Insiders Reveal Rand Paul Campaign's Downward Spiral

brandon said:
I think my 8 year stretch in the republican party is coming to an end. May switch back to Libertarian before the primaries. I'll give him another month or two to change my mind, but I'm not hopeful.
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And if you cease to be registered as a Republican before your state's primary, that will be an advantage because...? You think the LP has a primary to vote in...?
 
Rand's biggest asset was the base that was handed to him by Ron. He lost the core of that base when he endorsed Romney.

Since then, he occasionally throws a crumb to the old libertarian base, but it's obvious that he doesn't focus on the libertarian base.

,...and he is where he is.

Worst political strategy I've ever seen. It just doesn't make sense.
 
cajuncocoa said:
Where's that Jesse Benton thread? You know, the one where we were told he knows what he's doing and we should all just shut up and trust him.
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All I know is they better not blame any issues coming down the pike on Ron's base.
 
Smitty said:
Rand's biggest asset was the base that was handed to him by Ron. He lost the core of that base when he endorsed Romney.

Since then, he occasionally throws a crumb to the old libertarian base, but it's obvious that he doesn't focus on the libertarian base.

,...and he is where he is.

Worst political strategy I've ever seen. It just doesn't make sense.
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I must admit, most of you crazies have been pretty well behaved so far this season.
 
Smitty said:
Rand's biggest asset was the base that was handed to him by Ron. He lost the core of that base when he endorsed Romney.

Since then, he occasionally throws a crumb to the old libertarian base, but it's obvious that he doesn't focus on the libertarian base.

,...and he is where he is.

Worst political strategy I've ever seen. It just doesn't make sense.
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Yeah. I could have dealt with endorsing Romney. Making friends in the party is fine. But he's just not out there talking about peace and freedom. If he's not talking about peace and freedom, why should any of us care about him? Because of his last name?
 
DevilsAdvocate said:
Everybody! We can change this! Right here, right now! We can supercharge this campaign!

It is within our power, here on this forum. To do great things. To make a difference!

Where are the viral videos rallying for Rand Paul? Where are the memes? Where are the fundraising pushes?

We have the power to turn this thing around. If we band together and stay strong!
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The problem is we can't do it on our own. Rand's first two years in office he was gold. I would email all my "Regular Republican" family up in North Carolina links to the stuff he was doing and they went from suspicious of him to genuinely supportive. But this past year he's given me virtually nothing to work with and he's lost all that good will with his idiotic pandering and groveling. We can't do anything for Rand at this point. If he wants to turn this thing around, he's got to lead the way himself. Needs to a complete overhaul of his message and the way he's presenting himself to the voters.
 
He didn't fight to defund PP via the Highway Bill like he vowed to do (Cruz and Lee fought instead), instead he is getting a standalone vote (that will fail).

He looks like McConnell's bitch.

If Rand does not ditch Mitch, it greatly hurts his chances.
 
Really? Really? Dude is forcing a vote on Planned Parenthood, and you trollish individuals are really trying to convince us that American conservatives are going to chuck him under the bus over some arcane highway bill?

Seriously? Nah. This is a gag, right?
 
acptulsa said:
Really? Really? Dude is forcing a vote on Planned Parenthood, and you trollish individuals are really trying to convince us that American conservatives are going to chuck him under the bus over some arcane highway bill?

Seriously? Nah. This is a gag, right?
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Pay attention. The only way to send it to the House and the President is the via the Highway Bill. That is why Rand pledged to attach his amendment to it. But then he seemingly quit on that front, and let Cruz and Lee tried and fail to get it done.

The upcoming standalone vote will put the Senate on the record, but it will fail and ultimately be meaningless.
 
Badger Paul said:
What is Rand in politics for anyways? Does he wish he was back at his practice in Kentucky? Fine then, just do it! Walk away. Don't run for President, hell don't even run for Senate. I wouldn't be disappointed because at least then other people who aren't going through a mid-life crisis can step up while he steps aside. But at least then the campaign won't be a gigantic fraud sucking money from Paulites with nothing in return for their efforts. You expect people to give money to a man whose heart isn't into this? I not giving to make Doug Stafford rich or have a six-figure salary. No way!

Shape up or ship out Rand, you've got a week to decide. But please don't go through the motions or turn this into another money-making enterprise for the political class.
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I agree with everything except the go do something else part. There isn't going to be another Rand and there hasn't been one previously. Ron Paul lost his Senate race by 60 points. Saying Rand should quit would be like the Bulls encouraging Michael Jordan to quit to play baseball so they could free up a spot for Jud Buechler, whose heart was more into it.

I really hope he is running hard. Not giving full effort would really be the only that he could do to disappoint.
 
We need the debates. I feel like he will personally get energized by them.

