Ron Paul ...

[Mickulz]

I am sure people said the same thing during the civil war too.

[seanx]

....I wonder if any of the other candidates are having even an ounce of this type of support.....:

Foot soldiers for the Ron Paul revolution


By James Rainey, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 1, 2007
The late-fall night fairly crackled with energy -- from a persistent Santa Ana wind, the high-tension power lines overhead and, especially, from the crowd packed inside the living room of a ranch house at the west end of the San Gabriel Valley.

Eighty people sat elbow to elbow on tight rows of folding chairs, chattering with enthusiasm and ideas. They would produce wall calendars and a concert. They would reenact the Boston Tea Party on the Santa Monica Pier. They would write to every independent voter in Iowa.


The foot soldiers of the Ron Paul Revolution, Pasadena Division, were only getting started.

Founded nine months ago by one of the first followers of the Texas congressman and Republican presidential candidate, the Pasadena "meetup" spawned more than 1,200 similar groups that claim nearly 77,000 members nationwide.

These fervent supporters and their freewheeling tactics have helped turn Paul into, first, an Internet sensation and, now, this political season's most unlikely phenomenon.

A 45-year-old artist and adventurer is bicycling from Santa Monica to the Jefferson Memorial in Washington to raise awareness about Paul. A Nevada brothel owner recently promised to take up a collection from her customers. One Colorado backer quickly raised more than $350,000 online this week, with a plan to launch a Ron Paul blimp.

"It's bigger than one. It's bigger than a group," Juliet Annerino, a Silver Lake fitness trainer and singer, said at the recent gathering of the Pasadena group. "We are making history right now. Right here."

Paulites tend to be tech-savvy, tired of traditional politics and suspicious of their government and the mainstream media.

But after that, they defy categories. A quick survey of the Pasadena group found Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and Constitution Party followers uniting behind some or all of the Paul libertarian agenda -- ending the war in Iraq, abolishing gun control laws, legalizing marijuana and dismantling big hunks of the U.S. government, especially the IRS and Federal Reserve system.

"I think you could build a case that Ron Paul is part of a tradition of those unhappy with the iron grip of the status quo, from Ross Perot to Ralph Nader right back to Teddy Roosevelt and the Bull Moose Party," said Bruce Buchanan, a professor of government at the University of Texas at Austin. "What they all have in common is a freedom from the normal tendencies toward caution and equivocation."

National polls and most political analysts still make Paul a long shot, though he recently climbed into fourth place (with 8%) in three surveys in the early primary state of New Hampshire.

His biggest splash before that came Nov. 5, when an online effort (in web-speak, a "money bomb") brought in $4.2 million, one of the largest single-day hauls in the history of political fundraising.

For months, the one-time obstetrician-gynecologist and Air Force flight surgeon had been a growing phenomenon on the Internet; his YouTube videos and website ( http://www.ronpaul2008.com) had become more popular than any other presidential candidate's, Republican or Democratic.

Those were heady achievements for a campaign that did not exist until January, when a handful of Paul enthusiasts -- two of whom met while promoting a documentary on the government's failure to search for POWs allegedly still held in Southeast Asia -- came together in Hollywood. Over two days in a suite at a Comfort Inn, the organizers mapped out the rudiments of Paul's website.

"Nothing was going fast enough for people," said Bill Dumas, who participated in the early strategy sessions. "They were really excited and wanted more ways to participate."

In particular, the Paulites wanted to organize and meet with each other. Believing it would take too long to create an organization, Dumas signed on with the social networking site Meetup.com.

He formed the Pasadena group for Ron Paul 2008 in March and put a link on Paul's website to help others start meetup groups. "It was quickly just bombarded," said Dumas, 51. "People began starting their own meetups all over the country."

Paul said in a recent television appearance that even he was surprised by the fervent response. "We are tapping into this sense of frustration," he said.

At the recent Pasadena meeting -- held at the La Cañada Flintridge home of Bill Johnson, an international corporate lawyer -- two young men described their plan to send hand-written letters to Iowa's 700,000 independent voters, urging them to register Republican and turn out for Paul at the Jan. 3 caucuses.

Annerino talked about two fundraisers she had on the drawing board -- a "Rock for Ron Paul" concert Jan. 17 in Hollywood and a "Hotties for Ron Paul" 2008 wall calendar.

Yoga teacher Steven Vincent, 42, finished a brisk series of announcements about his many initiatives for Paul (including video webcasts he delivers each weekday from his Studio City living room at ronpaulfreedommessage.com) with the coup de grace: a march on Dec. 16, the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.

Vincent beamed as he envisioned a procession through Santa Monica, with participants toting mock tea crates, labeled "welfare state," "IRS" and such. (The event will coincide with another Paul money bomb, which volunteers hope will raise $10 million online in a single day.)

He said the procession would continue to the end of the Santa Monica Pier, where the symbols of government excess would be dumped into the bay -- and immediately hauled out to prevent any pollution. Vincent told the gathering: "It will be a great visual event."

Insurgent campaigns rely on such bursts of creativity to keep enthusiasm high, said Zephyr Teachout, director of online organizing for Howard Dean, the Vermont governor whose Internet fundraising helped him leap to the front of the 2004 Democratic primary field.

"If you want people to do more, you have to break the stamp-licker paradigm," said Teachout, meaning that volunteers should be allowed to do more than get out the mail.

Unlike Dean, who had five organizers shepherd meetup groups with agendas and regular conference calls, the Paul chapters are "completely decentralized," according to Kerri Price, a Paul spokeswoman.

Paul volunteers take pride in making their own rules. "Authority," said one young man at the start of the Pasadena meetup, "will never be true."

Paulites also don't hesitate to criticize the candidate's small professional campaign staff, as evidenced last week when many followers flamed fundraising director Jonathan Bydlak. The protesters, calling Bydlak an "idiot," among other things, said his demand for immediate contributions would steal attention from the Tea Party event.

