|
Ron Paul Raises More Than
Entire Texas GOP
FreeMarketNews.com
Monday Sept 3, 2007
Sources close to the Ron Paul (R-Tex) presidential
campaign point out gleefully that in a single night Ron Paul took
in more money -$102,000 - than the entire GOP apparatus did with
its convoluted “first ever” straw poll - $97,500.
The recent Texas straw poll reportedly charged $75 a head for
voting rights and while GOP officials had expected 2,000 to vote,
only 1300 reportedly did. Meanwhile, Ron Paul, who finished third
in the highly restrictive straw poll, had his most successful
fund raiser ever in Texas. The congressman raised $102,000 at
a fund raiser hosted by the Highland Park Huffines family.
“More and more, the tail is wagging the dog in this presidential
campaign,” one source pointed out. “The Texas straw
poll was structured so that you could only vote if you had been
a former GOP delegate. Even rank and file GOP-ers couldn’t
vote. The only reason for such a restrictive system is to ensure
that Ron Paul didn’t win. Those eligible to vote are the
most hawkish, most pro-military and big-government oriented ‘conservatives’
in Texas. They have as little understanding of Jeffersonian, small
government republicanism as big government democrats.”
(Article continues below)
And this source concluded, “Ron Paul still did well, finishing
in third place in a straw poll that was rigorously structured
to make sure he would not win. But maybe the real vote can be
seen by his fund-raising success. He out-raised the entire Texas
GOP in a single night. He’s one of the hottest politicians
in the country going into the upcoming debates on Fox.”
16.17% Ron Paul (217 votes)
41.1% Duncan Hunter (534 votes)
20.5% Fred Thompson (266 votes)
6.4% Mike Huckabee (83 votes)
6% Rudy Giuliani (78 votes)
4.7% Mitt Romney (61 votes)
.46% Sam Brownback (6 votes)
.62% John McCain (8 votes)
.46% Tom Tancredo (6 votes)
2.2% Ray McKinney (28 votes)
.23% Hugh Cort (3 votes)
.77% John Cox (10 votes)
=====
The Ron Paul campaign commented as follows on the Texas straw
poll:
FORT WORTH, TEXAS – Congressman Ron Paul placed third in
today's Texas GOP Straw Poll with 16 percent of the vote. The
solid outcome marked the conclusion of a highly successful weekend
during which the campaign had a rally with over 1,000 attendees,
raised well over $100,000. Today’s results continue a trend
around the nation of top or middle tier finishes for the Paul
campaign.
The presence of Dr. Paul supporters dominated the straw poll
site, and campaign leaders were pleased with the results in light
of the difficult voting restrictions. Only recent party delegates
were allowed to cast ballots, meaning that most of the thousands
who turned out for Dr. Paul could cheer and celebrate but not
vote. In addition, the straw poll was held several hours away
from the Paul’s stronghold of south Texas.
"This was a great weekend for our campaign, and Texans turned
out in droves to support Dr. Paul," said campaign manager
Lew Moore. "The pro-war party insiders voting in this straw
poll may not support him, but the majority of attendees clearly
did."
Dr. Paul is the only candidate who voted against the Iraq war
and favors early withdrawal, a position supported by over 70 percent
of the American people. Many experts believe that Republicans
cannot win the presidency in 2008 if they nominate a pro-war candidate.
Texans appeared to support this position by opening their wallets
as the Paul campaign pulled in more money over the weekend from
grassroots supporters than the Texas GOP raised from the entire
straw poll.
=====
Reaction from free-market oriented Lewrockwell.com post:
The Texas Republican Party set up its straw poll to hurt Ron
Paul. That's why the voters were restricted to past delegates
and alternates from Texas Republican conventions, that is neocons
and party hacks for the most part. Also, the poll was placed in
Ft. Worth, five hours away from Houston and the Gulf Coast, to
discriminate against delegates from Ron Paul Land. Ron was supposed
to get zero. Instead, he got [nearly 17%].
The Republican Party of Texas has been controlled by the Bushes
since 1980. That means the Ron Paul campaign and all its volunteers
and donors can be very proud. This is yet another step upwards
in the growth of a movement that is already shaking the world
of all the bad guys. Note: Hunter did so well because he alone,
of all the warmongering candidates, bothered to show up. BTW,
Fred the Late was supposed to win--that was Gov. Perry's plan--but
he was elsewhere, delaying.
Staff Selections - Links
|
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
|
|
