Glenn Beck and Ron Paul

UPDATE: Ed Morrissey at Hotair plays cheerleader for the economy because today the stock market ended up 400 points. What he neglects to mention is that it is the *volatility* of the market that is indicative of the mess we are in. A movement in the stock market of 1 percent used to be considered normal, but these swings of 3-4 percent are symptoms of deeper problems. So don't be surprised to see more massive swings, both up and down in the coming days, weeks and months.

The other thing that Ed fails to mention is the inflation or loss of purchasing power of the dollar that Greenspan, Bernanke and our government has engineered. Sure, inflation is only 3 percent if you take the "core" inflation number that the government is running up the flagpole. So if you don't drive your car, don't use electricity and don't eat food, then yes, prices will go up more slowly for you. However, if you use gasoline, lights, or have meals, then you are looking at inflation as high as 13-14 percent.



Ron Paul was on Glenn Beck tonight talking about the Federal Reserve and in light of the proposals to increase the power of the Central Bank it's good to see that at least some media outlets are questioning the wisdom of that idea. Lord knows you won't see this from the Pajamas Media Right.

Click here to see the whole thing and below starts where Beck talks about the Federal Reserve:



Pilfered, as pretty much most of my Ron Paul interviews are pilfered from, the Liberty Maven

The Revolution Lives! Part 2

Liberty Maven gives the rundown on the 40+ candidates who are running for Federal office on the Ron Paul platform.

One guy who I'm endorsing is Murray Sabrin, he's a professor at Ramapo College and is running for the Senate seat in New Jersey. Click here for his site.

Here is Dr. Sabrin getting the Ron Paul endorsement:

Ron Paul Supporter Spotlight

This is a fully animated 3D Ron Paul commercial. It's pretty impressive:



An HQ version is available at the website www.hightidepromo.com

Pilfered from Liberty Maven

Incumbent defeats challenger 70%-30%

No big deal, the challenger in an election always has a disadvantage. But based on the coverage of certain conservative news outlets, one would have thought that once the votes were counted the race for Ron Paul's congressional seat would have been much closer than the final tally. How could the Pajamas Media Right be so wrong? Remember this:

While pursuing his thus far quixotic quest for the presidency, Congressman Paul has fallen behind by over ten points in the polls (43-32) in the fight for the Republican nomination in the Texas 14th to challenger Chris Peden, according to internal polls from both campaigns, which Pajamas Media was told were quite similar.

Reason magazine offers this:

The part about Peden's poll was true—sort of. According to Peden's political director Onzelo Markum, the campaign ran one automated poll in the district. It was not a blind test. People who picked up their phones were told that incumbent Ron Paul didn't support the war on terror, while councilman Chris Peden did. Only when given that informed choice did voters claim to support Peden.

Click here for the rest of the story.

The problem that the GOP faces now is that Dr. Paul has promised to continue his presidential campaign as long as the money and support keeps coming in. While it's easy to dismiss a candidate who hasn't broken single digits in any of the primaries so far, time and money are on his side. His position on the economy and limited government and most everything else are winners across the board for most GOP voters. He's also on the right side as far as Iraq is concerned with the general population.

John McCain still has issues with the hardcore conservatives (like me) and his FEC issues, while being dismissed by his campaign, are not going to go away in a general election. In fact, the Dems have (and should) position themselves to keep campaign finance on the front burner "Look, McCain can't even follow McCain-Feingold!". Of course, irony of ironies would be if Hillary is the nominee.

Ron Paul Abuses Ben Bernanke, Again

Update: Cavuto follows up with Dr. Paul and his hearing with Bernanke on Fox Business. Pilfered from Liberty Maven:



Dr. Paul is one of the only politicians out there who really understands the way the economy works. Can't say that about any of the other douchebags running for President.

