Free Republic

The Republican Governors Association announced its new leadership lineup today after their annual meeting concluded Thursday in Miami. South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford was voted RGA chairman, taking over the top job from Texas Gov. Rick Perry who will now serve as finance chairman. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is vice-chairman, while Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will serve as chair for the annual RGA gala, and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue will head up the recruitment effort. . . . Not on the list? Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who also attended the Miami meeting. Some Republican governors grumbled to CNN that Palin’s...

Harris County Court-at-Law Judge Roberta Lloyd today dissolved a court order restricting how the Texas Republican Party should run its convention under state law this week in Houston. Lloyd said the order, issued last week by retired substitute judge Tom Sullivan, was improper because her court lacks jurisdiction over such a case. She suggested the group of Republican delegates and activists who asked for the order take the case to the Court of Appeals in Houston — and that's where the group headed late this afternoon. The group, headed by Wharton County GOP Chairman Debra Medina and represented in court...

Republican activists' Houston case warned state leaders will try to shut out grass-roots opposition at meeting next week A Harris County judge on Wednesday ordered the Texas Republican Party to comply with state election law at its state convention in Houston next week after Republican activists alleged that the party illegally uses procedures to minimize grass-root dissent. Visiting Judge Tom Sullivan issued the temporary restraining order on Wednesday, a few hours after it was requested in a lawsuit filed by activists across the state. Represented by lawyer Gary Polland, a former Harris County Republican Party chairman, the group alleges that...

Ron Paul 'revolution' to flex views at GOP convention By David Brown TRIBUNE-REVIEW Friday, May 30, 2008 Ron Paul and a legion of his die-hard supporters plan to descend on the Republican National Convention in September -- not to surrender to John McCain, but to begin the next phase of Paul's "revolution." Paul, 72, a 10-term Texas congressman and Green Tree native, likely won't be allowed to speak at the convention, as many of his backers had hoped, because he refuses to endorse McCain, Paul spokesman Jesse Benton said Thursday.

The Nevada Republican party suspended its convention on Saturday night with no delegates elected to attend the party's national convention in September. The state party chairman, Sue Lowden says that the party will reconvene to nominate the state's 31 delegates in Las Vegas at a later date. An argument over the delegate nominating process sent the party into disarray. The nominating committee put forth a list of candidates and called for a vote. Ron Paul supporters on the floor were unhappy with the list of candidates. Through a rule change, delegates were able to start nominating candidates from the floor...

RENO, Nevada (AP) — Outmaneuvered by raucous Ron Paul supporters, Nevada Republican Party leaders abruptly shut down their state convention and now must resume the event to complete a list of 31 delegates to the GOP national convention. Outnumbered supporters of expected Republican presidential nominee John McCain faced off Saturday against well-organized Paul supporters. A large share of the more than 1,300 state convention delegates enabled Paul supporters to get a rule change positioning them for more national convention delegate slots than expected. "I've seen factions walk out. I've never seen a party walk out," said Jeff Greenspan, regional coordinator...

Senator Tom McClintock: "I'm not sure if Ron Paul is presidential Timber" 7 Days Before The Primary, McClintock Refuses To Endorse Ron PaulBy Martin HillLibertyFight.com: As a former supporter of California State Senator Tom McClintock, I've been very disappointed in im in recent years, particularly after he endorsed gun-grabbing socialist Arnold Scwarzenegger in 2006. So last week I wrote and posted the article 'Which Big-Government Socialist Will Tom McClintock Endorse Next?' (I also posted it at RON PAUL WAR ROOM and DAILY PAUL). When I had started writing the article, Fred Thompson was still in the race for president. Then...

"Before Ron Paul can get elected, he has to be nominated by delegates at the Republican National Convention which will take place in St. Paul, Minnesota. September 1-4, 2008. We have to get elected as delegates to the convention. Electoral college delegates have to be constitutionalists because they elect the president by casting their vote. Those who support Ron Paul must begin the process now of getting elected as a delegate to the convention or it's all over and the GOP faithful will get the shadow government's choice shoved down their throats - again. The power players behind the scenes...

The Texas congressman is not likely to be president, but his campaign already represents the most significant pro-freedom movement in recent American history. ...So how did a 72-year-old grandfather who is self-effacing and slender to the point of looking frail on television (he doesn't in person) become the closest thing to a rock star the Republicans have produced, swarmed for autographs at every appearance? Raised in Pittsburgh, Ron Paul attended Duke medical school, served in the Air Force, and began practicing medicine (he's an OB-GYN) near Houston. Along the way he started reading writers like Ludwig von Mises and Friederich...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson seemed taken by surprise when asked Tuesday about oil drilling in the Everglades, apparently unaware it's been a major Florida issue. Before answering, he laughed at the question. "Gosh, no one has told me that there's any major reserves in the Everglades, but maybe that's one of the things I need to learn while I'm down here," Thompson said after talking over state issues with Gov. Charlie Crist.

Rudy Giuliani 30 Fred Thompson 22 John McCain 18 Mitt Romney 7 Ron Paul 4 Mike Huckabee 4 Duncan Hunter 2 Sam Brownback 2 Tom Tancredo 1

Fred Thompson must be the luckiest guy in American politics – he doesn't yet have a platform available on his web site, skips debates, waits for months before announcing under the assumed role of “testing the waters”, records videos on his web site and somehow manages to bring in impressive support from the American people.

Coming off the Iowa Straw Poll the momentum for the Ron Paul 2008 campaign continues to build. Congressman Ron Paul has finished in the top 5 in 16 of the last 17 straw polls and can claim 1st place victories in New Hampshire, North Carolina, Washington, and Alabama. In comparing results head-to-head, Congressman Paul has blown away most of the field, defeating Rudy Giuliani in 15 of the 17 polls and John McCain in 15 of the 16 polls. There are straw polls coming up all across the country so be sure to check in with your local GOP to...

Many of you know that I help organize the Duncan Hunter "meetup" group(s). I decided to peek in at the "competition" and found it very interesting that Ron Paul supporters are being urged to attend the MoveOn.org rally.... http://ronpaul.meetup.com/1/boards/view/viewthread?thread=3421862 I post this because I know there are a lot of folks on FR that support Ron Paul.. I just wonder if you are participating in this effort.. or what you think about this whole business of catering to MoveOn.org .... quote from an active Ron Paul supporter Somebody posted a thread concerning moveon, and letting their members know about Ron...

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. On the other hand, it does not show much honesty, integrity, or conviction. The latest test of this principle is to watch “1st tier” presidential candidate Mitt Romney start to emulate the political philosophy of “2nd tier” candidate Ron Paul. Ron Paul has been in favor of small government since he became a Congressman. He has been in Congress for ten terms or twenty years. (Ron Paul is currently listed with 8 to 1 odds of becoming the next US President) Throughout that time he has consistently advocated that we strictly...

“That’s what you get for pretending the danger’s not real. Meek and obedient , you follow the leader down well trodden corridors, into the valley of steel. What a surprise! A look of terminal shock in your eyes! Now things are really what they seem. No, this is not a bad dream.” Excerpt from the song Sheep by Pink Floyd I’ve noticed a number of people on the Internet complaining about Ron Paul supporters recently. Many of them have the same complaint, that Ron Paul supporters are too pervasive. They call them Ron Paul spammers. They claim that a...

10 Reasons Why Ron Paul Should be Vice President August 16, 2007 If Ron Paul fails to win the Republican nomination, it may seem absurd to consider Ron Paul as the vice presidential running mate to any of the other Republican presidential candidates. But before you think so, we have brainstormed this here at our office and found that Ron Paul would make the best choice for Vice President. The major item of concern in choosing a vice presidential running mate is to select someone that can help you win and to find someone whose strength is your weakness. In...

On Eve of Straw Poll, Ron Paul Says GOP Has Lost its Way by: T.M. Lindsey Friday (08/10) at 17:16 PM GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul will be the first to admit that he's still trying to catch up with the "Ron Paul Revolution." During a telephone interview before a rally in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, the congressman from Texas confessed: "In many ways, I joined the group of people who started the Ron Paul Revolution, because I also wanted to see significant changes in this country."Paul added, "I, kiddingly but somewhat seriously, say thanks for inviting me to the...

Ron Paul Quietly Converting GOP Believers By John Fout TheStreet.com Political Correspondent 8/9/2007 12:20 PM EDT Why haven't conservatives leaders embraced their own ideals and come out to support Ron Paul in public? I pondered this issue in an article in June. I saw Paul as the one second-tier candidate who might have a chance of a breakout from the pack. It turns out I might have got it right. He has remained the most popular GOP candidate on the Internet. This genuine outpouring of support is rivaled only by that for Barack Obama.

A Word on “Surrender” by Edmund Snyder August 9th, 2007 From the Wikipedia entry on surrender: "Surrender is when soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers. A white flag is often used to surrender, as is the gesture of raising one’s hands empty and open above one’s head.Surrender may be conditional, if the surrendering party promises to submit only if after the victor makes certain promises. Otherwise it is unconditional surrender; the victor makes no promises of treatment other than those provided by international law....

Ron Paul big on 'Net, but media don't notice Clarence Page August 8, 2007 WASHINGTON Of all the interesting little fish swimming beneath the currents of the major candidates in this presidential campaign season, none is making waves as surprising as those kicked up by Rep. Ron Paul. The Texas Republican, who embraces a libertarian point of view, has been riding an unimpressive 2 percent in the polls, but if the presidential election were held in cyberspace, Paul would probably win hands down. Paul's supporters flood online polls, such as the unscientific survey ABC News invited viewers to join after...

I have been watching with interest the candidacy of Libertarian Ron Paul. Like many, I've been wondering what the heck he is doing in this race in the first place. Let's face it, even in the GOP field of candidates he doesn't fit in well. Naturally, he is a whipping boy for the GOP establishment... well, maybe just a laughing stock, would be more accurate. But, there is real substance to Mr. Paul, a substance that is all too easy to gloss over by focusing on his quirks. And he does serve a very important purpose; he helps bring the...

Rep. Ron Paul Isn’t Going Away * When he deigned last month to include Ron Paul in his Sunday morning show, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos told the Republican presidential candidate that he’d bet every last cent that Dr. Paul won’t end up in the White House. He’s right, of course. But that doesn’t mean that the 71-year-old congressman from Texas isn’t a surprising force in the 2008 race. He commands far more attention—from the media and from his opponents—than his low standing in the polls seems to warrant, has amassed an ideology-defying army of true believers through the Internet, and actually...

Among the other firsts of his campaign, Ron Paul is probably the only presidential contender to be compared to a Samuel L. Jackson movie. The Texas congressman, a dark horse candidate for the Republican nomination, was being lightly grilled by Kevin Pereira, a host on the videogame-oriented cable channel G4. "Young people online, they were really psyched about Snakes on a Plane, but that didn't translate into big ticket sales for Sam Jackson," Pereira said. "Are you worried that page views on a MySpace page might not translate to primary votes?" The reference was to the Internet sensation of 2006,...

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul began running television campaign ads Tuesday in Iowa. The spots for the Texas congressman began just days before a straw poll in the first presidential nominating state. The 30-second ads will be in rotation in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Sioux City. Campaign spokesman Jesse Benton declined to reveal the cost. The ad features Paul speaking to a crowd of supporters while an announcer repeats the Texan's fiscally conservative campaign themes. Various statements flash across the screen, including "Stop the national I.D. Card." Benton said the ad, the first of two for TV, will be...

Ron Paul Odds Slashed From 15 to 1 to 8 to 1 Following this weekend's Republican debate in Iowa and some extensive mainstream coverage and sound bytes., 2008 US Presidential candidate Ron Paul's odds to become the next Commander-in-Chief have been slashed further from 15 to 1 to 8 to 1.

HUMAN EVENTS Interview with Congressman Ron Paul, Texas Posted: 08/07/2007 On the morning of Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007 Cong. Ron Paul (R-Tx), candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, was interviewed by the editors and staff of Human Events. The following is a transcript of that interview which has been edited for length. HUMAN EVENTS: Congressman, thank you very much for coming. You’re kind of a hero to a lot of our readers and you’ve had pretty good success, in terms of fundraising in the campaign and gaining some attention, but you seem to be mired -- at least, the latest...

CALLER: I want a complete, impartial, and totally independent investigation of the events of September 11, 2001 . I’m tired of this bogus garbage about terrorism. Ask Michael Meacher about how he feels about this bogus war on terrorism. Can you comment on that please? HON. DR. RON PAUL: Well, that would be nice to have. Unfortunately, we don’t have that in place. IT WILL BE A LITTLE BIT BETTER NOW WITH THE DEMOCRATS NOW IN CHARGE OF OVERSIGHT. But you know, for top level policy there’s not a whole lot of difference between the two policies so a real...

Fox News Live with Julie Banderas to have Ron Paul live in a few moments Please remove from Breaking when the moment passes if appropiate.

Paul’s active service member donations get noticedBy Klaus MarreAugust 03, 2007Rep. Ron Paul (Texas), the anti-Iraq war candidate for the Republican presidential nomination and darling of the Internet, said his colleagues have taken notice that he has raised more money from active service members than any other GOP White House hopeful."Lots of military people turned out to be aware that our campaign got more donations from soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines than any other," said Paul in a statement on his website. "Funny, that made a big impression in Congress too. Many of my colleagues were amazed and encouraged that...

