Ron Paul Fights to Move the GOP to the Right

Just like Ronald Reagan did in the years from 1968 to 1980, Ron Paul's organization is building itself into a force to move the GOP back to the right.

And many of the people contributing to the effort are volunteers who are donating their time and talents to the cause.

A group of independent artists have contributed their talents to a project that rendered Congressman Ron Paul into a 3-D animation. They're hoping that their video project, a 60-second commerial entitled, "The High Tide", is able to be aired before the Pennsylvania primary.

The High Tide is not just about Presidential candidate Ron Paul, but about the idea of returning America back to it's founding principles of freedom and liberty.

A small group of dedicated grassroots artists have created a new 60 second promo/TV ad for Presidential candidate Ron Paul, entitled "The High Tide". The ad combines carefully edited audio from various Ron Paul speeches with high end computer animation, motion graphics, and a moving musical score, into a unique presentation that is reaching new eyes and reinvigorating the dedicated Ron Paul grassroots.

Serving as lead animator, Arcfx's Nathan Evans conceptualized the project and reached out to various grassroots activists, tapping into individual creative talents the Ron Paul Revolution is famous for. Coming in early on, Ron Paul CNN/Youtube ad competition winner Chris Rye (AdamT from RonPaulForums.com) built the audio from famous speeches given at the Robert A. Taft Club and the Ann Arbor, Michigan rally where Ron Paul drew a crowd of over 2000.

IN OTHER RON PAUL NEWS:

Ron Paul's supporters are taking a page from the Barry Goldwater/Ronald Reagan history books: they're continuing to build a grassroots organization to fight for the soul of the Republican Party.

Reagan, first campaigned in 1968 and later in 1978, losing to Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. But in the process, he assembled the organization that later propelled him to a historic victory against Jimmy Carter in 1980.

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and his thousands of fervent supporters may be fighting more over the soul of the Republican Party nowadays than they are for the actual presidential nomination, No it's not your eyes It's Republican presidential candidate and House member Ron Paul on a giant TV screen in Killeen Texas a GOP House of Representatives member from Texas who continues to campaign against Sen John McCain. Paul reported his campaign finances March 19, 2008 having raised nearly $35 million with nearly $5.6 million cash on hand and like a good conservative no debts. Seeeing how the congressman is more than 1,000 delegates shy of what he'd need to head the ticket.

With John McCain having already secured the nomination--and having left the country--Paul supporters are actively continuing the campaign for the next election, whether Paul actually runs again or not.

The 72-year-old Paul has plenty of free political time now because no Democrat, not even in Texas, is dumb enough to take him on in the November House election, which will award Paul his 11th term. On March 4, Paul vanquished his main Republican challenger in the 14th District by capturing 70% of the vote. Other than that, it was close.

Paul says he'll continue to take his conservative message of smaller government, more personal freedoms and an end to American troops abroad wherever his followers are strong and loyal, places like Pennsylvania, North Carolina, maybe Idaho. But they're actually all over, even allegedly liberal California, where one branch posed nearly-naked for a Hotties4RonPaul pinup calendar.

Other Paul supporters have chipped in with a music video, while others have contributed the above 3-D animation commercial project.

Ron Paul's organization is doing it the Reagan way: building an organization, one county at a time across the country.

And they're finding plenty of people who feel the two main parties are not listening to them.

As noted here earlier this week, Paul's volunteers are winning GOP influence the old-fashioned way, at the grassroots level county by county, tedious meeting after tedious meeting, largely under the radar of the national media, except The Ticket. Paul's volunteers, many of them new to politics, hope to exert some influence on the platform in St. Paul and go from there, the way the 1964 Goldwater generation of conservatives finally won in 1980 with Ronald Reagan.

What assets do the Ron Paul have in their fight to move the GOP rightwards?

Read the rest of "Ron Paul: Campaign Fights to Move the GOP to the Right"

by Mondoreb
images: connie talk
Sources:
* What's this? Ron Paul runs a conservative campaign with no loans?
* Ron Paul, waiting to be wooed, defies concession to John McCain
* YouTube: The High Tide
* Grassroots Artists Create Ron Paul as a 3-D Animation
* Alaska is Ron Paul Country
* Ron Paul: Supporters Want to Move the GOP back to the Right


DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Top Twenty Ron Paul T-Shirts

Pro- and Anti-Ron Paul Slogans





Regardless of what some commentators write about Barack Obama's ability to inspire, Congressman Ron Paul also has the ability to inspire.

Both supporters and opponents are passionately vocal.

NO other candidate has inspired the furor in Internet forums and blogs.

We looked at 100s of Ron Paul shirts. No, make that thousands of Ron Paul t-shirts: one site alone has over 5600 Ron Paul-inspired t-shirts.

We picked out 20 favorites: both pro- and anti-Ron Paul shirts.

If a reader feels inspired by any of these, click on the shirt to be taken to an order page.
























































by Mondoreb
Sources/images:
* Cafe press
* spreadshirt
* ron paul market



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Ron Paul: Will Stay in Race; Help "Ron Paul Republicans"

Ron Paul News Roundup

Ron Paul "Hotties" Calendar Sold Out
Paul to Stay in Race
The Rise of "Ron Paul Republicans"?



The big news this morning is that Ron Paul has announced that he will stay in the Republican presidential race.

And that the "Hotties 4 Ron Paul" calendars are sold out--and there won't be any more printed.

Also, that more candidates are running under the "Ron Paul Republican" banner--one just announced in Michigan.

Click on Krista to enlarge this month's Featured Ron Paul Hottie

Repeating what he'd insisted: that Ron Paul will stay in the race.

"I will stay in as long as my supporters want me to," the Texas congressman said on American Morning Wednesday. "I was very reluctant to enter the race, didn't think it would last more than a month or two, but to my amazement, we literally got hundreds of thousands of supporters and millions of dollars, and they are still very enthusiastic. And I say as long as the number of volunteers continues to grow, and the money comes in, and there are primaries out there, and they want me to be involved, I am going to stay involved."

Paul won 5 percent of the vote in Wisconsin and 7 percent in Washington State in yesterday's Republican primaries. He said he believes his unlikely run has attracted others of similar political leanings who want to run for Congress.

One such person is Linda Goldthorpe of Michigan. She announced plans to run as a "Ron Paul Republican".

Linda Goldthorpe of Curtis in the Upper Peninsula plans to run in the Republican primary against state Rep. Tom Casperson and conservative Don Hooper, and if she prevails will run as a “Ron Paul Republican” against seven-term Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak.

An outspoken disciple of Ron Paul, Goldthorpe says she has called herself a “pro-life Libertarian” for years.

