I was halfway through a post a moment ago on this irritating piece of inanity from yesterday's Politico Crypt blog (which at least opened the door for some outstanding comments), when a link to today's National Review was tossed in my lap.

Now, I know what you're thinking—NRO? Cushy second home for Neocons when the Weekly Standard just gets too routine? But wait, I think I spot a conservative there.

John Derbyshire writes very nicely today about "the Ron Paul temptation" in his article "That Old-Time Religion."

Nits aside, the broad outlook there is conservative in a way we don't often see from a presidential candidate. It is, in fact, conservatism of exceptional purity. Reading through those policy positions, an American conservative can hear the mystic chords of memory sounding in the distance, and hear the call of ancestral voices wafted on the breeze: Hayek, von Mises, Rothbart, Nock, Kirk, John Chamberlain... Unlike the product in that automobile commercial, this is your father's conservatism—the Old-Time Religion. What is there among Ron Paul's policy prescriptions that the young William F. Buckley would have disagreed with?

Derbyshire may conclude that Paul can't win, but his reasons are an indictment of Washington politics—and, more than anything, highlight how much we need President Paul.

To quote one of my favorite old movies (and free bumper sticker to the first commenter who names it), "If St. George had killed a dragonfly instead of a dragon, who would remember him?"

I'm going to take a quick break from thinking about the Granite State and plug an important project that's going on for Iowa.

As you probably know, the Ames Straw Poll is going to happen on August 11th, and a good showing in Iowa would be another "go head, keep ignoring me" notch on Dr. Paul's belt. The trick? Getting enough folks there to counteract the hordes being bussed in by Romney, et al. They have to be Iowans and they have to vote for Paul. Luckily, there is something the rest of us can do.

Go to the Paul campaign's Iowa page and sign up to help on either the Call Iowa or Mail Iowa program. You'll be volunteering to help the campaign reach out to Iowa Republicans, urging them to get to the straw poll and support our guy. You can do a little or a lot—every phone call or letter matters. This is the kind of work that a grassroots network like ours is for, and Ron Paul needs you. So get on it.

On a related note, you can also, apparently, Adopt an Iowan. That's right; it costs $35 to get into Ames and vote, and a few wonderful Meetup organizers have taken it upon themselves to fundraise and buy tickets for folks who want to go support Ron Paul. Today, they reached their original goal of $10,000 raised, so they've upped the goal to $35,000. Go use your PayPaul account for something good.

Last Friday, the rest of my family headed to the bookstore to eagerly await the release the 7th and final Harry Potter book. We bought two copies, so that between the three of us (wife, daughter, and myself), we wouldn't have to fight too much. The wife and daughter got first crack, and they both finished on Saturday. They showed great respect for me by not spilling the beans on what happened in the book. And if you don't want to know READ NO FURTHER, OR I WILL SPOIL IT FOR YOU!!!!!

So Sunday, I finally got my paws on the book. I'm a big Ron Paul fan, and a Republican/Libertarian. Prior to the release, I had found the following article. It starts with this:

"What would you think of a government that engaged in this list of tyrannical activities: tortured children for lying; designed its prison specifically to suck all life and hope out of the inmates; placed citizens in that prison without a hearing; ordered the death penalty without a trial; allowed the powerful, rich or famous to control policy; selectively prosecuted crimes (the powerful go unpunished and the unpopular face trumped-up charges); conducted criminal trials without defense counsel; used truth serum to force confessions; maintained constant surveillance over all citizens; offered no elections and no democratic lawmaking process; and controlled the press?"

Although I had certainly noticed the anti-government message in books 1-6, I hadn't really put the book together with libertarianism . I could not believe that the most popular series (adult or child) could have such a strong libertarian message. I made the bold prediction that Voldemort would take over the government (and I was right).

So Sunday, with great eagerness, I dived in to the final chapter. 10 hours of reading later, I was stunned and amazed that Rowling's message lined up so completely with my feelings, and with what I am hearing from Ron Paul.

It all starts with Vernon Dursley's statement on page 33: "Well, then, why can't they protect us? It seems to me that, as innocent victims, guilty of nothing more than harboring a marked man, we ought to qualify for government protection?" Harry laughed; He could not help himself. It was so very typical of his uncle to put his hopes in the establishment, even within this world that he despised and mistrusted." It reminds me of Dr Paul's statements that we made the tragic mistake of relying on the government to protect us, and the result was 9/11. If we had had more respect for the 2nd amendment, we could have avoided 9/11 (e.g. if pilots had been alllowed to carryweapons).

