No Longer Supporting

[Swmorgan77]

If this is true, the SLC group sounds lame in the extreme. Come on people, quit taking yourselves so seriously. Meetup is a social thing, not the fucking Hitler Youth. If you need to take it to the next nerdy level, form a PAC or whatever. Jeez.

Of course, this in no way excuses Mr. Tantrum. Seriously man, get a grip.

The group is fine, it is a few key individuals who are unfortunately in a position to instigate infighting and have been very determined to do so.

We are a very effective group, largely due to the efforts of a core of about 7 people who had nothing to do with the things Apocalypse is upset about.

Apocalypse, you should know that the overwhelming response I am getting from talking to the group is that they are just as turned off by the stuff you are upset about as we are.

 

[tnvoter]

Grow the fuck up, you whiny baby. Just because some relatively minor disagreement between a non-official meetup group hurt your poor, tender ego, does not mean that all of the sudden you need to become anti-Ron Paul.

How old are you? Are you even 18? Seriously, this behavior is what I'd expect of a 14 year old boy.

I don't want to be a jerk, but let's face it; this is perhaps too ridiculously petty and puerile to respond to in any fashion approaching nicety.

Seriously. l8r.

 

[Hamburglar]

Meetup is a social thing, not the fucking Hitler Youth.

Ich bin anderer Meinung.

Grow the fuck up, you whiny baby. Just because some relatively minor disagreement between a non-official meetup group hurt your poor, tender ego, does not mean that all of the sudden you need to become anti-Ron Paul.

How old are you? Are you even 18? Seriously, this behavior is what I'd expect of a 14 year old boy.

I don't want to be a jerk, but let's face it; this is perhaps too ridiculously petty and puerile to respond to in any fashion approaching nicety.

Agreed.

 

[Razmear]

The campaign HQ is the top boss, and the meetup leaders are the second level.

From my understanding there is no direct connection between any meetup group and RP HQ, so the meetup leaders are not the 2nd level, and in some cases may be spreading false information and hurting the cause more than helping.

There is nothing to prevent a Mitt Romney supporter from starting up a Ron Paul meetup group and then acting like a Nazi at the meetings just to turn off potential supporters.

I joined the closest meetup here, which is about 40 miles away, but when one of the leaders forwarded all the members a copy of 'Roberts Rules of Order' I decided that it probably wasn't my type of grass roots group. I'm still a member and get the updates, but haven't bothered to make the 40 mile drive on a Tuesday night to go to a meeting.

An Erisian Parable: "We Shall Stand Apart!"

10,000 people doing their own thing can be more effective as the same number of people following orders from a central command. Do what you think is best for the campaign, and don't do what someone says just because they claim to be a 'leader'.

eb

 

[bigsauce]

It's morons like this guy who add to the "Dope Quotient" of this country. As Artie Lange says, "Wahhh Wahhh, go cry in the corner wahhh, wahhh".

What a self-serving LOSER

 

[qednick]

Sorry, for going off. I am just very upset about the way these people are trying to run the meetup. The reason I was turning away from the campaign was they were stating that everything they have said is from campaign HQ. I have confirmed this is not the case. Campaign HQ wants a loose grassroots effort and not a hierarchy. They want the meetup as a way for like minded individuals to come together and share ideas and resources. The group here is NOT following that correctly. I will still support Ron Paul but I will not be active in this local group, which limits my efforts.

You've always had good input here before and there's always two sides to any story. I agree that you should just screw that meetup group - perhaps form your own but you definitely shouldn't change your views on RP's policies just because someone else wound you up. Sometimes personalities just clash. Good luck anyways.

 

[Spirit of '76]

All this negativity and in-fighting is a real turn-off.

How 'bout we drop it and concentrate on helping Dr. Paul win this thing?

 

[Chris Sinnard]

Easy Solution

There seems to be an easy solution here.

The OP is upset because it wanted the group to be less centralized and wants to support Paul in a more independent fashion, but the group wants to organize more.

