Top Ten Reasons we Lost Iowa -- Not for Faint of Heart
Submitted by Kyle in Flint MI on Fri, 01/04/2008 - 19:21Only when you study your failures, can you improve. Here are my Top Ten reasons why we lost in Iowa -- not for the faint hearted.
1. NHQ did not see importance of Iowa: A month ago; polls showed us in a three way tie in Iowa. Someone should have had the insight to say, "Hey if we finish third in Iowa, that will propel us into major media coverage, major donations, and give us a major boost into NH." Actions do not show that was the case. Real Leadership sees an openning. Because they did not see the vision; a half hearted effort was made.
2. Ron was not there for the last days: Where was Ron. Well for New Years -- according to a sad AP story that went nationwide; while many of the candidates were having New Years in Iowa; Ron was "reading policy papers" back in Texas. Did Iowa think Ron cared that much? Of course he did and does, but NHQ should have had him campaigning there then.
Fred, Mike and John had buses going around the state -- Ron did what; one or two events? Again; NHQ -- for a presidential primary has to do multiple events. They are responsible for the schedule of the candidate.
3. Ron did not campaign there: Hillary touched down in each county; she had a hellicopter; Fred, John, Mike had buses and campaigned straight for days; Fred for almost two weeks; all around the state. I have seen press reports that Ron did not do this, and only actually visited a small percentage of the state's counties. He spent most of his time in eastern Iowa -- where he pulled in his best numbers. NHQ should have had him in a bus, and covering each county.
4. The Ads: I actually have not seen them. All I know is that from the constant and high volume of Daily Paul comments - they were ineffective and really bad. I have read here where the folks that did the Jesse Ventura ads, and other outside the box campaigns, wrote NHQ and offered to help -- oh, here we go again -- no reply.
Can't open the mail, keep track of it -- will not return emails -- will not return phone calls -- hey; fix this.
I have lost count of the comment "our youtube videos are better".
5. No State Director: Yes we had a "State Coordinator", but the press and volunteers react differently to a request by a Director than a Coordinator. Just look at the press coverage % quoting the State Directors for the other campaigns, compared to ours.
6. No State Media Spokeman: Same thing; same results. I followed the Iowa newspapers; always quoting Iowa campaign staff from the other campaigns; very little from ours. From what I am told; NHQ wants to handle all the media. This is hurting us. When 70% of the people have not heard much about Ron Paul; you need other voices. The local Iowa papers wanted to speak with someone from Iowa; not Jesse in VA. Iowa media want to speak to a local Media Rep.
7. Failure to address real issues affecting everyday persons: The Message; The MESSAGE. Why did Obama win; the message.
Yes; the Constitution hangs by a thread; yes -- we need to come home from Iraq; yes; fix the tax system -- but how about the price of gasoline; high credit card interest rates; banks taking back cars and homes -- everyday economic issues. Ron has to expand his message.
One blogger called him the "Pre-telegraph" candidate. If we want to move above 10% we have to expand the message to relate to the middle class, and their economic issues. NHQ has to expand the message if we are going to expand our base.
8. To negative -- what are you going to do?: Another trait that is poping up too often is the "angry old man"; too negative. The way to overcome this is to offer suggestions. For example: "We need to improve our relationships with other countries; one positive change I will institute, will be to require each Ambassador to be fluent in the language of the country they are assigned." Positives inspire.
9. Local offices; we had 2 and Obama had 27: From what I have read; we had 2 offices in Iowa; Obama had 27. He sent a message. And, he hired locals to manage his offices; and guess what -- they showed up at the caucus and they brought their friends. How you spend your money is more important than how much you raise. Hopefully NHQ will learn from this one.
10. Not targeting base with effective mailings and reach-out: This killed us in Iowa. Did we have specific mailers to Home Schoolers, and Gun Owners, etc -- I have not heard of them. The Huck -- from Press reports, created at least 9 new ways to make it harder for Home Schoolers -- yet -- according to the media reports -- it was the Home Schoolers that gave him big numbers; those should have been our votes. They don't know if you do not tel them.
