Is Ron Campaigning Effectively?

[jasonxe]

In comparison to Santorum, it doesn't seem so.

I usually see Ron do one or two big events at "college campuses". But Santorum goes to rural area churches all across the state where the dependable "old folks" are at. I think the word spreads around that Santorum is there guy and they unify.

We need to attack and split up that vote and have Ron campaign similarly in some states. Will come up top in youth votes but we need to garner the social conservative/older/church/religion votes. It seems that Santorum's strategy is effective at this and something we should emulate to strengthen our current weakness. It also proven to beat Romney...

 

[playpianoking]

I agree. Paul already has the youth vote. Go to places that you don't do well in order to get that vote.

 

[hammy]

Santorum has the entire GOP establishment and MSM backing him. It's hardly a fair fight. I think Ron does as much as any damn person could ask for.

 

[PolicyReader]

I know some people on the forum will get all out of sorts for me saying this but, I think that focusing on getting people educated to become delegates (and be effective at it) is the key aspect and to the best of my knowledge that's what Paul is doing. Witness tonight, Santorum won all the 'official straw polls' but gained no delegate award.

Of the 'soft' delegates elected tonight the (admittedly patchy) information I've found out there suggests Paul did quite well in the local delegate take.
Now of course this still doesn't mean Paul gets the most national delegates because that is as yet undecided but he's in a good position to do so (just like in IA).
Regardless of age the most important supporters are those who will stay and become educated active delegates.

2c (I'll now stay out of the thread so I don't drag things off topic)

 

[gerryb]

Keep listening to the TV

 

[Taco John]

He's 76 years old.....let's be honest. He's doing the best he can. Campaigning has to be draining.

I don't see his age as a factor here. The real factor is the age of his voters. As much as we count on the youth vote history has proven one thing: you CAN'T count on the youth vote. That leaves middle agers. Paul can't count on them either (as exit polls have shown), because most of them are too wrapped up in the lives of their kids to get out to the caucuses. What's left? Baby boomers and Medicaid recipients. They're going to vote not to rock the boat so they can get their goodies. They've spent the better part of their lives screwing the younger generations over, and they're not going to stop now over some silly little financial crisis.

The Republican party is devouring itself right in front of our eyes. This party isn't poised to win an election in the next 8 years, let alone the next 8 months.

 

[jasonxe]

I'm not saying he isn't campaigning hard enough but whether he is campaigning effectively. I don't think going to college campuses addressing to the youth vote is effective when we need to win the old vote who are elsewhere (churches). Rick Santorum did in these three states that he did with Iowa. Go across the state and amass the old vote where they're likely to be at.

 

[mavtek]

No, I can honestly say, we supporters have to work harder than any other campaign supporters just to remain competitive.

 

[MJU1983]

Ron is doing just fine against a system rigged against him, and us.

 

[Maximus]

This is absolutely right, a simple bus tour with a Q and A would have flipped many of these counties

 

[Charlie Harris]

First, he needs to campaign more. Second, he needs to stop preaching to the choir. He needs to start talking to the undecideds, there is a lot of them. Third, he needs to stop giving lectures and start sounding like a presidential candidate instead of sounding like a professor.

 

[davesxj]

Keep listening to the TV

Don't let the spectacle fool you. You're idea of campaigning, of anything in this world really, is based on a set of images burned into your skull by every (TV)screen you see.

In the real world, in the world of interaction, Ron Paul is putting forth a lot of energy. I have trouble speaking to crowds of people who I don't know. I can't imagine knowing that what I say will be heard by thousands and that the moderator/interviewer will try to make me look like a fool given the chance. Ron Paul has shown immense courage for us, and in return we should all be making every effort we can to become involved, as delegates, in the interaction ourselves. You already know that the voting by the population at large means nothing. Why are you complaining about not running a campaign that caters to the facade of elections?

Edit: I'm just bumping your comment gerryb. My response is directed toward OP et al.

 

[BUSHLIED]

First, he needs to campaign more. Second, he needs to stop preaching to the choir. He needs to start talking to the undecideds, there is a lot of them. Third, he needs to stop giving lectures and start sounding like a presidential candidate instead of sounding like a professor.