Libertarians were an important part of the Reagan Republican coalition in the 1980s, but with the election of George Bush and the rise of "compassionate conservatism"--politicalspeak for more big government spending--libertarian concerns of smaller government and less government intrusion seem to have been pushed to the back of the Republican national agenda.

Now, more Americans with Libertarian principles are trying to make the issue of smaller government more important to the national GOP poobahs.

"One of my problems now is that I am being overwhelmed with individuals who want to [run] and I have the responsibility of sorting it out because we are capable of raising funds," he said. "So it is a responsibly that will be a significant one for me to make sure I help the candidates that are true believes and not just the ones who want to be in Congress."

A Ron Paul Republican would most likely be Libertarian in outlook: i.e., adamant about scaling back the power of a U.S. federal government that has reached into almost every facet of individual life in modern-day America.

Paul had previously announced this month that he was scaling back his presidential run to focus on his Texas district and the re-election race he faces there.

Paul is facing a challenge that any Congressman running for President must face: opponents who use the time spent away from the congressional district as a talking point.

Congressional opponents are using Paul's presidential run as an issue: it's being said that Ron Paul is more concerned with running for President than he is his local constituents.

So, Ron Paul is putting more time into meeting and greeting the folks back home in his Texas district. And in helping organize like-minded individuals who are running for office across the country.

Paul, who won 5 percent of the vote in Wisconsin and 7 percent in Washington State, also said he believes his unlikely candidacy has attracted like-minded individuals who want to run for Congress.

Paul also categorically ruled out a third party bid in the future.

As far as attractive women and Ron Paul, there will be no more "Hotties 4 Ron Paul" calendars reprinted.



The website for "Hotties for Ron Paul" says the calendar is sold out.

The site apologizes for everyone coming to the site to get a calendar. The website statement: "The Hotties4RonPaul Calendar has sold out! We apologize to all the Ron Paul supporters out there who came here looking to get a calendar!"

Concerning a reprint of the obviously-popular wall hanging which the site says "rated G, contains no nudity, and is safe for the workplace," the question is answered in the site's FAQ.

You have sold out of calendars, will you be printing more?
No, at this time we are not planning on printing any more calendars.

Iconoclast Republican Ron Paul attracts unconventional support for his presidential campaign, including a 2008 pinup calendar by Hotties for Ron Paul, an independent fund-raiser not affiliated with the campaign. The calendar features 12 scantily clad young women (no nudity). February's "Featured Hottie" is Krista Allee DiPaola, identified as a Detroit special education teacher.

In America, as in the rest of the world, politics and attractive women seem to be a natural combination.

Of course, leave it to an American to figure out a way to make a buck off the two.





images:
* hotties4RonPaul
Sources:
* Goldthorpe, a "Ron Paul Republican" plans to run in primary
* Paul Vows to Press on
* Taking it off for a cause--the Ron Paul cause



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Ron Paul in WV: Unveils New Idea in War on Terror

UPDATED: Another Backroom Deal?
Paul Secures Three Delegates
Ron Paul Comes To WV
"Personal Liberty" and a Few New Ideas
A Completely New Idea in the War on Terror

The scene outside the Charleston Civic Center
Romney, Paul, and a few McCain signs sprouted
In the morning; No Huckabee signs were apparent, however.


Ron Paul brought his campaign to West Virginia this morning to speak to the 1200 delegates of the WV Republican Party convention.

While speaking about personal liberty and limited government, he also unveiled a new idea for fighting the War on Terror.

It had many delegates talking after he spoke.

Held in Charleston, the state capital, this is the first year for the GOP event, which awards the winner 18 of the state's 30 GOP delegates to the Republican National Convention.

The other 12 delegates go to the winner of the state's May 5 Republican primary.

Before addressing the convention's delegates, Ron Paul met delegates
and other well-wishers in the "Ron Paul Meet-the-Candidate Room".
The room was very full with between 100-150 people present.

Ron Paul did the autograph and pictures with babies thing and before long, it was time to move into the convention hall to address the convention's 1200 delegates.

The crowd then broke out in loud chants of "Ron Paul Revolution! Give us back our Constitution!"

Dr. Paul addresses delegates, members of the media and
well-wishers before the convention started.

The Texas Congressman stopped outside the meeting room and delivered a brief 2 minute highlight of what his platform consisted of: cutting back the size of the federal government.

Paul received particularly large cheers for the following.

"We are trying to do too much and it's hurting our currency and the American people."

"It's time we took care of the people here at home and forgot about trying to take care of the rest of the world."

The opening ceremonies

Ron Paul was the first candidate to address the convention. Mitt Romney would follow and then Mike Huckabee. John McCain did not attend.

It's doubtful many in the Mountain State were familiar with Dr. Paul, highlighting his campaign's biggest hurdle since he entered the GOP race: name recognition.

Still, the Paul forces turned out and were easily the most enthusiastic of the delegates at the convention, creating a lot of noise for their candidate and also the impression that they might be the largest delegation (based on noise) in the convention hall.

The Ron Paul supporters were ready when their candidate took the stage.
There were many supporters there who were not delegates.
People who just showed up to hear Paul speak.

One mother was juggling a small child and clapping at the same time. Jayme Metzger, was a delegate of Jefferson County, in WV's eastern panhandle, outside of Washington, DC, was definitely an enthusiastic Paul supporter.

When asked if how long she had been a Paul supporter, she said that when she learned of the Texas Congressman's stand on abortion (Paul is an ardent foe of abortion), she wanted to become a delegate for him.

"I have four young daughters and they all follow Ron Paul whenever he's on TV."

"The oldest is six."

Ron Paul was the first candidate to speak at the WV GOP Convention

Most of the delegates had never heard the Texas Congressman speak, so his reception was polite at the beginning--except for his supporters.

But after only about 5 minutes, he not only picked up steam, but also applause from other candidate delegations.

Dr. Paul spoke for approximately 20 minutes and was interrupted many times in his speech for applause. Of course, his supporters were cheering, but it appeared that as he went on, he also picked up loud cheers from the Romney and Huckabee sections.

By the end of his time, his hammering on libertarian and conservative ideals had most of the people in the convention hall clapping and cheering.

This was something that was unexpected.



Of course, he attacked the bloated federal government and the deficit.

"When the federal government runs out of gold and don't have anymore to spend, the government borrows and when the government can't borrow, it runs the printing presses, and when they do that, the value of the currency goes down."

"The founding fathers had it right: they told us to use gold and not paper money."

"That's what I believe in."

"Great countries do not fall because they have a weak military. Great countries fall because they have weak economies and currencies."

He used the Soviet Union as an example.

