Good chance to win voters @ my school

[bc2208]

The President of the Boston College Republicans Club invited me to represent the Anti-war position in a debate on October 30th on campus. Sounds like a great chance to sway some voters. I will have to gear it towards the fiscal sanity part as well as the idea that the war perpetuates terrorism.

Any thoughts?

 

[risiusj]

Just wear a receiver in your ear and have someone else play Ron Paul speeches to it and you just repeat what Paul says.

 

[jrich4rpaul]

Bring up the constitution as well

And good luck

 

[Grandson of Liberty]

Just be well prepared, and keep your wits about you!

Edited to add: The fiscal sanity part is pretty much bottom line obvious, I would imagine the perpetuating terrorism part is a bit tougher to nail down in a debate. I might (carefully) bring up the hypocrisy of whether the administration is really that concerned about terrorism when they leave the borders wide open.

 

[jake]

be sure to stress his rising viability as the GOP candidate due to the grassroots uprising

 

[UCFGavin]

bring up the constitution

use a lot of sources (especially those that show the lack of quality training and equipment for the soldiers and using border patrol, this hits on the "support the troops" and the anti illegal immigration).

do not debate the moral issue of the war unless forced to. debate it from a stand point of logic and economics. if you use proof, facts, and sound logic in a calm and professional way, you will destroy your opponent.

 

[Jordan]

1. No declaration of war
2. $450B has been spent, it was supposed to be $87B
3. Every terrorist killed recruits 10 more
4. Ron Paul is the only antiwar candidate.

 

[Eric21ND]

Basically because people in the middle east have LONG memories and Americans have incredibly short memories. Most Americans also do not understand history, I'm not even talking about World History, I'm talking U.S. History. People in this country don't remember us meddling in the affairs of other countries, whereas the people of that particulair country seldom forgot.

Bottom line there will always be terrorists in the world and within our own country, like Tim Mcvey, but through misguilded actions the United States doesn't have to enable these people and literally set-up franchises for them. That's what our actions do when we go after terror suspects all wrong and start rolling out the tanks like it's WWII. You combat terrorism with good police work, special forces, and world cooperation. That's how we caught Ramsey Usef. We need to come to grips about terrorism in this country. Terrorism will always be an ingrown toenail for us, but you need to deal with it with surgical precision. You don't use a chainsaw and cut your leg off, and that's basically U.S. foreign policy right now; chain saw tactics that kill the patient. When we overdue our military aggressiveness this actually legitimizes the Bin Ladens and inspires the next generation of terrorists; then they say "see the Americans want to occupy our lands and steal xyz".


These Ron Paul videos sum it up nicely.

Title - Is Ron Paul serious? Blowback in 1979 from a 1953 coup?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldgbOxDX6DE


Title - Educating Rudy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcQQ05XtAQ4

 

[Lord Xar]

remember, they will antagonize you and say

"WE NEED TO BE SAFE".. so by talking about being 'anti-war'.
1. Why are we there in the first place?
a. greenspan said it was oil
b. ALL the excuses used are now invalid
c. so now its "terror" - that is the new WMD.

2. we are borrowing billions a day from china etc.. to fund this war
3. our children will be debt babies...
4. pro-military, anti-war

I would also like to point out that "this is not a patriotic" war and thus this idea of "not supporting the troops" is erroneous. it is precisly WHY we are anti-war, because we support our troops dying in causes that are trumped and serve "others" agenda, not our own...

I am sure you will do great...

 

[me3]

I'm an (self defined) expert on debating neocons about the war. Feel free to PM me to bounce any ideas off. I might be able to help you prep for the particular attacks on your positions, particularly the idea that peace is weakness.

 

[shadowhooch]

Straight from the website....

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/articles/?tag=Terrorism

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/articles/?tag=Foreign Policy

Good stuff.

 

[Eric21ND]

Also use good sources. Bring up the 9/11 Commission Report. Peace is the best atmosphere for commerce and prosperity for our nation. Site the end of WW I and how that lead to the depression and ultimately to WW II.

You may also want to work in something speaking about strengthen the 2nd Amendment to bear arms. Not only might have this Constitutional protection prevented 9/11 if Pilots were allowed to defend themselves. Raising this point also shows that you are not some naive peace-nik picking daisies...you're practical. This will win people over to your side.

Use the fact that oil prices have went up dramatically since the war has began
Pre Iraq war I think they were $35/barrel and now it's nearly $90.