EDIT: It is hilarious how all the "beltway" libertarians that were screaming for Ron, or the liberty movement to run more "insider" and "mainstream" to seem more electable. And now, after 8 years of Ron Paul's warning going unnoticed, all the voters want is an outsider that sounds like they do and insults Washington D.C. insiders.

Thank for nothing Jack Hunter and Co.
 
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Wow. A few negative articles and we have "supporters" spreading the lie that Rand's heart isn't in it. Rand takes a strategic step back while Trump gets all the attention, and all of a sudden, "Rand's heart isn't in it." The man that has been campaigning for years, trying to make progress for the liberty movement. Unbelievable.
 
I think it sounds like the personality-issues/conflicts seems blown out of porportion. Though there could be some more staff needed and more money for the campaign are surely needed. + Rand should have been at some of the conventions and cattle-calls. He should have been at the Koch forum.

One year ago, I was 50% sure he would become the nominee. Now I'm at 25%. This election will be a rollercoster. The success will depend on if the campaign can engineer a big Rand moment at the right time before Iowa. I think the Iowa ground game looks very capable, so he will outperform polls there by many points.
 
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logikal said:
Wow. A few negative articles and we have "supporters" spreading the lie that Rand's heart isn't in it. Rand takes a strategic step back while Trump gets all the attention, and all of a sudden, "Rand's heart isn't in it." The man that has been campaigning for years, trying to make progress for the liberty movement. Unbelievable.
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He obviously works very hard. He submits a ton of legislation, does a ton of interviews and is continuously meeting with people. His record is stellar. I have no sympathy for people who say he should be "more pure," whatever that means. Those people don't know what they want. I am as Pro-Rand as anyone. But skipping the Koch brothers stuff, not meeting with a group of Silicon Valley donors, and looking like a slob in jeans really annoys me.
 
logikal said:
Wow. A few negative articles and we have "supporters" spreading the lie that Rand's heart isn't in it. Rand takes a strategic step back while Trump gets all the attention, and all of a sudden, "Rand's heart isn't in it." The man that has been campaigning for years, trying to make progress for the liberty movement. Unbelievable.
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Rand has done a lot. I think Rand deserves a lot of respect and deserves more credit than he is generally given, but running for President is, I'm sure (can't speak from experience obviously), a very grueling task. If the plan is to simply just stay low this far out then so be it. I never said his heart isn't in it, but the article makes it appear that it could be the case, not that the media has much credibility, but it doesn't look good when he was scheduled to visit with potential donors and instead backed out for a family vacation. Now, the counter to that could be that it's early yet and that not only is running going to be rough on him, but his family as well. I can't really fault him for going on vacation with his family before things really start moving, as family should be his priority, but getting donors on board, especially early, is also pretty important and could have been an opportunity missed. I wouldn't be surprised if the task was more challenging than he expected. Sure he got to see how things were done when Ron ran, but when you're the one actually running I'm sure things are bit different.

Overall though, I'm optimistic that Rand will do well. I don't discount the possibility of staying low this far out is part of the plan, I'm sure Rand and his team has plans that will make waves in the future, but at the same time I don't think they expected to drop in polls as much as they have. Thankfully, we still have a ways to go and anything can happen. I'm confident that the Iowa team is ready to win it for Rand when the time comes. I expect Rand will practically be living in Iowa and New Hampshire once we get later into the year.

I'll make a prediction. If Rand takes 1st in Iowa he will take 1st in New Hampshire. Not using any data, just a gut feeling. I know often times New Hampshire splits from Iowa, but if Rand wins Iowa, the momentum from that along with the fact he should resonate pretty well with the voters of New Hampshire will get him a victory. I don't think Rand will win SC but if he does well in Iowa/New Hampshire I can see him making it into the top 3 there. And then Nevada, Rand should win Nevada. If Rand can take 3 of the first 4 it bodes incredibly well for his chances. I would expect many donors to start jumping on board. If Rand only takes, say Nevada, then I'm not certain how things will play out. I feel strongly that Rand needs to win both Iowa and New Hampshire outright.
 
Krugminator if this movement isn't bigger than the Pauls then it's pretty much closing time. Do I have to write a letter urging him to get mojo back?
 
Carlybee said:
All I know is they better not blame any issues coming down the pike on Ron's base.
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I'm expecting it. I've been expecting it. They'll forget that they told us to go away...they'll forget that they told us how embarrassing we are at times with our calls for pot legalization and desire for truth about 9/11...and that we should not, under any circumstances, bring that shit around Rand. (But those issues are very important to many in Ron's base...if they can't campaign for those issues, there is no reason for them to get behind the candidate.) I'm sure many of Ron's base have gone away. This place is nowhere near as busy and energized as it was when Ron was running.
 
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