Ron Paul Gets It

Dr. Paul really is the only candidate who gets it:



Pilfered from RedStateEclectic

Counting the Votes in Washington

Talking Points Memo is all over what's going on in Washington State emphasis is mine (actually just read the whole thing it's quite tasty):

Late Update: It seems that Washington State GOP chair Luke Esser spent most of the day avoiding calls from the Huckabee campaign. And when he finally got back to them he told a lawyer for Huckabee's campaign that they'd probably count the rest of the votes some time next week. When the lawyer, Lauren Huckabee, the candidate's daughter-in-law, requested that a Huckabee lawyer be present when the remaining votes were counted, Esser hung up on her. Before the hang up, Huckabee also asked Esser about the DIY statistical analysis he did to conclude that he should call the race (Esser's expertise in statistics apparently stems from previous work as a state prosectur and a sports writer). Was there an analysis of what precincts the remaining votes came from? According to Huck campaign manager Ed Rollins, Esser admitted that he didn't which precincts the remaining votes came from.

WTF?

I'm Calling Shenanigans Everywhere!!

UPDATE: Here's an email from the Washington State meetup coordinator for Ron Paul via the Ron Paul Warroom:

Hello everyone,
By our very preliminary count from you reports it is looking like we have at least twice the delegates as the other candidates!!
For this day and until the count shows otherwise I want you to congratulate yourselves for WINNING Washington State for Ron Paul!!
I wish I could share every single story I have heard over the past few days and all the happy reports from Ron Paul enclaves in WA towns I have never even heard of!
Please know this…the National Campaign is seeing these kind of successes all over the country…Every day that goes by we have new supporters and new contributers. I can’t believe I am saying this…I thought certainly I would sleep for 4 days once the 9th was over…but I am already so excited to prepare for our County Conventions!! The next few weeks are going to be very important…There were stories from almost every precinct about Huckabee and Romney voters changing their support to Ron Paul. Unfortunately some of the biggest threats to the Freedom Revolution can still come from within…our own perceptions…please read Ron’s letter again until you see the part that states he we are going to the National Convention! You know things have changed every day in this campaign with new information and new victories changing the course…now we have given him Washington and made the road to the Minneapolis a lot more golden!!
I will update you all when we get more final results…
You all did a wonderful job. Just wonderful.

Thank you for all you do!
Maureen McMahan Moore
Washington State Coordinator
Ron Paul 2008
425-345-4913

Picked up this story from Fox Via Michelle Malkin:

Fox News has learned that the Huckabee campaign has called for a “full investigation” into the Washington State Caucus results, and are sending campaign lawyers to the state to help in that pursuit. Ed Rollins, Huckabee campaign chairman, directly challenged Washington State GOP Chairman Luke Essers move in anounncing that John McCain had won the tight race with only 87.2 percent of the votes counted.

“The chairman showed very bad judgment in stopping the voting last night when announcing John McCain had won, when there was less that a 200 vote margin between the two candidates,” Rollins told Fox in an exclusive interview.” You never announce a vote, in my 40 years of politics I have never know anybody to announce a vote count before the vote is counted.”

You go Huck, rage against the machine!!

Seriously, though, what isn't being mentioned in the MSM and I'm surprised that the blogosphere hasn't picked up on it yet, is that in Washington State, the process is a wee bit quirky. Pilfered from the Daily Dose and highlighted for your convenience:

With 87% of precincts reporting, Ron Paul has won 21% of the vote in the Washington state straw poll, a strong third-place finish just a few points behind Huckabee (24%) and McCain (26%). The results from the remaining 13% of precincts may change things a little. But even when 100% of the straw poll results are counted, that won’t be the full story. What matters most are the delegates, and in several parts of the state Ron Paul has been winning more delegates than the straw poll results would suggest. We’ve seen this happen in several states: supporters of other candidates show up, vote in the straw poll, then leave — while Ron Paul supporters stay and vote in the delegate selection process. We’ve won delegates in precincts where we haven’t won the straw poll.