Given the cacophonous voices gathered under the Paul tent, at least a little dissension should hardly be surprising. At the recent gathering in La Cañada Flintridge, Paul activists described voting in the past for candidates ranging from President Bush and Democratic Sen. John F. Kerry, to Ralph Nader, Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot.

Yoga teacher Vincent, 42, was not the only one who said he had been too disillusioned to ever vote before: "What's happening right now is a paradigm shift in American politics. These divisions -- Democrat-Republican, conservative-liberal -- are breaking down . . . because there is really no distinction any more between the parties."

Even as they have gained momentum and attention, Paul supporters still believe they are a breed apart. They talk openly about how some outsiders see them -- as obsessed and perhaps a little loopy.

"How many of you wear tinfoil hats and dance the macarena?" co-host Don Mooney asked at the start of the recent Pasadena meetup. The crowd laughed. Bryce Shonka quipped that the letters to Iowa independents might include this line: "I'm a normal American. I'm not a fringe-er." Most of the 20 Paul followers interviewed over the course of a week hewed to the candidate's limited-government themes. But others described Paul as the antidote to alleged conspiracies that ranged from aerial spraying of toxic "chemtrails," to the coverup of the true source of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center implosions to a plan to force America into a single world government.

Columnist Mona Charen recently argued that, though Paul has not directly supported such theories, he had not done enough to defuse his "conspiracy-minded fans." She is one of many journalists who has been bombarded with e-mails, sometimes angry and profane, after writing critically about the candidate.

Paul supporters said in interviews they didn't condone harsh tactics, but some in their camp had become bitter because of the short shrift they said the mainstream media had given their candidate.

The Paulites remain stalwart. If their candidate doesn't win the Republican nomination, many are determined to push a third-party run, even though Paul has said he doesn't welcome it. They feel they've already beaten the conventional wisdom and those who would belittle them.

Vincent concludes e-mails with a line from Mahatma Gandhi: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."

[seanx]

more news on the Ron Paul Revolution front:

news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20071204/ts_csm/apaulsurge

Adroit online, Ron Paul backers hit the streets of N.H. By Ari Pinkus
Tue Dec 4, 3:00 AM ET



Manchester, N.H. - They're coming from Miami and Seattle, from the "big sky" state of Montana, and from close to home here in New Hampshire. They're coming to help political iconoclast Ron Paul get elected president – many as campaign first-timers who, characteristically independent, may not even feel obliged to tell the Paul camp what exactly they're planning to do on the candidate's behalf.

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The Paulites' push for old-style, on-the-ground politicking in New Hampshire, coming just five weeks before the primary, marks a change for a support network that has always relied on websites and online fundraising. They're here now because they see the Granite State – with its reputation as antitax, anti-big government, and pro-individual freedom – as especially fertile ground for a libertarian-leaning Republican candidate like Mr. Paul.

"New Hampshire is really important because it's the first primary and it sends a message to other states about who's viable and who the leading candidates are. There was all this Internet enthusiasm, but we didn't have enough boots on the ground," says Vijay Boyapati, a Google engineer who recently left the Seattle firm to work on Paul's campaign.

Mr. Boyapati arrived Saturday in Manchester, N.H., to head up a project of his own invention: Operation Live Free or Die, named after the state motto. His aim is to bring 1,000 volunteers to New Hampshire to canvass for Paul. He calculates that if each volunteer, working seven to eight hours a day, meets 100 people daily, then the project can reach out personally to almost all 100,000 residents of Manchester before the Jan. 8 primary.

Then there's Linda Lagana of Merrimack, N.H. Using her graphic-design talent and a small print shop, she has been creating Paul-for-president ads and fliers for months on the cheap. Her materials have ended up in the hands of voters across the state – and are even preferred to official campaign literature. Her highest-profile project so far: designing an advertisement published in USA Today the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Trevor Lyman, an online music promoter, already helped raise $4.2 million for Paul in a one-day Internet event Nov. 5. Two weeks ago he moved from Miami to Manchester, where he lives in a "frat house" with seven bedrooms, he says. He spends his days and nights working on other "money bomb" campaigns for the GOP candidate. At 37, Mr. Lyman plans to cast his first vote ever – for Paul on Jan. 8.

Once politically apathetic, these Paul supporters join many others who have become turbocharged almost overnight.

Now they've launched Five for Freedom, a campaign to get people to contribute $5 each to help those who want to live and volunteer in New Hampshire. So far, the cause has received more than 1,200 pledges.

Another money campaign is Lyman's bid to raise $10 million online on Dec. 16, the anniversary of the 1773 Boston Tea Party protest of taxation without representation. Nearly 24,000 people have pledged to donate $100. Lyman's fundraiser highlights an "inflation tax." The donation website, teaparty07.com, links to a YouTube video in which Paul, during a TV appearance, explains the toll on citizens as the cost of living rises and the dollar declines in value.

Paul's bricks-and-mortar campaign, for its part, is not involved in these "day to donate" efforts and uses more traditional methods, such as phone banking and literature drops, to court Granite State voters. It bought $1.1 million in local TV ad time and has nine people on staff in New Hampshire, up from five a few months ago, according to the campaign.

There are signs that Paul is beginning to make a dent here, after months of registering in the low single digits in polls of likely GOP voters. In several polls he is running fourth or fifth, with 8 percent. But the American Research Group, which released the latest survey Friday, shows Paul at 2 percent among that GOP group. He's at 7 percent among independents.

Paul draws support from those who are disaffected with both the Republican and Democratic parties, says Andrew Smith, who directs the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. "He has a cap of about 10 to 15 percent of the electorate and hasn't reached it yet," he says.

Paul's campaign and grass-roots supporters say they can reach beyond that.

"New Hampshire is uniquely suited to be a springboard for Ron Paul, since it's a small-government-minded state," says Kate Rick, media coordinator for the Paul campaign in the state.

