game.

It's not rocket science. It IS ticking off the GOP establishment who changed a bunch of winner-take-all states (particularly in the south) to unbound and proportional states in an attempt to give Romney an advantage

Will he actually win the nomination? Considering all the well-documented cases of denying Ron Paul supporters admission to caucuses, stacking the other three candidates into a "unity slate," and otherwise disregarding their own rules of conduct, I'm sure the GOP will do whatever it takes to make sure Romney comes out of the convention as the nominee, elected or not. It's a shame really, since he is unlikely to beat Obama and has many of the same big-money corporate sponsors anyway.

Romney is NOT a threat to the status quo. That's why he has party establishment support, big corporate support, and NO grassroots support.

[Corsair]

Fair enough, Nate. I know you're on the right side of this issue and I applaud your dedication. If more people took just a fraction of the time you take in your research, the world (or at least the country) would be a better place. I just call things the way I see 'em.

[pmbug]

Ron Paul supporters surged to victory in yesterday’s Minnesota and Iowa district conventions, dominating the process and picking up more delegates to the Republican National Convention. As reported last week, a number of Romney Hawks are now deeply concerned that Ron Paul has already laid the groundwork for similar success in six more caucus states. Yesterday’s results will only increase their influence inside the Romney camp.

Romney advisers are concerned that the rising total of Ron Paul delegates will lead to an unmanageable RNC. Some observers felt that the 1992 convention hurt an incumbent president George H. W. Bush and was a factor in his loss to Bill Clinton.

In most states, victories at the district conventions decide who will move onto the state conventions where most of the delegates to the Republican National Convention in Tampa will be selected.

The rules in Minnesota are slightly different and some of those final delegates were actually selected at scattered district conventions yesterday. Reports from our own Marianne Stebbins in Minnesota show that Ron Paul now has 20 out of the 24 delegates already chosen to represent the state at the Republican National Convention in Tampa and the campaign is poised to do just as good at the upcoming state convention, May 18-19, when the final 13 will be chosen.

In Iowa, Jennifer Jacobs, a reporter for the Des Moines Resister, broke into open what had been our little secret, namely, the takeover of the GOP in Iowa. “A rising tide of Republicans who share Ron Paul’s philosophy of limited government are flooding into GOP party roles in Iowa,” Jennifer wrote, reporting on yesterdays Iowa district conventions.

Actually, it is a phenomenon seen all across the country. It is viewed by many political observers as the biggest transformation of the Republican Party since 1988, when evangelical Christians joined the process and dominated state positions for a whole generation.

While the Iowa Ron Paul campaign is keeping its cards close to the vest, we all got a sneak peak from an the Des Moines Register story which reported that six of the new Iowa GOP state central committee members elected Saturday have publicly expressed support for Ron Paul. Joes Kurtinitis, Kris Thiessen, Dave Cushman, Jeff Shipley, John Kabitzke and Marcus Fedler. “Two more,” Jennifer Jacobs reports, “have close ties.” The new state chairman is also a Ron Paul supporter, who served as a co-chairman for the congressman’s Iowa state organization.

The Iowa state GOP convention is set for Jun 16, 2012.

Meanwhile, the sleepy New York Times has posted for five months and still posts, even today, that the total delegate count for Ron Paul in Iowa is one. They say that the total delegate count for Ron Paul in Minnesota is nine. In fact, Ron Paul supporters will now dominate both state conventions. And the same trend is ongoing in states across the country.

http://dougwead.wordpress.com/2012/04/2 ... n-a-panic/

~~~

Pissed off Marine:

[natsb88]

Ron Paul wins Iowa and Minnesota