rp08orbust
Member
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2007
- Messages
- 4,803
I haven't seen any update from JoshLowry today on his attempts to get a new grassroots PAC going, so I sure hope that remains an immediate priority. In case you're unaware, he effectively killed the controversial PAC planned by RonPaulNation here by prohibiting it from advertising on this forum, but he also promised to search for those willing to start a new grassroots PAC among trusted members of the forum to replace it. Ron Paul has acknowledged that "pressure from the grassroots" is part of why he has accelerated his campaign in Iowa this year, and it's probably safe to say that our talk about forming a PAC to raise a million dollars and send an armada of buses to Ames with Ron Paul supporters was part of that "pressure." So in a sense, RonPaulNation's short-lived PAC may have been successful, even though it doesn't appear to have progressed much beyond talk.
While it now sounds like Ron Paul does recognize how critical the Ames straw poll is and is preparing to do what it takes to win it, no matter how good his campaign is compared to 2007, there will always be blind spots and overlooked opportunities, and I think we should have a grassroots PAC ready to act on those opportunities before the need for action arises. The time to choose a treasurer and elect a board of directors is now, when the forum is at peace, instead of the next time there is a flame war such as there was over "busgate".
An example of a precious opportunity to advance Ron Paul's presidential candidacy that I think is probably being overlooked or written off by his various organizations is the Florida GOP's "Presidency 5" straw poll conducted in late September. Most of us were not political junkies before Ron Paul's 2007 presidential campaign, and thus have probably not heard of it, because in 2007, a dispute between Romney and McCain loyalists within the Florida GOP caused the straw poll at the "Presidency 4" convention to be canceled. But the straw poll is on this year, and it will be huge, as it was in previous years when there was a race for the Republican presidential nomination. While it doesn't get quite as much attention as the Ames straw poll, it commands more respect as a predictor of not only the winner of Florida's Republican presidential primary, but of the Republican nomination itself. A follow-up victory by Ron Paul at this straw poll in September after winning the Ames straw poll would massively reinforce his status as a top tier candidate nationally.
The reasoning for why Ron Paul needs to win this straw poll is similar to that for why he needs to win the Ames straw poll: It's hard to win the Republican presidential nomination without winning Florida's early primary. But if he cannot win the Presidency 5 straw poll, where the enthusiasm of grassroots support can be leveraged into a victory through organization to compensate for what Ron Paul lacks in breadth of support, then he cannot hope to win Florida's primary where breadth of support dominates. Of course, if Ron Paul does win the Ames straw poll, his breadth of support will be greater in Florida than it is now, but in the few short weeks between Ames and Presidency 5, it will most likely not have risen fast enough for him to be the front-runner in Florida. Thus, we need to stack the deck for Ron Paul as much as we can now if he is to have a chance at winning that straw poll.
Why do we need to stack it now? Because the deadline for registering for this straw poll at http://www.presidency5.com/apply/ is June 10. We can be sure that Mitt Romney is already busy stacking the deck for himself. It would be nice if we had a grassroots PAC ready to pay the registration and perhaps lodging and transportation for any Ron Paul supporters that get selected as delegates to the straw poll. (Note that registration fees are not due unless one is actually selected as a delegate by lottery at the county caucuses later in the summer. Furthermore, the cost of such an effort would be nowhere near as great as that of the Iowa busing plan that was talked about--more on the order of CPAC.) Whether the grassroots PAC could get set up on such short notice in order to support this effort is doubtful, but I think it's worth discussing. In addition to the PAC, we'd need someone like Craig Bergman to step forward in Florida with the ability to lead something like what Craig had in mind for Iowa (robo-calls to voters to identify Ron Paul sympathizers, follow-up phone calls and recruiting, county-by-county phone-banking on caucus days, etc).
While it now sounds like Ron Paul does recognize how critical the Ames straw poll is and is preparing to do what it takes to win it, no matter how good his campaign is compared to 2007, there will always be blind spots and overlooked opportunities, and I think we should have a grassroots PAC ready to act on those opportunities before the need for action arises. The time to choose a treasurer and elect a board of directors is now, when the forum is at peace, instead of the next time there is a flame war such as there was over "busgate".
An example of a precious opportunity to advance Ron Paul's presidential candidacy that I think is probably being overlooked or written off by his various organizations is the Florida GOP's "Presidency 5" straw poll conducted in late September. Most of us were not political junkies before Ron Paul's 2007 presidential campaign, and thus have probably not heard of it, because in 2007, a dispute between Romney and McCain loyalists within the Florida GOP caused the straw poll at the "Presidency 4" convention to be canceled. But the straw poll is on this year, and it will be huge, as it was in previous years when there was a race for the Republican presidential nomination. While it doesn't get quite as much attention as the Ames straw poll, it commands more respect as a predictor of not only the winner of Florida's Republican presidential primary, but of the Republican nomination itself. A follow-up victory by Ron Paul at this straw poll in September after winning the Ames straw poll would massively reinforce his status as a top tier candidate nationally.
The reasoning for why Ron Paul needs to win this straw poll is similar to that for why he needs to win the Ames straw poll: It's hard to win the Republican presidential nomination without winning Florida's early primary. But if he cannot win the Presidency 5 straw poll, where the enthusiasm of grassroots support can be leveraged into a victory through organization to compensate for what Ron Paul lacks in breadth of support, then he cannot hope to win Florida's primary where breadth of support dominates. Of course, if Ron Paul does win the Ames straw poll, his breadth of support will be greater in Florida than it is now, but in the few short weeks between Ames and Presidency 5, it will most likely not have risen fast enough for him to be the front-runner in Florida. Thus, we need to stack the deck for Ron Paul as much as we can now if he is to have a chance at winning that straw poll.
Why do we need to stack it now? Because the deadline for registering for this straw poll at http://www.presidency5.com/apply/ is June 10. We can be sure that Mitt Romney is already busy stacking the deck for himself. It would be nice if we had a grassroots PAC ready to pay the registration and perhaps lodging and transportation for any Ron Paul supporters that get selected as delegates to the straw poll. (Note that registration fees are not due unless one is actually selected as a delegate by lottery at the county caucuses later in the summer. Furthermore, the cost of such an effort would be nowhere near as great as that of the Iowa busing plan that was talked about--more on the order of CPAC.) Whether the grassroots PAC could get set up on such short notice in order to support this effort is doubtful, but I think it's worth discussing. In addition to the PAC, we'd need someone like Craig Bergman to step forward in Florida with the ability to lead something like what Craig had in mind for Iowa (robo-calls to voters to identify Ron Paul sympathizers, follow-up phone calls and recruiting, county-by-county phone-banking on caucus days, etc).
Last edited:
