Almost had my co-worker converted until today

[Prez4TheNet]

So, I've been lecturing my friend on how great Ron Paul is and at first he was ridiculing his policies but then he slowly started to agree with some of his policies and was on his way to becoming a Ron Paulaholic like me.

I told him to tune in to Meet The Press and when I came back from vacation we could discuss it and he could possibly help me campaign.

So I came back from vacation today and he was really excited to see me and I thought he loved the interview; but he comes up with a smirk and told me that Ron Paul is not getting his support because of the interview.

He thought Ron Paul is running a very naive campaign with his bring the troops home-eliminate-the-irs message and he told me that he is just running to get his name across to the public, not to win because he hasn't even studied the proposals or know the basics about them.He didn't know how much revenue the income tax brings in or how many troops are stationed overseas. His point was that, if a candidate is seriously running on these issues then he would have studied them and would know all the facts. To top it all of, he hated the way he blasted past Republicans including Abe Lincoln, Reagan, and Bush (although he hated Bush, Presidents should not be called "a bum") which reaffirmed his belief that he is just a libertarian with a Republican label. He also didn't buy the earmark explanation. According to him, there is no chance of him becoming the nominee let-alone the presidency because he wants neither.

Anyway, I'm out of ideas on how to try to bring him back into the fold.. should I give up and move on?

 

[yongrel]

Put candy on his desk, and place a sticky note on top that says, "From Ron Paul."

if that doesn't work, then nothing will.

 

[Akus]

...... should I give up and move on?

Yes. You can only spend so much time on one person. You've thrown enough pearls, wouldn't you say.

 

[phixion]

Just don't tell him Ron Paul has a new book coming out.

Pete

 

[Tedhunter]

Stop using the Meet the Press interview to convert people, and start fresh with some new blood.

 

[fortilite]

Screw it, his mind is made up. You are better off canvassing strangers.

 

[Dorfsmith]

Move on. He heard Ron Paul speak in his own words and didn't like it. Not much you can do to change that.

 

[Scott Wilson]

Don't worry too much about it.

In day to day conversation talk about current world events from time to time and what ought to be happening. Don't use the name Ron Paul a lot as that may put him off.

For example in regards to the assassination today mention how the US is spreading thinner and thinner around the globe. The war on terror is a perpetual war that is bankrupting the US all the while causing the animosity against the US to grow.

Ron Paul's Strategy on Terrorism
http://files.meetup.com/593250/Ron Paul's Strategy on Terrorism.doc

 

[dircha]

This guy obviously has a personal vested emotional interest in not becoming a supporter. It's a pride thing. Becoming a supporter would mean crying uncle - admitting defeat. Don't push him further into that mindset. He's only looking for excuses not to support Congressman Paul, and the harder you push at this point the more resentful and stubborn he will become.

We're a week away from Iowa and New Hampshire. Just sit on it. Let's see how we do. If we do well, then maybe you can make some progress on him again.

 

[aspiringconstitutionalist]

So, I've been lecturing my friend on how great Ron Paul is and at first he was ridiculing his policies but then he slowly started to agree with some of his policies and was on his way to becoming a Ron Paulaholic like me.

I told him to tune in to Meet The Press and when I came back from vacation we could discuss it and he could possibly help me campaign.

So I came back from vacation today and he was really excited to see me and I thought he loved the interview; but he comes up with a smirk and told me that Ron Paul is not getting his support because of the interview.

He thought Ron Paul is running a very naive campaign with his bring the troops home-eliminate-the-irs message and he told me that he is just running to get his name across to the public, not to win because he hasn't even studied the proposals or know the basics about them.He didn't know how much revenue the income tax brings in or how many troops are stationed overseas. His point was that, if a candidate is seriously running on these issues then he would have studied them and would know all the facts. To top it all of, he hated the way he blasted past Republicans including Abe Lincoln, Reagan, and Bush (although he hated Bush, Presidents should not be called "a bum") which reaffirmed his belief that he is just a libertarian with a Republican label. He also didn't buy the earmark explanation. According to him, there is no chance of him becoming the nominee let-alone the presidency because he wants neither.

Anyway, I'm out of ideas on how to try to bring him back into the fold.. should I give up and move on?

If watching the MTP interview revealed some huge awful revelations to your friend about Ron Paul that your friend didn't previously know about, then your friend probably didn't understand Ron Paul or his positions before at all, and probably based his affinity for Ron on some superficial qualities and misconceptions that he had gotten about Ron. If so, then your friend probably wasn't truly that close to becoming a "Paulaholic" before he watched the MTP interview. I'd recommend to just keep working on this friend of yours and make sure he understands the nuances of Ron's positions.

 

[constitutional]

Put candy on his desk, and place a sticky note on top that says, "From Ron Paul."

if that doesn't work, then nothing will.

Ditto.

 

[homah]

Those criticisms are reasonable. Paul should quote more actual numbers when talking about the budget.

