Ron Paul Wins Washington State Straw Poll
Posted August 22nd, 2007 by Michael Nystrom
in
Adam Berman writes:
Today Ron Paul won the Ronald Reagan Club's South Sound Republican Straw Poll with a whopping 30%.
Ron Paul supporters turned out for the presidential straw poll held by the South Sound Ronald Reagan Republican club this evening. Supporters canvassed people as they entered, providing slim jim handouts. We used the one with the picture of Ron Paul with Ronald Reagan. The results were as follows:
Paul, 45 - 28%
Thompson, 40 - 25%
Giuliani, 29 - 18%
Huckabee, 12 - 8%
Romney 12 - 8%
Hunter, 10 - 6%
Gingrich, 8 - 5%
McCain, 3 - 2%
Brownback, 1 - 1%
Gilmore, 0 - 0%
Hagel, 0 - 0%
TOTAL 160 - 100%
Ron Paul and his supporters subsequently received generally favorable treatment by speaker Kirby Wilbur of KVI 570 AM talk radio. The theme we used for the event was "politics is won by those who show up", and we showed up tonight! I've posted KVI Radio personality Kirby Wilbur's comments on the Ron Paul Win on Youtube. It was shot with my cell phone so the quality bites...but here it is:
See pictures from the event here:
http://ronpaul.meetup.com...
Also, Brent informs us of two postings he's started on the straw poll results:
Bookmark/Search this post with:
Compilation of 16 Republican Straw Polls since June 1, 2007
Results for Ron Paul:
FIRST (5)
New Hampshire Taxpayers, July 7 ~ 1st 61.9% (182/294)
North Carolina, Gaston GOP, August 13, ~ 1st 36.6% (15/41)
New Hampshire, Strafford Co., August 18 ~ 1st 72.7% (208/286)
West Alabama, August 18 ~ 1st 81.2% (216/266)
Washington State, South Sound Ronald Reagan Republican Club, August 21 ~ 1st 28.1% (40/160)
SECOND (4)
Utah GOP, June 12, 2nd 5.4% (70/1295)
National Taxpayers Union, June 16 ~ 2nd 16.7% (NA)
Georgia, Cobb Co. GOP, July 4 ~ 2nd 17% (42/247)
South Carolina, Georgetown Co., July 28 ~ 2nd 17.9% (40/223)
THIRD (3)
National Federation of Republican Assemblies, August 4, St. Louis, MO ~ 3rd 13.8% (18/130)
Illinois State Fair, Springfield, August 16 ~ 3rd 18.87% (174/922)
Minnesota House Republican Caucus, August 22 ~ 3rd 16% (NA)
FOURTH (2)
California Republican Assembly, July 1 ~ tied 4th 12% (NA)
Indiana, Tippecanoe Co., August 18 ~ tied 4th 11.7% (21/180)
FIFTH (1)
Iowa, Ames, August 11 ~ 5th 9.12% (1,305/14,302)
SIXTH (1)
Young Republican National Federation, Ft Lauderdale FL, July 8th ~ 6th 4.5% (11/247)
Source:
http://ok4ronpaul.ashlux....
Tancredo?
Where as Gilmore and Hagel got 0 votes, poor Tom Tancredo wasn't even mentioned. I like Tancredo too.. (not as much as Paul naturally.)
Reaching us "older" folks..
As a 44 year old rabid RP spporter, I can tell you that reaching older GOP is a critical test for this campaign..... they vote!
Some thoughts about aproaching us,....... slow down. Older American are not easily moved by emotion, your's especially. They are open to listening when approached right.
Talk about the country going the "wrong way" and needing to go back to our "roots" as a country. About simpler times, that government is too big and wants to run our lives.
Talk about how the GOP used to have Reagan and Goldwater fighting against new "New Deal" policies of big government, that money used to stand for something. How the old-time republicans were against taxes and spending our granchildren's future.
Talk about how people should take care of themselves and not expect government handouts. Talk about how lawyers want to sue everyone and this is driving up cost for everyone.
Then ask them what they think..... and listen! They will open up to you and educate you on their concerns.
Aftewards, introduce them to your canidate and how he can fit in with their concerns. Tell them that he is an old-time Reagan Republican that wants smaller goverment. Ask them what they think...
Know what there fears are and address them. Don't try to convince them from your point of view. Their's are different. Seniors love talking to young people, just remember to show respect if you want it back. Talk slowly and calmly. Make good eye contact and smile even if you think they disagree.