I agree 100%. I've almost come to grips with Ron's personal flaws but I still don't understand why the campaign cannot have Ron doing more stops in the retail politics fashion ending in a late night rally for the college students.

Many of these counties had around 100-150 people that showed up and Santorum was able to edge out an extra 80 votes in almost all the counties..translating into hundreds maybe thousands of votes easy. If you win small counties by say 80 votes over 30 or 40 counties, that gives you an edge to make up for lost ground in larger population centers...Besides all these smaller areas elect delegates too.

It's like the campaign does some things great and other things horribly wrong...but the things that done wrong are so simple and common sense.

 

[BUSHLIED]

I have to wonder how the campaign's organization in these states was organized and executed. Did they have enough staff, what were the staffs goals, what strategies did they employ etc... Perhaps Nevada was more about ineffective campaign staff and execution and it's not Ron's lack of retail politics or style etc...

Also, the increase in vote from 2008 to 2012 is slowing down compared to large increases in we observed in Iowa, NH, SC, and FL...

MN votes 2008 = Ron Paul 9,852 15.7%
MN Votes 2012 = Ron Paul 13,023 27.2% (93% reporting).

32% increase.

CO votes 2008 = Ron Paul 5,910 8.4%
CO votes 2012 = Ron Paul 7,713 11.8%

30.5% increase.

I wonder what's going on. Perhaps each state is so wildly different it is hard to assume that Ron's growth would be exponential. On the bright side his national support is rising but I wonder if that is just temporary or perhaps simply due to the exposure he is getting with each passing contest. However, will his national growth be enough to help win March 6 or perhaps later in April when winning is all that matters.

I worry about Texas. It is a must win for Paul. Gingrich will take GA, Romney will take Mass, Santorum should take PA, and we should take TX...but apparently Gingrich is going to contest that state.

Here are the percentages of growth that I worked out excluding Nevada.

IA: 119.88%
NH: 210.64
SC: 385.06
FL: 86.69
MS: 15.78
MN: 32.18
CO: 30.50


You can see the drop off after FL...the growth drop could be a function of other variables, namely a limit to his support among gop primary voters, lack of bringing new people into the party, and/or loss of some support. Closed versus open primaries.

I am now starting to think the campaign has thought all this through...voter registration ended or is getting really close to ending...

 

[Revel8]

Santorum has the entire GOP establishment and MSM backing him. It's hardly a fair fight. I think Ron does as much as any damn person could ask for.

Agreed. That's why he needs us.

 

[Godmode7]

The real blame is on the people not voting for RP. What kind of sick person would vote for Gingrich or Santorum?! The fact that people accept whatever they see on the news is the biggest problem. RP needs to hit up churches and get more TV ads going. I remember CNN showing some lady in FL. She didn't know who she was voting for but ended up just picking Romney.

 

[Revel8]

~95% of the electorate has no clue what they're voting for.

Ron Paul is overqualified for the presidency. The electorate is underqualified to vote.

 

[coffeewithchess]

Ron is doing just fine against a system rigged against him, and us.

It's really hard to say a system is rigged against him, when the campaign chooses college campuses to go and campaign on...
Santorum was all over Iowa, in small towns and big towns alike...sure, he got lots of free POSITIVE media, but he was also all over the state.
Perhaps the new strategy should be town halls, so the older folks that have legitimate questions about RP, can go and ask them to him directly.

We don't like the media, and the campaign chooses to avoid the big media shows such as O'Reilly and Hannity, etc., but if the college votes haven't given the campaign a win...they need to try something new.

 

[alucard13mmfmj]

if it was effective ^^ we'd be getting at least 2-3rd place every time lolz

 

[floridasun1983]

We don't like the media, and the campaign chooses to avoid the big media shows such as O'Reilly and Hannity, etc., but if the college votes haven't given the campaign a win...they need to try something new.

I think that's the core issue...they need to try something new. The current strategy, to the extent they have one, isn't cutting it. Eventually wins matter.