"The Soviets didn't fall because they had a weak military. When they fell, they had over 40000 nuclear warheads. They fell because their economic system was weak and falling apart."


He said, "You can sum up my program as personal liberty, limited government and following the Constitution."

"People ask me what do I stand for, and I say I simply stand for a return to the Constitution."




Paul had several interesting ideas that were new to many of the delegates in the room.

One, in particular, might have drawn his loudest applause of the morning.

"I believe in the sanctity of life. I have sponsored a Sanctity of Life Bill."

"We can try and appoint judges and amendments, but if my bill passes the Congress, the states can pass their own laws on abortion, without the interference of the court system."



He addressed the War on Terror, a new Paul topic for some present.

"Some people may believe that I don't think Al-Qaida is dangerous. That is simply not true."

"I strongly supported going after Al-Qaida after 911. I supported the money for it, and that's a rarity for me. (Paul has voted against every tax increase since he came to Congress.)

It was then that he mentioned an idea that had many delegates talking about later. It had to do with a truly unique idea on fighting the War on Terror.

It involved Letters of Marque.

Letters of marque are a document issued by a nation allowing a private citizen to seize citizens or goods of another nation. They can also be a document issued by a nation allowing a private citizen to equip a ship with arms in order to attack enemy ships.

"Letters of Marque have been used at various times in history and it's one avenue that I'd like to see explored in the War on Terror and stop this wasteful spending overseas."

One example: the English against the Spanish during the 1500s and 1600s. Letters of marque were granted to Sir Francis Drake, for one, and he terrorizes Spanish shipping, to the benefit of England. Of course, Drake was branded a pirate by the Spanish; to the English, he was a hero.

England did not pay Drake, per se, but allowed him to keep a large percentage of all he could take from the Spanish treasure ships.

Paul seemed to suggest that the United States could set prices on the heads of various Al Qaida members and let individuals and private groups hunt them down and pay them for their successes.

Also, any assets seized by a US citizen--or group of citizens--holding a letter of marque from the US government would receive a percentage of any assets seized by them from an Al-Qaida member.

This is a novel idea in the War on Terror.

"These terrorists are dangerous. I'd like to see Letters of Marque granted to anyone willing to go after and hunt down Al Qaida."

"It is one way that we could cut down on our spending."

Paul ended his time on stage with an appeal for the delegates to consider him and vote for his conservative ideas.

"West Virginia is a small state, but you have a chance to send a large message."

Ron Paul was born in neighboring Pennsylvania.



One visitor who was applauding the loudest wasn't a delegate.

In fact, he wasn't even a Republican.

Rodney Parsons, of Pt. Pleasant, WV is an ex-policeman and life-long Democrat. He was snapping pictures during the entire Paul speech. When asked what he was doing at a Republican convention, he was very frank.

"I don't think in my 32 years I have ever been surrounded by so many arrogant people in my entire life. I was looking for a few Kodak moments, or in my case Canon moments with the losers of this years Presidential Election."

"A few things were said today that I found quite odd. The oddest things most likely came out of Ron Paul's mouth. Odd because I wasn't expecting the truth. I wasn't expecting a politician to get in front of his peers and spit the truth no matter if they liked it or not."

"He makes more sense than any of them."

When asked about what he thought about the other candidates, Parsons really opened up.

"Whoever the idiot was that introduced Mike HuggieBear said something to the effect that he wants to repeat what the state accomplished in the last presidential election, to put a Republican in the White House."

"As a Disabled Veteran, I'm here to tell ya brother that probably won't win over the other 95% of the Population in West Virginia who are looking either at a Black Man or a Woman as the next President of the United States.

"It's West Virginia... Most people outside of this state have no idea that we even wear suits and ties?

"We are known for hard work, we are known for removing mountain tops and raping the land so the rest of the country can thrive while we get shat upon on a daily basis."

"We are known for Don Knotts? [NOTE: Don Knotts, who played 'Barnie Fife' in the old Andy Griffith Show, was born in Morgantown, WV.] We don't need a "Big Business" President.. we already have one. We don't need someone to be our Preacher and tell us how to live our lives... We don't need to be in Iraq for another 100 years."

"if Ron Paul was better looking and fighting for the other team he may have a shot..."

Parsons closed with a "win one for the team" sentiment.

"America is fixin to speak. The Donkey is Back my friends.. the donkey is back!"

Parsons was likely the only one holding to that particular idea in the convention hall, outside the NBC cameraman who said that "This is the worst stop on the tour, so far."

Political party registration is over 60% registered Democrats statewide.

Of course, before the Great Depression, West Virginia was a reliably Republican state; being born as it was, out of the chaos of the Civil War, when it split off from the slave-holding counties of Virginia.

As one person was leaving the hall, Parsons opined that maybe "OPRAH will win this election!"

Ron Paul couldn't be reached for comment on that remark.

THE RESULTS: During the first round voting, of the 1100-1200 delegates, Ron Paul received about 114 votes. Because he was fourth, he was dropped from consideration for the next round of voting.

Mitt Romney had about 430 votes, Huckabee approximately 320 votes and John McCain had somewhere around 137 votes. There were some uncommitted votes. (These totals are not official and are preliminary amounts.)

During the second round, McCain's campaign threw their delegates to Huckabee and with a few uncommitted changing, along with a few Paul delegates, the former governor from Arkansas got over the 50% mark.

And got the 18 delegates up for grabs.

But it can be said that Ron Paul's speech left an impression on many in the hall. He received cheers and applause way beyond the amount of delegates he had in the convention hall.

His themes of personal liberty, limited government, sanctity of life and sound money brought cheers from the delegates already committed to other candidates.

AND, his new idea--that of the US government issuing 'letters of marque' against Terror organizations--is one that won't make the United Nations or the European Union happy.

To go after Al-Qaida like they go after others--in small groups and acting as individuals not a part of a particular country--was one that had delegates talking afterwards.

UPDATE: According to local TV station WSAZ, after Ron Paul was eliminated from the voting after the first round, his delegates threw their support to Huckabee, putting Huckabee over the top and making him the winner. In return, Ron Paul received 3 delegates to the GOP National Convention, while Huckabee retained 15. The other 12 WV delegates will go to the winner of the May 5 WV Republican primary.

