Lessons learned from the Ron Paul Presidential Campaign...

[TannerW]

Good thing your friend didn't try to post that here! Some idiot might accuse him of being a disingenuous troll, secretly being paid to represent the Alan Keyes/John McCain/Mike Huckabee administration!



For the record, I completely agree w/ your friend. Thanks for posting it.

 

[dawnbt]

Good thing your friend didn't try to post that here! He might be accused of being a disingenuous troll, secretly being paid to represent the Alan Keyes/John McCain/Mike Huckabee administration!



For the record, I completely agree w/ your friend. Thanks for posting it.

If your responding to my post that guy is not my friend. He's actually on my ignore list. I'm calling the scum out and reported his posts!

 

[J Free]

As for me and mine, we will keep working as long as there is work to be done. The message continues to go out until they shut me up, and if we don't win this thing, I'm going third party to raise awareness and promote viability.

We lost to the two party system, it's as crooked as Ted Bundy.

WE did not LOSE to the two party system. YOU CHOOSE TO LOSE by heading off into the desert of irrelevance with a third-party.

There are a lot of people who support Ron Paul and who have gotten involved at the local level with the GOP. While many may be asking questions about "what's next" (assuming their state's delegate process is over), that is HEALTHY. It is a question that would occur at some point even if RP were to win the nomination.

This is not a personality cult. Nor is it a one-time event where all of this country's problems would magically disappear the moment a good thing happens (eg a Ron Paul inauguration as President).

Restoring the Constitution and the proper role of federal government first means taking over all of those local and state governance apparatuses that would be required to fill the power vacuum with a reduction in federal power.

THAT is what those who remain both Republican and locally active WILL accomplish over the next few years. While you are wandering around the desert whining.

 

[TannerW]

If your responding to my post that guy is not my friend. He's actually on my ignore list. I'm calling the scum out and reported his posts!

No, no, no. I was talking about wfd40's post.

 

[rockwell]

#1 Lesson ( learned again, confirmed again, reinforced again ):

"The system is corrupt, beyond redemption, and is not worthy of my support!"

#2 Lesson:

"If voting ever really changed anything, it would be illegal."

#3 Lesson:

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies."

#4 Lesson:

SNAFUBAR!

#5 Lesson:

"The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter."

#6 Lesson:

"War is a racket!"
"War is the health of the state."
"War is not the answer."

Therefore: "The health of the state racket. is not the answer."



Etc., etc., etc. ...........................................

I can't improve on that.

People are absolutely delusional if they still believe in the system any longer.It isn't broken, mismanaged corrupt or incompetent, it is a continuing criminal enterprise. That's it.

the United States of America as a political entity "of the people, by the people and for the people" has perished from this earth. It simply does not exist any longer.

That's it for me too folks, we're out of here. Best of luck to you all.

 

[Roxi]

There seems to be a tone of quiet surrender on securing the nomination. Please DO NOT GIVE UP!! I woke up in the middle of the night and realized the true impact of Dr. Paul’s letter to us (and the competition). It’s brilliant!

Please re-read Dr. Paul’s letter as many times as you need to, to “get it”. Dr. Paul is more intelligent and has more smarts and savvy than all of his opponents put together. With our continued loyalty, perseverance, ingenuity and hard work, this Republican nomination can be Dr. Paul’s.

Pretend you are McCain, Huckabee or any of their supporters reading Dr. Paul’s letter. Here are some excerpts that they will land on and remember. “With Romney gone, the chances of a brokered convention are nearly zero.” “…there will be no third party run.”

McCain and Huckabee are nearly broke. McCain is the anointed MSM winner. There may be a huddle between the two for a plan of action regarding the VP position. Whew, are they ever happy. They can relax a bit. Less spending of money they don’t have, going state to state, sleepless nights, bad restaurant food. Let that sink in please.

The message to us, his supporters. “If I may quote Trotsky, of all people, this Revolution is permanent.” “It will not end until we have won the great battle on which we have embarked.” “But that does not affect my determination to fight on, in every caucus and primary remaining, and at the convention for our ideas, with just as many delegates as I can get.”

This is a time when no MSM media coverage could work to Dr. Paul’s advantage. He is really the forgotten candidate until he rakes in dozens, maybe hundreds of delegates while they are all toasting each other. Our job is to make sure Dr. Paul gets as many of the remaining delegates as possible. Those of us in states that have held primaries and caucuses can help other groups by contacting the meet-ups and getting call lists. Making phone calls is not as effective as face to face, but it’s better than doing nothing. It’s time to quadruple our efforts, everyone, not just supporters in the remaining states.

Again, this is NOT the time to be giving up and second guessing what's going on. Let's get back to work, harder than ever!

