We must draft Ron Paul, starting over, not an option

[Sandra]

If Ron Paul ran again, support would be tremendous.

 

[teamrican1]

If Ron Paul ran again, support would be tremendous.

And if Gary Johnson went on a stage an announced his candidacy with Ron Paul by his side, the support would be just as tremendous for him. Some of you in this thread are displaying a mindset which is disturbingly close to a cult of personality, which is exactly what Ron Paul didn't want to create. Ron Paul is the best elected politician in America, but let's face it- he isn't the greatest candidate in the world. He's no spring chicken anymore. He often garbles or confuses his statements in interviews. We understand him because we know the message and know what he's trying to say, but others don't. He isn't the best voice of the movement for the uninitiated. And though he's and his staff seem to have campaigning in his rural Texas district down pat, their competence at the national level is dubious at best. I'd rather have a fresh, creative, competent team behind a new candidate than watch Jesse Benton give us more "He's catching on, I'm tellin' ya" spots.

 

[Nathan Hale]

Agreed. The cult of personality killed the Reform Party, and it's going to kill this movement. Ron Paul himself made it a point to let everyone know that this was not about him, but about the message. He knows that a movement gains credibility when it brings a new, quality candidate to the table and loses credibility when it focuses on a single individual. We would be in a three party system today if Ross Perot hadn't fought off Dick Lamm (a former governor of Colorado) to get the Reform Party nomination in 1996.

 

[robertwerden]

For the supporters of Ron, if someone else was endorsed to take his place and he was qualified im sure allot of us would support him. However the process of getting the new name out would be the problem, and rank and file republicans would need to be convinced.

Having Ron run again is the only way to avoid the getting to know you part that we spent nearly a year doing.

Like I said starting over is not an option

 

[torchbearer]

what killed the reform party was a lack of principles.
no one could tell you what the fuck they were for... it changed with whoever was leading it.

 

[Pauls' Revere]

He should run in the GOP first and build support. If he doesn't get the nomination - it could happen if we plan ahead - and the GOP is another old-fashioned pseudo-conservative then he should run 3rd. And himself this time...no "open 3rd party endorsements" that was lame. Except for a few notable exceptions 3rd parties in America are a buncha losers.

The Republican Party was the third party when Lincoln won.

 

[Nathan Hale]

what killed the reform party was a lack of principles.
no one could tell you what the fuck they were for... it changed with whoever was leading it.

I disagree. They had a platform and everything. Variety within the party was present, but that is necessary in ANY party with a large enough base to have an effect in big races. What killed the Reform Party was that it was portrayed in the media simply as a vehicle for Ross Perot, rather than as a genuine vehicle for change, and that happened solely because Perot insisted on being the nominee in 96 rather than allowing the party to develop into a larger entity.

 

[justinc.1089]

I agree that it would be bad if this stays solely with Ron Paul, but if Ron Paul ran again he would have a tremendously powerful campaign this time. I wouldn't support a third run even if it was possible if he was younger, because if he didn't win the second time it would be unlikely he would win the third time, and we would be stuck on Ron Paul.

But I think he should run again, and then we change to someone else.

However, I still think the best idea is to have Paul, Sanford, and Johnson ALL three running.

 

[Nathan Hale]

I agree that it would be bad if this stays solely with Ron Paul, but if Ron Paul ran again he would have a tremendously powerful campaign this time. I wouldn't support a third run even if it was possible if he was younger, because if he didn't win the second time it would be unlikely he would win the third time, and we would be stuck on Ron Paul.

But I think he should run again, and then we change to someone else.

However, I still think the best idea is to have Paul, Sanford, and Johnson ALL three running.

You're aware that Sanford is disgraced and under investigation, right?

 

[justinc.1089]

You're aware that Sanford is disgraced and under investigation, right?