Remember, it takes on average seven contacts to make a sale. You might be planting the seed for later harvest. Don't take it personally that they don't convert at once. Be polite and thank them for their opinion. Tell them how much you value it and have much to think about and might like to talk again later.
Move on, to next contact. They will be thinking about it after you leave and asking their friends about Ron Paul. They will share what you say and more importantly your attitude. Seniors are very social, just not as much on the internet yet..... they are discovering it in record numbers though. They will ask each other who they should support.
Voting is a numbers game. Their vote counts and we will need them. People vote for who they have heard about. Let's make sure that our parents and granparents hear from us. Once converted they will convert the rest.
The Ron Paul Paradigm
You're right about speaking to older voters; I've been voting since 1964 and I've never looked forward to voting for any of the above -- until now (2008.)
I'm so excited about voting for someone who actually understands how this country was designed to work and is willing to "play by the rules" we all understand that I wrote an article entitled "The Ron Paul Paradigm" about the example Dr. Paul is setting. You can read it here: http://www.dailypaul.com/node/931
Please feel free to distribute this article to seasoned voters.
TraditionalGOPer: Great
TraditionalGOPer:
Great post, right on!!!!
Were a little older and are on board
Heck me and the wife are 49 and 41 and are avid RP supporters. I think it's going to be harder to crack the older people because they have been "brainwashed" for so long and many do not have internet access. So RP supporters are going to have to reach them by door or telephone. Door would probably be better. JMO!
Were a little older and are on board
Heck me and the wife are 49 and 41 and are avid RP supporters. I think it's going to be harder to crack the older people because they have been "brainwashed" for so long and many do not have internet access. So RP supporters are going to have to reach them by door or telephone. Door would probably be better. JMO!
My bad I hit my key twice quickly.
WHERE IS ROMNEY ?????
MITT DIDN'T SHOW BECAUSE THE BUS TRANSPORATION WAS NOT
AVAILABLE !!!!!!
WAY TO GO RON PAUL !!!!!!!
Updated
I just got an update with Romney's stats, posted above. It still didn't affect the most important outcome: Dr. Paul won!
Exactaly.
There was a great divide at this event. Lots of under 40 people on the Ron Paul side, and .. +60 old men and their wives voting for Fred.. I don't know how to reach the older people..
A way to win "older people"?
I'm middle aged and I think the "problem" with older people is mainly that they don't know about Ron Paul and his message because they get most of their news from the TV and newspaper. That, and they are tied to the government teat (social security, medicare, prescription drugs) and afraid to vote for anyone who might take those bennies away from them.
But, a lot of those people loved Barry Goldwater, remember when money wasn't just paper printed by the federal reserve and actually learned about [the correct interpretation of] the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in public school. Many are also very pro-American soverignty.
So, what I've done with the older people I'm trying to win over is brush up a bit on Barry Goldwater as a conversation starter and mention some of the issues above. Then give them info on Ron Paul and writings in Ron Paul's own words. My parents, (late 70's but don't tell them I told you so) read the info I sent them and called me to ask where they could send money to Ron Paul. My dad said, "this guy really makes sense and I'm going to take the stuff you sent me to my friends!".
Freedom is popular with the older folks too. They just need to receive the message.
These are good points
I was shocked when my 65 year old Mother asked me when she should register as a Republican. I had already done so but since she doesn't really like talking politics and has been a Democrat her entire life, I was respectful of that and didn't want to push her into it.
When I have told her about Ron Paul and why he is so important to the future of our country, much of the information she has a hard time understanding (sound money, foreign policy, etc.) and some of the truths of what is happen really scare her.
She none the less understands enough to know that I research everything to the best of my ability and that from what she has learned from me and then her own observations of what has been happening just in the last few months, she realizes he is the best choice available.
I think many older Americans realize that as voters, it is important now that they vote for our future. They may not be here to see the changes but they know that we need their help to bring this country back to where it should be.
Social Security
Hello Liberteebell, I’m in my early 60s and would like to add to your comments.
I only have one correction concerning your statement “they are tied to the government teat (social security, medicare, prescription drugs) and afraid to vote for anyone who might take those bennies away from them.†I’m not being critical of you, just your perception of these programs.
Social Security is not a welfare program. People receiving SS have paid into this program for 30, 40, or more years. Dr. Paul has stated very clearly that we must honor our commitments to those who have paid into Social Security. So he has no intentions of depriving anyone of what they have paid for from their own labor.
In fact (you may not want to mention this as this is more for your information) if something isn’t done soon SS will run out of money due to the fact that the military industrial complex with their spend and tax brethren in government have already spent most of the money that should have been used to build the SS investment portfolio.
