- First of a two-part interview with the Republican presidential
candidate.
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- He was a guest of Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show,"
where he rocked the house. His fundraising jumped 114 percent from the
second to third quarter, when his campaign took in $5 million (while his
opponents' take declined). He just set the largest one-day fundraising
record from the Internet of any candidate in history: Over $4 million.
The typical crowd at rallies for this candidate numbers in the thousands.
His supporters transcend age, geography, and even party. He has more financial
support from military personnel than any other candidate.
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- And he has delivered over 4,000 babies.
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- With these immense successes, this Republican presidential
candidate must be part of the GOP establishment and a media darling, at
least on FOX, where surely they surely label him a "top-tier"
candidate. Wrong on the first count. But on the second, a begrudging media
has been forced to begin reporting what the rest of the country has already
begun to realize.
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- Texas Congressman Ron Paul is for real. His tremendous
momentum has unequivocally catapulted his candidacy into "tier one"
territory.
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- Perhaps it is Dr. Paul's experience as an OB/GYN that
is responsible for his gentle demeanor, but that image belies a passion
rarely seen in politics. He is a man who simply cannot be bought and is
steadfast in his positions - all of which revolve around a simple concept:
Does the Constitution permit it? His refusal to go along with typical Washington
politics has earned him the nickname "Dr. No" on Capitol Hill,
and lobbyists long ago learned that if they want to wine and dine Dr. Paul,
it's because they enjoy his company - not to sway his vote. With Ron Paul,
"politics as usual" is simply an impossibility.
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- His stances on Iraq, monetary policy and the role of
government sets him apart from the field and has led to heated exchanges
in several debates - contests in which he won the "text messaging"
post-debate polls. Dr. Paul has won or placed in a startling number of
straw polls across the country, and "ron Paul" signs and stickers
are popping up everywhere. Many Paul supporters point out that in a general
election against Hilary Clinton, Dr. Paul would have a distinct advantage
over his Republican opponents in two huge areas. Since he voted against
the war from the start (and Hillary did not), he neutralizes the Republican
war baggage, and on health care, his being an M.D. would trump Clinton's
government-run proposal.
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- Paul's grassroots support, coupled with astonishing fundraising,
has set up Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina to be battlegrounds in
a way that was unthinkable just six months ago. The fun is just beginning
for Ron Paul.
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- A Ron Paul campaign rally with the candidate will take
place on Saturday, Nov. 10, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
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- Freindly Fire recently sat down with Ron Paul to discuss
the 2008 election:
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- FF: Congressman, let's talk about media exposure in this
presidential campaign. It's no secret that the previous "debates"
have been inherently unfair in that the moderators showed blatant bias
to the so-called "top tier" candidates. As an example, you were
asked significantly fewer questions yet received the loudest applause.
Despite the fact that you win debate and straw polls, the media has not,
overall, recognized your success, preferring to "admonish" you
for your position on the Iraq war (e.g., Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly).
Would you be willing to participate in a true "gloves off" debate
in which the candidates are encouraged to question each other, with direct
candidate-to-candidate rebuttals?
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- RP: Sure. I am always looking for opportunities - I go
wherever I'm invited! People say that these debates are unfair, that we
don't get as much time as the others do, and that it's a canned program.
The only thing worse would be not allowing us to have any time. The little
bit of time I've gotten has been the instrument where we've gained national
attention, and that's why the Internet has picked us up so much.
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- FF: Since the debates don't allow for direct exchanges,
if you could ask your opponents a direct question, what would it be?
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- RP: Why do you act like Democrats? You do everything
the Democrats did. You're doing all the things we accuse the Democrats
of doing. You're big spenders and champions of welfare programs, even though
you condemned President Clinton for nation-building. And now you're losing
your shirt, you lost last year, you're running up the deficit, you're in
the entitlement business, you don't care about personal liberties, and
you've taken up Bill Clinton's foreign policy [of nation-building]. It
doesn't make any sense. Why would you do it if you know it's hurting the
party?
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- FF: Speaking of that "do anything" mentality,
2006 was clearly a disastrous year for the Republican Party. Why did they
lose, and what needs to change if 2008 is to be a better year? Has that
catalyst for change occurred?
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- RP: It hasn't occurred. I am trying to make it occur.
But if we continue down the road we're going now, it's not likely to change.
We lost because we deceived the people. We told them we were for less government
and balanced budgets, yet we increased the size and scope of government,
we let the spending accelerate, and justifiably the electorate came down
on us. They un-elected a lot of us. You know, for the old saying that incumbents
are really tough to beat, we lost quite a few last time - for a big shift.
They're losing because they don't act like Republicans, and they resent
it when that fact is pointed out to them by someone who has been voting
very conservatively and very much in tune with the platform. The party
has lost credibility, and to win again, they need to have credibility.