To answer your question, I would ask him who he is planning to vote for and show him why Ron Paul is better. Paul may not be the ideal candidate in his eyes, but he should still be better than everyone else.

 

[ionlyknowy]

some people just dont take it on themselves to question the validity of what has been ingrained in them for years.

Your friend sounds like he is very closed mind and that he was looking for a reason to not support Paul. I would ask him who he IS supporting, then go about telling the guy why that candidate is bad, and compare to Paul.

We know that no other candidate is as good as Paul. What I have noticed is that some people look at Paul and dont want to support him, but at first they cant find any reason not to support him.

But then when the smallest thing happens that sheds a negative light on Paul, then they use this to say "ooh oooh look, see THIS is why I wont support him" This guy never wanted to support Paul, that is why he was so happy when he saw you, he had finally found his reason NOT to support Paul and he was proud of himself, and wanted to stick it to you. It is a power struggle, he wanted to have the power in the situation, and before, you had the power because you "showed" him who to vote for... this type of individual prob. has an inflated self esteem/ego and would need to be made to feel like they discovered the candidate on their own.

People like this will regret their decision in the coming months. All of Pauls arguments will come out again, and he will have ample time to explain them away, I suspect he comes around and votes for Paul in the General election after he realizes that he was being an idiot.

 

[tonyTheBest]

Who said Dr Paul doesn't know the figure for the IRS?
He said if we remove the IRS revenue, our budget is at 10 years ago.
His response to Russert when he was asked how much the IRS revenue is Dr Paul responded "a lot".
That doesn't mean he didn't know.

Am I missing s.th here?

 

[Rivington Essex]

I had a very similar experience. I was at a cocktail party and had 8 middle aged voters agreeing to look into and possibly vote for Ron. The split was 4 Dems and 4 Republicans.

The next night, I saw them at the neighboor's Christmas party. They had all watched Ron on Meet the Press and just don't take him seriously anymore. He just got rolled and tumbled and looked like a deer in the headlihgts and Russert was fair. It actually looked like Russert felt sorry for him and didn't go for the jugular.

Some of the comments were "he just doesn't have any real plans," "he is inconsistent," and "he is a racist." The comments on the fact that Ron was asserting things about Israel really bothered them, because he didn't have the goods to back it up. And one person who is the most extreme fiscal conservative just laughed that he didn't know his tax facts and had no other plan than to "eliminate the IRS and hope."

Those were all leaning Paul voters before. Libertarian Republicans and Democrats.

Unfortunately, this will be a go to research interview for reporters for the rest of the campaign and just about every question was easy. Ron was unprepared.

 

[AlexAmore]

Ask him if he would have called the founding fathers very naïve idealists. Also ask him what why he didn't "buy" the earmark explaination...he will probably be like "ahhh, ummm, uhhh...blah blah blah" and it will be easily countered.

Give him the Lincoln quote: "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union."

I would call anyone a bum if they didn't care about solving slavery.

 

[fortilite]

So in summary from this thread: Don't refer people to Meet The Press to convert them.

 

[Prez4TheNet]

I had a very similar experience. I was at a cocktail party and had 8 middle aged voters agreeing to look into and possibly vote for Ron. The split was 4 Dems and 4 Republicans.

The next night, I saw them at the neighboor's Christmas party. They had all watched Ron on Meet the Press and just don't take him seriously anymore. He just got rolled and tumbled and looked like a deer in the headlihgts and Russert was fair. It actually looked like Russert felt sorry for him and didn't go for the jugular.

Some of the comments were "he just doesn't have any real plans," "he is inconsistent," and "he is a racist." The comments on the fact that Ron was asserting things about Israel really bothered them, because he didn't have the goods to back it up. And one person who is the most extreme fiscal conservative just laughed that he didn't know his tax facts and had no other plan than to "eliminate the IRS and hope."

Those were all leaning Paul voters before. Libertarian Republicans and Democrats.

Unfortunately, this will be a go to research interview for reporters for the rest of the campaign and just about every question was easy. Ron was unprepared.

I agree with you whole heartedly. Its too bad, Ron had momentum behind him with the Tea Party, the Blimp and everything. I called it a week before the interview and said it would be a make or break for the campaign... it looks like he lost all the steam.

 

[Stockli]

While I think Ron could have done a better job speaking, and perhaps gone into a bit more detail, I found Russert to be nearly unbearable. "Slavery would still exist" ? Give me a break...

 

[Dlynne]

I don't post a lot here anymore, although I read the forums everyday and contribute to chip-ins I like. Ron Paul has my vote, and I advocate when the subject comes up in social settings. Having said that, it is also true that I have been disappointed with some of the preparations of the campaign.

I had hoped that Paul would hire some top notch professionals with the money grassroots had sent,. That is what it takes in today's world. Personally, I think the Paul campaign, if it runs on eliminating the IRS, should have the specific numbers and be prepared to share them on national TV programs like MTP.

My 2 cents.