11. Preceived ego of National Campaign staff: I have read so many stories on Daily Paul where phone calls and emails and suggestions to Ken, Lew, Joe, Don and Holly at NHQ go unanswered. This is just poor office management and leadership skills. In politics and in the non-profit sector, Volunteers are your life-blood. You uplift them and they work harder; you ignore or insult them, and they do not work hard, or worse -- they walk away.
No; Ken, Lew, Joe, Holly and Don cannot answer each phone call, each email, or letter -- but they should have staff that do.
Others have said they (NHQ) are closed to suggestions. Name one suggestion from the grass roots that they have implemented. A NHQ cannot be their way or the highway. They have to be open to ideas.
They should have a Daily Column either on Daily Paul, or as a Press Release to inspire the base -- the volunteers who are the grassroots. It should really be on the main campaign page.
Having led various computer based, or physical volunteer drives; if you want to motivate the base; do daily updates. Give them a shot of motivation each day if you expect them to volunteer each day.
Other things that are holding us back:
1. Not accepting Matching funds; Some say it is against a Libertarian principle to accept matching funds; my reply is that the principles of the Constitution -- which hang by a thread --- are more important.
NHQ needs to see this and do something; are we in this to win or to just make a statement?
2. Campaign website: Unless they really do not want volunteers visiting because of the costs of hits, then they should start using the website as a motivational tool -- you do this by having real daily updates -- a couple times a day. How this works is -- you want your volunteers to have a new infusion of motivation a couple times a day. This propels them to share the message with their friends and relatives, and people they come into contact with; AM and PM updates.
3. Office Manager: We need a Office Manager that tracks incoming mail (like the NRA debate invitation that was lost -- according to reports). Also tracks phone calls. If Ken or Lew or Joe does not want to respond to an email or phone call --- or not even read the email -- it should go to some staff person who can respond.
4. Media Spokesman/person: We need a real deal Media Spokesman/Person. I could not believe the Fox Forum Fiasco where NHQ issued several statements -- one saying -- "Fox is not returning our phone calls." A real deal Media Spokeman has the home phone numbers and cell numbers for media folks at all of the networks - because he already has a long term relationship with them. A real deal media spokesman already has relationships with the press reporters and assignment editors; that is why he gets "stories and press coverage"; it is all about relationships.
5. At the bottom of the home page (or top) of ronpaul2008, there should be links to Daily Paul, and other volunteer motivational sites.
6. I hope Ron, Rand, Lew, Ken, Joe and Don, and Holly are all in Wyoming for the caucus tomorrow for one last push -- then to NH for that last push.
End Notes: You only learn from your mistakes if you are humble enough to see your mistakes, and then take corrective actions to fix them. We appreciate the hard work of NHQ -- Ken, Lew, Joe, Holly, Don, Jesse, etc; we ask them to look, and consider what improvements can be made. We should have had 3rd; we needed third. Let us pray that NHQ will do the right actions.
Please vent and share your feelings why we did not do better in Iowa. And importantly, improvements that the NHQ can make.
Reposted this entry on my website
Hey Kyle, thanks for the great article. Since DailyPaul.com is not an admitted site for Digg submissions, I reposted this article on my website at chaosmotor.com. The direct link is
http://chaosmotor.wordpress.com/2008/01/07/top-ten-reasons-r...
I also wrote another post about Dr. Paul which you can find here:
http://chaosmotor.wordpress.com/2008/01/07/oil-the-dollar-an...
Sorry for not posting here immediately to let you know I cribbed your article to submit it to Digg, I hope you can forgive me.
Some of you may want to read additional entries I've written, hopefully you find my philosophies and opinions appealing.
chaosmotor.com
Only For The Serious
Over the weekend a handful of supporters from across America conferenced on a call.
This group includes people close to the Ron Paul family.
There are now several websites set-up to address all of the issues in this post. These are sites that go beyond talk. They are database servers that will support our efforts.