I do have a horse in this race still, so take this with a grain of salt. But IMO, the reason for the delay in the counting has to do more with the presence of the "uncommitted" delegates that were elected during the caucus, than the straw polling results that the MSM are reporting. That uncommitted number stands at 30 percent. From ronpaulforums (once again, caveat emptor, but it is an eyewitness account):

We won 21% (of the preference poll) in precincts where it wouldn't hurt us to be obvious for Ron Paul, or where those who showed up were likely more socially bold enough to either hold their own or build bridges. However, much of the uncommitted vote is ours because some volunteers and staff were telling them to go undeclared if they were unsure or weren't the type to haggle.

It has always been about delegates for the Paul campaign, and in this case, I think that McCain and Huck may be in for a surprise in Washington State.

Ron Paul speaks to 8,500 at Liberty University

The school that Jerry Falwell founded welcomes the last conservative standing:




Pilfered from the Daily Dose

This is too cute

"My arm is soooo sore"

Four Terms in Congress

Ron Paul's speech to Congress before leaving in 1984:

Thousands of men and women have come and gone here in our country's history, and except for the few, most go unnoticed and remain nameless in the pages of history, as I am sure I will be. The few who are remembered are those who were able to grab the reins of power and, for the most part, use that power to the detriment of the nation. We must remember that achieving power is never the goal sought by a truly free society. Dissipation of power is the objective of those who love liberty.

He goes on:

The most I can hope for is that someday a suggestion I've made is remembered: that the debate would shift to a different plane. Instead of asking which form of intervention and planning government should impose, perhaps someday Congress will debate intervention versus nonintervention, government versus voluntary planning, U.S. sovereignty versus internationalism – the pros and cons of true liberty. Today the debate basically is only that of deciding who will be the victims and who the beneficiaries. I hope the hours of debate over the mechanisms of the political system orchestrated by the special interests will give way to this more important debate on freedom.

The whole speech is nearly 24 years old but the problems are still the same. Read the whole thing here.

Thanks to Lew Rockwell

It's Uber Tuesday Tomorrow

And here's the official Randolphus Maximus voter guide for the State of California. You must be registered as a Republican because it's a closed primary out here. Also, if you aren't registered as a Republican or you don't agree with my endorsements stay home. Thanks.:


President: Ron Paul (or Alan Keyes) but mostly Ron Paul

For what it's worth here are the state propositions on the ballot:

Prop 91 - NO - it's no longer necessary because another proposition, 1A has already passed effectively rendering this initiative moot.

Prop 92 - NO whenever I see language like "Sets community college fees at $15/unit per semester; limits future fee increases" I smell price fixing, while the fee to go to community college may be limited, the cost of going to community college is definitely not going to be limited, and who pays for that? The taxpayer.

Prop 93 - NO - I would elect someone continuously if they just left me the hell alone and kept cutting taxes and spending. But that's not what politicians believe in nowadays.

Prop 94, 95, 96, and 97 - NO - It's precisely the mismanagement of government spending that caused the budget shortfall in the first place. Let California make due with the money that it takes in now and don't let one group (the indians) have to pay for the mistakes of the government. It's a targeted tax increase, better to make everybody pissed off and let the government make hard choices and the politicians take the heat.


Strapz has his ballot guide for California here.

Simi Valley Debate Clips

Pilfered from Mr. Chubbs at Liberty Maven and the Ron Paul Forums:

Q1 - Are we better off?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f7YgNa1zTw

Q2 - States Rights and a plea to answer previous question (not given)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg8kWK-IuQ8

Q3 - On Huckabee's Highway as economic stimulus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvXRhgPi_Ts

Q4 - On Appointing Justice O'Conner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfDb8hF9UFU

Q5 - On McCain's 100 Years in Iraq statement (He hit this one out of the park and made McCain squirm)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWPDyI3nZHo

Q6 - Leadership Capability(An excellent response on the true role of the President, for that matter for the the Federal goverment)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbn6IQtAO94

Q7 - Would Reagan Endorse You?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4LeSrTTUug

Bonus:

CNN Post Debate Interview (video starts about 30 seconds in, I'll put up another copy when I find it):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdc1R11jPHc

A Good Interpretation of McCain's Answer to Dr. Pauls question on Economics

Pilfered from HotAir

The Prescription for Prosperity

Ron Paul released his plan today. I'll have more on Dr. Paul's economic plan later, but suffice it to say there's a part in there that gets rid of the income tax and the IRS. The highlights of his tax proposals are pasted below (green emphasis is mine). You can read the whole thing here.