RON PAUL Library of DBKP stories and videos. --Over 40 DBKP stories on the presidential campaign of Texas Congressman, Ron Paul.

by Mondoreb
Source:
* Interviews
* Letter of Marque
* Ron Paul Secures 3 delegates at WV GOP Convention
images:
* [3,5,6,7, 8, 9,10--courtesy: Rodney Parsons]
* [1,2,4 - DBKP]



* This same story at DBKP.com-- Ron Paul in WV: Unveils New Idea in War on Terror

DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Ron Paul Round-Up: Maine Caucuses, Denver Speech, WV Convention and Super Tuesday

* Maine Caucuses - Early Results

* Ron Paul's Denver Stop Friday
* WV GOP Convention Tuesday
* Is Ron Paul the Anti-McCain?
* Super Tuesday Schedule



Ron Paul Round-up

First, the Maine caucuses:

UPDATE: SATURDAY, February 2, 2008 2:15 pm Mitt Romney took an early lead in presidential preference voting by Maine Republicans as the first returns were counted Saturday from the party's municipal caucuses, which GOP officials said were heavily attended across the state. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, had 59 percent of the vote with 3 percent of the towns holding caucuses reporting. Ron Paul trailed with 19 percent, John McCain had 18 percent, and Mike Huckabee and undecided votes each had about 2 percent. The nonbinding caucus votes were taking place in public schools, community centers, fire stations and town halls, and attendance was said to be heavy statewide.

NOTE: If any readers have any information on the Maine caucuses, leave a comment and we'll include it in our next Ron Paul update.

This worked out so well for the Louisiana Caucuses, hopefully, someone who attended the Maine Caucuses will leave a comment on how they saw them where they were.

Earlier from Michelle Malkin, a reader sends in a Maine caucus report: I just got back from the caucus in my district in Maine. Romney was immensely popular today; of course there were a lot of Ron Paul nuts, and I saw no supporters of McCain. Olympia Snowe came in to speak on behalf of McCain. She was not too popular, and was very nearly booed. People got to Q&A her, and the overall sentiment was complete disdain for McCain’s liberal stance on immigration. One person even asked her why conservatives should rally McCain after he flirted with leaving the party and running as Kerry’s veep.

The Maine Caucuses are now underway with some voting yesterday, the bulk today and a bit of it finishing up tomorrow.

Most of the candidates have been quiet in Maine, with the exception of Mitt Romney and Ron Paul.

Romney's son, Tagg visited Maine as a windup to a quiet campaign in Maine leading to three days of Republican voting.

Ron Paul visited the state Monday, but neither Michael Huckabee nor John McCain has shown up.

Paul is said to have an organization in Maine that could give the Texas congressman his first victory. And Huckabee could benefit from caucus votes by GOP conservatives who are capable of flexing political muscle.

After the voting is completed in Maine, this could prove to be an important contest in the Ron Paul campaign's battle for Republican delegates.

The 72-year-old, 10-term Texas congressman has been largely dissed and dismissed by party politicians and the media in this lengthening primary race. But his loyal followers have been more than generous in recent weeks, donating nearly $20 million in the last three months of 2007 to make him the most successful GOP fundraiser then and the only one to increase his donations every quarter last year.

According to Paul's website, supporters have given another $5+ million since Jan. 1.

On Friday Republicans started three days of caucusing in Maine, a largely rural state where Paul's brand of independence and smaller government might well fit. He's got several hundred volunteers working the caucuses with the same kind of determination and imagination that drove Paul to a distant second-place finish behind Mitt Romney in Nevada's caucuses last month.

Paul is using his funds judiciously, traveling around the country and speaking largely under the major media's radar. He did well in the Louisiana caucuses and even beat out Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson elsewhere, though he finished dead last in the Florida primary.

Paul spoke earlier this week in Washington about the economy and recession.

"The most important thing you can do is nothing," said the one-time Libertarian candidate for president, who recently voted against the $146 billion economic stimulus package.

As anyone with a modicum of modern economics knowledge understands, the market should be allowed to correct itself while a restrained and reduced federal government stops trying to protect millions from the economic consequences of their bad decisions.

This is Ron Paul's position on the economic stimulus package that was little more than a "Bi-partisan Voter Stimulus Package".

Paul was the only Republican candidate to actually visit Maine, which could go over well with locals. The nonbinding caucuses are the first step toward picking 18 Maine delegates who'll travel to the national convention in St. Paul next August.

A win in Maine on a slow news weekend as the only presidential preference voting underway just before Super Tuesday could garner Paul priceless free publicity.

Paul's message of strict constitutionalism has attracted an eclectic crowd of disaffected Democrats and Republicans and libertarians who've formed more than 1,400 meet-up groups across the country. They see their freedoms threatened by such legislation as the Patriot Act and want to bring the troops home from abroad and spend the money on domestic priorities.

Although Paul typically gets the least speaking time during GOP debates, if he isn't barred from participating altogether, he makes the most of his time. He drew numerous positive reviews after the recent Republican debate at the Reagan Library when he said it makes no sense to bomb bridges in other countries only to rebuild them with American taxpayers' money while the bridges at home are falling down.

Ron Paul (and Ronald Reagan before him) does understand one thing that John McCain, liberals and Democrats will never admit: that the government is almost never the solution: it is almost always the problem.

"The Constitution was written for one specific purpose," Paul recently told a Seattle crowd, "and that was to restrain government, not to restrain the people."

Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul has a couple of things going for him at this weekend's Republican caucuses: a band of highly motivated supporters and a natural appeal to Maine's like-minded independents.

His stop in the state earlier this week also made him the only presidential contender from either party to visit before the caucuses.

"I think that (because) he's paid attention to Maine, he'll be rewarded."

--R. Kenneth Lindell, Paul's campaign coordinator in Maine

Maine's GOP polling Friday, Saturday and Sunday may be the Texas congressman's best shot at winning a state, and such a feat would be big coming just days before next week's Super Tuesday presidential preference contests in more than 20 states.

Lindell wouldn't get into specifics about the number of volunteers Paul has in the state, except to say they number in the hundreds — not a small figure considering Maine's relatively small population and meager share of the national delegate pool.

Paul has drawn a mix of young voters who are getting involved in politics for the first time, longtime Republicans with libertarian leanings or who are unhappy with the direction the party's been going and independents who've left the party, Lindell said.

Maine Democrats will gather next weekend to make their choices.

Maine's Process for Awarding Delegates

The nonbinding Republican caucuses are the first step toward electing Maine's 18 delegates to the party's national convention. Three ranking party leaders also go. Maine awards all of its delegates to the caucus winners.

Maine stubbornly refuses to follow the crowd, electorially-speaking.

In 1992, H. Ross Perot delivered a shocker in Maine, beating out Kennebunkport's George H.W. Bush to come in second behind Bill Clinton. And that came after former California Gov. Jerry Brown donned a plaid shirt while campaigning in Maine to beat Clinton in the Democratic caucuses.

Unenrolled or independent voters can play an important role in Maine politics, since they make up the largest bloc of voters. The law allows independents to come in the day of the caucus and register with a party.