Our strategy is simple. We have a strong funding source.
If you are serious about participating send me an email:
America_Freedom@comcast.net
Grassroots: This Is Our Campaign - Own It.
Grassroots: This Is Our Campaign - Own It.
Can you tell us more
Can you tell us more?
Please provide links,
Please provide links, something to look at before people get involved in something and perhaps donate money to it.
Please don't take offense, but you're 2 days old and I've been fearing that there may be unscrupulous people out there who would take advantage of well-meaning supporters. That's not an accusation, I'm just expressing caution. Hope you understand.
----------
If you visit one link today, make it this one: http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Fox_removing_Ron_Paul_s_na...
The campain, and the future of Freedom, is in your hands
The campaign and your freedom is not in NHQ's hands. It is in your hands.
Instead of asking why NHQ isn't doing X, ask instead what are you doing (Most Effective Contributions).
I love some of the ideas here, especially the local advertising.
Cut out the middle man in the Freedom
re[love]ution,
Dennis
Don't Vote For Ron Paul for anything less than
Re[love]ution & Renaissance
Dennis
Local Small Paper Ads Work - Jefferson, IA 35%
We need to learn from Jefferson County that advertising in local papers works. They had 35% for Ron Paul there just by running cheap ads in local papers week after week. Our founding fathers sold the constitution via local papers with the Federalist Papers. We need to do the same.
From one of the meetups in Jefferson County.
Few people in Jefferson County read the Des Moines Register so ad buys there don't reach the rural folk hardly at all. The small local papers have very little political advertising and would love to have the business. And it is CHEAP. We had an ad in the weekly paper 8 column inches for $55 a week for 13 weeks straight. And change the ad every week. We ran larger ads in the daily paper as well. Some are at: http://ronpaul.meetup.com/267/files/
We did a newspaper insert printed 2 sides letter size paper - RIDICULOUSLY CHEAP way to reach 2500 people - so much cheaper than direct mail. Those mail items the campaign sends must have cost a fortune, by comparison an insert cost us $150 to reach 2500 plus $120 for photocopying or under 11 cents per household. These local orientated messages I think are way more effective than direct mail.
----------------------------------
"The essence of freedom is the proper limitation of government". ~ Founding Fathers
We could done all those above 10x fold...
but still the vote could be tampered with...
This guy is on it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUJZnKPInhA
Ron Paul's Iowa mistakes--and how we can learn from them
Many very good points!
Even if we could not have won Iowa, there is no doubt that our campaign could have improved its performance to a degree which would have given our hero a credible third, perhaps in the mid-twenties, breathing down Romney's neck, and even giving the Huckster a run for his money in some Iowa counties.
Live and learn. I hope the good advice cited above in that post is taken well before Super Tuesday next month.
PEACE AND FREEDOM!!
David K. Meller
You missed one
You missed the only one that really counts: The Vote Count.
The votes weren't counted in the open as promised by Republican Party officials. Unless votes are counted in the open the political bosses will never allow Dr. Paul to interfere with their cushy little racket.
Dr. Paul and his Staff did a fantastic job with the money and resources available. They do not have the forces of evil to prop them up at every move and promote imagined virtues for them. Ron's status and integrity grows by the day. I'm proud to be one of his patriots.
For Freedom, Prosperity, and Peace
The Corrupt Fear Us.
The Honest Support Us.
The Courageous Join Us.
President Ron Paul 2012.
Amen, the most important
Amen, the most important reason of all. It all boils down to who actually counts the votes.
In Australia
Where I am now, the whole shebang is government funded. BUT, the ballots are all on paper and, at EVERY voting place (whatever they are called), there are volunteer party scrutineers whose job it is to just stand there and lean over the shoulders of the people counting the votes. There is no news that I hear here of the votes being rigged or anything (and there is always some smoke with these things) so I think paper ballots are the way to go. And they obviously think it is necessary to have someone standing there watching the vote count. And this is not a corrupt country. This is a very old practice, so I am told.
Good to know.