Online Poll Receives a Staggering 16,371 Individually Validated Ballots WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FreedomWorks officially closed its Republican Presidential Straw Poll early this morning after 16,371 limited government conservatives cast their votes over 3 days of polling. Texas Representative Ron Paul won by a wide margin with 56 percent of the vote. Senator Fred Thompson snatched the second place position, with Duncan Hunter taking third. The FreedomWorks Straw Poll provides the most complete view of the limited government movement heading into the Iowa Straw Poll on August 11th. For complete results, visit http://www.freedomworks.org/strawpoll FreedomWorks launched this Straw Poll to gauge the opinions of...

The Fear Factor July 30, 2007 While fear itself is not always the product of irrationality, once experienced it tends to lead away from reason, especially if the experience is extreme in duration or intensity. When people are fearful they tend to be willing to irrationally surrender their rights. Thus, fear is a threat to rational liberty. The psychology of fear is an essential component of those who would have us believe we must increasingly rely on the elite who manage the apparatus of the central government. The statement “Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little...

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul will be holding a fund raiser at the Buckhorn Museum in San Antonio, Texas on July 28, 2007. The Texas congressman will be present to address several key issues that have helped define his campaign to date. The fund raiser will include live music, BBQ and an auction in efforts to bolster campaign contributions for Ron Paul. Paul trails Republican frontrunners Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney in donation dollars but was recently shown to be ahead of John McCain in accessible money for campaigning.

NYT: Billing records show Fred did lobby for abortion group; Update: Pro-Fred blogger apologizes to LA Timesposted at 8:44 am on July 19, 2007 by Allahpundit(Allahpundit [also known as Allah] is a blogger best known as the author for defunct blog Allah Is in the House, a satirical political blog existing 2003-2005, and as an active contributor to Michelle Malkin's Hot Air.)Patterico beat me to the punch. What on earth was Mark Corallo thinking when he told the LA Times no way nuh uh never happened when he didn’t know that for a fact? Did the campaign even think to...

NEW YORK A feature piece in this coming Sunday's New York Times Magazine on Republican candidate for president, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, portrays his followers as including a wild mix of "wackos" on both ends of the political spectrum. Paul, a libertarian, has been gaining media and public attention of late. The cover line reads: "A Genuine Radical for President." The headline inside: "The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-medicare Candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul." The article closes with the author, Christopher Caldwell, attending a Ron Paul Meetup in Pasadena. The co-host, Connie Ruffley of United Republicans of California, admits she...

Ron Paul, for the People Can a libertarian Republican appeal to Democrats?Brian Doherty | June 15, 2007 Ron Paul may not be the next president of the United States, but he is already in effect the president of meetup.com. You might remember that online community site from the Howard Dean explosion leading into the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries. It was widely credited with being key to his burgeoning people power that scared the rest of the Dem pack four years ago.Deanmania ruled for a while, at least until votes were actually cast. He did not, as you might notice, end...

Seventy House members, nearly all liberal Democrats, vowed today that they would not support any more funding for Iraq military operations unless tied to a complete withdrawal of combat troops. This is a big development. Earlier this year, liberals grudgingly voted for Iraq funding bills because they didn't want to give Nancy Pelosi a defeat. Now it seems that their patience has run out. The next Iraq funding bill won't come up until the fall, so this showdown won't happen for a few months, but it appears to be shaping up as an epic battle between liberals in Congress and...

Seventy House members, nearly all liberal Democrats, vowed today that they would not support any more funding for Iraq military operations unless tied to a complete withdrawal of combat troops. This is a big development. Earlier this year, liberals grudgingly voted for Iraq funding bills because they didn't want to give Nancy Pelosi a defeat. Now it seems that their patience has run out. The next Iraq funding bill won't come up until the fall, so this showdown won't happen for a few months, but it appears to be shaping up as an epic battle between liberals in Congress and...

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070718/POLITICS01/707180319/1022/POLITICS

Ron Paul Will Place Second at Ames Posted by: Patrick Ruffini at 1:48 AM You heard it here first. He leads the second tier in cash-on-hand. He was able to get 1,200 people out to the Hy-Vee (has any candidate done something that big on their own, not at an RPI event?). His home base in Texas isn’t that far of a drive, and his people are motivated enough to come in from out of state for him. And he’s making a big push on his Web site, which for all intents and purposes, is his campaign. Romney, given his dominant...

