Insights after Attending the CNN/YouTube Debate in St. Pete

[Erazmus]

I attended the CNN/YouTube Debate and saw first hand how strongly opposed the GOP is to Ron Paul winning the Republican nomination. From the onset, there were very few Ron Paul supporters in the theater and when we voiced our support loudly (cheering & clapping) it made everyone around us VERY uncomfortable. It is clear to me that those who control the GOP want nothing to do with Ron Paul and especially do not want his message of limited goverment and protection of liberty to spread further (why do you think he was asked so few questions).

We must remain positive despite the obvious slant against Paul in the debate. I, for one, was completely blown away (and so were many others) with the overwhelming support for Ron Paul through out the debate events. There were Ron Paul signs from miles away before entering into St. Pete. People were chanting on the streets. Three planes were flown over the area with Ron Paul for President 2008. People decorated their boats and cars with Ron Paul regalia. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing or seeing something about Ron Paul. I'd never seen anything like it!

Also, the post rally debate was a huge success! There were hundreds of people gathered on a Wednesday night to hear the good doctor speak and the level of excitement was unlike anything I've ever experienced. No other candidate will ever be able to match this grassroots effort.

Right now the GOP is scrambling to find a candidate they can sell to the American people (other than RP). They tried with McCain and Giuliani and were unsuccessful. Then they tried Romney and now they've resorted to none other than...HUCKABEE.

All we're going to hear about now on CNN/FOX is how Huckabee is gaining momentum, then he's a frontrunner... blah, blah, blah. We MUST NOT let this get to us. We need to stay positive and focus on our goals. Right now our goal is to raise as much money as possible on Dec. 16 and to win our delegates for the RNC! We must also help the meetup groups in Iowa & NH with whatever they need...whether it's making calls or sending out letters. We must continue to spread the word!

Ron Paul has SO much support that the media will have no choice but to pay attention to him. So PLEASE, let's not get caught up in the Media's propaganda to sell candidates to the American people. The American people have already chosen their candidate and it's up to us to win him the nomination and ultimately the presidential election!

LET"S STAY POSITIVE AND FOCUSED - WE WILL WIN THIS!

Great post Maria! Thanks for attending the debate and reporting back your experience!!!

 

[bmcosti]

How did you get in the debate? Were tickets publically available? Was each candidate alloted a certain amount?

 

[jorger]

The thing I noticed is that the closer we get to the Primaries, the more scared the establishment GOP gets. Some seem confused by our applause, some just weren't sure how Ron Paul supporters got inside the debate. Basically they're not sure who we are and my initial reaction is this feeling .... to quote Fight Club... "Look, the people you are after are the people you depend on: we cook your meals, we haul your trash, we connect your calls, we drive your ambulances, we guard you while you sleep. Do not fuck with us."

But then the more rational reaction comes to mind. We need to understand that they are being fed the same BS we see on MSNBC/CNN/FAUX NEWS, and since that it what has worked, and I'm using the word “worked” very loosely, in the past, most don't see anything else beyond it. The last few weeks has shown the the GOP wants a Giuliani/Huck or Romney/Huck ticket. Giuliani/Romney for the name and Huck for the GOP “Judeo-Christian” sect. That, and using Hillary as a scare tactic is what they see as their formula for success.

To bad for them that in this chemistry set we are the alchemy fueling change.

We need to remember that we are going to eventually need the old GOP support. But as the Media gets more negative, the more positive, our actions and we need to be. We are all getting involved in our communities like never before. Some of us could never have imagined going to a political rally just 12 months ago. There are no lines drawn for us and that is what the Media cannot grasp. We are Democrats, Republicans, Independents and almost every other political affiliation. We come from all paths of life. We are doing this for truths we believe to be self evident. And now more than ever we see that we are not alone. We are not alone and that our numbers are growing exponentially.
The message of Liberty is so simple that it just might actually work.

 

[RickNHouston]

Lemme tell you something fellow RPer's ... Complaining to these guys and or their employers via e-mail and IM's is a total waste of time. I have a cousin who works the internet/communications dept for CNN in Atlanta and he says they don't even recognize them ... delete them by the sreenfuls w/o opening them. Im tellin ya , we gotta hit these people and their sponsors with the only kind of language they understand .... MONEY! It's time that somebody within our brotherhood, with the knowledge to do it sucessfully, organizes a blackout on their cable networks by blocking them on their DVR boxes and a boycott of their sponsors products. We should also be asking our compatriots to buy American products at every opportunity and that means "just say no to Wal-Mart". Lemme know if I can help. I'm disabled but I'd drag myself through broken glass than to waste one more of my votes on the lesser of two evils.

 

[Maria]

Lemme tell you something fellow RPer's ... Complaining to these guys and or their employers via e-mail and IM's is a total waste of time. I have a cousin who works the internet/communications dept for CNN in Atlanta and he says they don't even recognize them ... delete them by the sreenfuls w/o opening them. Im tellin ya , we gotta hit these people and their sponsors with the only kind of language they understand .... MONEY! It's time that somebody within our brotherhood, with the knowledge to do it sucessfully, organizes a blackout on their cable networks by blocking them on their DVR boxes and a boycott of their sponsors products. We should also be asking our compatriots to buy American products at every opportunity and that means "just say no to Wal-Mart". Lemme know if I can help. I'm disabled but I'd drag myself through broken glass than to waste one more of my votes on the lesser of two evils.

Thanks for the insight Rick and welcome aboard!

 

[hroos]

Woo hoo! Yeah Maria... let's do this.

 

[Maria]

This crowd was the real deal!

 

[Maria]

Woo hoo! Yeah Maria... let's do this.

We've got lot's of work to do in Miami but who better to do it for than Ron Paul

It's soooooooo on!

 

[Chester Copperpot]

Actually, I was just watching Hannity and Colmes a few minutes ago, and they had (lol) Frank Luntz on there saying the obvious winners of the debates were Romney and Thompson. He even had a (one more lol) "focus group" to support his claim.

MSM is totally slinking into the realm of Irrelevance.

 

[therealjjj77]

I remember going to Des Moines during the Reagan Dinner and during the dinner, there was a guy standing next to me with a Mitt Romney sticker. I got to talking to him and found out he didn't support Mitt Romney, he was an intern with the Romney campaign but he told me he is voting Ron Paul.

Then during the rally afterward, Ron Paul's room was packed with so many people that there were people outside of the room. Even the other candidates left their rooms(since hardly anyone showed up to their reception afterward) to hang out on the outside of Paul's room. Here's a video of what the rooms looked like:

h ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqxVVTg8VdA

After the debate we were walking to my car and we were carrying some signs back while talking to another Iowan who was at the dinner. We were talking to him for a while on the street corner when a taxi driver drove by and yelled, "Go Ron! We gotta get him in the White House!" and then a bum walked by and said, "None of those candidates makin' any sense, but when Ron Paul talks: He makes sense." It was funny cause we kept getting interupted by average people on the street who weren't at the Reagan Dinner but were for Ron Paul.

Here's a good goal. Each of us need to get 20 people in Iowa to attend their caucuses and vote Ron Paul. Do that part and we will have a victory.

 

[luckystars]

Do you know how radical this message is, you get killed for this type of talk. Are you people naive or what? He is advocating revoution for REAL. This is not a game, if you are not in it to win it, get out.

He knows very well what this means. We signed his death sentence by supporting him in mass. He was able to be a rural kook from Texas all these years, but now its changed.
He told you "This is a revolution, am lucky to be part of it." The media will throw everything they have at him including the kitchen sink. The cat is out of the bag, Pandora's Box has been opened, there is no turning back. We tried to open it 30 years ago, and they slammed it shut at Kent State.