"What does conservatism today stand for? It stands for war. It stands for power. It stands for spying, jailing without trial, torture, counterfeiting without limit, and lying from morning to night."
Lew Rockwell
Thanks for the input. This
Thanks for the input. This is exactly what needs to be done here. Where the public eyeballs and VERIFYS the actual totals. Where the problem seems to be is when the count totals from each precinct are called in to a 'middleman' tabulation service. Totals don't always coincide with the initial count.
Need a Drudge Banner Ad
.............continually.................
BIG NO
1.
EVANGELICALS + Huckster = Victory......That was Iowa for Republicans..
BIG NO....................WE HAVE PRINCIPLES.....
Not accepting Matching funds; Some say it is against a Libertarian principle to accept matching funds; my reply is that the principles of the Constitution -- which hang by a thread --- are more important.
BIG YES..........
11. Preceived ego of National Campaign staff: I have read so many stories on Daily Paul where phone calls and emails and suggestions to Ken, Lew, Joe, Don and Holly at NHQ go unanswered. This is just poor office management and leadership skills. In politics and in the non-profit sector, Volunteers are your life-blood. You uplift them and they work harder; you ignore or insult them, and they do not work hard, or worse -- they walk away.
No; Ken, Lew, Joe, Holly and Don cannot answer each phone call, each email, or letter -- but they should have staff that do.
"If the people ever allow the banks to issue their currency, the banks and corporations which will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property, until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." T. Jefferson
#4 is certainly true, in spades
#4 is certainly true, in spades, that's for damn sure.
#8 is also true, and part of the problem is that RP is basically breaking the bad news to people who for the last 25 years have known nothing but bull market. Even though it's now out of real gas and running on the fumes of freshly printed money, it's a lot easier for most people to hear the other guys' happy talk.
I think you may have missed the one think people (who aren't ardent RP fans) tell me most, and which I think is a fair assessment: In many of the TV interviews, especially the ones of the ambush kind where RP is forced to think on his feet, he comes across as weak, both in body language and verbally. The George Stephanawfulous interview is one good example, where RP served up the obvious straight line for George, who OF COURSE was going to say he was willing to bet every penny in his pocket.
RP does a lot better in his speeches, but most people never see them.
A lot of the those who lean more toward the right (no the hard core types; they're hopeless) also think RP is a total weakling as far as fighting that mythical war on terror that they've had drummed into their heads. I'd sure like to see RP regularly explain why, as I like to put it in slogan form:
"Osama bin Forgotten is the problem.
Marque & Reprisal is the solution."
Otherwise, all they think they know about RP is 'he wants to let the terrorist win'
The problem might be framed as this: "What are many mainstream Republican voters still waiting to hear from Ron Paul?"
In order for Ron Paul to break through to (for the lack of a better term) "ordinary Republican voters," many of whom aren't used to thinking too deeply about most issues, he is going to have to do a better job of staying on topic in TV interviews, and sharpen his message considerably.
Like it or not, it's a sound bite world, and in order to get their attention, Ron is going to have to start using quick snappy terms to at least accentuate & punctuate his message, framing each issue with a catchy soundbite.
For example, let's take an issue on which I think Ron has made his point pretty clearly, his support for the second amendment, and how that might have interfered with the success of the 9/11 hijackers. I'd tie this into Ron's stated goal to eliminate the Dept. of Homeland Security, with a soundbite like this:
"We don't need a Dept. of Homeland Security if we uphold the Amendment of Individual Security."
On the issue of the North American Union & NAFTA superhighway, an issue some have used to try to portray Ron as some sort of kooky conspiracy therorist, I'd say this:
Long version: "The North American Union won't be a conspiracy unless a grand jury hands down an indictment. Until then, it's just a business plan."
Short version: "The North American Union is not a conspiracy, it's a business plan."
Quit living in the past and
Quit living in the past and focus on the future! We have 14%, 3rd place now according to the latest Ras poll.