Yeah of course, although not really investigation so much. Basically they checked to see if he used tax money for going to argentina, which he probably did because he said its a common practice in sc among governors that has never been enforced, but SC's SLED said he did nothing criminal. Of course Sanford appointed the guy in charge so he's probably returning the favor, but Sanford re-payed the money to the state anyway, which wasn't a tremendous amount as far as I know, like $500 I think. The way I see it, and everyone around here I talk to, is that its a personal issue between him and his wife, and he used tax money to pay for an expense on a personal trip for a plane ticket or something that has been done by other governors in SC for forever, and never stopped by anyone. I'm doubtful he would have done that though if he wasn't trying to keep his affair secret from his wife.

I mean honestly its not that big of a deal, TONS of people have affairs and end up divorced too. Giuliani has had like 57 wives and still ran and no one cared too much about that.

The money issue is a small issue, but at the same time a real one too.

 

[dr. hfn]

Ron paul 2012!

we have a base, we have an infastructure, we have name recognition, we have dedication, we have experience, we have been proven right!

Get Jesse Ventura, Gary Johnson, Rand, Schiff, Tom Woods, etc...to campaign for Ron.

 

[Matthew Zak]

You guys, get real. He'll be 76 then, which means at the end of the first term he'd be 80. At the age of 72 the man barely had anything left down the stretch, as good of health as he was in. Besides, if we're still hanging our hopes on ONE guy 3 years from now that will mean our movement didn't 'move' very much, or very many.

I don't just hope, I expect that we will have recruited or opened the minds of several more inspiring people to stand at a podiums of various levels in every state to give them hell. Ron Paul has already done more than we should expect. If this country is going to be saved, it's on us now.

 

[Nathan Hale]

Yeah of course, although not really investigation so much. Basically they checked to see if he used tax money for going to argentina, which he probably did because he said its a common practice in sc among governors that has never been enforced, but SC's SLED said he did nothing criminal.

Apparently not, since it's common practice in SC to abuse taxpayer money.

Of course Sanford appointed the guy in charge so he's probably returning the favor, but Sanford re-payed the money to the state anyway, which wasn't a tremendous amount as far as I know, like $500 I think.

For multiple flights to Argentina? Book me on that airline.

The way I see it, and everyone around here I talk to, is that its a personal issue between him and his wife, and he used tax money to pay for an expense on a personal trip for a plane ticket or something that has been done by other governors in SC for forever, and never stopped by anyone. I'm doubtful he would have done that though if he wasn't trying to keep his affair secret from his wife.

I mean honestly its not that big of a deal, TONS of people have affairs and end up divorced too. Giuliani has had like 57 wives and still ran and no one cared too much about that.

You mean Giuliani the also ran who hyped big but delivered nothing? Perhaps that was his achilles heel. Regardless, Sanford is too much of a liability to even consider nowadays. His scandal was so public and so recent that 2012 is simply out of the realm of possibility,

 

[teamrican1]

You mean Giuliani the also ran who hyped big but delivered nothing? Perhaps that was his achilles heel. Regardless, Sanford is too much of a liability to even consider nowadays. His scandal was so public and so recent that 2012 is simply out of the realm of possibility,

Nonsense. Everybody knows that what did Giuliani in was Ron Paul schooling him in the debate! Ok, maybe it had something to do with Rudy's support for abortion, taxes, and endorsement of Mario Cuomo. But the point it Giuliani's scandalous personal life (which is 100X worse than anything Sanford ever did) wasn't an impediment to his running. Newt is getting hype despite the fact that he left his wife while she was in the hospital with cancer. Two years is an eternity in politics. If Sanford wants to run, I'm sure he'll be able. Big question with him is probably personal. This wasn't some silly affair with a young piece of tail. He genuinely loves this Latin woman in a serious, adult way, and he might be so occupied sorting out those difficult questions that he won't have time to run. Deciding who you want to spend the rest of your life with is a lot more important than some silly political office.

 

[specsaregood]

Nonsense. Everybody knows that what did Giuliani in was Ron Paul schooling him in the debate! Ok, maybe it had something to do with Rudy's support for abortion, taxes, and endorsement of Mario Cuomo.

