Taking it to the streets: Part 4

Saturday, I spent much of my day on the south-east side of Indianapolis. I drove down there for a Ron Paul meet-up. It was fun.

Michael started off the meeting by giving a rundown of what Ron Paul had done since the group's last meet up. They last met after the second debates; however, this was my first meeting. Afterward, the members of the group started working and coming up with some ideas. Half of the group used stencils, spray paint, markers, etc. to create a whole slew of Ron Paul banners. We used cheap DuPont Homewrap for the medium to create our larger signs. It thought that that was a good idea.

The meeting was intended for the members to make signs. But, to the credit of the supporters enthusiasm, several of us, including me, walked to the busy intersection down the road and handed out fliers. We held up signs and weaved our way through the cars trying to inform as many people as possible about Dr. Ron Paul.

At first, I was a bit disheartened. Not many people wanted to hear of it, it just didn't matter to them! But, as the day went on, people seemed to be more and more receptive to it. We got several shoutouts supporting Rep. Paul and a few that claimed loyalty to other presidents (including Obama and Fred). I think the old lady that supported Fred Thompson was more starstruck than anything!

All in all, we probably had nearly a thousand people get to see the name Ron Paul and that there was support for him. We also handed out around 200 fliers. It was an exciting experience and helped support the good doctor!

Part 3
Part 2
Part 1

An Abbreviated List of Ron Paul Supporters

Here is an abbreviated list of the Founders, the men that are revered by the people of this country for their wisdom and courage, that would support Dr. Ron Paul's politics.

• Abraham Baldwin. US Congressman for 18 years. Has had 2 counties and a college named after him. Disagreed with a establishing a central bank.
  
• John Blair. Justice of the Supreme Court. Ruling led to the passage of the 11th Amendment. Believed in the principle of separation of powers.
  
• Jared Ingersoll. Former US Vice Presidential candidate. Supporter of states' rights.
  
• Nicholas Gilman. US Congressman for 10 years. Supporter of the rights of the "common man" and against governmental abuses of power.
  
• George Washington. First elected President of the United States. General. Et cetera. Against foreign interventionism.
  
• William Samuel Johnson. US Congressman for 2 years. President of Columnbia College. Against executive branch power (supported Congress's ability to review presidential appointments)
  
• James Madison. President. Congressman. Secretary of State. Et cetera. Against central bank. Strict adherence to the Constitution. Et cetera.
  
• Richard Spaight. US Congressman for 5 years. Opposed expanding the Federal government's powers.
  
• Charles Pickney. Governor. US Congressman for 5 years. Opposed establishment of a national bank and expansion of federal powers.
  
• Oliver Ellsworth. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. US Congressman. Supporter of states' rights.
  
• Elbridge Gerry. Vice President. Governor. US Congressman. Against expansion of federal government powers.
  
• George Mason. Held no position but wrote the basis for Madison's proposed Bill of Rights. Supported people's rights.
  
• Edmund Randolph. US Attorney General. US Secretary of State. Governor. Opposed expansion of federal power.
  
• Robert Yates. Influential statesman. Opposed expansion of federal power.
  

Again, this is an ABBREVIATED LIST of the Founders that would support Dr. Ron Paul. Several Founders were not included because they were "Federalists" who supported that establishment of a central bank and the expansion of federal powers. However, several of these Founders, I would surmise, would disagree with the extent that the Federal government's power has expanded to. Still, more were not added because of the lack of information on them when I was doing research. I feel that this list is adequate to get my point across.

All of this information can be checked at Wikipedia.

Edit: This takes into account what that a Framer is someone that signed the Constitution. The other "Framers" on Wikipedia are actually "Founders" and not "Framers."

Vegas says: Ron Paul has a chance

According to SportsBook.Com, a website that deals with all things gambling and has been running some Presidential odds.

According to Vegas, Ron Paul has a 1 in 7 chance of winning. Granted, he is still behind Rudy (6-5), McCain (2-1), Fred Thompson (4-1) and Mitt Romney (5-1). But! This shows that there isn't a 'big three' anymore. In fact, there seems to be a clear distance behind Ron Paul with the next highest starting at 15-1 (I'm discounting Newt. He isn't running). According to Vegas, he is in the "first tier."

That's not all! Again, according to the same site, he has a 15 to 1 chance of winning the Presidency! Now, for many people that write him off as someone who couldn't win the Republican primary, let alone the election, this must be a surprise.

Also, Vegas has a tradition of being more correct and representative of the general population than any sort of 'scientific polls.' You can find all of this information at SportsBook.

Taking it to the Streets: Part 2, Davy Crockett and Santa Clause support Ron Paul!

Today I went to visit my grandmother in the small town of Lizton. My little cousin was having her last softball game and I went to watch. Inspired by Dan and Chris, I made a poster board that I hung from my neck right before going to the softball game. With the paint still slightly wet and a doubled-up peice of nylon string around my neck, I went off into the world.

Now, you must understand, I am not one to do this. I don't crave attention. I am a recluse in public settings. This took a lot of courage for me to do this.

Everyone stared. Some gave me sidelong glances. Some looked at me with a confused look "President? Who's that?" Some giggled. My cousin said that her friends called me the "Weird Guy." I'm glad. I was noticed. People read the sign.

Mostly, I talked to my grandfather during the game. He pressed me about every issue (unfortunately, I didn't have fliers). Luckily, I was able to tell him with some confidence everything that Ron Paul stood for.

I also talked to another guy. He was from the other team's town. An old man with a big belly and a long white beard, he reminded me of Santa Clause. He talked to me about Ron Paul and he seemed very receptive to Dr. Paul's ideas and platform, even though he called all politicians "liars." I told him that I agreed with him but that Ron Paul isn't a politician, he's a representative of the people.

I went on to describe one of my favorite anecdotes about Ron Paul were Dr. Paul fought the Congress about Reagan's $30,000 gold medal. He smiled and told me a similar anecdote about Davy Crockett. So, I decided to do some research on it when I got home. Indeed, Crockett gave a famous speech to the Congress about how it was "unconstitutional" to be so charitable with taxpayers' money. Like Ron Paul, he supported the Congress paying for it out of their own pocket. Like today, none of them went for it. Source: [Wikipedia]

Also, I got someone that yelled out "Paul Wall." I don't know if that was an insult or just immaturity (sounded like it came from a high school kid). I just don't know what it means. Good thing I don't care much :) The best part about this is that I don't feel like its a burden, I feel like it is helping my people skills and I enjoy it! I will definitely be doing this in the future. Hopefully, I can hook up with one of the other Human Billboards.

GOP Members are wary of their party's direction

The NYTimes [http://www.nytimes.com] has a recent article that states that "GOP Voters Voice Anxieties on Party's Fate." The Times attempted to reach a broad base of Republican voters for this poll and asked these conservative voters what they thought about the party.

The results were contradictory to scientific polls and the analysis that network (MSM) analysts are pressing.

According to the article:

Republican primary voters have a definite idea of what they are looking for in a candidate: They want a presidential contender who will make it more difficult for women to obtain abortions, who opposes same-sex marriage and who will push for more tax cuts, the poll found.

The article also states that:

Compared with the Democrats, Republicans appear far less happy with their choice of candidates for 2008 and are still looking for someone who can improve the party’s prospects, the poll found.

So, in essence, the voters want change. They see a problem with the direction that the Republican party is heading. They realize that it has strayed from its roots and has taken a direction that supports the neo-cons.

As for the abortion and same-sex marriage issues, I believe that most Republicans will be receptive to the "power of the people" and "leave it to the states" position of Ron Paul. This claim is just a guess. I also believe that the questions posed toward the Republican voters would be much more effective if the pollsters were no looking for questions that apply to the perceived top-tier candidates (they asked questions like "Do you think a Mormon could win?" "Do you think someone with multiple divorces could win?" "Would you vote for Guiliani or McCain at this point?"). Now, I'm not going to call the pollsters conspirators, but I think that questions aimed at trying to find out if Republicans support the message of Ron Paul would prove that his message is appealing to them.

You can find this article at the NY Times

Use the 'bugmenot' username/password of dupafly/bugme

My Presidential Candidate

All geared up for the 2008 Presidential Elections about a day after Bush's re inauguration, I thought that Senator John McCain (R-AZ) was my man. He was an experienced politician that, I thought, stood by his principles. He was a man that, despite the neo-conservative Republicans being in power, believed in small government and the liberties of every single United States citizen.

In late 2006, I found out that I was wrong. Sen. McCain changed his stance on the war and even started to support the Administration's war policies. Worse! He completely ignored any infringement of citizens' rights in the bills that he passed. I was discouraged and figured that I had lost my presidential candidate for the 2008 election.

Enter summer boredom and a chance article catching my attention on Digg. I read the article and find out that these guys are vehemently supporting the guy named Ron Paul. Who is Ron Paul? I researched him.

Ron Paul is an experienced Representative of Texas. He previously ran for President in 1988 as a Libertarian and joined the Republican party in 1996 to win his seat. However, Ron Paul has been sort of a lone maverick in the Congress and not many people know why. I do. Rep. Paul votes according to the Constitution, according the Rule of Law that we have so forgotten in this country. He votes in favor of the Constitution was amazing persistence and his views coincide with mine. This man is my political hero.

It just so happens that he's running for President in the GOP Party. Ron Paul is my Presidential Candidate.