Later, the minister of magic and Harry confront each other (P 129-130). The minister has been holding items that were supposed to go to Harry, and Harry exclaims "So this is what you've been doing, Minister, shut up in your office, trying to break open a Snitch? People are dying - I was nearly one of them". The minister responds: " You go to far!". This reminds me of Dr Pauls confrontation with Giuliani. He called the government to task for their irresponsible foreign policy, while Americans have been attacked. And all Giuliani can do is shout back, as the minister does.

I also like how in the book, school attendence has become mandatory (P. 210), essentially dissallowing home-schooling. Meanwhile Ron Paul has pushed to make sure private and homeschooling rights are protected.

But the core theme of the entire series is summed up in P 717-720. Essentially, even the very altruisitic Dumbledore was at times corrupted by attraction to power. He turned down the ministry of magic several times because he had come to realize that he could not responsibly handle that power, because he would become corrupted by it (as Voldemort had). He then praises Harry for refusing to take power, and says that it is his true strenth. It reminded me of the speech I heard from Dr Paul at the Liberty Forum, where he stated that true strength was to not use power that should not be yours to begin with. That statement was lifted from the final chapter, of the final book of the most popular book series of the last decade. And the statement was made by Dr Paul before Rowling ever released the book.

Dr Paul and Harry Potter have a lot in common, and I am greatly impressed with both. JK Rowling has created a legacy that will live for decades to come. As Ron Paul would say: "Freedom is popular"

Labels: Harry Potter Ron Paul 2008

Just taking a quick look at some stats on the New York Times site... Currently, the magazine piece is #11 on the "most e-mailed" list, and #2 on the "most-blogged."

The former may have more impact, but we can't track it... The latter doesn't necessarily signal new territory, but you can take a look at who these bloggers are and what they're saying here.

Recently it was found out that Ron Paul lead ALL candidates in donations from military members. This was a big shocker for Fox News, which tried explain it away. However, as a 17 year Air Force vet, it was no shock to me. Probably not for fellow blogger Jason, who was in the Air Force. I spent time fighting in Somalia, Bosnia, and Iraq, and came to a clear understanding that our military was being used for political purposes, not defense. When I found out about Ron Paul, I realized that finally, here was a politician who would not abuse the military for political purposes. That's one of the many reasons I support him. Some other potential reasons that people from the military support him:

1. He is one of the very few Candidates that was in the military himself - a flight surgeon in the Air Force during the Vietnam era.


2. He has consistently supported Veterans. He was complaining about poor medical care BEFORE the Walter Reid scandal - see this speech.


3. As outlined above, Ron Paul is strong on DEFENSE. Reagan Recognized this with this quote: "Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country!"


4. An example of his strong stance on defense, is he has been pushing to go after binLaden in Pakistan, something other candidates ignore - see this interview on Tucker Carlson.

A good example of Dr Paul's refusal to use the military for political purposes was reported in the Houston Chronicle.

VICTORIA - When U.S. Rep. Ron Paul recently gave the keynote address at a ceremony presenting overdue medals to 24 veterans, he talked about patriotism, the country's debt owed to veterans, the need for a strong military and strong personal freedom.

What he didn't mention was that he's running for president.

Nobody else on the program said anything about his presidential campaign or even that he's also running for an 11th term in Congress.

"It didn't seem appropriate," Paul, R-Lake Jackson, said after the July 3 ceremony.

Labels: ron paul military donations

I've had an eye on the Wall Street Journal this week, after law prof Randy Barnett published his totally inane (not to mention strategically idiotic) anti-Paul piece on pro-war libertarians. While I hope to see a Paul reply published in the near future, the Journal's editorial page took a step in the right direction today with this article on a conservative gathering in Kiowa, CO.

The buzzword on the left nowadays is "tolerance" for those with different lifestyles -- like cross-dressers -- but almost everything that these folks want to do, liberals won't tolerate. One smoker lamented that if "gays were discriminated against today the way smokers are, there would be an uproar." Gun owners have reason to be fearful too. In a recent blog interview on Moveon.org, John Edwards of North Carolina proclaimed that health care, child care, a livable wage and a clean environment are "rights," but owning a gun is a "privilege." The men and women who gathered in Kiowa would like to send him a copy of the Constitution.