Boyapati, the former Google engineer, wants to be that springboard. He plans to meet with a real estate agent this week to rent out 50 to 100 vacation homes in the state to Paul backers, he says, and has been flooded with e-mails from prospective volunteers, including a single mother with no savings and a retired couple from Montana.

When volunteers arrive, the plan is for them to go straight to Paul campaign headquarters, where they'll get information packets about the obstetrician-turned-congressman and his issues.

"They're going to train canvassers to be respectful, not leaving materials in the mailbox when people aren't home. Etiquette is important. We're all guests in New Hampshire," says Boyapati.

It probably won't be too long before volunteers find Paulites' watering holes, as Boyapati did. Murphy's Taproom, an Irish pub in downtown Manchester, is one venue where supporters meet to talk strategy, particularly on Tuesday nights. Boyapati was there the day he arrived and got a surprise: Paul himself showed up, stood on a chair, and gave an impromptu speech. "It was kind of explosive," says Boyapati. "The whole place was cheering and screaming."

Many Paul supporters cite their man's opposition to the Iraq war as the key reason he has their support. Paul is the only Republican candidate to call for pulling US troops out of Iraq, and he voted against going to war in 2002.

"The wake-up point was the 2006 election. The Democrats ran on a campaign of let's get out of the war. It was a betrayal," says Lyman. "What they did was a 'surge.' There was more war after a campaign that was against the war."

Not all Paul's issues are in the mainstream. Some supporters seize upon his call to legalize competing currencies, including gold and silver, and eventually abolish the Federal Reserve, eliminate the Internal Revenue Service, and renounce America's membership to the United Nations. But they share a common trait: wanting to restore the Constitution, says a Paul campaign spokeswoman.

"I'm a big constitutionalist. Everyone falls under the constitutionalism umbrella, whether it's the war or other issues," says the campaign's Ms. Rick.

Paul does have huge hurdles to overcome. In focus groups, some women see him as "inconsistent" in that he holds libertarian views but is opposed to a woman's right to choose abortion, says Dick Bennett of the American Research Group in Manchester. Sixty-one percent of likely GOP voters in New Hampshire say they will not vote for him under any circumstances, according to a University of New Hampshire poll.

But some say that if Paul is smart he'll stay focused on the Granite State. "New Hampshire is where the Republicans are going to be duking it out," says Arnie Arnesen, a TV and radio talk-show host here.

"He has a passionate base, and this is a numbers game." With so many candidates in the race, she adds, "he just needs to get a majority of the minority."

[sayten]

why can't we all just get along....

[mdeasy]

Come to the Ron Paul Bash and we all can sit down and have a "nice little chat" about Ron Paul. And see some kick ass bands
www.ronpaulbash.com

[seanx]

Did anyone see that 350,000 dollars worth of donations just purchased a Ron Paul blimp that will be flying up the east coast to New Hampshire then to each state where he will be soliciting votes?

Also more news:


21 Academics from Prestigious National Universities Join to Endorse Congressman Ron Paul for President
December 6, 2007 3:38 am EST

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – A group of professors from a wide range of academic disciplines have formed an “Academics for Ron Paul” group to declare their support for presidential candidate Ron Paul. The academics hold positions at national institutions including Northwestern University, University of Alabama, American University, The Citadel, Brigham Young University, Hillsdale College, Indiana University, Ohio University and The Hoover Institution.

In their announcement they wrote:

“Americans have lost faith in politicians, and for good reasons. Taxes, spending, and the national debt continue to rise, special interest bribes riddle the Congress, courts, and executive branch, and our schools are in shambles. Yet our government continues to wage a ceaseless assault on the American people’s rights to make their own choices. It has done so through the USA Patriot Act, the REAL ID Act, the War on Drugs, McCain-Feingold, and countless other initiatives. The endless and inept foreign policy of interventionism of the establishment politicians has put our country in grave danger not only of a destructive war with Iran but a new financial crisis.

“The 2008 election thus comes at a critical time in the history of the United States and the world.

“We endorse Ron Paul for president because we believe he is the candidate best able to solve these profound problems. We come from a broad and diverse range of academic fields and specialties. We unite under the banner of liberty and are proud to announce our support for Ron Paul.” The full endorsement can be found here: www.academicsforpaul.com

Dr. Paul recently was also endorsed by Barry Goldwater Jr., who served in Congress for six terms with Congressman Ron Paul, and is the son of former Republican presidential nominee and Arizona U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater.

[seanx]

December 7, 2007 9:57 am EST

Hillary Clinton’s call for more government is the opposite of what is needed

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – Of all the candidates currently running for president, only Ron Paul has a legislative record, spanning four decades, of opposing the monetary policy that led to the current sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Dr. Paul made the following statement about the current housing market crisis:

“The root of this crisis, as with past financial and economic crises, results from federal government intervention into the economy, not to anything endemic to the market, nor to the actions of market participants.

“The collapse of the housing market has served as a catalyst for the economy's latest bust. Various federal mortgage programs through the FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac have distorted the normal workings of the housing market.
“The Federal Reserve's loose monetary policy and lowering of interest rates were a major spur to the housing boom. Low interest rates influence marginal buyers, those who are sitting on the fence, and encourage them to take on a mortgage that they otherwise would not.

“It is time for the federal government to get out of the housing business.”

Dr. Paul has long been a proponent of rejecting central planning by the Federal Reserve and government bureaucrats. He instead advocates returning to a policy of sound money that encourages fiscal responsibility.

“Ron Paul has long predicted this type of crisis would result from federal interventions into the housing market and excessively low interest rates,” said Ron Paul 2008 campaign chairman Kent Snyder. “Only Dr. Paul has the background and expertise to explain why we must reject further political intervention into the housing market, such as that advocated by Hillary Clinton.”

