My Iowa Caucus Speech

[SchleckBros]

I was watching CSPAN/caucus training and the lady told them that the speech could be up to 5 minutes long.

 

[IDefendThePlatform]

All great points. Thanks for so much good feedback.


I'll add another sentence in my Blah, blah section. And when I give it it takes me between 2:50 and 3:00, maybe I should slow it down a bit.

I'll add in Christian and obviously pro-life as well, that's definitely needed.

 

[IDefendThePlatform]

Forums won't let me use the quoting system for some odd reason... (I have some suggestions in bold).

Ron Paul is the strongest, in fact, the ONLY serious candidate with regards to the the biggest threat this nation faces -- our fiscal irresponsibility. As President, he will cut $1 Trillion from the federal budget in his first year in office.

...

Probably most important in this election, Ron Paul truly understands our economy. He’s the only candidate who actually warned [I don't like the sound of "predicted"; "warned" correctly suggests he had an active role in trying to change the course of things] of the impending housing crisis and the subsequent recession years in advance. He understands the pricing distortions that the federal government created in the housing market and will use this knowledge to prevent future bubbles and to lift us out of our current recession.

...

In closing, I would just say that Ron Paul is a person of tremendous personal character and integrity, who has a clear and consistent vision of how he will make America great again. I ask you to consider the future we are leaving to the next generation and vote Ron Paul for President in 2012.Thank You.

I like that re-wording. Might try to sneak "predicted" and "warned" both in.

 

[IDefendThePlatform]

I was watching CSPAN/caucus training and the lady told them that the speech could be up to 5 minutes long.

My understanding is that's true, but not guaranteed and not usually the norm. Might require a motion, which I could easily do, but I think 3 is a safe way to go.

 

[Jason Sallee]

"Hi my name is , I’m a resident, I know a lot of you here. I work here blah blah. I’m here to speak on behalf of Dr. Ron Paul."

Try this:

"Good evening everyone, my name is ________, It's good to see so many have come out to vote and I feel this is going to be a memorable night. I’m a resident of _____ and I know a lot of you here. I work here blah blah. I’m here to speak on behalf of Dr. Ron Paul."

Your introduction needs to be solid and draw in all the people in the room. I've underlined some words that are keywords for the various forms of communication (Auditory, Visual, Kinesthetic). If you use all of these words the people in the room, who all use different forms of communication, will pay more attention. I know you will fill in the "blah blah" with something good, but keep the "I work here..." as it is important to show that you are a concerned member of your community.

I'm not sure how good you are at public speaking, but I've always found it helpful to take away any distractions such as keys or change in my pockets so that I'm not fidgeting with them. Practice as much as you can, and practice in front of some friends if you can. Give your friends a copy of your speech so they can give you feedback on how close you where to what you have written.

I liked the rest of your speech but you may also want to inject some rhetorical questions to get people thinking. Otherwise, I wish you the very best and am proud that you are standing up for the rest of us that can't be there.

 

[CBC4L]

Speech length is up to 5 min, but up to the chair running the meeting. The official campaign has speeches from 1-5 min long they would prefer to use.

 

[The Free Hornet]

Washington is borrowing $5000 every year for every man, woman, and child. Only Ron Paul seeks to stop the wasteful spending that will bury our children under a mountain of debt.

 

[socal]

I would try and use the title Dr. Paul or Dr. Ron Paul more than the one time you used it. Getting through medical school probably takes some smarts and hard work, and most people have respect for MDs.

 

[Tyler_Durden]

Do you want to add anything on Foreign Policy - particularly Iran and Israel since these seem to be areas of criticism? I have some strong stuff that refutes everything the other GOP Candidates have been shoving down everyone's throats......

 

[SaulPaulinsky]

Just because you have 5 minutes doesn't mean you should use them all!

Hit your strongest points hard -- Christian family man, reducing government debt and role in lives (taxes without running up more debt), what he'll do for the economy (get the government out of the way) hit bringing the troops home and then close it up. You don't want people getting bored. A packed and impassioned 2 1/2 minutes is better than a labored 5 minutes.

One thing I would say is don't ignore the foreign wars even though the polling is showing that economy and government debt are the most important issues. Getting out of Afghanistan is a key part of reducing spending, and PPP's Paul favorables crosstab showed that the people more likely to view Paul favorably are the ones that see foreign policy as a major issue.

Also, and somewhat oddly, the people who said their most important issue was taxes (and illegal immigration) were much more favorable toward Paul than people that said government debt was the most important. I think that might be just people were most likely to say that was the most important issue -- government debt/etc.

