http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/01/with-debate-snu.html
With Debate Snub Looming, Will Paul Fund His Own TV Forum?
ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf Reports: What to do if you are Ron Paul and Fox News excludes you from its debate in New Hampshire?
You buy an hour of TV time on a rival network's New Hampshire affiliate for either just before or during the forum, that's what.
Ron Paul does not have double digit support in national or New Hampshire polls, and that is probably going to cost him a slot in a Fox News forum in New Hampshire on Sunday, January 6th -- one day after the ABC/Facebook debate cosponsored by ABC affiliate WMUR.
But while he lacks poll support, Paul has campaign coin in spades after raising nearly $20 million last quarter.
Spokesman Jesse Benton said the campaign has the money both to produce and air an hour-long town hall forum, and says they like the idea so much they might do it even if Fox eventually relents and includes Paul in the debate.
Benton said Fox News has not been returning phone calls from the campaign. The New Hampshire Republican Party has called on the network to include both Paul and Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter in the debate.
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http://www.unionleader.com/article....rticleId=0a60f2c1-9058-4717-8fe7-088c94e59755
Paul counting on independent voters
By JIM KOZUBEK
New Hampshire Union Leader Correspondent
2 hours, 27 minutes ago
MERRIMACK – Ron Paul said yesterday that taking winning 10 percent of the Republican caucus results in Iowa puts him in solid standing for the New Hampshire primary, with its large contingent of independent voters.
Paul, a U.S. representative from Texas, said he captured 29 percent of the independent vote in Iowa, and "when we saw those statistics, we knew the obvious opportunities in New Hampshire" with its 44 percent of independent voters.
His supporters on the streets at midday yesterday were handing out miniature copies of the U.S. Constitution, led by the staccato of a drummer in Colonial dress and a tri-corner hat and chants calling for a revolution.
Last night, about 40 people at a house gathering heard Paul explain his plans for restoring constitutionalism, a political theory that he says means a major reduction in military commitments, ending trade agreements supported by subsidies and abolishing income tax with no proposed substitute.
Homeowner Linda Lagana and neighbor Cathy Whalen said they don't have a second choice on the ballot, and Stephen Szewczyk of Nashua said he wouldn't even vote in November if Paul doesn't get the nomination.
Lagana said she was fed up with government spending and inflation, and if Paul did not get elected, a movement to get the support of legislators for stable economic policies would continue.
"This is not going away," she said.
After being "uninvited" to participate in an televised debate tonight at St. Anselm College, Paul decided to purchase an hour-long television slot that evening, because "I can afford it."
He raised $20 million in the fourth quarter, more than any other Republican campaign.
Paul said he is going after the Republican nomination and has no interest in a third-party ticket.
He told his audience last night, "We are $2.7 trillion in debt, and history tells us that all great nations collapse due to economic reasons. It starts when the currency goes down, and right now on some days the Canadian dollar increases higher than the U.S dollar, and that should tell us something."
Paul said the borrowing and printing of money creates economic inequities, because the people who get the printed and borrowed money first, notably the government, bankers and financial institutions, get to use it first, and that is an advantage.
He wants to transitionally abolish the Federal Reserve and its money-printing operations and many of the governmental institutions and their programs, such as military occupation, that create a need for foreign debt credits to restrain inflation and reinstitute local controls.