[seanx]

Ron Paul: Missing Weapons Put Soldiers at Risk, Wastes Tax Dollars
December 7, 2007 12:13 pm EST

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – An Inspector General’s report released today finds that over 12,000 weapons in Iraq – including pistols, assault rifles, rocket propelled grenades and machine guns – worth approximately $1 billion, have gone missing. In response, Ron Paul issued the following statement:

“It is deeply disturbing that thousands of weapons – paid for by American taxpayers – are unaccounted for. These weapons could find their way into the hands of those wanting to do harm to American soldiers.

“Once again, this unwise and unnecessary war is having the unintended consequence of damaging our national security. It is time to bring our troops home and out of harm’s way.”

[mdeasy]

seanx said:

....I wonder if any of the other candidates are having even an ounce of this type of support.....:

meetup.com numbers from a week ago. hehe

Ron Paul 2008
73,131 Members in 1,306 Meetup Groups, 7,771 waiting for a Meetup Group

Rudy Giuliani
20 Members in 1 Meetup Groups, 26 waiting for a Meetup Group

Mitt Romney for President 2008
30 Members in 6 Meetup Groups, 23 waiting for a Meetup Group

Mike Huckabee for President 2008
3,484 Members in 193 Meetup Groups, 512 waiting for a Meetup Group

Barack Obama
3,529 Members in 64 Meetup Groups, 2,065 waiting for a Meetup Group

Hillary Clinton
1,114 Members in 41 Meetup Groups, 1,214 waiting for a Meetup Group

[BT]

We broke a record earlier this week. Sunday we had 1015 new people sign up as grassroots volunteer campaigners for Ron Paul on meetup.com. That's the first time we broke 1000. Then the next 5 days 700+ signed up each day. That is unprecedented for ANY campaign. This revolution is growing exponentially and the mainstream media is not reporting on how wide and deep Ron Paul's support is across the whole country.

[Mickulz]

I am not sure what "mainstream" media you are bitching about, because every time I turn on CNN, FOX, or MSNBC there is a story about it. which is good. There needs to be more choices. I said it before and I will say it again..Agree with him or not, but at least he is getting dialogs going, and people taking action.

[freddyv]

at the time of this message, ron paul has raised $11,394,619.69 of his $12MM goal. with the expected "money bomb" due this weekend to commemorate the anniversary of the boston tea party, dr. paul should easily eclipse his goal.

I'd imagine dr. paul's typical supporter is not wealthy, so it seems to me he's got quite a sizable voting contingent despite the ~4% of the vote that the major media outlets purport him having.

[seanx]

I guess it depends on how bad the weather is as to my ability to make the Ron Paul show this weekend.....

the revolution is mounting........


Odds Say 2/1 Ron Paul Will Smash $10 Million Barrier In One Day Donations
How will the mainstream media spin away such an astounding show of support for the Texas Congressman?

December 13 , 2007
Steve Watson

Betting odds on how much money Ron Paul's campaign will raise in one day this Sunday suggest that bookies believe the Congressman could easily break the $10 million mark and stun his constant detractors by raising close to $20 million in the fourth quarter.

Popular betting website BetCRIS.com has posted the following odds for how much Paul will raise at this weekend's "Boston Tea Party" fundraiser:

- $1-3 million 3 to 1

- $3-6 million 5 to 6

- $6-10 million 11 to 10

- Over $10 million 2 to 1

While the bookmakers say it is odds on that Ron Paul will break his own record for online donations in one day, the extremely short odds they give on the $10 million barrier being broken are very encouraging for the campaign.

On November 5th Dr Paul's campaign raised over $4.3 million via the online "money bomb" donation drive, with the affiliated website receiving 17,500 pledges in the run up. This time the website at www.teaparty07.com/ has 30,000 pledges with three days still to go. If these pledges are fulfilled, Paul's campaign could be looking at a figure almost double that of November 5th.

However, speculators have suggested that there could be thousands of so called "lurkers" that have not signed up at the website but still intend to donate. In addition, the media coverage this weekend, combined with viral internet activity could entice new supporters.

Yesterday we revealed that Ron Paul has been declared the emphatic winner of the first ever National Presidential Caucus, a collation of results from Democrat, Republican and "open" caucus groups that were organised independently online and caucused face-to-face across the nation on December 7th. Despite previously hyping this contest, the mainstream media in its entirety failed to report the results yesterday as Infowars.net picked up the news from the organizer's own press release.

Another key indicator completely ignored by the media today was the revelation that USAStrawPolls.com, a website archiving the straw poll results leading up to the 2008 presidential election, has found that Ron Paul has just surpassed Fred Thompson as the sole leader in straw poll victories .

Though perhaps the most blatant case of corporate censorship of Ron Paul's campaign comes in the shape of MSNBC who have decided to exclude Paul from their upcoming "Meet the Candidates" series.

However, it is hard to believe that the corporate driven mainstream media will be capable of ignoring this weekend's events. The attention the tea party is set to generate will raise Ron Paul's profile yet again, making him without doubt one of the top tier candidates going into the decisive new year.

A telling sign of the Congressman's increasing repute emerged today as the British press have begun to cover the Ron Paul phenomenon, with the London Telegraph devoting an entire article to him.

Meanwhile, the Congressman's coffers have already soared to a total of $11.4 million for the quarter at time of writing. This means that Paul's campaign could come close to its target of $12 million before Sunday's event even begins.

Paul is almost certain to raise more this quarter than Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Fred Thompson. He will also raise more than Mitt Romney if you discount Romney's donations to himself.

Dr. Paul is also the only GOP candidate who has continued to attract popularity as the year has gone on. Paul raised more money in the third quarter than in the second quarter while none of the other candidates achieved this.

Be part of History

[seanx]

what do you believe?

Vicious Ron Paul Hit Piece Scrapes The Barrel Of Yellow Journalism
Kirchick claims Congressman thinks Martin Luther King a "gay pedophile" amongst other ludicrous smears

January 8, 2008
Steve Watson

Another hack journalist intent on making a name for himself in the establishment media peanut gallery is the latest to spuriously attack presidential candidate Ron Paul, making completely baseless claims that the Congressman is a racist and a white supremacist sympathizer, going as far as comparing Dr. Paul to Charles Manson.

