The state of the race (or, the major parties’ gift to the LP)

I don't know.

Frankly, I'm kind of hoping the LP does reject the gifts of Gravel and Barr.

I used to defend Barr to libertarians and LPers because they idiotically campaigned against Barr because he supported the Drug war, although he opposed all the police state measured associated with it (against asset forfiture, manditory sentensing, etc) and he was a fiscal conservative.

So we had a Civil Libertarian, a Fiscall Conservative who was thrown out just because he supported keeping drugs illegal even though wanted the bill of writes followed in it's procecution and therefore wasn't much of a drug warrior compaired to, say even Regan.

I always respected Barr.

Now, that he's running for the LP nomination -- I'm starting to have my doubts. While he has grown a lot, it seems to me the person Running for president on the LP ticket should be somebody who understands everything already that Libertarians stand for.

You wouldn't catch Mary Ruwart for instance supporting just "medicinal Marijuana" she'd be advocating full legalization. She wouldn't be talking about invading Latin America either.

Then after reading the post http://fairuse.100webcust...

I'm kind of afraid that the Short Term Gain of having Barr on the ticket, will destroy the spirit of the LP and turn it into another Republican policy propaganda machine.

The more I find out about Barr the more I don't trust him.

This, after I've defended him for most of my Libertarian thinking life.

Tracy

I would love for this to happen.

bump.

opinions from others to the effect that there may be certain legal requirements regarding write-in candidates in order to have write-in ballots legally recognized and counted at election time. Perhaps someone here might know of a URL where any such legal requirements are listed and/or explained. ???

I agree we will need to concentrate our firepower! at some point have 2 major 3rd parties hurts!

as for me and my home, we shall worship the LORD

If Ron Paul isn't on the ballot I will write him in even if i have to use a Sharpie Marker on the Liebold's monitor.

Change the title to say something like. The New Plan or the Plan after the RNC, so that people will realize we are not just talking about the LP.

Paul vs. Obama vs. McCain then we HAVE to address the fraud issue. The quickest, most painless way to address the fraud issue is with the 100% exit poll. Anyone who opposed it would reveal their intention to abuse it. Put 3 people at every polling place (preferrably a great mixture of people), have each voter pull a ticket from his candidates wheel on his way out so that you have a running count of each candidate. At the end of the night, compare with the official count and if it does not match, object on the spot. Small margin of error, allowed. Anyone who would not pull a ticket would be tabulated to balance out at the end. All voters counted. These totals called into one website to tabulate. A totally independent, 100% Exit Poll. We should not have to get anyone's permission to do this, but if we do, it should not take change of laws or change of any procedures that are in place. It would be a citizen verification. It would be an Integrity in the Elections group of mixed, nonpartisan citizens. Each group would buy their own supplies which would be gathered together and coordinated by the website. They would buy three wheels, set up a table with a sign and don't leave wheels unattended.

The Draft Ron Paul movement needs to be happening whilst Dr Paul is still running as a Republican till the Republican Convention. In other words the louder the call for Paul to run 3rd party.....the more the Republican Party will demonize Dr Paul and thus he will get the millions of free publicity that will engender. Ron Paul needs to stay running as a Republican until the very end and than inform the Republican Party that he will be taking his legiones of followers to the unified 3rd party run!!!1
The Draft Ron Paul movement needs to start NOW and Ron Paul needs to keep turning it down until he cannot ignore the millions of people calling for him to jump from the Repub party (which will be just after the convention)

Do you get the point here? Ron Paul cannot make the decision...... millions of calls from the 3rd parties have to "draft" Ron Paul at the critical time in October. Than the money raising will be in 4 weeks at 25 million per week. Then the Unified 3rd party assault begins in earnest with Television advertising and internet advertising.

Here is something a member of a meetup group just posted. I will paste it here for everyone to read as I feel it is extremely well thought out and the only logical way to create lasting change for our civilization:

There has been quite a bit of discussion (bickering some might say) amongst the Revolution as to what to do next. i.e. whether to vote for a 3rd party candidate or ditch the Republican Party all together.

I, for one, don't think ditching the GOP is a very wise move and here is my reasoning for this:

1. The Republican Party, albeit totally warped and hated due to neo-conservatism, is still one of the only 2 major parties in this nation and that will not change any time soon. It's a household name. The Libertarian Party is looked at by the masses as something that is crazy, kooky, not good, etc., etc., ad nauseum. Not one person I've encountered has ever even heard of the Constitution Party.