Solution: Don't go to the meetup group and do what you want to support Paul on your own terms and conditions. If you are not a "black propagandist" then you will still be helping his cause working independently of the group. Helping Paul through the group and helping him by yourself is still helping him, I see no conflict there, besides maybe personality.

 

[TruthBeKnown]

Fly High

I just found out about this forum a couple days ago.

I have read this entire thread and find some of the replies to be inappropriate. Please refer to the forum participation agreement which was agreed to when joining this forum: "By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws."

Rude comments, vulgarity, & other forms of negativity do not help anyone, particularly RP or the spirit of peace, love, & respect for others, which is where I believe RP is coming from, and may actually turn people away from becoming active in supporting RP.

I am glad to see UA has changed their position & will continue to support RP, as I truly believe he is the LAST HOPE FOR AMERICA.

Let us keep our focus on the goal & not get distracted by our differences. If a "voluntary" group does not suit you, just walk away & resolve to do better.

I think we can all agree that our main focus right now is getting RP into the primaries and contacting our local voters registrar & push them to ensure that our votes are counted correctly! Once we have him in, we need to focus on the big win, and again, ensuring our votes are counted, & most importantly: protecting him from any assassination attempts, as I do believe those with power & money will not stop at anything to keep him out of office - remember John & Bobby Kennedy.

I hope you will join me in praying for RPs success & protection every day.

 

[Minuteman2008]

I'm actually turned off by a lot of RP supporters, but that won't affect my support of Ron Paul himself. Just stay away from those you disagree with and continue to support Paul if you believe in his message. I actually have nothing in common with the anti-war left crowd
(those folks who think open borders radicals like Hagel or Richardson should be RP's running mate, etc) that makes up probably half of RP's base, but that doesn't affect my views of RP.

 

[AZ Libertarian]

AZ perspective

The group is fine, it is a few key individuals who are unfortunately in a position to instigate infighting and have been very determined to do so.

We are a very effective group, largely due to the efforts of a core of about 7 people who had nothing to do with the things Apocalypse is upset about.

Apocalypse, you should know that the overwhelming response I am getting from talking to the group is that they are just as turned off by the stuff you are upset about as we are.

Aren't we discussing a state where Mitt Romney polled at a whopping 85%!?! That, to me, translates into WORKING IN ENEMY TERRITORY! In reading all the associated posts, I can see the True Ron Paul supporters being coopted and obfuscated by a core of Romney supporters posing as RP'ers, dragging down the efforts of everyone they can.

My bets , when it's all said and done with, are that the ONLY pro-Ron Paul signs that will end up being seen in the state of Utah are those the TRUE RP supporters there paid for out of their OWN pockets, and the ones the Arizona Western Libertarian Alliance took up there (at their OWN expense) that the posers can't find and take down!!!

_______________________________________

ILLIGITIMI NON CARBORUNDUM - Don't let the bastards wear you down!

 

[SeekLiberty]

Heh."Amazing how a few people can just try and take over a grassroots group of local supporters". Amazing contradiction with your proposed actions. I suggest putting the toys back in the playpen, writing an eloquent well researched speech stating calmly and non-accusatorially your thoughts backed up by quotes from the founding fathers and Dr Paul himself and under Robert Rules ask for time to present it. Contrarily you could just outdo them and get another meetup group going based on freedom of action and viewpoint and support him from there fo groups are your thing you like to do.. Do not judge the Good Doctor by misguided supporters, or perhaps even cointelpro plants.

You are an individual as we all are. Who will you now support? The field other than Paul looks like the Borg concensus to me.

Best Regards
Randy

"Borg concensus." LOVE it! Randy offers some reasoned advice.

And yes, don't be surprised about potential plants whom specialize in misguiding supporters of Ron, and try to turn them against the truly, freedom-loving patriots.

It's even happened on this forum. (They TRIED anyway and almost ran off one true patriot ... but in the end it didn't work.)

