Keeping up with the GOP Straw Poll (Live Updates from Fort Worth Straw Poll)

Star-Telegram ^ | 08/31/2007 | Various

[mnehring]

Penny told our volunteer that Ron had been to on a trip to the mideast (nothing wrong with that, he IS a congressman) and that he apologised for us “interfering” with their countries to their leaders.

Do you think this 'Penny' person could have been talking about John Kerry's trip to the Middle East where he said that almost verbatim? Paul did make a statement refusing to condemn Kerry that got a lot of people mad.

[GulfBreeze]

Nope. It was Penny (then Langford). She was talking about Ron Paul. And she said he apologised.

Penny was at least at that time more than high up enough to function as a spokes person for Ron Paul.

[Califreak]

I just participated in the poll. Kucinich, for the following reason left in the comment box:

Because he’s not Hillary and makes a republican a shoo-in.

[B4Ranch]

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[mnehring]

It just sounds like it could be confused with an incident in 2005 where the Gold Star Mothers were really pissed off at John Kerry for going to the Middle East and apologizing and later, their anger was turned against a lot of congressmen (including Paul) who refused to condemn Kerry.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Penny has always been as high up as I said in Ron’s organization. I noticed a post here on this thread just a moment ago that indicates she is not there anymore. I don’t know if that’s the fact or not. They seemed to have a lot of facts.

Yeah, i noticed that too. Problem is that on many specifics, their 'facts' are contradicting the actual record (Paul's votes, his travel schedule...apparently he hasn't left the US in quite a while...etc).

Penny told our volunteer that Ron had been to on a trip to the mideast (nothing wrong with that, he IS a congressman) and that he apologised for us “interfering” with their countries to their leaders.

Now that is strange. What is known is that Paul never goes on congressional junkets, that is a verified fact. It is also a fact that he has never been to Iraq.

Seems that we have more than a little bit of a mystery here.

Not saying you're wrong, but i am saying that Penny Freeman knows better. My question is whether the person making these comments actually is Penny Freeman.

[George W. Bush]

And there wasn’t anything innocent about people walled up in a compound killing police officers and their own children.

Maybe standards have fallen during the Bush era but during the Xlinton reign of terror, you probably would have been banned for saying that.

[mnehring]

I wouldn’t be surprised if it is Penny Freeman’s comments.. Go to Alex Jones’ site and look at some of the interviews she has done for them.. In addition to jumping all over the Bildberger conspiracy, she also tries to make Paul look like a saint on a lot of really bad votes, like votes against securing the border.. she even said he voted for several border security bills that he voted against.

Paul seems to hang out with a lot of kooky folks. - Birds of a Feather

[mnehring]

What, are you telling me that I would have been banned for saying the Dividians shouldn’t have killed the police officers? I really doubt that.

[CommerceComet]

Regardless of who wins, straw polls are meaningless and no one should pay attention and Ron Paul is a fringe candidate.

I stopped short of saying straw polls are stupid because many people find them interesting, myself included. However, no one should be so foolish as to think that they are meaningful, particularly when the major players aren't giving them the time of day.

[GulfBreeze]

So set this one aside (as a point of disagreement). The rest of that stuff is plenty of reason for me to say no to Dr. No.

Support him if you want. He says things that many others have never had the guts to say. So I can see why he is very exciting to many.

For me his negatives are just way to high and I just can’t support him at all.

[George W. Bush]

Duncan Hunter would not want you as a supporter.

Jeez, can't we let Duncan decide who he wants as a supporter? LOL.

That Duncan is a good man. Not my first pick but a worthy candidate all the same.

[mnehring]

Ditto, his voting record along with the excuses he makes for some of his votes, is enough for me.. and that is even before his isolationist stance.

A world in which Ron Paul is President is a world where Israel is overrun by Syria, Taiwan is overrun by China, America is held hostage by Saudi Arabia, and we have all-you-can eat shrimp buffets.

[George W. Bush]

What, are you telling me that I would have been banned for saying the Dividians shouldn’t have killed the police officers? I really doubt that.

If you'd suggested that they wantonly murdered officers on legitimate police business, yes. If you'd said they fired to protect themselves, no.

[mnehring]

If you'd suggested that they wantonly murdered officers on legitimate police business, yes.

Anytime a police officer is on police business and is gunned down, I would say yes, that officer was murdered. Be it the Waco incident or not.
Mod old friend, am I missing something here?

[George W. Bush]

I think it's horrible to suggest that the Waco bunch did anything other than act in self-defense against an agency run amok. And they did not kill their own children. They died in the fire deliberately set by the ATF to burn them out. Some of the victims had bullet holes in them because their armory exploded from the heat and their sizable bullet stash went off firing in all direction, riddling the corpses with bullets after they were already dead or unconscious from smoke. Then they burned alive.

It's appalling to see anyone defending Reno/BATF/Xlintons on the Waco massacre.

It was not a "mistake". It was deliberate.

[specsaregood]

I do not think he will win, because the delegates are new age (read:neoconservative) Republicans. A traditional paleoconservative like Paul won’t garner their support, even though he should have the advantage of being a Texas Congressman.

I don't know if you are right about that. The eligibility is limited to "Participation is limited to Republican delegates to the state and national conventions" not just from recent years, but ANY year, IIRC.