But above all, tailor to your audience. If you know or find out that there are going to be a lot of Santorum leaners/recent deciders at your caucus, they obviously care a lot about social issues. So you need to hit that to show that Paul checks their boxes, but then talk about what else Paul brings.

48% of the people that have decided in the last week say they may end up voting for someone else. That is, they haven't really decided! And a lot of that group is the "Santorum surge"!

Best of luck to all of you. I truly wish I was in your shoes and could make an Iowa caucus speech for Ron Paul. I'd be truly honored.

 

[SaulPaulinsky]

Do you want to add anything on Foreign Policy - particularly Iran and Israel since these seem to be areas of criticism? I have some strong stuff that refutes everything the other GOP Candidates have been shoving down everyone's throats......

Tyler, I'd leave foreign policy to talking about getting out of Afghanistan and avoiding another war like it in the future. There are people who think foreign policy is important, and those people are more likely to view Ron Paul favorably. But overall it's not a very big group, and I'd try to avoid the more controversial aspects of it unless you know you have a target rich environment.

 

[Tyler_Durden]

This Pentagon Report from 2010 goes against EVERYTHING the warmongering GOP Candidates have been saying about Iran wanting to Nuke Israel.

http://milwaukeestory.com/index.php...cerned-primarily-with-deterring-an-attack-344

This former aide refutes Eric Dondero's allegations that Dr. Paul is "anti-Israel"

http://www.haaretz.com/news/u-s-ele...l-isn-t-anti-israel-former-aide-says-1.403946

Iowans should know about these issues since it has been ignored and overlooked by the MSM.

 

[Tyler_Durden]

Tyler, I'd leave foreign policy to talking about getting out of Afghanistan and avoiding another war like it in the future. There are people who think foreign policy is important, and those people are more likely to view Ron Paul favorably. But overall it's not a very big group, and I'd try to avoid the more controversial aspects of it unless you know you have a target rich environment.

Concur...

 

[Real_CaGeD]

Give a source for the active military donation statistic.

 

[Dsylexic]

dont you want to mention NDAA -put the fear of indefinite detention /warrantless arrest of american citizens into people.only paul is against it.all his rivals are for imprisoning americans without charge forever.speak of totalitarianism/tyranny.

 

[affa]

i know absolutely nothing about the caucus process, but with that in mind, i also think short and sweet is better. what you have sounds great, but if the limit is 3 minutes i'd recommend editing for 3 and not ever doing a motion for more time. it's better to have more people speak, then try to hit every single point yourself. but again, i know nothing of caucuses.

 

[unknown]

How about something like "After decades of the same flawed policies, lets restore the principles that have made America great: peace, fiscal responsibility and the Constitution".

 

[merrimac]

Let me critique this piece by piece. I'm sure you're aware that your audience is people who are on the fence about supporting Ron Paul and are not sure about it. I think you should spend a lot of time addressing some concerns people might have about Ron Paul. Namely, that he isn't a viable candidate, that he's somewhat extreme in his views, and that he is actually the most conservative and why he would be the best choice to lead the nation.

Shoot me straight on this. Tried to incorporate as many of the good doctor's talking points as I could in 3 minutes.


Ron Paul Caucus Speech
Hi my name is , I’m a resident, I know a lot of you here. I work here blah blah. I’m here to speak on behalf of Dr. Ron Paul.

Ron Paul, as many of you know, is a 12-term Congressman from Texas. He and his wife Carol have been married for 54 years. They have 5 children, 18 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. One of their sons, Rand Paul, is currently serving as the US Senator from Kentucky. In his most recent re-election campaign in his home district in Texas in 2010, Ron Paul won both the Republican primary and the general election with over 70% of the vote, a very strong endorsement from the people who know him the best.

I'm not sure why mentioning all the kids he has is going to make a difference. I don't live in Iowa so maybe that has more weight there but to bring up that he has great grandchildren may make him seem really old. On that note, I think it would be helpful if you mention somewhere that he is in good health and will live many more years (or something like that).

Ron Paul is a veteran, a former flight surgeon who was drafted into the Air Force during Vietnam. Because of this and because of his consistent, principled defense of the Constitution, Ron Paul has received more campaign donations from active duty military than all other candidates combined, and even more than the sitting Commander-In-Chief, Obama.

Yes, these are strong points.