Its truth time.

 

[ForLiberty-RonPaul]

Anybody else think Ron Paul looks like the Rocky Balboa statue from the movies. The one at the top of the stairs with his arms up like that and head slightly downward.

Has Stallone come out with support for anyone yet?

 

[nexalacer]

My thoughts exactly.
Are we going to give up here?
Republicans are getting crazy trying to stop Ron Paul.
I think we have a good chance.
All of you seem to agree with me!
How about a new plan?
Attack those bastards where it hurts.
Stop supporting their wallets!
Bring back the Constitution.
Ignore the doubters!
Grab at this chance for liberty!
Bring this message to everyone you know.
Offer a chance of freedom to today's citizens.
Offer a chance of freedom to tomorrow's children!
Broadcast this message loud and clear!
Save Liberty!

<3

 

[Maria]

My thoughts exactly.
Are we going to give up here?
Republicans are getting crazy trying to stop Ron Paul.
I think we have a good chance.
All of you seem to agree with me!
How about a new plan?
Attack those bastards where it hurts.
Stop supporting their wallets!
Bring back the Constitution.
Ignore the doubters!
Grab at this chance for liberty!
Bring this message to everyone you know.
Offer a chance of freedom to today's citizens.
Offer a chance of freedom to tomorrow's children!
Broadcast this message loud and clear!
Save Liberty!

<3

Here, Here!

 

[Maria]

How did you get in the debate? Were tickets publically available? Was each candidate alloted a certain amount?

I was lucky enough to be a guest of someone who was personally invited.

I don't know how they allocated the tickets but I can assure you that it wasn't done so equitably.

 

[Paulitician]

Good to know!

You're a pretty lady, BTW.

 

[ckhagen]

Thanks for the post Maria!
I think I saw you on my way out of the straw poll (had the two kids, one in the stroller).

I'm glad you got to go. Seriously, if given a fair shot at getting tickets (which I requested MONTHS ago), we could have filled that place with RP supporters, easy

 

[Cindy]

Anybody else think Ron Paul looks like the Rocky Balboa statue from the movies. The one at the top of the stairs with his arms up like that and head slightly downward.

Has Stallone come out with support for anyone yet?

I LOVE that picture! Ron Paul is so cool. It was great the way he pulled that signed T-shirt it on right away like a proud grandfather.

 

[Maria]

Thanks for the post Maria!
I think I saw you on my way out of the straw poll (had the two kids, one in the stroller).

I'm glad you got to go. Seriously, if given a fair shot at getting tickets (which I requested MONTHS ago), we could have filled that place with RP supporters, easy

I do remember seeing the kids and the stroller! You know, it's funny b/c when I first got the straw poll tickets I had no idea there would be this much support for RP, particulary at a FL poll.

I even thought we needed to find a meeting place before hand so we could "stick together"... pretty funny right, we had the WHOLE place covered. I don't think there's a single person in St. Pete who doesn't know who Ron Paul is now...

 

[ccannizzaro]

Gore "beat" bush in all his debates. Kerry "won" all the debates in 04. McCain "beat" bush in most of the primary debates in 2000.

When it comes down to it, the debates are not what matters. Debates are literally on stage for the media to broadcast, it's a show, it's a race, and they help determine the finishing by giving certain people a head start. It's also the furthest removed from the real people that candidates actually get.

What really matters is the speeches like the one that Ron Paul delivered after the debate. What really matters is when the candidates get closer to the people, when they energize those people. That's what causes their support to grow exponentially, because it motivates people like us to go out there and do more than we were yesterday.

What other candidate is getting that kind of support from real people that translates into copious amounts of votes? What other candidate is inspiring people to vote who have never voted before? Romney? No. McCain? Looks like he's accepted the fact that he's not going to win. Giuliani? Hoping people don't dig too deep. Huckabee? Literally praying and preying on the religious vote.

Ron Paul doesn't need debates. He's got us!