Michigan will be our stronghold and turning point

[tfelice]

Michigan went for McCain in 2000 with a LOT of support from Dems and Independents. Obama and Edwards are boycotting the Dem primary, so, it is likely that we'll get some crossovers and independents. I'm just not sure how much...GOTV is going to be key. If we can pull in a lot of dems and independents on the east side, that would be fantastic. But this is going to be a big battle against McCain and Romney.

McCain wasn't at 4% in the polls in MI in 2000 just prior to the primary. Paul is.

 

[WillInMiami]

We can't get 1st in SC now, the best we can do is 2nd, which will actually be easier to get than 2nd in Iowa would have been.

BUT if people are focusing on Michigan and not SC then we will get 4th in SC. The grassroots has to start doing stuff for SC with a fury to get us 2nd here.

I don't know - the folks in SC probably really liked Ron Paul's statements about the Civil War (on Meet The Press). As a southerner that's lived in FL, AL, MS, and NC, I can tell you that the people in the south strongly agree with Dr. Paul on the Civil War issue - they still believe in state's rights and a federal government that stays out of the affairs of the state. If we focused this message, it might very well pay off in ALL of the "old south" states.

 

[anewvoice]

We still have time to get a week to ten days of air-time for grassroots commercials. Operation Broadcast Freedom is working to get really good Ron Paul ads on the air. Somebody's got to do it, but it's going to take money. The air-time for good coverage will run about $25,000. Not really that much in the grand scheme of things.

Robert

http://www.operationbroadcastfreedom.com

I've got quasi-confirmation fron HQ that there are no current Michigan television plans. We've got 10 days, the only way to jump % is a strong showing in NH and our own television commercials.

Help if you can!

Edit - sorry, by quasi I mean the disclaimer of, I may not have access to all information was given by HQ, but I had heard this from others before as well

 

[FSP-Rebel]

I sure am surprised about the lack of faith in MI's primary around here. We have paper ballots and we'll get alot of dem and indie votes. If yall are as pessimistic about our chances here (considering the dem primary situation), what does that say about our chances elsewhere? As far as sign coverage, we're 2nd to none up here and that's the bottomline. If yall were to see what I see everyday, maybe you'd have a change in tune. Have yall forgotten the Ann Arbor rally or what?

 

[Ronin]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but don't forget Florida. If we don't start winning up north Florida may be our last hope. Being from north Florida I can tell you that north Florida is basically an extension of Alabama and Georgia. This extends south to around Orlando.

North Florida has a lot of Air Force and Naval bases, so Paul may do well there considering his background. It all depends on the sentiment though. There are also a lot of retired military in this area of Florida. This is sometimes the last stop before the enlisted before retirement. If they are pro-Iraq then McCain stands a good chance (assuming he's still alive).

Mid-to-South Florida is where you start getting into the retirees. Also a *strong* Hispanic vote. Especially the Miami area. Compared to north Florida, there is more of a northern presence in S. Florida as retirees want to get away from the cold. We used to joke that south Florida is its own state.

One last thing. There are a lot of large universities in Florida (FSU, UF, UM, UCF). If we could get the campus vote to show up we could do very well. For this, though, I think Obama may be tough to beat as seen in IA.

 

[Avalon]

As of Jan 4th, no t.v. ads yet, no campaign offices yet here in G.R. to phone bank from, ect.no visits from Ron yet even though west mich is the biggest gop concentration in the state and his brother lives here. Not sure if campaign supplies have made it here yet or not but was promised. I think it is almost too late to show big here in Michigan. Alot of everday people here still are going Ron Who? Grassroots have been busting there hump getting the message out but with little or no support I think we will do poorly. The sad part is with as much money that has been raised national should have been here early to mid december to get the word out but so far just radio spots.

Slick political advertising works but not as well as regular people getting out and canvassing; and I don't just mean door to door (everywhere you go, especially with people you know). Believe me, if the other campaigns had the (passionate) supporters to do it, they would. I find it hard to believe that if grassroots were busting their respective humps there would be a lot of people who are still unfamiliar with RP (we do sometimes have people approach us with "I've seen the signs everywhere...you've got to tell me who this Ron Paul guy is!" and most people don't really understand his message still).

In any case, don't expect or rely on the HQ...we're all ultimately responsible for our own states. Please get out there and give it your all!

 

[Melissa]

well we are going up there Tomorrow if any one is close To Fort Wayne we will get you the rest of the way we are going door to door. We are also doing this on the 13th and they need poll workers on the 15th any one that can help PM me (we even have smokers cars lol)

 

[margomaps]

MI population is 9x more than NH. So, if you look at it that way, we have much less support on the ground.

Exactly. It's tough to say whether "meetup members as a function of population" is directly related to primary performance. But there's probably a relationship there, and if so, it's not overly encouraging that NH has proportionally 4x more meetup members compared to Michigan.

If Paul ends up getting 16% in NH, I wouldn't be shocked with a 4% performance in Michigan. I hope he does much better than that though.

 

[ceitniear]

I sure am surprised about the lack of faith in MI's primary around here. We have paper ballots and we'll get alot of dem and indie votes. If yall are as pessimistic about our chances here (considering the dem primary situation), what does that say about our chances elsewhere? As far as sign coverage, we're 2nd to none up here and that's the bottomline. If yall were to see what I see everyday, maybe you'd have a change in tune. Have yall forgotten the Ann Arbor rally or what?