Ron Paul is the only candidate, in my opinion, who is truly serious about balancing the federal budget and paying down the debt. As President he will cut $1 Trillion from the federal budget in his first year in office. He will do this by eliminating 5 unconstitutional federal departments and without cutting a single penny from seniors, veterans or national defense.

I think it would be helpful if you could mention the size of the debt which last time I checked was something like 14 trillion (probably more now). And it would be very eye-opening if you could do some mathematics and determine how fast the debt is rising. One idea is to approximate how much the debt has risen in your 3 minute speech. Say something like, "During this 3 minute speech I'm giving, the national debt will have risen by 2 million dollars (or whatever it is)". That will definitely get their attention and help you emphasize why you need a candidate who will do something about it and also that you've done your research. Also, I think you should say that the 5 federal departments are unncessary and are, if anything, harmful to the welfare of Americans. Make the point that Ron wants to get rid of them not just because they're unconstitutional.

Probably most important in this election, Ron Paul truly understands our economy. He’s the only candidate who actually predicted the housing crisis and the subsequent recession years in advance. He understands the distortions that the federal government created in the housing market and will use this knowledge to prevent future bubbles and to lift us out of our current recession. He’s also the only candidate who knows how to lower the price of gas and groceries by reigning in the out-of-control Federal Reserve and returning America to sound money. By phasing-out the Federal Reserve’s ability to print and distribute money Ron Paul will eliminate the inflation that acts as a silent tax on all of us and makes everyday products more expensive than they would otherwise be.

I'm not sure how successful this will be. For someone who is aware of Ron Paul's economics, this will be gold but to someone who doesn't understand the economy (90% of the American people) I think a lot of these points will go over their heads and you'll get bogged down in too many specifics. I think you should keep this part as simple as possible. Namely, that he predicted the housing crisis. That he believes inflation is a tax and form of theft and wants to end it. That he is a student and firm believer of Austrian econimics which teaches that the less government there is the better whereas the other candidates subscribe to Keynsian economics which teaches the opposite.

And, finally, Ron Paul is the only candidate who brings in the critical Independent voters that are necessary to defeat Obama. I thought it was very telling that in the most recent poll of Iowa voters where they matched all the Republican presidential candidates up against Obama, the other candidates each lost by 8 points or more, while Ron Paul was dead even with the sitting president. National polls at this point are not nearly as meaningful since most voters aren’t really paying attention, but in Iowa, where the Independent and Republican voters have been paying attention and weighing the pros and cons of all the candidates for months, Ron Paul does by far the best of any of the candidates. Which I think is another example of how the more voters get to know Ron Paul, the better he performs.

One thing I notice in this speech is that you don't emphasize that he's a Constitutionalist. Maybe this is just my own opinion, but I think it would be good to bring up that one thing all Americans (Democrat, Republican, Independent) all have respect for is the US Constitution. You could bring up that Democrats and Independents will gravitate to him because he wants to protect the civil liberties that are guaranteed by the Constitution. You not only want to say that he does well with independents and democrats but also why he does well and will continue to do well.

In closing, I would just say that Ron Paul is a person of tremendous personal character and integrity, who has a clear and consistent vision of how to make America great again. I ask you to consider the future we are leaving to the next generation and vote Ron Paul for President in 2012.Thank You

I think this is good. If it was me, I'd probably say something like "If you value honesty and consistency, then he is the obvious choice. It's not in his blood to say one thing to one audience and another thing to another audience and he has a 20+ year Congressional voting record to back up everything that he says. Ron Paul is clearly not molded from the same clay as the other candidates. But this is precisely what Washington needs: Someone who is not of the system. I think Iowans can make no greater statement to the Washington establishment that the status quo is not good enough than by voting for Ron Paul to be the Republican nominee." Something like that. But that's me. Everyone's different I suppose.

Hope that helps.

 

[John of Des Moines]

Haven't read the thread but caucus speech can range from 2 to 5 minutes depending on the Caucus Chair. If the Caucus Chair announces that the speeches be limited to 2 minutes (or whatever) you can raise a "Motion that the Speeches be 5 minutes'" If the Motion is seconded then the body as a whole has to vote on the matter. Raise the point because the caucus for President vote is so important 5 minutes is appropriate. Ask when you check in what the length of the speeches will be.

 

[unknown]

As though you havent already had enough suggestions, but lastly something about the fact that the ideals which every candidate is now spewing are ones that he's championed for 30 years: smaller government, states' rights, the Constitution, sound money and civil liberties. Never flip flopped or changed his rhetoric to get elected, these are really his ideals and that we can trust him to what he says he'll do once elected with a voting history which supports these assertions.