As a Ron Paul supporter since BEFORE he announced in 2007, let me applaud RPF for doing something extremely difficult and rare: providing a relatively open forum for discussion that hasn't become a loony bin and a monument to its owner's ego.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the Daily Paul. To channel my inner bizarro-Marcus Antonius, I come here not to bury Michael Nystrom, but to praise him. Clearly, Nystrom cares about this movement. He's dedicated quite a bit of effort to helping it succeed. But Michael Nystrom is either unstable (see below), a self-promoter (see below), oblivious, or some combination of these factors.
Nystrom's history is worth documenting. One member of our Meetup shared an email exchange with Nystrom that I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't read it myself. In it, Nystrom attacked a fellow Ron Paul supporter who had the audacity to disagree with Nystrom's tone during one of his trademark temper tantrums. To make a long story short, Nystrom flipped out and started publicly criticizing C4L when they endorsed Ken Buck. My friend, someone I know and trust and who I've been on the front lines of this movement with, was publicly and privately threatened by Nystrom. He threatened to post personal information about him on the site, ruin his professional reputation, etc. He even, childishly, would continue to respond to relevant threads on the Daily Paul after he had taken away any ability to respond by banning, and then threatening if he returned under another name, my friend and comrade.
I've talked to more than a few professional, upstanding, mature people who have been run off that site by the conspiracy types. Others have told me that they avoid referring new Ron Paul supporters to Daily Paul at all costs, lest they get turned off by the nutcases over there.
The recent (and ongoing) "super brochure" debacle might be the clearest evidence that Nystrom is a self promoter. The "super brochure" lists Daily Paul alongside the campaign website for some reason (why anyone would think it's wise to refer potential new supporters to Daily Paul at all is beyond me, but doing it on par with the official campaign's site is laughable). And, of course, Nystrom continues to heavily pimp the "super brochure" project, which is now spreading this unwise and ineffective project to South Carolina. When Joe Rogan agreed to wear a Ron Paul shirt on Leno, Daily Paulers even talked of having him wear a Daily Paul shirt. Thank the Lord that didn't happen.
Of course, we all know the "super brochure" isn't the way to go forward. We don't talk about why because Josh is understandably concerned about FEC regulations. Just suffice it to say that it's not a good idea, and that our money and efforts are best channeled elsewhere. When you come to RPF, you see no front page mention of the project, and really have to DIG to find any mention at all. If you post anything critical on Daily Paul about the project, even something like "let's make sure people max out campaign donations before we look at side projects," the post is moved to "off topic" (ha!), swarmed with negative votes and comments from Nystrom's lackeys, and frequently, the poster is banned. Yet another Ron Paul supporter, who I met through our grad student association, was recently banned (and now her IP address is banned!). If she wants to see the news over at Daily Paul, she has to log on through another computer or use an IP cloak. It's that laughable.
I think it's high time that people stand up and look at those who control the information in this movement. The campaign has never been beyond reproach (we've criticized it). We've never been beyond reproach (we've adapted our message and our methods to increase our effectiveness). The Michael Nystrom's of the world, running for-profit websites and attempting to steer the direction of grassroots efforts in their favor, while running giant tributes to their own egos, shouldn't be above criticism, either.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the Daily Paul. To channel my inner bizarro-Marcus Antonius, I come here not to bury Michael Nystrom, but to praise him. Clearly, Nystrom cares about this movement. He's dedicated quite a bit of effort to helping it succeed. But Michael Nystrom is either unstable (see below), a self-promoter (see below), oblivious, or some combination of these factors.
Nystrom's history is worth documenting. One member of our Meetup shared an email exchange with Nystrom that I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't read it myself. In it, Nystrom attacked a fellow Ron Paul supporter who had the audacity to disagree with Nystrom's tone during one of his trademark temper tantrums. To make a long story short, Nystrom flipped out and started publicly criticizing C4L when they endorsed Ken Buck. My friend, someone I know and trust and who I've been on the front lines of this movement with, was publicly and privately threatened by Nystrom. He threatened to post personal information about him on the site, ruin his professional reputation, etc. He even, childishly, would continue to respond to relevant threads on the Daily Paul after he had taken away any ability to respond by banning, and then threatening if he returned under another name, my friend and comrade.
I've talked to more than a few professional, upstanding, mature people who have been run off that site by the conspiracy types. Others have told me that they avoid referring new Ron Paul supporters to Daily Paul at all costs, lest they get turned off by the nutcases over there.
The recent (and ongoing) "super brochure" debacle might be the clearest evidence that Nystrom is a self promoter. The "super brochure" lists Daily Paul alongside the campaign website for some reason (why anyone would think it's wise to refer potential new supporters to Daily Paul at all is beyond me, but doing it on par with the official campaign's site is laughable). And, of course, Nystrom continues to heavily pimp the "super brochure" project, which is now spreading this unwise and ineffective project to South Carolina. When Joe Rogan agreed to wear a Ron Paul shirt on Leno, Daily Paulers even talked of having him wear a Daily Paul shirt. Thank the Lord that didn't happen.
Of course, we all know the "super brochure" isn't the way to go forward. We don't talk about why because Josh is understandably concerned about FEC regulations. Just suffice it to say that it's not a good idea, and that our money and efforts are best channeled elsewhere. When you come to RPF, you see no front page mention of the project, and really have to DIG to find any mention at all. If you post anything critical on Daily Paul about the project, even something like "let's make sure people max out campaign donations before we look at side projects," the post is moved to "off topic" (ha!), swarmed with negative votes and comments from Nystrom's lackeys, and frequently, the poster is banned. Yet another Ron Paul supporter, who I met through our grad student association, was recently banned (and now her IP address is banned!). If she wants to see the news over at Daily Paul, she has to log on through another computer or use an IP cloak. It's that laughable.
I think it's high time that people stand up and look at those who control the information in this movement. The campaign has never been beyond reproach (we've criticized it). We've never been beyond reproach (we've adapted our message and our methods to increase our effectiveness). The Michael Nystrom's of the world, running for-profit websites and attempting to steer the direction of grassroots efforts in their favor, while running giant tributes to their own egos, shouldn't be above criticism, either.