I'm not sure where in Michigan you live, but I went to a sign wave in Muskegon today and the only signs I saw were the signs we were waving. I live about 30 miles from there and saw no signs between here and there. I brought one sign home with me, so I know there will be at least one in this town.

I may be wrong, but it appears that HQ is concentrating on Detroit and Ann Arbor, which is fine if they want to win Detroit and Ann Arbor, but I though the objective was to win the whole state.

 

[Naraku]

Obama isn't on the ballot, the campaign should be reaching out to Obama supporters in Michigan. They can't drop the ball there. It's a state we can actually win.

 

[xj0hnx]

http://www.operationbroadcastfreedom.com/

Put the word out, TV ads, newspaper ads, we HAVE to get his name out there.

 

[Badger Paul]

If we finish in the top three in New Hampshire, I think it will give us the credibility as a campaign that will help us in Michigan. Remember, its an open primary, Democrats and Independents can vote in it and the only two people on the Democratic ballot are Hillary Clinton and Chris Dodd, who has dropped out. If we come out of New Hampshire in good shape, then we can do well in Michigan.

 

[2young2vote]

If we finish in the top three in New Hampshire, I think it will give us the credibility as a campaign that will help us in Michigan. Remember, its an open primary, Democrats and Independents can vote in it and the only two people on the Democratic ballot are Hillary Clinton and Chris Dodd, who has dropped out. If we come out of New Hampshire in good shape, then we can do well in Michigan.

What is bad though is i know alot of people who actually WANT socialized healthcare. My grandparents and some of my friends say it will be the greatest thing that has ever happend. I try to tell them it makes them slaves to the government and i show how badly things run by the government are but they just keep saying "but that isn't how it was on Sicko". I continue to tell them that well over 50% of their money will be taken away from them but they don't care. Although they completely agree with Ron on all other issues so they are going to vote for him

Also what is bad is at my dinner club i overheard someone say that ron wants to "not give student visas to terrorist nations". I told them he is just trying to sound tough on terrorism and immigration. What is a good way to make it sound good?

 

[wakejumpin]

mitt romney is pumping money into michigan; i saw a commercial tonight during the nfl playoff game. its gonna take work but i dont see why not. i see a lot of paul signs/supporters and absolutely no other signs or bumper stickers.

 

[Eponym_mi]

mitt romney is pumping money into michigan

He might have some trouble on the west side of the state based on flip-flops. The pro-life crowd may not trust him. However, Hoekstra is endorsing him, and that may carry some weight.

 

[LilGator]

mitt romney is pumping money into michigan; i saw a commercial tonight during the nfl playoff game. its gonna take work but i dont see why not. i see a lot of paul signs/supporters and absolutely no other signs or bumper stickers.

Why isn't our campaign doing the same? We have the same, if not more money to work with...

 

[maeqFREEDOMfree]

...Can't someone get something going getting people here to go door to door like what happened in Iowa and New Hampshire? We're only getting help from the NC meetup groups, and that does not amount to much because its mainly people right across the line, although some have driven a long way.

My point is weren't there hundreds of people that went to NH or Iowa? Because only tens came to SC today.

Get on voters.ronpaul2008.com and use it. I know it's a little late in coming but hey, it's here now so lets make the most of it.

I heard of frustration from people who went to iowa to voulenteer and didn't have walking lists and all that. To me, and many others, the National Campaign might be at fault there, but with voters.ronpaul2008.com issues like this will be minimized because it's empowering the grassrooters to do things we're already doing, but better.

It's easy to get down and out when we have so many trying to keep us and our message out of the public, but try to focus on the progress we've seen already - the money bomb, for instance. to me, that was about 25,000 revolutionaries that came together to make it happen... grass roots at its best.

Keep your heads up and your eyes on the prize. this movement is not going to stop

 

[rs3515]

All of my family lives in Metro Detroit. I've been talking with them about Ron Paul since September. Their reaction over the holidays? They still have not seen one sign or heard anything about him in Michigan. If people think Michigan is going to be a "stronghold" they are living in a dream world. Ron Paul will have a respectful result but winning the state is going to be a long shot. Plenty of people don't even know who he is.

 

[maeqFREEDOMfree]

...Can't someone get something going getting people here to go door to door like what happened in Iowa and New Hampshire? We're only getting help from the NC meetup groups, and that does not amount to much because its mainly people right across the line, although some have driven a long way.

My point is weren't there hundreds of people that went to NH or Iowa? Because only tens came to SC today.

Get on voters.ronpaul2008.com and use it. I know it's a little late in coming but hey, it's here now so lets make the most of it.

I heard of frustration from people who went to Iowa to volunteer and didn't have walking lists and all that. To me, and many others, the National Campaign might be at fault there, but with voters.ronpaul2008.com issues like this will be minimized because it's empowering the grass rooters to do things we're already doing, but better.

It's easy to get down and out when we have so many trying to keep us and our message out of the public, but try to focus on the progress we've seen already - the money bomb, for instance. to me, that was about 25,000 revolutionaries that came together to make it happen... grass roots at its best.

Keep your heads up and your eyes on the prize. this movement is not going to stop

on a side note... i like to think that i'm not the kind of person that revels in other people's heart aches, but this makes me smile... can you imagine our president doing this? haha maybe we can play it for the Chinese next time we need money.

 

[BirdsAreWild]

What makes you think there are only two on the democrat ballot in NH?