"If we have a good showing here in Maine, that could carry forward into Super Tuesday when we could pick up delegates. That would be significant in the case of a brokered convention."

--R. Kenneth Lindell, Paul's campaign coordinator in Maine

Julie O'Brien, executive director of the state Republican Party, said Paul supporters have been resourceful in finding opportunities for support, for example, organizing caucuses in towns where none had been scheduled.

"I have felt strongly for three weeks that he stood a better chance (in Maine) than any other candidate," O'Brien said. But her view has eased slightly now that Arizona Sen. John McCain won in Florida and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is no longer in the running.

The Maine GOP has increased it's efforts to encourage general caucus participation. This could send more supporters for McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to the polls, according to O'Brien.

Mark Brewer, who teaches political sciene at the University of Maine, doesn't see Paul as a favorite but added that the congressman's best chances are in caucus states like Maine. Paul finished second in the Nevada caucuses on Jan. 19.

"I wouldn't be completely stunned if Ron Paul won the caucuses" in Maine, Brewer said.

Meanwhile, yesterday in Denver



Seven Quotes from the Ron Paul Campaign Stop in Denver

Ron Paul's campaign appearance yesterday in Denver was standing room only.

The crowd for Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul was so large it surprised his own organizers. They were forced to hurriedly open partitions to double the size of the ballroom space minutes before Paul's scheduled appearance in the Four Seasons Ballroom. When that wasn't enough hundreds of people stood rimming the hall that sits 1,536.

Many of his supporters boldly predicted he would win more delegates in the state then front runners Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney even though Paul has yet to win a majority in any state primary.

* Colorado Convention Center employee: "That room is packed so tight it's not even funny,"

* Ron Paul (beginning his speech): "I'm just totally dumbfounded. The enthusiasm seems to be growing. Freedom is popular."

* Vince Holcomb, 45, massage therapist from Centennial: "He's real strong in Colorado. Ron Paul is a lot higher in the polls than the mainstream media publicize."

* The crowd in Denver: "Ron Paul Revolution; Taking back our Constitution."

* Ron Paul: "[I'm} so well-received in Colorado because people in the state share [my] love of personal liberties, [my] quest to "return to constitutional principles" and belief that government needs to be dramatically reduced.

* Ron Paul (before his speech): "There's no reason why we can't do quite well right here. I would say we're in pretty good shape."

* Ron Paul (Denver campaign speech): "We don't have to start a brand new revolution. All we have to do is restore the original Constitution."

Paul says he plans to end welfare for illegal aliens and "birthright citizenship." He says he has never voted to increase taxes, is against regulating the Internet and opposes the Iraq war.

SUPER TUESDAY STATES and Republican DELEGATE TOTALS Alabama (48) Alaska (29) Arizona (53) Arkansas (34) California (173) Colorado (46) Connecticut (30) Delaware (18) Georgia (72) Illinois (70) Minnesota (41) Missouri (58) Montana (25) New Jersey (52) New York (101) North Dakota (26) Oklahoma (42) Tennessee (55) Utah (36) West Virginia (18 of 30) Total Delegates: 1027

In WV on Tuesday morning, 18 of the state's delegates will be chosen in Charleston by the WV GOP delegates to the first Republican convention. The rest will be chosen in the WV Republican primary in May.

Mitt Romney is scheduled to speak at the convention. As of now, that is the only confirmed candidate, although that could change, according to Virginia Davis, WV GOP Media Relations.

The convention is the largest gathering of Republicans in the states history.

Over 1400 WV delegates will vote for delegates to represent the GOP at the Republican national convention.

About 60% of the delegates right now are "uncommitted". Among the rest, here are the delegates committed to a particular candidate.

Mitt Romney 184
Mike Huckabee 132
Ron Paul 68
John McCain 12

In addition, delegates pledged to Fred Thompson (104), Rudy Giuliani (41) and Duncan Hunter (4) are now free to vote for the four Republicans still in the race.

- - - -

Will Ron Paul become the Anti-McCain?

Where McCain wants opened borders, Paul is opposed.

Where McCain was against extending the Bush tax cuts, Paul supported them.

On most issues, the man who now tries to bill him self as a "conservative" and who has bought a large amount of Super Tuesday commercials trying to convince unwary voters that he is a "conservative", is on the opposite side of issues from Ron Paul.

From the National Ledger:

The race may be over. John McCain could be poised to represent the Republican Party in the presidential race this election season as they try to retain the White House and it might be as soon as Super Tuesday if he grabs a big win in a bunch of states. This has conservatives in a tizzy. Perhaps they should have turned to Ron Paul and given him a chance.

Unless Mitt Romney rallies big, conservatives will soon run out of options and will either have to support McCain, despite his obvious shortcomings, or sit this one out. I wonder if any regret not looking at Paul and jumping on his bandwagon. He had the money, he just never had any real media time.

So, with Super Tuesday three days away, the battle for Maine's delegates is underway.

A win or good showing in Maine will generate media attention for a candidate whose campaign's biggest headache still is national name recognition.

It will also generate delegates.

RON PAUL DBKP Library of over 40 Ron Paul stories and videos, covering the presidential campaign of the Texas Congressman. * Ron Paul Campaigns Gets Ready for Super Tuesday

by Mondoreb
images: garlingguage; denverpost
Sources:
* Romney's Son visits Maine as Caucuses Begin
* Ron Paul's Big Chance to Make a Modest Splash
* Romney Ahead in Early Caucus Voting
* Ron Paul's Prospects Look Up in Maine
* Paul Draws Big Crowd in Denver
* The Maine Caucus: A reader reports
* Will Desperate Conservatives Turn to Ron Paul?
* Phone interview, Virginia Davis; WV GOP Media Relations



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Ron Paul: Campaign Efforts in Maine, NH and Louisiana and Super Tuesday

Campaign Recount and Checking Efforts Continue
In New Hampshire and Louisiana

Ron Paul to Campaign Tomorrow in Maine

Super Tuesday Primary States and Delegates Schedule



With the primary season getting ready to kick into high gear, the Ron Paul campaign is moving behind the scenes to cross its T's and dot its I's in states where voters have already cast ballots.

Super Tuesday, with its rich booty of GOP convention delegates, is looming--only eight days away.

But before Super Tuesday, the Maine GOP Caucuses takes place in most Maine towns on February 2. (Although technically running throughout Super Bowl weekend, February 1 - 3.)

Ron Paul will be campaigning in Maine tomorrow all day on January 28 in an effort to snag Maine's 21 Republican delegates.