On Tucker Carlson's MSNBC show yesterday, The New Republic 's Jamie Kirchick ludicrously claimed that Ron Paul personally called Martin Luther King a "gay pedophile," and stuffed 20 years' worth of "Ron Paul" newsletters full of "racist, anti-semitic, homophobic invective."

Kirchick also spewed idiotic claims that Paul "called black people animals," and spoke at a "secessionist conference" in a New Republic article .

Watch the video of Kirchick's appearance on MSNBC.



Notice that when Carlson asks Kirchick if he ever heard Ron Paul make a racist remark he says "No." But then he announces: "BUT," he DID attend a conference on secession in 1995!!

Did Ron Paul attend such an event? Seemingly yes. Does this make him a racist? NO.

A fellow attendee and speaker at that same conference, Thomas DiLorenzo , explains just how off the mark the ignorant hack is with this attempted slander:

The proceedings of the conference, which the pimply-faced youth is obviously ignorant of, were published as a book: Secession, State and Liberty , edited by Dr. David Gordon, whose Ph.D. from UCLA is in the field of intellectual history. It includes essays by scholars and professors from Emory University, Florida State University, UNLV, University of Montreal, University of South Carolina, and even a lawyer from Buffalo, New York. It was published a few years after the Soviet empire imploded as the result of eleven separate acts of peaceful secession, which made it especially relevant to social scientists.

In fact, secession remains a lively topic of academic discourse, something that the PFY is obviously unfamiliar with. A few weeks ago a secession conference sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities was held in Charleston, South Carolina, featuring some thirty historians and legal scholars. In little Jamie Kirchick's empty mind, the NEH must necessarily be a hotbed of pro-slavery sentiment. (A friend in academe tells me that the participants in this conference spanned the ideological spectrum from left/liberal to Marxist).

Only an ignorant conspiracy theorist like Jamie Kirchick would assume that anyone who studies secession in a scholarly way is necessarily some kind of KKK-sympathizing kook. He knows that Ron Paul will not sue him for defamation because he is a public figure. I, however, am not a public figure.

Tucker Carlson himself acted as if he was somewhat shocked to hear the claims, like he did not know what his own guest was going to talk about. However it is clear that this was another pathetic attempt to smear Ron Paul by the same guy who turned up to a Ron Paul event with hookers and a pimp claiming they were fellow supporters.

Carlson also claims that Ron Paul campaign has recently "apologized on the phone" to him personally about comments made in the same newsletters referred to by Kirchick, something that the campaign would have no interest in doing given that they have already publicly distanced themselves from the writings, 99.9% of which are not written by Ron Paul and have no direct connection to him whatsoever.

Ron Paul's voluminous writings are freely available to anyone who wishes to look. There is not a scintilla of evidence in any of his personal writings that he is in any way shape or form racist. Kirchick knows this full well, but has hand-picked a dozen or so statements from articles not written by Ron Paul to launch a vitriolic guilt by association slur.

Ron Paul is a gentleman, he has served in Congress over the course of three decades and his record does not have one blip against it. Anyone who has followed Paul for any modicum of time will tell you that to imagine him calling Martin Luther King a "gay pedophile" is the most patently ridiculous claim that could possibly be made.

As one respondent to the New Republic hit piece comments, "That's the problem Ron Paul presents to those trying to smear him, you have to go back 20 years and try to twist somebody else's words to try to make him look bad. With all the other candidates you can just look at what they themselves have actually been doing in the recent past and even the present."

Guilt by association is the only recourse for those who savage the Congressman in search of a pat on the head and a job offer from one of the corporate media monsters. Last time out we had to debunk a similar flailing attack when it was claimed that Ron Paul was a secret Neo-Con because he once co-authored a book with someone who went on to become a Neo-Con fifteen years later.

The New York Times was forced to issue a retraction when they printed an article that claimed Ron Paul regularly met with white supremacists at a restaurant in Arlington, Va., a completely baseless accusation intended to smear the Congressman as a racist sympathizer. In light of the fact that numerous people are now considering suing Kirchick for his libelous garbage, we also expect a swift retraction.

The key to unraveling Kirchick's smear is the complete inaccuracy of his central claim - the contention that Ron Paul hates Martin Luther King and advocates the comments of others who inferred that King was a sexual pervert and a pedophile.

If Kirchick had bothered to actually check Ron Paul's voting record (real research doesn't seem to be his forte) he would have learned that on one of the very rare occasions when the Congressman has voted for something that is not explicitly authorized in the Constitution, it was for America to recognize Martin Luther King day as a public holiday.

"In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he voted to authorize the continuing operation of NASA and to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday on the third Monday in January," writes Politifact.com .

Why would the Congressman, who is loathe to vote for anything that isn't authorized by the Constitution, go to such lengths to break his consistency in celebrating the contribution of Martin Luther King to society if he thought the legendary activist was a "gay pedophile".

The fact that Ron Paul has also made numerous public first person references, as oppose to 20-year-old articles written by other people, to Martin Luther King being one of his "heroes" is also ignored by Kirchick.

Most of these lies stem from an article that was written by one of Paul's aides fifteen years ago about crime figures and black people in LA - another feeble jab that fizzled into nothing.

Indeed, the very publishers of many of the newsletters that Kirchick alludes to in his hit piece publicly admitted six months ago that Ron Paul had no influence over their content.

"Ron Paul didn't know about those comments, or know they were written under his name until much later when they were brought to his attention. There were several issues that went out with comments that he would not ordinarily make. He was angry when he saw them," said one publisher.

Since Ron Paul is as clean as a whistle and unlike Romney, Huckabee and Giuliani has no skeletons in the closet, the establishment media are forced to resort to the dirtiest trick in the book - guilt by association.

This was not the only appearance the shifty eyed New Republic hack Kirchick made yesterday.

