Topic: Ron Paul
Ron Paul Indiana Signs of Life Nevada shows that not coming in first doesn’t mean you can’t win a state. The Paul campaign is down, but not over in the Hoosier state.by DigitalBob
(Libertarian)
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
A few weeks ago, my wife and I took a drive to Shipshewana to do a little shopping. For those who are not familiar with northern Indiana, Shipshewana is a shopping Mecca for anyone wanting to buy Amish and Mennonite goods. You have to be careful not to hit the black horse-drawn carriages with the orange triangles. To get there, we drove along state route 933 and US 20. And we saw yard signs and banners for the presidential race--almost all of them for Ron Paul.
I live very close to the state line in Michigan. I get my morning newspaper and local TV channels from South Bend, Indiana, home of Notre Dame's Fighting Irish. I still see Ron Paul signs along US 12, between New Buffalo and Niles. The Michigan primary came and went months ago. Mitt Romney won with three-fourths of the vote for the Republicans. The Democrats, with the exception of Dennis Kucinich, didn't even campaign here. Michigan only comes up now on the news, because Hillary would like to have "her" delegates. Howard Dean was on television, talking about his new anti-McCain ads. The TV has been full of Clinton and Obama campaign ads. Most of them have advocated socialist remedies to combating the evils of oil companies and their profiteering, which is causing the prices to go up. It's eerie how there is a near total absence of Republican ads. The Democrats are fighting tooth and nail for every delegate here.
The Republicans will get 57 delegates from Indiana (from the Green Papers: [link edited for length]) for their convention. 27 will be determined by a winner-take-all in the primary next Tuesday. Three are determined by chair people, as in every state. The last 27 will be determined by district, at the state convention on June 9 & 10. "These last delegates do not have to reflect the primary in any way."
Even if John McCain "wins" Indiana, that doesn't mean he automatically gets every delegate to the convention. Even the 27 delegates in the primary election may be pledged to him, but who they are is determined by district. They're only bound to him on the first vote.
Unfortunately, what happened in Nevada at their state convention is a recurring theme across the nation. You are considered a "good" Republican if you support John McCain. Standing up for the principles of limited government and humble foreign policy isn't as important as looking electable.
Looking over the thread from the Michiana Ron Paul Meetup group #209, it's hard to become a delegate (http://ronpaul.meetup.com/209/boards/thread/4267280). Depending on the county, delegates to the state convention can be chosen by election or by appointment by the county chairman. Apparently, you have to prove to the local chairman that you are a traditional Republican and that you support John McCain. How bizarre. These messages were from February, and the Indiana primary was not until May! McCain didn't announce he had "clinched" the nomination until after the Texas primary on March 4th. The official application had to be in by Feb 22. There is nothing on the form that says who you're supporting, just that you want to be a delegate.
As of February 29th (http://www.in.gov/sos/elections), the four Republican candidates on the ballot are Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. It sounds like some local chairman didn't get that memo. Indiana could have saved a lot of money by skipping the elections and letting the party officials who took loyalty oaths choose the winner. Since Huckabee and Romney haven't told Indiana otherwise, I count four candidates still running there for Republican nomination.
I saw a few Ron Paul activities across Indiana in preparation for the May 6 primary.
To the west, there will be sign waving in Highland by the Highway of Flags at Indianapolis Blvd and Ridge Rd on Monday May 5 at 5 p.m, by Meetup group #444.
Laporte County Meetup group #748 is having a Freedom Rally at noon May 5 at the LaPorte County Courthouse.
Evansville Meetup group #199 is having a canvassing drive at the Family Dollar store on E. Morgan at 9:30 am Saturday May 3.
Several Indianapolis Meetup groups are converging Thursday May 1 on Birdie's Bar and Grill on 71st Street for a "Ron Paul Rocks the Vote". $7 cover.
Pennsylvania last week showed that over 26% of Republican voters wanted someone other than John McCain. With three competitors in Indiana, instead of just two in Pennsylvania, he could do worse. In the handful of state primaries left, it'll be interesting to see if this trend continues. Even if no delegates move from the McCain column that day, the popular vote is still reported, and monitored by the Republican Party.
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2008 DigitalBob, all rights reserved.
Published: Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Last modified: Tuesday, April 29, 2008
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What happened here in Nevada is just the begining on the end for John McCain and the next push of the Ron Paul Revolution. For those of you 'good republicans' throwing their vote to McCain because that is who your party wants you to vote for, let Ron Paul himself explain what a good republican is. [link edited for length] To hear what a good Republican is to Ron Paul skip in 3:10. (The entire interview is amazing and important but Ron Paul explans the difference between him & McCain after 3:10)
Let me also just say that after my entire family attending the Nevada convention as Ron Paul delegates I have never seen so many news outlets exagerate how 'unprofessional' Ron Paul supporters were. Thoes who said that are just flat out lying. We were standing in front of two older women who were there to support McCain. Not only were they uncouth, rude and obnoxious, they were starting fights with young people who were there to support Paul (nearly 2/3 of the room) Those who were there to support McCain tried their hardest to force out the majority there for Dr. Paul. When the convention gets back up & running. I can gaurentee that Ron Paul's supporters will all be back with a vengance.
Indiana obviously wants change. And you can do it, don't allow the G.O.P. to decide your candidate, fight tooth & nail for what you believe in. The Revoltuion is pushing forward, but remember you have to push hard
I was in Indiana last night campainging for Dr. Paul and did some sign waving at Indianapolis and Ridge Blvd. It looked to me like there was about 10% support. But there were only about 5 Obama signs around town and no Hillary or McCain signs. The American public has been duped into getting most of their feedback from the main stream media and most think he has dropped out. Ron Paul supporters are the only real supporters of their candidate, it's obvious. I did meet some kids who were open to a Ron Paul brochure because "they had seen signs around, and was wondering who he was"...
That's a good place for it. Both parties thought the race would have been over by now, and Indiana would not have had a say.
When I lived in Schererville and Hammond in the 90s, I remember the controversy about the crucifix in the public park right across the street from there. It was a WWII memorial set up by the Knights of Columbus. It didn't offend me. It didn't cost the taxpayers anything. I guess it's a shifting of community standards.
You guys have a lot of property tax issues there in Lake County. They really need to throw out the whole system.
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2008 DigitalBob, all rights reserved.