While the Texas Congressman is meeting and greeting citizens in the Pine Tree State, his campaign will be attending to contests already completed. Paul's supporters are bankrolling a recount effort in New Hampshire, where there were some election worker mistakes acknowledged.

Meanwhile, the results from the Louisiana Republican Caucus--which took place this past Tuesday--are still clouded with uncertainty.

Paul's campaign said Saturday that it has filed a complaint with the Louisiana state GOP over what it calls problems and inconsistencies in Louisiana's process of choosing delegates.

"At this point right now, we're not going to charge anything nefarious is going on, but it's a very confusing process, and there have been inconsistencies, and we're voicing our complaints now" and hoping to work out their concerns with state party leaders, Paul spokesman Jesse Benton said.

Messages left for state party leaders Saturday were not immediately returned.

More than 10,000 Louisiana Republican voters met Tuesday, the state party said, to choose delegates to the state Republican Convention — a step in choosing delegates to the national convention.

The party listed results as preliminary on its Web site because they did not include about 500 votes from people allowed to cast "provisional ballots" even though they did not show up on the rolls as registered Republicans. Also, many candidates ran on "more than one slate," resulting in overlap, the party said.

Louisiana GOP staff were working with local election officials to determine the eligibility of the delegates, the LA GOP said. Anyone registered as a Republican as of Nov. 30 was allowed to take part, under party rules.

However, the outcome of races, including president, in five districts could be affected by any resulting changes in the ballot count, a LA state party spokesman said.

"Results of provisional ballot analysis will be updated regularly on the party's Web site until a final count is reached," the site read Saturday. It reported that delegate candidates endorsed by U.S. Sen. John McCain "appear to have won more state convention delegate positions than any other presidential slate" in the caucuses, followed by supporters for Paul, the libertarian-minded Texas congressman.

"The initial failure of the Louisiana GOP to properly determine who was and wasn't eligible to vote threw this entire process into disarray," Lew Moore, Paul's campaign manager, said in a statement. Moore said eligibility was "just one of many irregularities" in the process.

"We are filing this contest to ensure that we can challenge the results if it appears that delegates were improperly selected," Moore said.

Unofficial results from the caucus show McCain with more of the state convention positions than any other presidential hopeful. Paul follows, while former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney finished third.

Paul's campaign contends that hundreds of voters were forced to file provisional ballots because of mistakes by the Louisiana GOP.

About 500 voters at statewide caucus sites were not shown as registered Republicans on voter rolls. Those voters were allowed to cast provisional ballots, which are not included in current tallies.

Paul's campaign also states that caucus locations relied on a voter list from Nov. 1, though party rules state that voters must be registered Republican by Nov. 30.

In addition, Paul's campaign contends that at the time of the original Jan. 10 deadline, Paul had the largest number of delegates pledged to him. But later, the party extended its deadline to Jan. 12, allowing candidates to file more delegates.

UNOFFICIAL Louisiana Republican Caucus Results for Tuesday, January 22, 2008.

All the while, supporters of Ron Paul are helping to bankroll the re-count of votes in New Hampshire's January 8 GOP presidential primary. That primary, like the Louisiana contest, was won by John McCain.

Paul's supporters didn't initiate the NH re-count, but they are pitching in because of several published accounts of irregularities.

GOP candidate Albert Howard of Ann Arbor, Michigan, requested the re-count, which began Wednesday and was continuing. Howard got 44 of the more 200,000 votes cast.

Because Howard wasn't close to the leaders, he had to pay the nearly $60,000 cost of the hand re-count. Howard said a group of Paul supporters called the "grannywarriors" is paying for the re-count. He said Lawrence Lepard of Boston — who spent more than $100,000 on newspaper ads for the Texas congressman — lent the money to get the re-count started.

Many of Ron Paul's supporters nationwide believe their candidate will have won Louisiana and its delegates when everything is said and done. With several of the candidates focusing on Florida and its winner-take-all primary, the Paul campaign is switching its focus to several other states.

Included is Maine, where Paul will campaign tomorrow.

"Maine has 21 delegates that Paul has a serious potential of winning," points out Natalie Schultz of the Nolan Chart.

"Why can Ron Paul truly win Maine? Because outside of the political elite urbanites who control the state, the majority of real Mainers are very anti-government gun-lovers. Huckabee is gaining a Christian following, but truthfully, most Mainers are old-school Christians, not Evangelicals."

To date, Maine Republican Party Executive Director Julie O'Brien says, activity on behalf of the various GOP presidential hopefuls has been relatively high.

"I mean the phone is not stopping," she says.

Supporters of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee are busy and those backing Sen. John McCain of Arizona and ex-Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts are stepping up their efforts, according to O'Brien.

She says former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has a presence.

But most active?

"If I had to say," ventures O'Brien, "Ron Paul," the Texas congressman.

Schultz believes that Ron Paul is wasting his time following the other Republican candidates around "winner take all" Florida, where both Mitt Romney and John McCain lead by a large margin. It should be noted that Rudy Giuliani is already down to 5.5/1 odds of winning Florida at BetUS.com compared to McCain's 2/1 odds and Romney's even odds. Ron Paul came in with 40/1 odds of winning the state and this is one bet even his own supporters are not likely to place money on.

"No matter how much time and money Paul spends there, he will not win. The die-hard Paul supporters there will vote for him no matter what. It’s high-time he moves on to fresh waters were there are many fish waiting to bite."

So on Sunday evening, efforts continue to ensure the correct delegate counts in New Hampshire and Louisiana, while campaigning in other states is heating up.

Tuesday, January 29, is Florida's primary, which Paul trails and is not likely to win. As was stated, Florida's primary is a winner-take-all affair with Romney, McCain and Rudy Giuliani fighting it out for the top spot.

The winner of Florida collects 114 Republican delegates.

Next up will be Maine on February 2 with its 21 delegates.

Super Tuesday on February 5 will see voters in the following states casting ballots for delegates:

Alabama (48)
Alaska (29)
Arizona (53)
Arkansas (34)
California (173)
Colorado (46)
Connecticut (30)
Delaware (18)
Georgia (72)
Illinois (70)
Minnesota (41)
Missouri (58)
Montana (25)
New Jersey (52)
New York (101)
North Dakota (26)
Oklahoma (42)
Tennessee (55)
Utah (36)
West Virginia (18 of 30)

Ron Paul was originally scheduled for an appearance at the WV Republican Convention in Charleston on the morning of Super Tuesday. The results of that convention will be announced in the early afternoon, before the polls close in the other states.

It is hoped that a good showing in WV may help influence wavering voters in other states.

So, these are the prizes up for grabs in the next 8 days.