We need to be our own HQ
Each state needs to get focused and find a plan to win -- with or without HQ help. We need some leaders with experience in winning elections to step up and say lets figure this thing out. We need to win. We don't need to look good or do better than expectations. We don't need to tell each of us to pass out a few more fliers. The grassroots one person at a time will get us to where we are and not much further.
To make it to the top, we need a plan of attack that will be more than the sum of each of us as individual parts.
That's my feeling anyway. If we are going to win then we need to forget about trying to get HQ to do what we think they need to, and do it ourselves. If they do end up getting it right, then even better.
poor staff choices?
so, is the fact that the national campagin staff is not very good an indication that if RP does win the nomination and subsequent election he would have trouble assembling a decent staff? Or, is this just how the cookie crumbles?
I would say
just that. If by some miracle he does win, then yes I have a real concern about these people behind him. I think Ron and the campaign are two different animals. I think the various factors that attract us to Paul (i.e. integrity, understanding, resisting greed, or whatever else it is) don't filter down to the campaign and he is also not aware of any of this...maybe cause he is too naive (and I don't mean that negatively...just as fact) or just too busy with traveling and whatever else. But my sense the staff that he would assemble would not reflect Paul equally.
Revolutions can be messy at times......
but I don't think HQ was ready for just how big this would become. There is always room for improvement, and valid points have been made. General Washington didn't fair to well in his early campaigns, but grew in the position and was victorious. This fight is no different. General Cornwallis had the best Army and Navy in the world at his disposable, but we beat him anyway.
For God and Country!
For God and Country!
Wow
You know, I was thinking exactly the same thing (about Washington's failures and self-doubt) right at the exact moment I began to read your comment.
Yes, Washington was critized heavily, he was being betrayed by those close to him, but he stayed the course. It was not until he crossed the Delaware that he re-surged.
Hang in there, my fellow Paulites! Don't desert your general just yet, he just might have a crossing of the Delaware planned.
WHY RP NHQ AVOIDED IOWA
I see a lot of you out here criticizing the campaign staff, but did any of you stop and think why they didn't care about Iowa? In my opinion, IT WAS A WISE DECISION TO SPEND MINIMAL TIME AND EFFORT IN IOWA!
Why should the campaign waste valuable time, effort, and OUR money on a state with a caucus that has a proven track record of fraud and is also considered a poor indicator of future primary success? The answer is, that they should not. They would be smart to focus more on WY, NH, and NV early on rather than trying to rally more people from Iowa to stand up and NOT be counted. I have 100% faith now after seeing these results that our man Paul is on his way to the top BECAUSE of his responsible campaign staff. Think of it this way:
In IOWA, we were able to get 10% and the campaign hardly did ANYTHING!!! This was, for the most part, from local grassroots efforts that we got this. ALL IOWA SUPPORTERS SHOULD BE THRILLED that they got RP to double-digits DESPITE FRAUD! NHQ was SMART to save the money we've donated for the states that MATTER! You have to understand that this is why RP was pleased with 10%. He KNEW there would be fraud in Iowa and did not expect much.
http://www.dailypaul.com/node/21221
He knew because "The Iowa caucus results were tallied in 2004 by a company that is headed by a man whose company was bought by Elron Electronics, the Israeli defense firm. I suspect that it will be the same this year. Don't expect to see any grassroots political activists doing the tally in Iowa. The Israeli defense establishment takes care of that part of the American "democratic" election process." (last paragraph from the above hyperlink by user "eilif")
I feel that the last thing we need is NEGATIVITY! The Iowa caucus was a SUCCESS and we need to focus on the positives. Don't get me wrong Kyle, I do appreciate your analysis and you make some good points. Reviewing past performances and analyzing what can be done better next time is absolutely necessary. BUT when you offer negative criticism of the campaign staff without understanding what their methods are, you give the impression that they are not being responsible and are doing something wrong. Is Ron Paul a stupid man? Of course not. Would a smart man like Ron keep stupid people on his staff? No again. Let them do their jobs, offer praise where it is due, and focus on your successes and what can be done better next time. Negativity of any kind only serves as a hindrance to our future success. Don't give everyone a sour taste in their mouth! Let them have the sweet sweet taste of victory! Let them close their eyes and picture what it will be like to REALLY be free of this tyranny that has been placed upon us, where our people are once again looked upon by other nations as a role model for standing up against oppression!