It is quite funny about Rudy. I was fishing some really old blogs Feb. 2007 looking for sites to inform the admins about Rands moneybomb and came across a few with titles such as, "Republican Race is Rudy's to lose".... many forget that for so long he was the presumptive nominee.....

 

[Nathan Hale]

Nonsense. Everybody knows that what did Giuliani in was Ron Paul schooling him in the debate! Ok, maybe it had something to do with Rudy's support for abortion, taxes, and endorsement of Mario Cuomo. But the point it Giuliani's scandalous personal life (which is 100X worse than anything Sanford ever did) wasn't an impediment to his running.

If I recall there were quite a few voters turned off by his shenanigans. Please, some voters can't even get over that Fred Thompson's wife is much younger than he is. And I disagree that Giuliani's sordid sex life is 100X worse than Sanford's.

Newt is getting hype despite the fact that he left his wife while she was in the hospital with cancer.

Newt also has quite a few other ethics issues that will prevent him from winning a presidential race. It's easy to get early buzz with a checkered past, but once the campaigns start digging, Newt's an easy man to smear all over the map.

Two years is an eternity in politics.

I disagree. Some things are easily forgotten, other things linger forever. Perhaps there's a chance this will end up forgotten, but more likely this will be used against him.

If Sanford wants to run, I'm sure he'll be able. Big question with him is probably personal. This wasn't some silly affair with a young piece of tail. He genuinely loves this Latin woman in a serious, adult way, and he might be so occupied sorting out those difficult questions that he won't have time to run. Deciding who you want to spend the rest of your life with is a lot more important than some silly political office.

Yeah, he's just a good guy at heart.

 

[garyallen59]

I see that some here are considering starting over with a different candidate for 2012. To me, it put us right back to the "google ron paul" days.

Remember how hard it was to get Ron Pauls name out?
Remember the vetting that had to be done to get past the lies about him and the BS?
Remember all the videos and news paper adds and constant arguing we did to defend him and educate people?

Why go through all that again for someone new?????????????????????????????


We accomplished so much and to throw it away now is moronic. Ron gets on the news every week. He is a house hold name now. The news broadcasters who trashed him are now calling him for interviews regularly.

If we allow him to not run, we will have spent all that time and money for nothing. We know he allows people to visit him in his office, so go see him. Lets start a draft Ron Paul campaign now before he officially says he is not running.

We need to pressure him to run, and focus on the GOP as well as pointing out the destructive nature of the Obama administration. The Republican party is still strong and if they had honestly believed in McCain he would have won. We have the same weapon Obama had, and that is the youth vote.

Trevor where are you, this is the time to get the "draft Ron Paul" message cooking.

i agree

 

[Joseph]

I totally agree with this. That is why we need to inspire him to run again in 2012 just as he inspired us to get involved back in 2008. Please mail him a letter letting him know how he has inspired you and encourage him to run in 2012. We need to convince him to run. We can not start from scratch when we still have all this left over momentum from the 2008 election season. Plus all the support we have gained since then. Please encourage Ron Paul to run.

 

[TheHumblePhysicist]

Imagine that Ron Paul died tomorrow. I am sorry, but it has to be said! Forgive me.

The entire movement would evaporate. He is the keystone that holds us all together. Without him on our banner, all of our supporters would go their separate ways, and the system would remain.

I say we bring in new people. Let a new generation of freedom lovers ride the wave of liberty into office. I will be glad if Ron Paul runs for president, but the OP seems to suggest that there will never be another as well known and respected as Ron Paul is, and we should stake all our hopes on him. Even going so far as to pressure him to run! Say it isn't so!

Ron deserves a rest.

 

[TheHumblePhysicist]

Oh, and I am new to this site. I know you can get banned for saying discouraging things, (something I don't agree with at all).

I don't want to get banned, but I also want to communicate my viewpoint. Would you say my previous post qualifies as "discouraging"? If so I will remove it.