If I judged Ron Paul by what some of the alleged supporters have said, then I'd be frustrated too. What I do is always remind myself that they are NOT Ron Paul, and it's highly unlikely they really understand his message ... which is the message of freedom. People who understand SHOW it in their actions.

Read Ron Paul's book "Freedom Under Seige". There's a link to download it free in my signature. THAT is what Ron Paul is all about.

 

[Bloody Holly]

Sorry, for going off. I am just very upset about the way these people are trying to run the meetup. The reason I was turning away from the campaign was they were stating that everything they have said is from campaign HQ. I have confirmed this is not the case. Campaign HQ wants a loose grassroots effort and not a hierarchy. They want the meetup as a way for like minded individuals to come together and share ideas and resources. The group here is NOT following that correctly. I will still support Ron Paul but I will not be active in this local group, which limits my efforts.

I'm sorry that those people suck but hope you stick around. You can always be independant

 

[sifupaul]

Amen to the last post! WTF?

You were never in the movement from the start, it seems.

"Let the dead bury the dead" as they say.

 

[DjLoTi]

Can we stop being so negative and critical, and stop bringing it up? We all have our moments... give the guy a break... jeez... I feel bad for him for all the bashing he's receiving on this thread. Seriously.

 

[Broadlighter]

Meetup Authoritarianism

Sorry, for going off. I am just very upset about the way these people are trying to run the meetup. The reason I was turning away from the campaign was they were stating that everything they have said is from campaign HQ. I have confirmed this is not the case. Campaign HQ wants a loose grassroots effort and not a hierarchy. They want the meetup as a way for like minded individuals to come together and share ideas and resources. The group here is NOT following that correctly. I will still support Ron Paul but I will not be active in this local group, which limits my efforts.

I went to my Meetup's first meeting earlier this week. The moderator said that she had contacted RP's campaign office about what kinds of parameters we should observe. All they told her was for members of the group only to put out messages that come from the official campaign. They didn't say you couldn't create your own stuff, but the content should reflect the views of the campaign. Stuff like the '9/11 Truth' would not be looked upon very favorably by RP's campaign staff. Other than that, they didn't say anything about how the group should be run. We're just a group of people who want to see Ron Paul get elected.

Utah, you were right to check with the campaign yourself and find out what these scoundrels were up to. Trolls come in many forms. Not all of them are online trolls.

 

[vertesc]

Utah, I hope that when the haze of anger clears, you will find yourself still able to support this campaign as an individual. Your input on this forum has been very useful, and you have earned respect from me at least.

Remember the principle of a trader: if you and the meetup group can't find a way to be mutually beneficial, no one is forcing you to deal with them. Organize on forums, blogs and emails. Put up your own signs. There's no reason to deal with people who aren't agreeable to you.

I hope the campaign hasn't lost you Utah. Best of luck.

 

[torchbearer]

Just to let people know... utah is back with the movement and everything is gravy. so- its time for this thread to die.

 

[UCFGavin]

Just to let people know... utah is back with the movement and everything is gravy. so- its time for this thread to die.

good to hear. although i do hate people that think they are greater than the cause.

 

[Brandybuck]

How old are you? Are you even 18? Seriously, this behavior is what I'd expect of a 14 year old boy.

I have no idea how old he is, but I am seeing an awful lot of childish behavior around here and elsewhere. Of course, I've seen simialr childish behavior from septagenarians at Libertarian Party meetings. Everyone wants to be the leader, no one the follower.

We're so used to be iconoclasts, eccentrics and rebels, that we're unable to organize. Some of you may say that's a good thing, but when it comes to winning elections, it is not. The Libertarian Party has prided itself on NOT winning elections for over thirty years. They're more interested in making a point than in doing what is necessary to win. That same thinking is apparent here.

At some point we need to get organized. If we don't, Ron Paul will not win. But I suspect that's what a lot of you want. You would rather be a victim.