He also appeared on the albino vampire John Gibson's radio show to spew more of his vile lies. In his introduction Gibson admits to having "been after Ron Paul because I think he is a 9/11 truther". The pair then go on to declare the Congressman an outright racist once more on the back of the same newsletters.

Kirchick states, "From 1978 onwards practically every issue is devoted to conspiracy mongering about the Trilateral Commission, first of all when someone mentions the Trilateral Commission in nefarious terms you know they are a little kooky."

Excuse me? This is the same Trilateral Commission founded by David Rockefeller who wrote in his own memoirs that he and his family have been conspiring against the United States. He expresses his hostility to Americans who seek "first and foremost to serve the national interests of the United States." Is any American citizen who opposes this "a little kooky"?

Kirchick continues, "The Council on Foreign Relations, the Bilderbergers, I mean that's like a real out there conspiracy theory".

No sir, the notion that the Bilderberg Group does not exist and does not play a major role in policy making and lobbying was dispensed with by even the most aggressive mainstream hacks years ago.

What have these issues got to do with allegations of racism against Ron Paul anyway? It becomes clear that Kirchick is grasping at thin air.

The pair then go on to make several extreme slurs against Ron Paul, even comparing the Congressman to Charles Manson, by citing quotes they falsely claim are written by him. They even suggest that when Ron Paul talks about "the international banking elite" he is talking about Jews and is therefore anti-Semitic.

They throw in quotes from material unconnected to Ron Paul and mix it up with selected Paul quotations which are taken completely out of context, such as past criticism of Israeli military aggression. The disgusting pair end by calling Paul a "Dirty Bigot" and "Nazi scum".

Kirchick also refers to the farcical "Stormfront Donation" saga which forced the New York Times to issue a retraction last month admitting to several errors in a post it published which carried assertions that Ron Paul meets regularly with white supremacist groups. Kirchick should be forced to issue the same retraction, Gibson and Carlson should also be brought to task for allowing known lies and smear to be broadcast on their shows.

Lew Rockwell has provided a succinct background on The New Republic in wake of the smear attempts:

TNR has a long and checkered history of pro-fascism, pro-communism, and pro-new dealism. Founded to promote the rotten progressive movement of militarism, central banking, income taxation, centralization, and regulation of business, it naturally hates and fears the Ron Paul Revolution. The mag is also famous for having published a slew of entirely made-up articles by Stephen Glass, which it passed off as non-fiction. Through the 1950s it was an important magazine, of significant if baleful influence, but it long ago declined in circulation and significance, like all DC deadtree ops. Long close to Beltway libertarians, for whom its politically correct left-neoconism is fine and dandy, TNR once published a cover story literally comparing Ross Perot to Adolf Hitler when he was running for president. That is the publication's style--hysterical smears aimed at political enemies.

Ron Paul is a hero. He stands for uncompromised integrity and unwavering adherence to the core principles of the Constitution. He also represents real Republican principals, which is why he is coming under so much attack from neoconservatives and their bootlicking media whores, who rightly recognize him and the reach of his message as the greatest threat to their usurpation of the Republican party and the values of America as a whole.

RON PAUL'S RESPONSE

Ron Paul has already responded to these ridiculous accusations and slammed them as political haymaking to coincide with the New Hampshire primary.

"The quotations in The New Republic article are not mine and do not represent what I believe or have ever believed. I have never uttered such words and denounce such small-minded thoughts.

In fact, I have always agreed with Martin Luther King, Jr. that we should only be concerned with the content of a person's character, not the color of their skin. As I stated on the floor of the U.S. House on April 20, 1999: ?I rise in great respect for the courage and high ideals of Rosa Parks who stood steadfastly for the rights of individuals against unjust laws and oppressive governmental policies.'

This story is old news and has been rehashed for over a decade. It's once again being resurrected for obvious political reasons on the day of the New Hampshire primary.

When I was out of Congress and practicing medicine full-time, a newsletter was published under my name that I did not edit. Several writers contributed to the product. For over a decade, I have publicly taken moral responsibility for not paying closer attention to what went out under my name."

Judging by the deluge of comments that slam Kirchick's hit piece for what it is, the majority remain impervious to this recycled trash.

Another clue to Kirchick's completely disingenuous agenda is the fact that he approached Alex Jones to be interviewed for the New Republic article by claiming he was "doing a story on the momentum behind the Ron Paul for President campaign". In a telephone conversation he also claimed that the article "wasn't a hit piece" when repeatedly asked by Jones.

At the end of Kirchick's piece, he takes an Alex Jones quote astronomically out of context by claiming Alex says the elite want to develop themselves into "superhuman" computer hybrids able to "travel throughout the cosmos". The fact that Jones himself is paraphrasing the dreams of transhumanists in clarifying their agenda as bizarre and elitist is not explained by Kirchick who, in attributing the quote directly to Jones, attempts to associate him with its incredulity.

As one respondent accurately summarizes, "So where's the evidence? Like some photocopies of the actual newsletters? I'm not familiar with any of Ron Paul's newsletters but I am familiar with Alex Jones and your description of Endgame is completely spun so it puts your entire article into question. Alex Jones has interviewed many famous figures that do not share his views. So what? If you can't present some evidence then how do we know that you haven't taken these excerpts completely out of context? It's hard to trust any attack on Ron Paul's character coming from a Neoconservative publication like yours that vigorously defends any criticism of the precious war in Iraq and "global war on terror". Furthermore, it's very difficult to align your allegations with the character of Ron Paul that is presented in his countless speeches, interviews and books. Not a trace of any bigotry and he has many times directly attacked the idea of collectivism that leads to bigotry."

We invite readers to share their views on Mr. Kirchick's article by e mailing him at [e-mail] .

[seanx]

NAACP President: Ron Paul Is Not A Racist
Linder says Paul being smeared because he is a threat to the establishment | January 13, 2008

Austin NAACP President Nelson Linder, who has known Ron Paul for 20 years, unequivocally dismissed charges that the Congressman was a racist in light of recent smear attempts, and said the reason for him being attacked was that he was a threat to the establishment.