I'm a little uneasy about posting this before Sunday, but an apparently leaked copy of the New York Times Magazine article just hit my inbox. I don't know how it got out, and I didn't go looking for it, but I know how anxious I was to see it, so here you go.

Overall, I'm astounded at the positive treatment here. Chris Caldwell fairly portrays Dr. Paul and his politics, editorializes positively on the origins of his message ("the noblest traditions of American decency and patriotism"), and then addresses—and dismisses—the "he's a crackpot" attacks. Our guy emerges as a bright, principled, quixotic candidate who has beat the odds before.

Caldwell's prediction for the outcome is standard press fare, but the article itself argues very persuasivly against that kind of dismissive certainty. I'm sure some Paul supporters will be crying foul, but, especially give the source and the risk, to my mind this is a coup.

I didn't want to put this out there until I'd heard it, but a bunch of us spoke with Dan Gorenstein at NHPR earlier this week. The resulting segment aired last night and again this morning.

Audio here: Grass Roots Activists Push for Paul

No, I'm not hitting the Jack Daniels at my desk.

This Sunday, July 22nd, the New York Times Magazine will feature an "extensive" article on Ron Paul titled, "The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medicare Candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul."

The most radical congressman in America is a Republican from Texas. And he's running for president.

If you can stop jumping up and down, here are some interesting facts:

According to the Times' advertising department, the average Sunday circulation is 1,627,062.

From the same source: the magazine averages 2 readers per copy.

Average time spent reading the magazine: 1 hour and 42 minutes.

In short, it seems fair to expect that over 3 million people will at least be exposed to the headline (Paul's name and four positions) this weekend. And that's not even online.

Of interest mostly to New Hampshirites, this morning's Union Leader ran an editorial by Charlie Arlinghaus, president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy. Here's the headline:

Let voters, not the pundits decide who becomes President.

Just a great job of taking the media to task (nicely):

In a vibrant democracy, we should be pleased by the large number of choices voters will have, but the establishment finds it inconvenient. In a recent debate, the few people who tuned in could see Wolf Blitzer's obvious annoyance with having to condescend to candidates he deemed superfluous. In the GOP debate, he grouped the three wealthiest candidates in the middle, made sure they answered each question, and patronized the others. Hardly a high point of open democracy...

And describing the real greatness of the NH Primary:

The advantage of something like a New Hampshire primary is that a wide assortment of candidates can run a real campaign on a relatively small amount of money. Because voters have a chance to meet everyone if they choose, they don't decide early or rely too heavily on small soundbites and national horse race descriptions. Local media cover candidates and what they say without regard to their status among the national chattering classes.

Yesterday at an NAACP meeting, Clinton and Edwards were caught on tape saying that they needed to shut out the lower tier candidates from debates and events. Read the story here, and watch the video. Hillary ends the conversation with Edwards saying "our guys should talk."

Meanwhile, it was pointed out in Time that neither party is really serious about getting out of Iraq, and that "If you're looking for someone who will lead a speedy withdrawal from Iraq, you'll have to go to the extreme left or right of the parties. Nobody in the mainstream is looking to get out soon." Now, I wouldn't call Dr Paul extreme right, but otherwise, I think that is a very fair statement.

And if you put these two things together, you can see that the mainstream candidates really don't want the war to be debated by people in the supposed "second tier". Gravel and Kucinich have done a great job at exposing the top Democratic candidates for the pro-war people they really are. And Dr Paul has pushed the Republicans to return to the non-interventionist foreign policy advocated by our founding fathers. Clearly this message is resonating with the people, and the mainstream candidates really need to shut down that message if they hope to stay in power.

I sincerely believe that this is the year for a non-establishment candidate to win the Presidency, and Ron Paul is that man.

Labels: ron paul clinton edwards iraq war

All the generous donation last quarter really have helped Dr Paul get the attention of the media. Joe Scarborough, Katrina Heuvel and Pat Buchanan praise him on MSNBC. I like how Buchanan highlights that the fact that Ron Paul has money is because he is frugal, just like he would be as President. Dr Paul was also interviews on Tucker Carlson, with a nice image of "who has more cash than McCain". Note that in the interview Dr Paul mentions that there have been a few little straw polls, and we have done very well - that's a reference to the CNHT straw poll as well as others. There have also been some nice local news stories - see this article on the dailypaul.