DBKP Ron Paul Library Over 40 DBKP stories and videos on Ron Paul, from September until the present.

by Mondoreb
images: meetupstatic
Sources:
* Paul Contests Delegate Credentials
* Ron Paul's Supporters Finance NH GOP Recount
* McCain Wins State GOP Caucus
* Ron Paul Can Win Maine



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Louisiana GOP Caucus: Results, Ron Paul Rumors - UPDATES

No Official Results Announced Yet
Updated--10:30 am January 23, 2008
Updated--7:50 pm January 23, 2008
PLUS: Comments from Four Who Were There at the LA GOP Caucuses Last Night


complicated

adj.

1. Containing intricately combined or involved parts.
2. Not easy to understand or analyze.
3. Louisiana Republican Caucus process.


The Louisiana Republican Party Caucuses are not an easy thing--either to report or to make sense of.

UPDATE: 7:50 pm January 23, 2008 Wednesday From National Review: ...candidates for delegate in Louisiana historically have run on one or another slate, but not on multiple slates. This year, however, many candidates ran on more than one slate. There was significant overlap, for example, between the McCain and Pro-Life slates. So determination of which slate won is not as clear-cut. But it certainly appears that the order was: Uncommitted Pro-Life, McCain, Paul, Romney, others. --Louisiana Results Clarified So, basically, we know about as much now as we did this morning when this was first written--about 15 hours ago. UPDATE: 10:30 am January 23, 2008 Wednesday From the Shreveport Times: GOP Releases Unofficial Results Nearly 10,000 Louisiana Republicans voted for delegates and alternate delegates to the 2008 Louisiana Republican Convention at caucuses throughout the state on Tuesday. The Congressional District 4 caucus — which encompasses Caddo, Bossier, Webster, Claiborne, Bienville, DeSoto and Red River parishes — was held at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City. Not a lot there, apparently most of the delegates are committed to a slate of the other four candidates. Quick analysis from Lew Rockwell on this development: Ronald Reagan Wins Louisiana Caucus 1. The coalition delegate slate will be split 4 ways at the state convention, and Paul may have more than any one candidate. 2. Paul supposedly has most of the alternate delegate slots, most of which were uncontested. So if somebody doesn't show up or is ruled ineligible, a Paul delegate can step up. 3. If half of Paul's supporters did indeed cast provisional ballots, these results from the Shreveport times are utterly meaningless. So, even though results are in, you probably know only slightly more now than when this post was written at 4:30 am this morning. UPDATE: Some comments by delegates who were at the various GOP caucuses. In congressional district 1 it looked like there was divided support between Ron Paul and Mitt ROB-ney...or was that RONALD REAGAN? I swear, one of the voting sheets had "Vote one for the Gipper" and had Nancy and Ronald Reagan on it with the delegates names--and not the mystery candidate. I guess this clown is ashamed to put his name on there and has to try to ride in on the coat-tails of a dead president? Don't know who was passing those out, but we saved one. (If someone does know who had the "Gipper" delegates, please DO tell! Is Reagan on the ballot in Louisiana??? Lovin' Ron Paul in the Bayou S | 01.23.08 - 6:13 am Same here in Lafayette, District 7. Only visible campaigns were Paul and Romney. The Profamily/Prolife ticket was supposedly noncommitted. I work with one of those delegates and she is wavering between Huckabee and Paul. My take is Louisiana is betting on becoming a convention broker with a large contingent of uncommitted delegates. If anything I can read from what I have heard and have seen at my caucus is that Paul, Romney and the Uncommitted ticket should do well. Other districts had McCain as doing well also. DF Robichaux | 01.23.08 - 7:49 am At the Lake Charles caucus, Ron Paul supporters far outnumbered everyone else by a large percentage. The only other candidate with even a table was Mitt Romney and I counted only 2 or 3 Mitt supporters while I was there. Bobby Richard | 01.23.08 - 7:58 am | I'm in District 7, Lafayette caucus. I was delegate #57 on the ballot, on the Ron Paul ticket. I was there the entire time polls were open. There seemed to be a strong showing from our ticket and also a strong ticket from a ticket labeled only "Pro-Life, Pro-Family"...early rumors are that this was a coalition tickets of the Washington-As-Usual candidates. Thanks for the story; it seems I'm not the only one having trouble finding any solid information this morning. Daniel Schroeder | Homepage | 01.23.08 - 8:19 am We'll supply updates as we get them. Thanx Everyone for the news! This is better than AP!

We thoroughly scoured both the web and print sources and the following is what we learned: not a lot--yet.

The Louisiana Republican Party held caucuses at 11 sites across the state yesterday to select delegates to a state convention at which Louisiana's GOP convention delegates will be determined.

The Louisiana caucuses are so complicated that no one is reporting on it.

We'll take a stab.

There are no reported results--as of the moment--but the results should be announced sometime later this morning. The results will be difficult to interpret in any event.
The following was one of the best explanations of the complicated process that we have found.

Here's how Louisiana's caucus works (I think): The attendees at the 11 caucus sites voted on delegates to the statewide convention. Those delegates are nominally "uncommitted." But if a majority of attendees at a caucus site were, for example, Ron Paul supporters, they would vote for delegates who, in turn, will support Paul.

But that process only accounts for about half the La. delegates to the GOP national convention. The remaining delegates--those who are "at large" or "bonus" delegates--will be selected at the state convention; if someone gets 50% of the vote in a "beauty contest" primary on Feb. 9, then he gets that second tranch of delegates; otherwise, they're also nominally uncommitted.

At this moment, the only reporting is of rumors. An example:

We have heard a rumor that in Natchitoches Ron Paul won 11 of the 15 Delegates and that there were less than 100 people at some sites, some Ron Paul supporters are saying “Dr. Paul must be doing well, since I haven’t seen anything about it on the so called news channels”.

And another rumor:

But so far the only thing we could find was from a Ron Paul supporter who stated that the Paulies had a majority of the turnout at the Lake Charles caucus site.

And that's it: only a couple of rumors. Expect no more information for at least another 3 1/2 hours, at best.

Probably closer to 10 am EST would be a better guess.


And, as a tribute to tone-deaf politicians everywhere, the following quote is presented.

In any event, it looks like Loosianans will be ignored, despite this amusing quote from Roger Villere, the chairman of the La. Republican Party, earlier this month: “We’re excited about the upcoming caucuses. I believe this system will allow Louisiana Republicans to have a strong impact on the election of the next President of the United States.”

The Louisiana GOP caucus process does seem to reward grass roots effort and that seems to be a strength of the Ron Paul Louisiana campaign effort.

Ron Paul campaigned in Louisiana yesterday and from all reports, was one of the few Republican candidates to do so.

