Boots on the Ground in SC - FP is the Issue that is Holding Us Back

[tbone717]

I just got off the phone with my parents in SC. The Perry news has reached the average voter, the Newt story has not yet hit. My folks said that a lot of people like Paul on the economy, but his FP is what holds them back. They live in a very large 55+ over community (over 10,000 residents). It is a upper middle class, educated crowd.

That confirms what has been said here by others for a while now. The campaign needs to more clearly define the FP in a language that is understandable to the average voter. We are going to always have to combat media spin of course, but we do need to get this message out in a more succinct means that allows the average voter to feel confident in Paul's ability to protect the country.

Paul has a tendency to speak in on this issue in a way that doesn't connect with the average voter. This needs to be worked on. We cannot expect the average voter to do the research and understand the nuances in the way that folks like us do. This needs to be brought down to a simple point by point explanation that allows the average voter to embrace what Paul has been talking about.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

"My foreign policy is if we are actually threatened or attacked, we declare war and destroy the enemy worse than any enemy has ever been destroyed before, and leave them to rebuild themselves so they no longer pose a threat to us or anybody."

 

[mport1]

FP is the Issue that is Holding Us Back

Yep, something that all of us (except for the campaign apparently) knows.

 

[tbone717]

"My foreign policy is if we are actually threatened or attacked, we declare war and destroy the enemy worse than any enemy has ever been destroyed before, and leave them to rebuild themselves so they no longer pose a threat to us or anybody."

I like it. He needs to get away from the language that excites the base, and move into using language that excites the average voter.

 

[LEK]

Start with: Ron Paul advocates National Defence NOT International Offense, the latter will have their grandchildren living in perpetual war and perhaps participating in that war if a draft is made into law. And then add that the military support for Ron Paul is large - why is that? Share the reasons given by the military personnel --> they were lied to and are fighting for something other than what is best for America. They need to come home and defend our borders.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

Ron Paul Presidential Campaign Committee PCC keyword Matt Collins Jesse Benton Doug Wead search

"My foreign policy is if we are actually threatened or attacked, we declare war and destroy the enemy worse than any enemy has ever been destroyed before, and leave them to rebuild themselves so they no longer pose a threat to us or anybody."

 

[Verad]

"My foreign policy is if we are actually threatened or attacked, we declare war and destroy the enemy worse than any enemy has ever been destroyed before, and leave them to rebuild themselves so they no longer pose a threat to us or anybody."

Is that an actual Paul quote?

 

[nayjevin]

It's not worth the time to try and change most entrenched warhawks by the SC primary. That is why I think the campaign is smart.

On an individual level, we have many resources for explaining RP's foreign policy.

*** New to Ron Paul? *** Start here.
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?339132

 

[swissaustrian]

Maybe use a soundbite like this: CONSTITUTIONAL foreign policy following the Christian principle of just war.

 

[Real_CaGeD]

Bomb throwing rednecks will never support Dr Paul. I am from Georgia.

Larry McDonald warned us about exactly what has happened.

I think Judgement will follow.

 

[ohgodno]

Offense wins games, defense wins championships.

Just keep making more of an effort to distinguish between the two—Dr. Paul has been trying to distinguish between them, but has failed thus far in communicating that point to anyone but us supporters. Keep at it, they'll understand eventually.

 

[sailingaway]

I think they are worried about bread and butter from the bases as well as the normal media driven confusion as to Ron's policies. Ron does have to say what he WOULD do, submarines, why letters of marque are better for fighting terrorists, etc, but he also needs to repeat what he was saying Tuesday about how if the troops come home, base states like SC would actually get a stimulus because their pay and upkeep would be spent in the US in those states, instead of in Afghanistan. He said in the 90s there was a turn to close bases at home and open them overseas, and he, reversing that, might well be requiring MORE bases at home, because this is where our army would be.

 

[CaptUSA]

Guys, Paul's foreign policy position also garners him the most support.

You do realize that even if Ron Paul was 100% gung ho with military interventionism, they would find another issue that would be the "sticking point" with voters? Sure, he could clean up his message and deliver it better, but I don't know how much it would change things. They'd just find something else.

Personally, even more than foreign policy, I think the thing that's hurting him the most is "electability". And since the media is the arbiter of who is "electable", we have to work outside of them.

 

[tbone717]

It's not worth the time to try and change most entrenched warhawks by the SC primary. That is why the campaign is smarter than us armchair activists.

Trust me. I know these people, they are not warhawks by any stretch of the imagination. Paul has not done a good job at explaining his FP in a way that the average voter can understand it. He does great with the economic stuff - cut a trillion, close departments, balance the budget. But he has not been able to sound bite the FP at all in a way that it sells to the average voter. Remember that most people just get a small snapshot of the news everyday, they don't live in our world of reading article after article and watching video after video. Case in point, we have known about this Newt scandal for what 12 hours or more? My folks haven't even heard of it yet because they are busy living their normal lives.

 

[splint]

Im sure the campaign knows this, and there is some sort of strategy involved on how/when to present his FP. Wishfull thinking?

 

[tbone717]

Bomb throwing rednecks will never support Dr Paul. I am from Georgia.

The people I am speaking of are hardly rednecks. In fact most of them are transplants and lived in the North East and Mid West most of their lives.

 

[The Goat]

Look, I live in Greenville, SC and listen to talk radio. Most who are against paul is only because no one looks into his Forign policy. they believe what the media tells them.

all of the radio host say "Paul would be up 20% if he had a better FP" they think paul will let us be attacked before he responds. that is IT.

 

[abstrusezincate]

The simplest explanation of the problem is Ron gets too caught up in answering why questions about outcomes related to our foreign policy, and doesn't spend enough time talking about how his foreign policy will keep America safe. He sounds good on the latter, less so on the former to undecided ears.

 

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

Gunny you know as well as I do that, that is not Ron Paul's FP. One of the planks of the Just War Theory is that the response must be proportionate to the aggrieved offense. You can't go blowing up an entire Nation or Country for the acts of a rogue non-State entity. Further, there is a Code of Conduct that you should be aware of as a Marine. Certainly you do not support Total War and Scorched Earth do you? So, your're trying to politik by pandering to the lowest common denominator instead of phrasing the position in a more reachable perspective. Gotta disagree with your post Gunny.

 

[RonPaul101.com]

"My foreign policy is if we are actually threatened or attacked, we declare war and destroy the enemy worse than any enemy has ever been destroyed before, and leave them to rebuild themselves so they no longer pose a threat to us or anybody."

Exactly. See you can seem red meat-ish without compromising your principles. I have been saying this since the Spring Debate when we had an Iran clash with Santorum...

Paul needs to come our forcefully next time and say he's the only veteran running for President and he understands the call to duty and will do what needs to be done to defend America. That in and of itself does not make anyone a hawk, its a point on DEFENSE that needs to be made.