Nicely done... i was wondering when more people were going to WAKE UP.... every time Ron sends out a letter, there is an article in the media, all the other campaigns read the letters that get sent out as well, there are OTHER CANDIDATES supporters who get our letters just to see whats going on.... Ron is a genius, if you read Foreign Policy to Freedom you can easily see this, I have NO doubts that this letter is a wordplay.


and you want the truth about new hampshire? we didn't lose new hampshire because Ron wasn't there, we lost new hampshire for two reasons and two reasons only.... 1) there was a handful of people working up there in the name of RP that were sabotaging things, whether unintentionally or intentionally i don'g know but they were causing problems in public, they were causing problems with business owners, they were saying really really DUMB things to the media that pissed off a lot of voters, they were harrassing in nature, and just overall idiots
2) NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTERS ARE FUCKING STUPID, pardon my french, but.... after working the polls and literally watching my country being thrown away before my eyes, i left heartbroken, dejected, and totally disgusted with the system. The majority of these people walked in not even knowing what party they wanted to vote for yet, i actually watched a guy eenie meenie miney moe his vote. I have never been so hurt in my life, i really thought new hampshire voters were informed people who cared, but they dont. so thats my new hampshire story

 

[PaulTriumph]

Of Course It's Not Over!

Of course it's not over! If if was, why would RP still be advertising for donations on his web site, when he has millions in the bank that he hasn't touched? Are you trying to call Dr. Paul some kind of shyster??

Just wait- there's a few tricks up his sleeve yet!!

 

[dawnbt]

Do we have any idea WHO the campaign is letting go? Could it be they found some moles?

 

[angrydragon]

Raise a lot of money in the beginning, at the very start of the race, to be considered top-tier.

 

[Paul4Prez]

Keep fighting for every vote and every delegate we can get in every state, but yes, it is time to reflect on what we have learned so far, and what we can do better next time, while a lot of people are still here on the forum.

What worked:

Having a great candidate. Ron Paul is well qualified (10 terms in Congress), has an impeccable voting record, and possesses unquestioned integrity. We need to start grooming and helping similar candidates nationwide, to get one in position to viably contest a presidential nomination.

Grassroots organization. The energy and creativity and mutual reinforcement of the grassroots was incredible. This forum is great. Meetup was clunky, but almost a really good tool -- we should make our own version, fixing its obvious flaws (especially those that limited communications between groups.)

Money bombs. With the right candidate and a committed grass roots organization, this proved to be a very effective way to raise money and gain media attention, at least at first. The best money bombs had a strong theme, and were organized at least one month in advance. If we had started these last April, they would have been even more effective in earning media coverage, putting Ron Paul at the top of the fundraising stats in the 2nd quarter, instead of the 4th.

Precinct leaders. The results are undeniable. Canvassing door to door and campaigning at the polls on election day produced exceptional results. This needs to start sooner next time (obviously), and be the focus of energy over sign waving, Internet poll spamming, and the like.


What needs work:

Advertising. Someone said it well earlier -- a different kind of candidate needs a different kind of ad. Make the candidate's unique characteristics obvious. Why was his anti-war position hidden in so many ads? We didn't even win the anti-war Republican vote. Tell people why they should vote for him -- have the candidate ask for their votes. Show big crowd shots, to counter the "fringe" label. Run some national ads -- it energizes the base, and increases donations. Stick more to TV -- radio and direct mail didn't seem very effective. TV ads get free media coverage which increases their reach, if they are good. Buy more Internet banner ads. For a candidate who supposedly "owned" the Internet, I rarely saw an Internet ad in a general interest website, and they're cheap.

Presentation. Whoever the next candidate is, hire a big time image consultant and debate coach. Ron Paul is absolutely great, but many neutral viewers didn't think he appeared presidential often enough. Substance is more important than image, but image counts too.

Professionalism. If you're going to raise $30+ million, hire a big time campaign manager and big time staff, at least at the top. Everyone involved has worked very hard, but it seemed like too many were learning as the election progressed.

Focus on early states. Nothing gives the media a bigger reason to write you off than a lackluster showing in the early states. Invest early to try to gain momentum. Rent some buses for the Iowa straw poll. Saturate Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina. Visit early and often. Get on TV. Don't save the money for later, because it will be too late. Giuliani tried to wait, and it was a disaster. Ron Paul tried to campaign everywhere, and did about the same everywhere.

 

[TannerW]

Thank you for the thoughtful post, Paul4Prez. Much appreciated.

 

[TannerW]

Thanks Dutchie, for pointing out evandi's 'troll talk'. It wasn't quite what I was expecting to get at the beginning of this thread, but at least we've received some intelligent thoughts to go along with it.

 

[colin1]

Failure to successfully peg Sean Hannity square in the face with an especially hard packed snowball.

HAHAHAHHHA! You just made my night!