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- FF: On the issue of abortion, Rudy Giuliani has made
clear his pro-abortion position, even saying that the Republican Party
"has to get beyond issues like that." Given his liberal stances
on guns, gay rights, sanctuary cities and abortion, what will happen to
the Republican Party if he were become the nominee?
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- http://www.prisonplanet.tv/articles/end_game.htm
- WATCH ALEX JONES' ENDGAME ONLINE NOW in its entirety.
View more High quality trailers at www.endgamethemovie.com
-
- RP: It probably depends a lot on who the opponent is.
I think they are on the road to having a worse election in 2008 than they
did in 2006. A lot of people I talk to confidentially think we're going
to be much worse off after next year. That's what many members of Congress
believe, and that's why you're starting to see Republican members retire
- not running for re-election. I think they are very pessimistic because
of the potential of someone like Giuliani becoming the nominee. The Republicans
are betting on the belief that if they demonize Hillary enough, that "anybody
but Hillary" will work. That is just a partisan, narrow, "anti-somebody"
view. Some in the Republican base, even some evangelicals, may be so pro-war
that they would probably still go out and vote for someone like Giuliani
because he promises to perpetuate the vague war on terrorism and the precise
war against Iran and Iraq. There doesn't seem to be a lot of resistance
to that from those I share the stage with, but when the people hear the
other side, they're not so anxious to go with him.
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- FF: You have delivered over 4,000 babies, and you have
a 100 percent pro-life voting record. People know where you stand. How
do you view Mitt Romney's recent switch or "conversion" on the
abortion issue? Do you find that credible?
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- RP: I don't have a strong judgmental view on that - I
always want to give people the benefit of the doubt. I just wonder if he
might not be closer to his roots now than he was before, and he was more
hypocritical when he was running as a liberal. I think of Mormons as being
conservative people, very strong right-to-life and family-oriented. They
have a very good reputation. I give him the benefit of the doubt, but I
think the flip-flopping is a real issue - one that people should be responsible
for. But I think it will be sad that if he loses traction, it's not because
of his positions but because he has a certain, particular religious view.
I don't like that at all, no matter who it is. I'd like to see people oppose
him because he won't change our foreign policy of militancy, and he's willing
to send more kids off to die, and he doesn't understand why we're being
attacked. That to me is a real reason, not because he's a Mormon.
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- FF: Speaking of flip-flopping, the one universal view
of Ron Paul is that you always know where he stands. This seems to have
taken on a life of its own. Not too long ago, conventional wisdom was that
the Paul campaign couldn't raise money, had minimal support and would be
short-lived. However, from Arizona to New Hampshire to Pennsylvania, the
overwhelming majority of bumper stickers and yard signs are advocating
you. You have won numerous straw polls and televised debates. Your fundraising
has skyrocketed while other candidates' numbers have dropped significantly.
One contender dropped out, and Romney had to pump millions of his own fortune
into his war chest. Even many Democrats talk favorably about Ron Paul.
Why is this? What makes you so unique? Will this appeal translate into
votes in the early states, and if so, how will that change the dynamic
of the race?
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- RP: You bring up an interesting point. I was on the House
floor, and at least seven or eight members came up to me and said, "All
I see are Ron Paul signs all over my district!" I'm not surprised
that the message is such a powerful message, because I have been such a
strong believer in that message. But I have conditioned myself over thirty
years to just quietly present the message and let the chips fall where
they may. If I had to vote by myself, I did that and wrote my statement
explaining why I felt that way. My goal was to be elected on certain promises,
take my oath of office seriously, vote that way and hopefully get an increase
in margins. I have been able to do that. But all of a sudden that message
has gotten out and has spread like wildfire - there was a vacuum sitting
out there. The war is going badly, there are more economic concerns that
anyone in Washington is willing to admit, and the young people are inheriting
this - they are getting a bum rap. Whether they have to go fight the war,
pay for the war, not receive any Social Security - and now they hear this
message of freedom and individual liberty. They want to be left alone to
make their own personal choices; their lives are their own. Let them spend
all of their money the way they want. None of this income tax! Get out
of Social Security if they want, bring our troops home, take care of America!
Take care of our bridges here and don't blow up bridges all over the world
and then pay to rebuild them. The people have grabbed hold of this message.
It wasn't like we had a grand scheme or that we had someone well known
like a Ronald Reagan or that we had a lot of money. We presented our ideas,
it got out, and every single day it's more so. It's way beyond my capability,
so it must be the vacuum, the conditions that exist, and the message. I
will never back away from the message.
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- FF: That message is resonating.
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- RP: I present it in a very positive way. Who can be against
freedom? What's the matter with sound money, what's the matter with self-reliance?
That message is what made America great!
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- Part II (in The Bulletin's Tuesday edition) will focus
on the issues of Iraq, race relations, oil dependency, immigration and
monetary policy.
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- http://www.thebulletin.us/site/news.cfm?newsid=
- 19006804&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dep
|