2. Ballot access in all 50 states. No if's, and's or but's. Try that with a 3rd party. This is due to point #1.

3. Access to mainstream media equal to that of the Democratic party. Basically, free media exposure. 3rd parties get hardly any at all and that won't change any time soon. If they do it is always with marginalization of that party added in. They can't marginalize the Republican Party because of point #1 above.

4. As Ron Paul has shown, the core principles of the Republican Party are representative of both the Constitutional and Libertarians parties IF they are followed by those who are part of the Republican Party. At this point in time, the GOP is filled with a lot of uneducated people. They pay lip service to these beliefs but never follow through. For example, Barry Goldwater and the movement that was brought about by his run for the nomination is what eventually brought forth Ronald Reagan, the King of the GOP. Ron Paul is saying the EXACT same thing that both Reagan and Goldwater said and in fact, was the ONLY candidate running this year that was ever endorsed by Ronald Reagan. Although I don't think Ron Paul would endorse Reagan now because Reagan failed to follow through on the platform he ran on, I think it would speak volumes to the GOP masses if they all found out Dr.Paul was endorsed by him.

The GOP is pretty much dying off due to neo-conservatism. NOW is the time to flood the party from local levels on up with freedom lovers. If the Libertarian and Constitution Party members would just grasp that they stand a MUCH better chance at achieving their desired politcal goals by ditching the 3rd parties and helping take over the GOP we could EASILY get Ron Paul Republicans into Congress and educate all the neocons to the errors of their ways.

I staunchly believe that diffusing our efforts in trying to get the freedom message to the masses will be completely futile. They marginalized Ron Paul and he was part of one of the two major parties! My question is this. If we ALL band together and focus the Revolution's eye on taking over the GOP from the ground up, how will the mainstream media marginalize us if all the candidates they have to choose from in 2012 are Ron Paul Republicans?

If we took over the Rep. Party we could possibly set up rules for the platform that bans neo conservative belief systems altogether. i.e. If you do not accept to obey the Constitution in its entirety, you aren't allowed to be part of the Republican Party. We could turn this whole thing on them and force THEM into trying to start up some 3rd party. It will get no traction in the media because the masses will then see a stark, negative contrast between what they (neocons) advocate and what freedom loving Republicans advocate.

We have enough people and money to FORCE the GOP into becoming the Libertarian and Constitution Parties rolled into one. The biggest contrast between these two, as far as I can tell, is the War on Drugs. By us all working together to take over the Republican Party we will get to our goal MUCH faster.

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line...... a bee line of us Revolution worker bees right into the half empty hive of the GOP. I just really don't understand the logic of trying to accomplish something through a 3rd party.

If Ron Paul ran as the head of the Unified Ticket......the donations from very wealthy Americans would put the fundraising over the top. Think of Silicon Valley millionaires and various Libertarian organizations tapping into their network of wealthy investors. Think Agora Publishing!!

No doubt about it that Dr Paul would be able to raise over 100 million dollars to advertise against McCain and Obama and Hillary.
The more I think about this the more I think it would be an incredible and powerful message that there actually is a choice in politcs!!!
Americans would no longer have to hold their collective noses at the voting booth

We will need a go between to visit the main players involved at the 3 major 3rd parties. Someone needs to talk to Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin and Ralph Nader. Kind of a shuttle diplomacy. All 3 parties would have to give up some turf in order to create a grand unified 3rd party front. Imagine the money that Ron Paul will be able to raise as the tip of the spear of this movement!!!

This is what I have been thinking. Will they do it? They really should do it. Ron Paul would have to give up his seat, but as I told him in a personal email on his main site, his speaking popularity to get our government back and his inside information once he gets out of there would be so valuable that he could make more than he does now, plus have time to write which he obviously has a passion for. I have thought that the ONLY way we are going to get him in is if he goes through the RNC and then all third parties mesh behind him. It is brilliant. How can we rally the third parties. They are almost as devoted to their parties as the two twin parties are.

Libertarian Party should draft Ron Paul....All other small conservative partes would follow suit... Green party.. I dunno.I think finacially...Ron Paul would get the donations..News wise I think they would bury him. Unless the money gets huge. Then they would paint him as a nut. But these are the chances we have to take.

Ron Paul the next prez of the United States!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't vote for anyone else this time. Especially. Hear all evil. Speak all evil and See all evil! The three UnMuskateers...........

www.ronpaul2008.com

There is life at the end of the tunnel my friends!