Additionally, I could easily see that different states jumping ahead is to Ron Paul’s advantage.

I agree.

(maybe I just don’t get it as they are listed in order from 5 to 1).

I think they were in sequential order. He didn’t want us “going offline and talking to SuperVoters” until we’ve “calmed the hell down” etc.

I basically agree with him. Our greatest asset is our energy, but it won’t be enough if we don’t focus it. Like he said, we needed the chanting and screaming to get on the map, but we’re on the map now. Every news outlet in the country has written at least one article about Paul’s small, but energetic following. People will get weary of it if we don’t switch gears and start focusing on spreading Paul’s message.

On the same topic, have you tried to “go offline” and “talk (literally talk) to the” people you decry – you just might find one or more of those SuperVoters you talk about.

I don’t think he meant it as an attack. I read it as constructive criticism and since we don’t get much in the way of professional advice, I’m very grateful for it.

This statement, in my opinion, implies a false assumption that a strong showing isn’t already an indication of ‘actual support’.

Additionally, I could easily see that different states jumping ahead is to Ron Paul’s advantage. Much of his support is non-compensated and distributed compared to the other Republican candidates. Changing your strategy when most of your support is paid staff (and your campaign is centralized) means that a change in the primary day is a costly challenge to the non-RP campaigns.

This is one example of centralized control vs. guerilla methods. RP still has to overcome certain dismissive journalists but from what I see it looks like dismissive journalists may need to be added to the endangered species list sooner or later.

Not that js290′s Open Letter is all bad but it would be far better if they reversed the order of the points (maybe I just don’t get it as they are listed in order from 5 to 1).

1: Talk (literally talk) to the SuperVoters
Great suggestion.

2: Time to go offline.
Great suggestion #2, I saw this at the last state legislative district meeting. Some Ron Paul volunteer was there and had 200 four page printouts there, one for every seat.

3: Money (for better or for worse) is the key to mainstream acceptance
I’ve donated $60 so far (directly) to Ron Paul but assuming money is everything in a day where much of the publics attention is on non-MSM news and opinion sites is a point subject to discussion.

4: Stop fudging about or discounting the polls
Whoa buddy, hold on now. I don’t begrudge pollsters their jobs or claim they are *evil*. That doesn’t mean they or their customers are neutral parties or that I shouldn’t dismiss or ignore polls like I do TV commercials. Political polls in my opinion are harmful.

5: Calm the hell down
This is the point I have the most problem with. If you don’t like it, make your irritation known to the participants. The protest parade is a group of people who are irritated and let others know it (or alternately are excited and let others know it). Let them be with their “Revolutionary costumes”. I am not a 9/11 or anti-CFR booster but they have their concerns and if they want to push Ron Paul and 9/11 Truth, I say let them.

On the same topic, have you tried to “go offline” and “talk (literally talk) to the” people you decry – you just might find one or more of those SuperVoters you talk about.

If I were to evaluate whose article I would pay more attention to, Ernest Hancock’s “What threatens the Ron Paul campaign the most” http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Feature-Article.htm?InfoNo=020043
or js290′s suggestion the five point “Open Letter to the Ron Paul Community” I choose Hancock’s.

I agree with Stephen, the primaries should all be held on the same day

Vote-splitting would become a huge problem. The current system isn’t very elegant, but it solves this problem by dragging out the primaries and essentially creating a run-off. I fully support making wholesale changes to the voting system (see below), but until we do, the primaries, as currently laid out, are the best option.

I guess I don’t see why we need the primaries at all.

Vote-splitting.

Under a plurality voting system (“Pick ONE candidate from the list”), two strong candidates that have similar platforms will almost always lose to a single strong candidate who happens to be running on a significantly different platform, even if most of the electorate favors the first platform.

In other words, the primaries are a gigantic hack to improve a system that would otherwise be completely unworkable. Tweak the system a bit (something as simple as saying “Mark ANY candidate for whom you approve.”) and you’ll no longer need the hack.

As much as I hate to say it, I think the US would be better off with a parlimentary system

That may ultimately be true, but I think there are simpler reforms that should be tried first. See above.

All other “frontrunners” will bring never ending War…..

I’ll post it in this thread as well… tips for pushing the ron paul campaign into the mainstream.
Comment by js290 — September 24, 2007 @ 9:13 am ”

I’m glad to see that someone is speaking up about this, and I don’t disagree with what is said here. However, I don’t think it goes far enough. It does not address the issue of the Ron Paul campaign itself. I am not a professional campaign operative, but I am also not young, and I have worked on many campaigns and held some responsible positions as a volunteer.

I simply don’t see where the RP campaign is really doing the things it needs to win. In fact, RP is NOT, as far as I can see, even trying to bootstrap his campaigns on the Iowa and New Hampshire contests. He rarely goes to either state, and I don’t think he is spending any money in either of these states. He spent less time and money prior to the Iowa Straw Poll than just about any other candidate.

I find it very frustrating, and I can see no advantage to this approach unless Paul’s other trips around the country are focused on fund-raising. I agree that it would give RP a huge boost if he showed 1st tier-type fund-raising for the Third Quarter. But I doubt very much that that is going to happen.

I posted a couple of threads at the RP forum, but they drew little attention. I believe that the Paul campaign is being way too cautious in both its strategy and its message. That is what the two posts were about. Here are the link:

http://www.ronpaulforum.com/showthread.php?t=37237

http://www.ronpaulforum.com/showthread.php?t=37235

I don’t if js290 has any contacts with the RP campaign, but if he does, I hope he will use them to get the message out that the campaign is missing some big opportunities in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Of course, if RP raises 1st tier money in the Third Quarter then I might agree that it might have been worth it. But other than that, I an see no advantage to ignoring these early states. And even then, there’s the question of the message. You can’t run on a 15-point platform. You need a simple message that can be repeated over and over again.

ElectRon: “But we CAN still have a revolution. Stay on message. For instance, elect Ron Paul and the IRS will be GONE on January 20, in 16 months, and you will not owe any taxes for 2008! There is no faster way to real tax relief.”

How is that going to happen? Is he just going to sign an executive order and disband the IRS?

Remember, for most things a President does, he needs to get Congress on his side first. I don’t think our Congress is going to jump out and completely end taxation on income on Inauguration Day…
Comment by Brad Warbiany — September 24, 2007 @ 10:25 am ”

I read recently where a tax resister won his case against the IRS on the grounds that wages and salaries aren’t specifically identified as taxable under income tax law. That is merely the interpretation that the bureaucrats have given it. This certainly suggests that Ron Paul could end taxation of wages and salaries simply by issuing an executive order to our tax collection agencies not to interpret the law that way anymore.

That wouldn’t end the income tax completely. Profits, rents, and some other forms of taxation would remain; but it sure would eliminate a really big part of it.

If we do have the primaries I do like having them bunched in like five groups or so like Josh said. It could either be by lottery or they would rotate as to who is first and so on. If you put each group every couple of weeks you could be done in a few months. This would allow at least a little time to campaign in the upcoming states.

ElectRon: “But we CAN still have a revolution. Stay on message. For instance, elect Ron Paul and the IRS will be GONE on January 20, in 16 months, and you will not owe any taxes for 2008! There is no faster way to real tax relief.”

How is that going to happen? Is he just going to sign an executive order and disband the IRS?

Remember, for most things a President does, he needs to get Congress on his side first. I don’t think our Congress is going to jump out and completely end taxation on income on Inauguration Day…

But we CAN still have a revolution. Stay on message. For instance, elect Ron Paul and the IRS will be GONE on January 20, in 16 months, and you will not owe any taxes for 2008! There is no faster way to real tax relief.

What we need is: 1) work hard through SuperTuesday on traditional campaigning, including donations (Q3 ends soon!), 2) mobilize all the people to protect the correct counting of ballot boxes in the early primaries, 3) mobilize our people as delegates everywhere, and 4) push the wave of revolution ever onward. If we keep this message moving, we WILL have revolution no matter who gets nominated and no matter how long it takes. The goal is changing hearts more than it is changing politics, because the first drives the second.