Linder joined Alex Jones for two segments on his KLBJ Sunday show this evening, during which he commented on the controversy created by media hit pieces that attempted to tarnish Paul as a racist by making him culpable for decades old newsletter articles written by other people.

"Knowing Ron Paul's intent, I think he is trying to improve this country but I think also, when you talk about the Constitution and you constantly criticize the federal government versus state I think a lot of folks are going to misconstrue that....so I think it's very easy for folks who want to to take his position out of context and that's what I'm hearing," said Linder.

"Knowing Ron Paul and having talked to him, I think he's a very fair guy I just think that a lot of folks do not understand the Libertarian platform," he added.

Asked directly if Ron Paul was a racist, Linder responded "No I don't," adding that he had heard Ron Paul speak out about police repression of black communities and mandatory minimum sentences on many occasions.

Dr. Paul has also publicly praised Martin Luther King as his hero on many occasions spanning back 20 years.

"I've read Ron Paul's whole philosophy, I also understand what he's saying from a political standpoint and why people are attacking him," said Linder.

"If you scare the folks that have the money, they're going to attack you and they're going to take it out of context," he added.

"What he's saying is really really threatening the powers that be and that's what they fear," concluded the NAACP President.

[BT]

Ron Paul Bash 2 at the Dragonfly on March 15 !!!!

[BT]

I know many of you are bummed about yesterday BUT THAT IS BECAUSE YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW THE ELECTION SYSTEM WORKS : Let me explain to you the reality of how to become the nominee.

First stop looking at who wins each states popular vote for most of these states the vote by the people is really nothing but a straw poll and have no real bearing on who will become the nominee. The only way this matters is if 1 person receives 1192 delegates that are bound by state rules to be commited to that candidate. NOW there is no possible way that anyone in the race can achieve this goal now because of the major split in state wins by the candidates.

So what happens now you ask? You look at the number of delegates that Dr. Paul has that are uncommited to the other candidates and will support him. these delegates are not decided by the popular vote ie: straw poll of the people. Since no one will have enough delegates to skate them through to the nomination we now must look at how many delegates NOT VOTES but delegates Dr. Paul has that are 100% uncommited to the other candidates and will be 100% for Dr. Paul and are free to vote for whom they wish.

This race will go all the way to the convention for there is no other way for someone to receive the nomintaion until the convention.

The RNC will convene its annual Winter Meeting - and voters will continue to cast their ballots in the nation's primaries and caucuses. Candidates for delegate and alternate delegate to the convention will be elected - and thousands of convention participants and guests will begin planning their trips to Minneapolis-Saint Paul The first week in September 2008

SO WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

This means that all of the people that registered to become a delegate for Dr. Paul can go to the convention and cast their vote for Dr. Paul, now think about what i just said : Do you think for one second that all the people that voted for Dr. Paul and filed to become a deligate will not show up at the convention to vote for the good Doctor? Of course they will just like they battled the rain and the sleet and the 15 below zero winter weather to knock on doors and wave signs spreading our message.

Now I assure you that even though we didn't win the popular vote in many states WE DID PICK UP THE MAJORITY OF DELEGATES THAN ALL THE OTHER CANDIDATES IN MOST EVERY STATE EXCEPT A FEW. So yes they won the straw poll and we won what counts which is delegates.

[freddyv]

he's way behind, but half of the total delegates are still available in future primaries/caucuses. It's looking like more candidates could start dropping out too as they are all pretty strapped for cash.

Ron Paul National Delegate Count Now 42 or More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 6, 2008

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – With the results of many of the “Super Tuesday” primaries and caucuses now finalized, the Ron Paul campaign is now projecting that it has at least 42 delegates to the national convention secured.

While much of the focus in yesterday’s Super Tuesday contests focused on preference poll numbers, Ron Paul caucus-goers were focused on securing delegates to the national convention. With dedicated supporters and an organization focused purely on securing delegates, the campaign has secured more delegates to the national convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul than caucus straw polls might otherwise suggest.

According to campaign projections, a minimum of 24 delegates were won in yesterday’s contests. When added to projected delegates coming from strong showings in Iowa (4), Nevada (8), Louisiana (3) and Maine (3), that brings the total delegate count to 42 delegates or more.

“Our goal has always been to walk into the national GOP convention with as many delegates as possible,” said Ron Paul 2008 campaign manager Lew Moore. “The number of delegates we won yesterday could very well be the difference in a Convention where no one has a first-ballot majority. With Dr. Paul’s home state of Texas coming up, we feel we can enter the convention with a substantial number of delegates.”

In an agreement first reported by West Virginia television station WSAZ, three Ron Paul delegates were secured through an agreement with the Mike Huckabee campaign at the West Virginia state convention early Tuesday. Ron Paul delegates to the state convention swung their sizable support to Huckabee – putting Huckabee over the top – in exchange for the delegates.

According to campaign projections from last night’s results at least 3 delegates were won in Alaska, 5 delegates were won in North Dakota, 9 delegates were won in Minnesota, and 4 delegates were won in Colorado.

Additionally the results of the Louisiana Caucus may still change in favor of Ron Paul, where an ongoing legal challenge may result in most of that state’s delegates going towards Ron Paul after state GOP officials violated their own rules to improperly put delegates from other campaigns on the ballots.

[sayten]

He needs someone to step up for him....

I've said that before... He needs some figurehead muppet like everyone else has....

[BT]

Ron Paul did not quit, as the MSM has been implying.

He is concentrating on the Texas primary until after March 4th.

It makes sense, since Texas has so many delegates.

[seanx]

....after tonight's Democratic debate......and seeing how lame ass both McCain and Clinton are..........I am actually thinking about voting for Obama............I think he may be the only candidate with a conscience (and he is equally as liberal as the other two.....McCain might be a bit more liberal though)........plus he is the only one who acts like an adult (unlike me)

I guess it all depends on what goes down between now and then.......