Imagine the press if next quarter he quadruples the donations again! If you can help, then donate. If you can't donate, then try to get some friends or family to donate.

With people like Stephanopoulos smugly saying that there is no way Ron Paul can win, it's easy to get discouraged. But here are some things to keep in mind (taken from lewrockewell.com):

Writes Justin Ptak: "At this point in the cycle, national polls are entirely a reflection of name identification, not voters' views of the candidates.

• "In early 1975, Carter was polling at 1% (he went on to win the Presidency).


• "In early 1987, Dukakis was polling at 1% (he went on to win the Democratic nomination).


• "In early 1991, Clinton was at 2% (he went on to win the Presidency).


• "In the spring of 1999, John McCain was polling at 3% (he went on to win the NH primary).


• "In early 2003, Joe Lieberman was leading the field for the Democratic presidential nomination (he failed to win any primary)."

Wisely, about 200 people showed up to vote in the CNHT Straw poll, giving Ron Paul 65% of the vote. Rumor is that this strong showing was influential in getting Dr Paul on Morning with Joe, with a great interview. They did a nice job calling out Stephanopoulos for his arrogance. You can hear Joe at the beginning say "we have the next President on the phone!" Make sure to say thanks (joe@msnbc.com), and keep in mind that this early on, a small group of motivated supporters can make a BIG difference.

This morning, I woke up, reached for my computer, and looked for mention of Ron Paul's slam dunk victory at the CNHT straw poll yesterday. Unionleader.com, Concordmonitor.com, WMUR.com... Oddly, there was nothing. Perhaps a little letter-writing campaign is in order.

NH folks: Please take a moment and throw together a little letter to the editor for the Leader, the Monitor, or your local paper. (In my experience, a lot of these folks are perfectly friendly towards Ron Paul, so please keep your notes fairly pleasant.) Key information might include the following facts:

that this was the first NH straw poll for 2008;

that Ron Paul won it with 182 votes (65%); and

that the one-ticket-one-vote rule was strictly enforced.

Union Leader: letters@unionleader.com
200 words or less; include your name, address, and daytime phone.

Concord Monitor: letters@cmonitor.com

For folks outside of New Hampshire, I'd encourage you to write to your own papers; a blow-out win in the first NH straw poll should be big news just about anywhere. And with Dr. Paul officially leading John McCain in the cash department, his ascendancy should be getting press left and right. So let your local press know that they're missing a big deal.

Rand Paul, Ron Paul's son, gave a great speech at the Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers picnic. He went over the history of his father, and how he has always stood up for what was right, rather than do what his party tells him to. Rand was a great stand-in for Dr Paul, and I urge everyone to get to meet him if they can.

Ron Paul was interviewed by George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week."

It's official: Ron Paul beat the pants off the competition at the Coalition for NH Taxpayers straw poll. Taking first place with 182 votes, Dr. Paul's nearest competition, Rudy Giuliani, came in with roughly 22 (I may be off by one or two).

Contrary to rumored media reports, the policy was one ticket, one vote. (You actually had to turn your signed, $15 ticket in for a ballot.) Unlike other campaigns, Paul's official people did not provide free tickets for supporters; we paid our money to support our guy. It was a blowout.

Thank you ABC News for leaking the best information I think I've ever heard:

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos Reports: Though often regarded as a longshot candidate for president, Republican Ron Paul tells ABC News that he has an impressive $2.4 million in cash on hand after raising an equal amount during the second quarter, putting him ahead of one-time Republican frontrunner John McCain, who reported this week he has only $2 million in the bank.

Full story.

EDIT: So as not to bury the other important posts yesterday and today... I just had to share something I saw in the comments on the ABC website. This is why we, the people, the campaign, the revolution for Ron Paul, are going to win:

I am 60 years old. I have always voted for smaller government and to uphold the Constitution. I have never gotten what I voted for. Today I put my home up for sale. I am taking the proceeds and going to spend it promoting Ron Paul. That is the best way to spend my grandchildrens inheritance. They will benefit more by having President Ron Paul than having $100,000 of fiat money. Our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor. The Revolution has begun.

I guess it's predictable that the Fourth of July would usher in a banner week for Ron Paul.

As reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Cobb County (GA) GOP gathering for the 4th is "one of the largest in the state"--and guess who came in second in the straw poll.

Fred Thompson: 30 percent
Ron Paul: 17 percent
Mitt Romney: 15 percent

Now, as exciting as second place in Georgia is, let's all take a moment and imagine what first place in New Hampshire would feel like. Is a smile creeping across your face? Is your spine tingling at the thought of Granite Staters declaring, "We want President Paul"? Are you leaping ahead to mental pictures of the troops coming home and the IRS windows being boarded up? Then get down to the Hopkinton Fairgrounds tomorrow to vote in the CNHT straw poll. Come get signs; come get lit; but most of all, come get your country back.

And, finally, don't forget to watch Dr. Paul this Sunday at 10am on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." Let those lovely people at the networks know that their ratings go through the roof when a patriot is allowed to speak.

ACTION ALERT: The Coalition for New Hampshire Taxpayers annual picnic is being held this weekend--and we need you to come out and vote for Dr. Paul in the first serious NH Presidential Straw Poll of the primary season! A win in this poll is sure to garner a lot of press in New Hampshire, and this could translate into national media coverage for the campaign. This really is a BIG DEAL.

Dr. Rand Paul, Ron's son, will be speaking at the event along with other Republican candidates. Although Dr. Paul has a previous engagement (he'll be at FreedomFest in Nevada), this is a high priority event here in NH.

RonPaulHQ will have a booth, so stop by and say hi! We'll have yard signs and t-shirts available, plus plenty of FREE high quality color palm cards directly from the campaign. We're trying to disperse this material, so come get some of it already!

Tickets are $15, and you need a ticket to vote in the straw poll. Thanks for coming out!

Click here for tickets.
Click here to RSVP on the HQ list.

Ron Paul was on Alan Comes on 7/2/07. He makes some good comments on the New Hampshire primaries - about how McCain won it because of the independents. And how the Republican party in N.H. is not pleased with the national party, since they lost the last set of local elections. He also talks about how Giuliani's comments in the S.C. debate were a big boon for the campaign since Giuliani was completely wrong.

A week and a half ago, the Free State Project held the Porcupine Festival in Gunstock, NH. For those that don't know about the Free State Project, it's goal is to move 20,000 liberty loving activist to New Hampshire to try to make the State as free as possible, to hold out as an example to the rest of the United States. Naturally, liberty loving activists love Ron Paul, so we took a table there and sold shirts, yard signs, etc. The response was overwhelmingly positive. I was interviewed by Free Minds TV about Ron Paul, who has been very supportive of Dr Paul. The interview is at the beginning of the following clip:

According to Lew Rockwells' blogger Nick Bradley who was present, the Iowa Rally that was planned by the Ron Paul campaign after he was excluded from a forum put on by the Iowans for Tax Reform and the Iowa Christian Alliance, drew 1,000 people, 400 more than the ITR/ICA rally which had invited all of the other Republican candidates.

Definitely check out clip 13 that highlights the revolutionary nature of his campaign. Some paraphrasing of what he said:

"They want to silence us - but they now fail to invite us to their little parties, so we now have our own, bigger parties (massive applause). Those same individuals who undermine our democratic process at home are the same who send your money and your kids overseas to build democracy in the middle east."

"Down in Arizona, my supporters were talking about a Revolution. And I like Revolution, but a non-violent one. I want to go back to the Constitution, and today that IS Revolutionary. Historically, Revolutions are started by a select few, and are ignored by the mainstream for a long time - until they can no longer be ignored. That point has passed, and they can ignore us no longer."

From the Daily Paul.
New video in 13 parts that shows the audience for those of you who wanted to see it!

Intro: The National Anthem
Part 1: Announcements
Part 2: Life and Liberty
Part 3: Property, Draft
Part 4: Economy
Part 5: Federal Reserve, Monetary Policy
Part 6: Inflation Tax
Part 7: Monetary System, Foreign Policy
Part 8: Foreign Policy, Iraq War
Part 9: Constitution, Intervention
Part 10: Just War, UN, Civil Liberties
Part 11: Terror, Blowback, Iran
Part 12: Civil Liberties
Part 13: Constitutional Revolution

Just added: Here's the entire speech in one video. The audio quality is nicer than the above videos.