Instead of SS being the “investment plan†it was promoted to be, it has become a pyramid scheme where the new money being paid in from our younger generations is now paid out almost as fast as it comes in. The whole idea of investment growth of the SS funds has been depleted by government spending (stealing) this money for other uses. My personal opinion is that another term or two of a “spend and tax†warmongering President and SS will be bankrupt.
Of course many of our older Americans already suspect this but it is just too terrible to believe. Most of these Americans have little else to fall back on.
What is positive (and what you can tell our older generation) is that Dr. Paul has the answer to make sure the government’s Social Security obligations will be met. In one of his great speeches he said (to paraphrase) by stopping our intervention policies of policing the world; spending nearly 1 trillion dollars a year, and by ending the war and bringing our troops home, we could insure that our older Americans never have to worry about their SS benefits due them.
(Of course he also indicated that some of that money could replace the money illegally taken from the Social Security system and spent elsewhere; but again let’s just focus on the positive.)
His plan is not to dismantle Social Security but to take the burden off of our younger generations by giving them options to provide for their own retirement programs.
I think you are right that many older Americans just don’t know who Dr. Paul is or, if they do, they don’t yet know he is running. He will be respected by the older generation as he is one of us (no offense to the young). And of course his message speaks to all generations.
Many of us have resigned ourselves to either voting for the least of two evils or we just don’t vote at all as there is very little difference between the two any more. I think that the younger generations are more positive and hopeful for our future but don’t count out the huge number of older Americans who have been looking for this opportunity and will jump into this battle with you. “The younger generations just need to wake us up!â€
Best Regards,
Anti-Stupid
SS is a Welfare Program
Anti-Stupid,
Not to be (too) argumentative, but I take issue with this statement of yours:
"Social Security is not a welfare program. People receiving SS have paid into this program for 30, 40, or more years."
I believe in calling a spade a spade. SS is absolutely a welfare program. It works just like every other wefare program, taking (stealing) money from one group of people and giving it to another group of people. All that money you, me, and others paid (or was coercively taken through taxes) for 30, 40 or more years was always immediately redistributed to other people. As for the "SS Trust Fund" it's always been a bunch of government backed IOU's. The SS money's all been spent. As you said, it is a giant pyramid scheme, where the money that comes in goes out just as fast.
That being said, I do think the only way for a politician to be realistically elected in this day and age is to offer a phasing out solution to these welfare programs, as Ron Paul is offering.
Again, all I'm trying to do here is call a spade a spade.
Social Security Was Forced Theft!
Hello Morerice, calling Social Security a welfare program is like blaming a victim of a crime for being a victim.
The problems with SS are a direct result of government being government. SS was no different than an IRA program except for government force and the fact that government can’t keep its hands off of other people’s property. Each participant in the SS system was to receive a retirement income in direct proportion to what they paid in plus their share of the fund’s growth.
Social Security was “sold†to the people as an individual retirement program that would pool each individual account into a much larger “super fundâ€. We were told that Social Security would pay for itself with the income from this fund’s investments; just like the war in Iraq would pay for itself in oil.
In the past 40 years our country has seen some of the greatest economic growth and technology advancements in history. These advancements were enhanced by the labor of every American who now faces a highly inflated currency without the benefit of the real growth their “investments†should have brought them to live out the rest of their lives without financial worry.
If the government had treated the SS fund properly without stealing the “basis†for participating in the growth of this country, SS could have been the greatest investment fund ever. Instead, our government turned Social Security into a pyramid scheme almost from its very beginning. Those who have been victimized by our corrupt government should be treated with respect and those commitments to them honored in full.
Calling Social Security a welfare program is just plain disrespectful. I hope you see the injustice that has been done and don’t blame the victims for what they worked their whole lives for and is rightfully theirs.
Best Regards,
Anti-Stupid
A Spade is a Spade
Anti-Stupid,
I mean no disrespect in my take on this. It's just being honest calling something for what it really is. A spade is a spade. You are calling a joker a spade.
You wrote:
"Social Security was “sold†to the people as an individual retirement program that would pool each individual account into a much larger “super fundâ€."