Stress that we should fight in declared wars only. Undeclared wars last far too long, are too costly in men and material and we lose them in the end.

For whom does war benefit? Is it the conquered? Is it our citizens here at home? Follow the money and you will see a select few gain extreme wealth through war, while the average citizen and the poor are the ones who fight on the battle field. Military Industrial Complex.

You might want to add that those who are eager to go to war and use the military to solve every problem, usually have never seen war for themselves up close or served in the military. You might be able to find some quotes by Colin Powell and others about this...I think he said something like they never even been in a school yard fight.

 

[billm317]

3. Every terrorist killed recruits 10 more

How did you come up w/ this stat?

 

[billm317]

blowback may be good to mention
I think it's a mistake when I sometimes see ppl saying blowback is Ron Paul's opinion. This isn't opinion. This is fact and he's just repeating it. Know about Michael Scheuer and use his name if necessary.

 

[bc2208]

Wow, thanks for all the help guys. I plan on having every single possible argument planned out with a retort.

I know all the reasons why the war was a mistake, but I have a tougher time convincing people that it's rational to leave now. Not that I don't believe it, but it's tougher to convince people that the "bloodbath" and "civil war" is an erroneous argument.

The one-liner I came up with in reply to Huckabee's "you break it you buy it" argument is:

"'You break it, you buy it' is a rule that applies to people who accidentally drop things in a store.

We didn't accidentally break Iraq. We broke into the store, picked it up, and smashed it against the wall."

I could also cite all the recent Iraqi leader quotes about reducing troops.

I plan on videotaping this, so you all can see how it turns out.

 

[Eric21ND]

Here are some interesting quotes that you may be able to fit into your analysis.

"I think that people want peace so much that one of these days government had better get out of their way and let them have it." -Dwight D. Eisenhower


"If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom." -Dwight D. Eisenhower


"This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience…we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist." -Dwight D. Eisenhower


"All of us have heard this term 'preventative war' since the earliest days of Hitler. I recall that is about the first time I heard it. In this day and time... I don't believe there is such a thing; and, frankly, I wouldn't even listen to anyone seriously that came in and talked about such a thing." -Dwight D. Eisenhower

""The only way to win World War III is to prevent it." -Dwight D. Eisenhower


"I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." -Albert Einstein


"War is the Health of the State" - Randolph Bourne


“Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.” - Ronald Reagan

“The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities... It is best to win without fighting.” -Sun Tzu

“For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” -Sun Tzu

 

[jonahtrainer]

Wow, thanks for all the help guys. I plan on having every single possible argument planned out with a retort.

I know all the reasons why the war was a mistake, but I have a tougher time convincing people that it's rational to leave now. Not that I don't believe it, but it's tougher to convince people that the "bloodbath" and "civil war" is an erroneous argument.

The one-liner I came up with in reply to Huckabee's "you break it you buy it" argument is:

"'You break it, you buy it' is a rule that applies to people who accidentally drop things in a store.

We didn't accidentally break Iraq. We broke into the store, picked it up, and smashed it against the wall."

I could also cite all the recent Iraqi leader quotes about reducing troops.

I plan on videotaping this, so you all can see how it turns out.

I would stay away from the 'break it so bought it' argument. It is a strawman argument and a hollow trap. It presumes we should be engaged in Empire building. Ron Paul is attacking the Empire building philosophy of Democrat Woodrow Wilson who instituted the Federal Reserve and Income Tax. The best response is "What business do we have being involved in other people's countries and governments?"

Here is a good YouTube by the Southern Avenger.

Also, be sure to turn the fear tables on them. IN 2002 the US$ index was at about 120. Now it is at 78. Because of our Empire building foreign policy we are going bankrupt.

How will we protect ourselves from the terrorists, much less China and Russia, if we are bankrupt? We are going bankrupt; look at this chart:

 

[katao]

Simple equation:

1. Over 1 million Iraqis killed in the war so far

+

2. Every one of those Iraqis has family that likely now hate Americans

= MORE TERRORISTS

 

[eloquensanity]

What everyone else said

.........And don't forget GW standing on the aircraft carrier with a huge banner behind him saying 'mission accomplished' for all the world to see.

So if GW said mission accomplished why are we still there?

Alan Greenspan says because of oil

 

[reaver]

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=26076


Use this.