Good. Now that you've all got that in your heads, keep it there and let's get this man elected.
THANK YOU ALL AND GO RON PAUL!!!
You're Obviously A Supporter --
Vote RON PAUL 2008
______________
And that's good, nothing wrong in that, me too. But STOP trying to find reason (excuses) why we didn't take a firm hold in IOWA. Thinking like that will have us all standing around and smiling at each other at the finish wondering the same thing, I'm afraid -- we are playing with the BIG BOYS here and they don't play nice // giving them any room for 'a win' and they will. Allow them to push their way to the front, and they will. Allow them to 'cut' us from an ABC forum, and they will; allow them to 'cut' us from a Fox forum, and they will. Understand?
Keep up the commendable support, that's very important, but STOP trying to find excuses for why we were not number one -- there is only one reason and that reason is the deck has been stacked against us and we need to understand that (all of us) and play hardball with the BIG BOYS if we are to play at all -- that's the only way to win here, the only way. What's that old saying (??) // oh yeah, nice guys finish LAST.
Vote RON PAUL 2008 -- and make damn sure we throw the gangsters out of office (speaking of current incumbents and those that are closely related) and put an honest man (RP) behind the wheel for once and for all.
Entirely my thoughts. No excuses necessary to be a winner.
Vote RON PAUL 2008
TO ME
It isn't ABOUT whether THEY did enough to win Iowa, it's about what the SUPPORTERS in Iowa did or did not do. My feeling is that we should have enough smart and talented folks in each state who can put together a plan to win, whether or not the main guys have it right or not. Ok, so we may never have won 1st in Iowa, but 5th?
Anyone who says we couldn't have organized ourselves better and gotten a few thousand more people out is full of shit, so my message to each of you or any of you is how do we come up with a plan in YOUR state to WIN?
Matching funds? Are you nuts?
If you're suggesting that Dr. Paul take taxpayers' money for the campaign, then you need to find a better crack dealer. The guy you're using now is selling you something really nasty.
If Ron Paul took federal matching funds, he would lose 70%+ of his supporters, starting with me. Fortunately, he's a man of integrity and that's not going to happen.
-jcr
"The problem with trying to child-proof the world, is that it makes people neglect the far more important task of world-proofing the child." -- Hugh Daniel
At this hour this is the most important qwan before the campaign
I appreciate and respect your opinion on Ron Paul not taking federal matching funds. I respect that for you it is a matter of principle.
I would say this is the most important qwan before the campaign at this hour.
As I said in my article; we are caught in the middle; on one side the Constitution hangs by a thread, and each day more and more of our civil liberties are being taken away. What do we do; how can we get our message across? On the other hand we have the principle of not taking federal matching funds; which I respect.
I think this is an issue we need to revisit after Feb 5th. Let us see where we stand then; I am not sure if we qualify. The point is, we do need money to get out our message. If we can raise funds; great; if not --- because people cannot afford to give much more -- then we have to consider the principles involved. Please don't walk away if he does; this is going to be a close race in November; we need everyone.
Thank you for all of your hard work on the Ron Paul campaign; let us see what brings us together. Debate is a healthy sign that democracy is alive.
Black Hawk County
The caucus for this county was held at Central Middle School located on the western edge of Waterloo. I went at 6:30 and parked 1 mile away. There was zero parking and zero organization. You had to wait in some of the lines for 1-2 hours just to get your paperwork. There were people waiting in line at 8:45 just to get registered. In my group I identified 3 agents of the world order and they appeared nervous at my presence. The votes for our small group were Mitt 7, Mike 4, Paul 3 and Fred 3. I would say that many people simply went home or to their favorite bar after seeing the BS you had to put up with and did NOT participate. Compare to the Democrats in this county that used many places to caucus and had double the turnout.
a Solution!