I made a fair number of calls to people eligible to vote in the straw poll. Many of them have not participated in a long time, have become disillusioned with the GOP (Some VERY pissed off about the state of the party) and dropped out of active participation. I had more than a few describe themselves as "Goldwater Republicans". Believe it or not, the majority were against the Iraq war and against the UN. Ron Paul's voting record went over very well, especially on: guns, taxes and state's rights. I was thanked many times for bringing Ron Paul's candidacy to their attention.

With that said, the hard part will be getting these people active in the party again and getting them to go to the straw poll. Many were completely disgusted with the current Big Government GOP and wanted nothing to do with it.

[Ultra Sonic 007]

Updates!

xxxx

Friday, 3 p.m.: Sheehan coming to town
A rumor we’d been hearing earlier in the week appears to be true. Antiwar icon Cindy Sheehan will be at the anti-war rally in downtown Fort Worth on Saturday.

With Sheehan and Ron Paul (and their equally passionate followers) within blocks of each other tomorrow, anti-war sentiment may turn out to be the prevailing theme of this weekend’s festivities, a stunning turn of events considering the straw poll was supposed to cater to the GOP’s most conservative members.

— Aman Batheja

Friday, 2:45 p.m.: Honkin if you google Ron Paul

GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul may have gotten the attention from quite a few Labor Day motorists.

Campaign signs reading “GOOGLE RON PAUL” dangled from at least two area bridges – on Beach Street and Summit – off Interstate 30.

By mid-afternoon, they were still there.

— Anna M. Tinsley

Friday 2:30 p.m., Paul is on the march — with bikers!
Ron Paul is pulling out all the stops. Tomorrow, the congressman will march from his hotel at the Renaissance Worthington to the Convention Center to make his speech to delegates. And he just might have some bikers as escorts...almost as cool as Secret Service!

— Aman Batheja

Friday, 2 p.m.: Dress better than your audience
Republican activists at the straw poll are spending today in a marathon grassroots campaign workshop. The event was closed to the press at the last minute, but one of our reporters was able to get a copy of their reading material on her way out.

According to the handouts, the event is a nuts-and-bolts primer on running a campaign, focusing on the nitty gritty details. Some key tips from the workshop:

“Remember to think visually when designing voter mail”

“Candidates should dress one step above the best dressed person in their audience”

“Drag them to the polls kicking and screaming”

“Walk in teams”

“Beware of dogs”

— Aman Batheja

Friday, 1 p.m.: Eat, drink and campaign
Delegates fanned out around downtown for lunch Friday. Those willing to pay the $66 cover rubbed elbows with conservative radio personality Hugh Hewitt at the Silver Fox.

Dozens of others wandered over to the Four Star Coffee’s downtown location at Houston St. The hipster stop has been pro-Ron Paul for weeks, sporting signs in their window and piles of campaign literature by the milk and sugar.

Today, customers were greeted at the door with a paper plate with the words “Look Up” on it. Hanging beneath the awning like a spider web was a Ron Paul banner.

No word on if Starbucks has backed a horse in this race.

— Aman Batheja

xxxx

Uh oh. CINDY.

[normy]

Thats because they didn't kill their own children. They were burned alive by Reno's henchmen. They were gassed for eight hours according to the FBI to clog the gas masks which the children didn't have. They found children with broken backs from convulsions in the ashes. The FBI tore up the crime scene immediately (like Vince Fosters suicide) and would not allow local arson investigators or the Texas Rangers near the crime scene.

If you want to open your mind a bit you might watch the documentary Waco Rules of Engagement which won the IDA Feature award in 97 and was nominated for an Academy Award. It also happened to get two thumbs up from Siskel and Ebert.

Quotes from the back of the VHS

"One of the best films of the year!" LA Times, SF Chronicle, Minneapolis Star Tribune, LA Weekly, St. Paul Pioneer Press.

"The only truly important film of the year. See it now. You will never be the same." SF Bay Guardian.

"Photographic evidence that the FBI, contrary to official assertions, fired on, then torched the Branch Davidian compound. A doozy of an investigative expose." NY Times.

This is not a Michael Moore docudrama, its a hard hitting investigative report. It has live footage and FBI press conferences from the beginning of the siege to the end.

Ever wonder why NBC came out with a made for TV movie depicting Koresh as a violent child molester before the siege was even over? I do.

I do not think Koresh was a saint but the stories you heard and believed are false.

Seriously make an effort to find "Waco; the rules of engagement."

[specsaregood]

Updates!

Friday, 4 p.m.: Thanks for your support, Ron
Almost as many Ron Paul supporters showed up to Duncan Hunter’s 4 p.m. rally as did Hunter supporters. Hunter’s rally to support the troops was held at the Fort Worth Water Gardens.

Paul’s supporters, who stood in a line behind Hunter’s backers, said Paul and Hunter agree on many issues. They were there to let Hunter’s supporters know there was another option, said Clayton Slade. “These people are all potential Ron Paul supporters,” Slade said.

There’s one big issue Paul and Hunter disagree on: the war in Iraq. “We support the troops by being against the war,” said Paul-backer Robert Brushaber of Austin.

Fans of the 1976 movie Logan’s Run may have recognized the water gardens’ “active pool” as the pool Logan (Michael York) swam through to re-enter the the dome city after returning from the ruins of Washington, D.C.

— Jason Buch

Sounds like it was a Ron Paul day.