Paul supporters, also going on published accounts, appear to have effectively mobilized in the Bayou State and turned out for the Texas Congressman. From these early rumored reports, Paul could come away with enough delegates to finish either first or second.

And that's good news for a campaign whose biggest obstacle to this point has been national name recognition.

After searching the Internet, this is the sum of what is known at 4:40 am Wednesday morning January 23, 2008.

That's not so much, huh? Two rumors and many promises that the results will be released later this morning--honest.

UPDATE at 7:32 am January 23, 2008 The following comment was left on this story: In congressional district 1 it looked like there was divided support between Ron Paul and Mitt ROB-ney...or was that RONALD REAGAN? I swear, one of the voting sheets had "Vote one for the Gipper" and had Nancy and Ronald Reagan on it with the delegates names--and not the mystery candidate. I guess this clown is ashamed to put his name on there and has to try to ride in on the coat-tails of a dead president? Don't know who was passing those out, but we saved one. (If someone does know who had the "Gipper" delegates, please DO tell! Is Reagan on the ballot in Louisiana??? Lovin' Ron Paul in the Bayou S | 01.23.08 - 6:13 am That's two rumors and one eye-witness.

by Mondoreb
image: salon]
Sources:
* Louisiana GOP Caucus Results
* Positive for Ron Paul in the Louisiana Caucus Results

DBKP Ron Paul Library Our library of close to 50 DBKP Ron Paul stories, videos and news of the Texas Congressman that is making "the Constitution" an issue of the 2008 presidential elections. From the start of the "Ron Paul Phenomenon" to present day. Updated regularly.

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Ron Paul: Campaign Picks Up More of Everything

More Endorsements, More Cash, More Delegates

"Jane Roe" Endorses Paul



The Ron Paul campaign continues to pick up three things: money, endorsements and the scorn of pundits.

It may also looks like the Texan Congressman will be picking up some delegates later today.

It's been speculated that at least part of the reason Fred Thompson dropped out of the contest today was due to money--or lack of it. And Mike Huckabee's campaign staff is said to be working for free, also due to a lack of money.

Meanwhile, the Paul campaign collected another $2 million dollars on MLK Day, most of it in the form of small donations (under $50).

Meanwhile, Paul has picked up three endorsements in the last 24 hours.

The first from Gary "Veto" Johnson, former governor of New Mexico.

Yesterday, former New Mexico Governor Gary "Veto" Johnson announced that he is supporting Dr. Paul for president. Governor Johnson is an icon to small-government conservatives and libertarians for his long-standing commitment to the principles of the Founders. You can read our press release here.

The second endorsement came from well-known financial commentator, Donald L. Luskin.

This morning, Ron Paul also received the glowing endorsement of Donald L. Luskin, a prominent financial commentator on CNBC and Chief Investment Officer for Trend Macrolytics LLC. You can read Don's editorial in National Review about why Ron Paul is right for America here.

And finally, Dr. Paul, an ardent foe of abortion, received an endorsement on the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade of "Jane Roe" aka Norma McCorvey.

On the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling, Norma McCorvey (a.k.a. "Jane Roe," who later changed her views on abortion in the mid-90s) gave Paul her official endorsement today.

"I support Ron Paul for president because we share the same goal, that of overturning Roe v. Wade. He has never wavered on the issue of being pro-life and has a voting record to prove it. He understands the importance of civil liberties for all, including the unborn," she said at a press conference in Washington this morning.

Paul accepted the pro-life activist's endorsement, saying of abortion: "It is still one of the most crucial issues of our day that we deal with this. As much as I talk about economic liberties, and civil liberties, and trying to avoid the killing overseas, I think the issue of life is paramount."

On Fox earlier today, Paul blamed the Federal Reserve for the weak economy.

Paul blamed the Federal Reserve for the current economic conditions; stock markets worldwide fell Monday after Wall Street declined last week. On his Web site, he said the Fed has taken the United States “into a terrible crisis.”
Paul told an overflow crowd at a suburban New Orleans hotel Monday that the Fed has allowed the dollar to weaken, which in turn, he said, has hurt the middle class and led to inflation.

“I would enjoy being the next president to get rid of our central bank,” he told supporters. The crowd gave him a raucous welcome, chanting at one point, “Who dat? Who dat say they’re gonna beat Ron Paul?” — a riff on a popular football chant for the New Orleans Saints.

Paul called for the abolition of the federal income tax.

Ron Paul's prescription for staving off recession is likely to strike a chord with many voters--especially around April 15.

He wasn't above saying "I told you so".

Paul had warned that the current economic crises would develop and has blamed the Federal Reserve for creating it. Paul said, “The Fed has again taken our country into a terrible crisis. Who else is talking about honest money that cannot be printed up at will by DC bureaucrats? My opponents in both parties are all some variety of print-and-spend Keynesians.”

Paul continued, “Only we are telling the truth, about who is to blame for this recession, and how we can build real prosperity with sound money, no IRS, no deficit, and strict obedience to the Constitution. And, of course, no hyper-expensive, hyper-dangerous empire all around the globe.”

Paul is campaigning for Louisiana's 47 delegates and is expected to reap his fair share of the delegates in the Bayou State.

Coming off his second-place showing in Nevada, the campaign is upbeat and the continued strong fund raising is expected to continue.

The vast majority of Paul donors are far underneath their limit of $2300, a concern for other campaigns that have depended on large bundled contributions.

Back to Louisiana. This assessment was offered by "best of New Orleans".

"The biggest surprise to come out of Louisiana's GOP delegate process thus far involves Ron Paul, the Texas congressman mounting a quasi-libertarian campaign that has been defined by its grassroots organization. Dore says the Paul campaign dropped off a 'whole slate" of delegates about two weeks ago " a surprise showing that wasn't expected. If any controversy arises from the delegate process, it will be from Paul's camp. 'We're being watchful, though, because we want to make sure all of the delegates were registered Republicans before the Nov. 30 deadline," Dore says, adding there was a great deal of interest expressed by nonparty voters about switching to the GOP in support of Paul. 'We started contacting registrars of voters in 17 parishes yesterday about roughly 90 people, the vast majority of which were signed up for Ron Paul.""

While other campaigns are reporting problems, name recognition is still the largest problem the Paul campaign must overcome.

That's the state of the Ron Paul campaign on Tuesday January 22, 2008.

by Mondoreb
[image: ronpaul2008]
Sources:
* Jane Roe endorses Paul
* Ron Paul Raises Nearly $2 Million on MLK Day
* Paul Blames Federal Reserve for Weak Economy
* Ron Paul Calls for Elimination of the Federal Income Tax



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