"slim jim mini-campaign" has the right idea..along with some others,and will be one of the stratagies posted on "our own" 'Ron Paul WarRoom'/ Anyone? (salt of the earth) if indeed it is created. I guess we should not be worrying what HQ is doing or is NOT doing, they're ignoring us anyway. We're all on the same side ! We are all wondering what we can do to make a more efficient push for Ron Paul. A grassroots "Ron Paul WarRoom" is an excellent way to do this. It would give all the meetup groups more cannon fodder. Salt of the earth...what can I do to help?? mugwampbro@hotmail.com
Go RP2008 !!!!
RonPaulWarRoom.com
Find a tech-savvy geek to put it together, a server to host it, and $$ to fund it (I don't have any). Sounds like a cop-out, perhaps--but true :-{. Oh...and somebody who understands website management to help me run it. Not asking much, huh...?
I'm a white-bearded old fart who still sharpens a goosequill when I want to post anything....real messy on the keyboard, but old habits die hard...
Ideas are cheap; performance is what counts. I guess I'm as guilty as anyone of suggesting ideas that I wish "the other guy" would carry out---but still, I would be glad to collaborate with anyone who has the smarts, drive and $$ to get RonPaulWarRoom.com off the ground and running.
"It's better to stumble in the right direction, than dash in the wrong one."
salt-of-the-earth
The doc had 300 meetup members in 20 groups
In Iowa (I tried to count off the map). They volunteers from other states plus the NHQ had folks. Obama and Edwards and Clinton were "top down: operations in Iowa. The doc was strictly grass roots.....why?
You have a big country with a lot of primaries. You have one guy who can't be everywhere at once. HE CAN'T. Don't start wondering why Dr. Paul isn't in a damn bus riding from stop to stop. Get off of that and leave it be...it ain't gonna happen.
I don't care what the other campaign's did and this is why.
Obama thought he could beat Hillary in Iowa...so did Edwards. They beat themselves to death trying to win and they did. Whoop de do. They took all the damn corporate money they got and spent it.
NHQ knew that Iowa was only worth so many damn resources. DON'T COMPARE THE "EFFORT" OF TWO WELL FINANCED AND DESPERATE CANDIDATES TO US. Stop it. We will lose every time.
I do not buy your "three way tie quote." You can't believe in the polls one minute and say they are clap the next.
If you want to give that quote credibility, Rudy had 26% in Iowa in July. So how did that "poll" work out.
This summer NHQ had about $27 and a ham sandwich to spend on a national campaign "build out." Obama had $60,000,000. What would you do? Spend it on NH.
Now we have NH. There are 3000 RP people running around up there now.
In the next months the NHQ is going to become the whipping boy. Whip away. If you think it is going to get us one DAMN VOTE then do it.
This website is a place for people to get together and get recharged for the next push.
I am praying for you guys in Michigan. Don't worry about Romney. We need some delegates. Give it your best shot with what you got.
Unify
Traditional campaigning is still a must
I think that the above post is very well thought out and gets down to the nitty-gritty of real campaigning. Even though this Ron Paul Revolution is a grassroots driven campaign, traditional campaigning is still needed and necessary. No matter how many of us "Paulites" are out there telling our neighbors, friends, and family about Dr Paul, no matter how people sign wave, no matter how many slim-jims we pass out, a majority of Americans simply will not get interested in Presidential politics. That is why the message has to be proclaimed and the people need to hear it from Dr. Paul.
What is a campaign? It's actually a military term for a military operations for a specific objective. That objective being: getting elected to the office of President of the United States. Campaign headquarters should see themselves as the Pentagon, Dr. Paul as Supreme Commander, and individual states' headquarters as battlefield HQ's staffed by Colonels and Generals.
There is only so much we can do, but we must do it. How many of you reading this has done something for Dr. Paul other than donate money or read Daily Paul and post a few comments? Are you sitting on the sidelines, watching the rest battle for freedom or are you engaging?