Hey stop f@!#ing deleting and banning Republicans who are for Ron Paul you piece of garbage. Just because we disagree with neocons on some issues doesn’t mean you should ban us! You act like some f@!#ing Communist who stifles all dissenting opinions. If you and your goons weren’t going around banning all who disagree with Fred Thompson’s fat ugly evil looking ass you would see Ron Paul Republicans all over your neocon front website. Ron Paul Republicans would destroy your neocon minions easily if we weren’t constantly banned you filth. You did the same bull s!@t to Pat Buchanan supporters....

The only other Republican who managed to raise more than $2 million in the quarter was Representative Ron Paul of Texas, whose antiwar candidacy and whose following on the Internet helped him take in $2.35 million. Nearly half of Mr. Paul’s money came in donations of less than $200; he took in nearly a quarter-million dollars in contributions from his native Texas, as well as $170,000 from California. Mr. Paul outraised several other well-known Republican candidates. Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas raised $1.4 million; Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, raised $763,000, and Tommy G. Thompson, the former Wisconsin governor...

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul may be stuck on the "long shot" list as far as the mainstream media is concerned, but hold the phone when it comes to Paul harnessing the raw power of the digital world. The Libertarian-friendly Paul campaign recently became the first to launch an iPhone platform, utilizing Apple's new multi-purpose cell phone. In a CNN telephone poll conducted in February 2007, Paul was the candidate with the least name recognition – running just ahead of John Cox, the Chicago businessman and talk show host. But the congressman from Texas has a knack for shining on...

Ron Paul, the Texas GOP congressman and long-shot candidate for president, credits a rabid Internet following with spreading his staunch libertarian and anti-war message into the mainstream media. So you might think the unlikely Web phenom, who got an enthusiastic reception when he spoke Friday to about 250 Google employees, plus 100 sent to an overflow room, would be the technology industry's best friend. Not so. Paul did call the Internet "rather miraculous," as he pitched his free-market, small-government mantra to the employees, many of whom came in shorts and even one in bare feet. "Thank goodness there's the Internet...

Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, said the country is in "great danger" of the U.S. government staging a terrorist attack or a Gulf of Tonkin style provocation, as the war in Iraq continues to deteriorate. The Texas congressman offered no specifics nor mentioned President Bush by name, but he clearly insinuated that the administration would not be above staging an incident to revive flagging support. During the radio interview, Paul said the government was conducting "an orchestrated effort to blame the Iranians for everything that has gone wrong in Iraq."

Aides helping Rep. Ron Paul of Texas with his long-shot run for the Republican presidential nomination never thought they would need more than the corner of a one-bedroom apartment. They were wrong. The campaign has outgrown its second headquarters, a 348-square-foot office. Mr. Paul has more campaign cash available than former Republican front-runner Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Federal Election Commission records show, and the antiwar conservative has become an Internet sensation.

From the substance of the conversation to the venue in which it occurred, there are no surprises here. This isn’t the first time the Only Man Who Can Save America has floated the Gulf of Tonkin scenario; in fact, he’s done it on the floor of the House. And lord knows it isn’t the first time he’s dialed in to Alex Jones’s show to swap conspiracy theories. In fact, it seems to be a regular gig. So after all the argument about whether he himself is a Truther or just patronizes Truthers, we arrive at the, er, truth: he doesn’t...

This is an excellent article that summarizes the Ron Paul phenomenom and helps explain why he is first on the internet. The Book on Paul: Presidential Candidate Ron Paul is the anti-war conscience of the Republican Party. http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=1567

Lee Rogers interviews Congressman and Presidential candidate Ron Paul about a myriad of issues in this interview. Lee discusses the following topics with Dr. Paul in this half hour interview. Abolishing the Federal Reserve and the IRS, the restoration of honest money, the plunge protection team, the government standoff with Ed and Elaine Brown over the income tax, the broken health care system, abolishing big government agencies, the CIA/NSA, global government, the New World Order, the North American Union, semi-secretive organizations like the Council on Foreign Relations, American imperialism around the world, the billion dollar embassy being built in Iraq,...

What's your response to those who say you're not electable? The idea of who is not electable is subjective. It's early. No one knows, and only one candidate will win, so everyone else will turn out to be not electable. The nomination is completely open now because the party is in disarray, the base is unhappy and I offer them an alternative and a return to their tradition of true conservativism. I think I'm quite electable. I'm not placing any bets, but to argue that I'm not electable is just trying to dismiss someone they don't want to hear from....