[freddyv]

if you want higher taxes and more government involvement in your life, vote for the guy.

www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080220/EDITORIAL/513413596/1013

from www.huffingtonpost.com/hale-stewart/obamas-economic-plan-is-_b_86593.html

This agenda is paid for," Obama said as the Republican National Committee promoted an "Obama Spend-O-Meter" online to track his proposals and portray him as a tax-and-spend liberal. Obama explained that the money for his spending proposals will come from ending the Iraq war, cutting tax breaks for corporations, taxing carbon pollution and raising taxes on high income earners.

so basically he wants to cripple industry and send more jobs out of the country. sign me up!

also, check this link from the RNC ("Obama Spend-O-Meter"):

www.gop.com/obamaspendometer.htm

of course they have an agenda, but they provide links to substantiate their claims.

don't forget, he was rated the most liberal member of the senate...and he's going to be appointing judges. hooray judicial activism!

that being said, it probably doesn't matter either way as it looks like he's going to win it. he's very charming...people like that.

[freddyv]

p.s. - don't forget he's CFR

[seanx]

....freddy, I know he's CFR (ans so are clinton and mccain).....and I also know what his NWO agenda is......

......Do I throw my vote on Ron Paul as a protest?......or do I throw it to the lesser of the three evils....that is the question

[freddyv]

I've decided that I can't vote for someone that I don't believe in. So I'm going to have to either write in Ron Paul or find out more about third party candidates and hope that one of them ends up on the PA ballot (extremely unlikely...I think they kept Nader off the ballot in PA in 2000 and in 2004).

[freddyv]

Dr. Paul broke out his crystal ball for this one. Looking back from almost 24 years in the future, it's amazing how much of this has come to fruition.

"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." - George Santayana

Mickulz...here's a teaser quote that I'm sure you will enjoy:

We pump $40 billion a year into the Japanese economy by providing for essentially all of Japan's defense. At the same time, Japan out-competes us in the market, in effect subsidizing their exports, which then undermines our domestic steel and auto industries. The result: greater deficits for us, higher taxes, more inflation, higher interest rates, and a cry by our producers for protectionism.

Some Observations on Four Terms in Congress
by Ron Paul

Before the US House of Representatives, September 19, 1984

www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul433.html

[freddyv]

Ron Paul op-ed in Forbes:

Candidate Central
A Word From Ron Paul
Ron Paul 03.04.08, 3:20 PM ET

www.forbes.com/2008/03/04/election-economy-paul-oped-cx_rp_0304ronpaul.html

a quick excerpt:

The most permanent tax reform we can undertake, though, is to end the income tax and abolish the IRS. We could remove the entire personal income tax-funded portion of the budget and the federal government would still receive roughly the same revenues that it did during the Clinton years. And we could do this without even touching Social Security and Medicare.

[BT]

Ron Paul is coming to Penn State

Paul to visit PSU

What: Ron Paul speech
When: 5:30 p.m. April 11
Where: 100 Thomas Building

Katharine Lackey Collegian Staff Writer

Presidential hopeful Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, will speak at Penn State on April 11 in response to a "sizeable" demand from students, his campaign announced yesterday.

Paul will be speaking at 5:30 p.m. in 100 Thomas, where he will address "freedom and the Constitution," said Jesse Benton, communications director for Paul.

The demand from Penn State students was "more than we can keep track of," Benton said, adding that Paul enjoys speaking to young people.

Additional specifics about the event will be released at the end of the week.

Penn State College Libertarians President Alex Weller said his group has been requesting a visit from Paul for more than a year.

"It's important to reach as many students about the liberties and freedoms that are slowly being taken away," he said. "I hope that students will come with open ears and will listen to Dr. Paul's message and consider voting for him for president."

Many of Paul's positions revolve around the idea of less governmental regulation. As a presidential candidate, Paul has proposed lowering taxes and instituting less government control over civil liberties, Weller said.

Jack Vickrey, vice president for the Penn State College Republicans, said he thinks Paul will get involved with the audience while speaking.

"Having seen Ron Paul speak before, he will most likely involve the crowd whether it's taking questions from the crowd or walking through the crowd and doing a little meet and greet afterwards," he said.

Mike Policelli, vice president of the College Libertarians, said Paul's campaign has been in "full force" in Pennsylvania, adding that four tons of campaign material have been distributed. Paul would be in the best position to gain the Republican nomination if Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had to drop out, Policelli added.

"Even though a lot of people like to ignore it and think that John McCain is a shoe-in, a lot of things could happen between now and November," he said. "Presidential candidates have dropped out of the race for all sort of reasons."

One of Paul's strong positions is his stance on the Iraq War, Policelli said.

"Ron Paul is unique in that his view on Iraq is extremely well-defined and is extremely well-researched," he said.

Paul has said the invasion of Iraq was made under "false pretenses without a constitutionally-required declaration of war," and he would bring the troops home immediately, according to ronpaul2008.com.

Ross Ulbricht (graduate-material sciences), who attempted to run as a delegate for Paul, said he wants to see lines out the doors of the Thomas Building.

"The man is eloquent. He speaks very succinctly and straightforwardly and is very insightful and wise," he said. "There's a lot to learn from him and his message of what it means to be a U.S. citizen and what it means to be a free individual."

Ulbricht said he supports Paul because he is one of the few politicians who understands what the United States was founded on.

"He doesn't compromise his integrity as a politician and he fights quite diligently to restore the principles that our country was founded on," he said.

Samantha Miller, Penn State College Democrats spokeswoman, said even though she isn't a Republican, she is still interested in seeing Paul speak.

"I do believe that the university is a place where all different views and all different opinions can be brought to the forefront," she said. "Because he has such Libertarian views, there are issues that Democrats agreed with him on and issues Republicans agree with him on."

www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2008/03/26/paul_to_visit_psu.aspx