The very definition of welfare is a governemnt program that confiscates wealth from one group and transfers it to another group. Using this definition, SS is most certainly a welfare program. SS was designed that way from the very beginning as a wealth transfer program to take money from the younger and transfer it to the older and disabled. There never was even a semblance of individual accounts. In fact, the first recipients were fully vested even though they put nothing into the program. The fact that you (and I) have had our money forcibly taken from us for decades in the form of compulsory taxes to fund this program does not morally entitle us to be on the receiving end, where we receive the plunder that is forcibly taken from others. Theft is theft whether it is taken from you or given to you. Additionally, the ellusive "Trust Fund" you mentioned is nothing more than lots of government IOU's. The money supposedly saved has all been spent. As you said, SS is a giant ponzi scheme that is bound to inevitably fail.
Again, I reiterate, I do live in reality and I fully realize that a politician that wants to get elected can only do so by offering a phased out solutions to these entrenched social welfare programs. Ron Paul certainly offers these types of solutions and that is why he has my support.
Big Difference
Hello Morerice, let me see if I have this right. You’re telling me that the 30 years I paid into Social Security that it is a welfare handout for me to expect to get something back for my “forced investmentâ€.
Your description of welfare as government taking money from one group and giving it to another is correct. However, that money came out of my paychecks, not yours!
The SS# was specifically issued to identify our individual retirement accounts. I just got a statement last month showing the updated information on my paid-in contributions to my account. These are most certainly individual accounts.
You are looking at the end results of 40 years of the liberal Democratic social welfare programs; the conservative Republican corporate welfare programs; and the Federal Reserve central bankers (by inflation) having stolen the SS funds and the potential wealth those funds represented for their own purposes and power. And you’re making your judgment based on this? I’m sorry but basing your opinion on the failed end result of a system that was corrupted by government thieves is not being honest; it’s just being “near sightedâ€.
When you expect to receive something because you may be “needy†(social welfare) or you expect the government to bale you out for corporate malfeasance or just greed (corporate welfare); that is welfare. But when you pay for something with the sweat of your own labor that is not welfare and I’m surprised that you do not see the difference.
If Social Security fails it will be because our politicians are incapable of managing other people’s money without succumbing to the temptations to “borrow†that money for other purposes. Of course, they never pay it back. That’s why Social Security is in trouble not because it is welfare but because our money was used for welfare programs and other government overspending instead of its intended use as our individual retirement funds.
As I said don’t confuse the victims with the criminals. Social Security did not start out as a pyramid scheme it only ended up being one because of government misuse of our funds. If you insist on calling social security welfare, you will simply be insulting everyone who’s paid into it for most of their lives. Are you now implying we are all just welfare recipients? That’s just wrong and you know it. I don’t think that will set too well with them. I know it doesn’t set well with me.
If you honestly believe there is no difference between getting something for nothing (welfare) and getting something you paid for (your retirement fund), then there is nothing more I can say.
Best Regards,
Anti-Stupid
Honesty
Anti-Stupid,
Again, I mean you no disrespect in my comments about this. I'm just calling a spade a spade. The first part to accepting that a problem exists is to be honest and identify it correctly. Obfuscation, denial, and avoidance will only excerbate the problem. Just ask any doctor about this (Ron Paul?) ;)
You asked: "Are you now implying we are all just welfare recipients? That’s just wrong and you know it. I don’t think that will set too well with them. I know it doesn’t set well with me."
Yup. SS is a big socialistic welfare program. And we are all forced to be victims and abusers in this Big Lie program. This truth hurts. Believe me, I too know this pain as I have been a victim to this program for almost 20 years. And I don't expect to receive a penny back because I expect SS will be bankrupt or meaningless by the time I retire. Just look at it this way, when someone gets a SS check, that money they're getting was confiscated from some younger person, just as when they were younger their money that was taken from them was redistributed to some older person. Pretty darned disgusting when you think of it like this. From day one SS was a house of cards, a ponzi scheme, doomed to fail like all centrally planned socialist policies.
But the bright side is we now know what the problem is. Which reinforces why it is so important to work to abolish this and all other dishonest, wealth transfer programs and let freedom and the marketplace handle these complex problems.
morerice: Totally agree...
morerice:
Totally agree...
Social Security
Older Americans need to be assured that Social Security will not be pulled out from under them. They paid into this "retirement fund" at gunpoint all their lives and many would go hungry or end up living in a box under a bridge without it. No question, Social Security is a bad deal and needs to go away, but in a phased approach that does not leave those who depend upon it to survive destitute and that gives younger workers coming up a chance to make better investments for their retirement. I am sure that some reassurances about that will make a huge difference to older Americans. People tend to grow more fearful with age because they lose so many of the options that younger people take for granted. Imagine yourself in your eighties, shaky and unable to drive suddenly having to find a job. Dr. Paul knows about aging, he just needs to reassure those who are there and less vital than he is.