• Eliminate Taxes on Dividends and Savings. The basis of capitalism is savings, and Americans who do so should be rewarded.
  • Pass HJ Res. 23 to encourage savings over consumption.

• Repeal the Death Tax. Attacking small businesses and breaking up family farms smothers growth and kills jobs.
  • Pass H.R. 2734 to make the Bush tax cuts permanent.

• Cut Taxes for Working Seniors. Grandmothers and grandfathers working to make ends meet should keep all the fruits of their labor.
  • Pass H.R. 191 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the inclusion in gross income of Social Security benefits.

• Eliminate Taxes on Social Security Benefits. That money belongs to seniors, not the government. They paid into the system for a lifetime, and they should be free to spend every penny as they see fit.
  • Pass H.R. 192 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 1993 increase in taxes on Social Security benefits.

• Accelerate Depreciation on Investment. We need to help companies grow and create jobs.
  • Pass H.R. 4995 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reduce corporate marginal income tax rates.

• Eliminate Taxes on Capital Gains. Investment should be embraced and rewarded.
  • Pass H.J. Res 23 (The “Liberty Amendment”), proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to abolishing personal income, estate, and gift taxes and prohibiting the United States Government from engaging in business in competition with its citizens.

• Eliminate Taxes on Tips.The single parents and working students who earn their income chiefly through tips deserve to keep all of their money. This tax on "estimated income" is unfair and should be ended.
  • Pass H.R. 3664 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that tips shall not be subject to income or employment taxes.

• Support the Mortgage Cancellation Relief Act. Working families who lost their homes should not be punished a second time with a big IRS bill.
  • Pass H.R. 1876 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from the gross income of individual taxpayers discharges of indebtedness attributable to certain forgiven residential mortgage obligations.

Ronald Reagan and Ron Paul: A Video Comparison

I've been waiting for something like this to appear on the tubes, it's pretty good:



CMStrapz has the first of a multi-part opinion piece on Reagan that is a good counterpoint to how he campaigned and the platform he ran on versus how he governed (the Department of Education is still around?)

Ron Paul Linkorama

Dr. Paul was making the media rounds today and had a great interview on Glenn Becks radio show talking specifically about the economy. The audio is here, and a trancript of the interview is here.

He also made an appearance on Neal Cavuto (starts about 2 minutes in):



as well as on MSNBC:



He also called into a New Jersey radio station to and spent a few minutes talking about Murray Sabrin, who is running for the Senate seat as a "Ron Paul Republican" you can listen to that here

Ron Paul Gets the Gold in Louisiana?

National Review gave a little taste of what transpired tonight:

Finally, there's Ron Paul, and he's well, being Ron Paul. He had 600 people show up at a rally yesterday in a bad part of Baton Rouge and was met with rousing applause. How many of the Paul people have actually gone to the work of registering as Republicans, and then will turn around and show up tonight will be determined, but still, Paul could surprise here. After all, he came in a strong second in a similar situation in Nevada last Saturday.

Stay tuned...

UPDATE: Just spoke with somebody on the ground in Louisiana, and caucus turnout is heavy all over the state. Romney and Paul supporters appear to be the most vocal and visible thus far.

And here is an interesting first hand account from a Mike Huckabee supporter:

I just got back your right, the Ron people had the whole delegate slate full (15) in district 7 they also had the alt. delegates full, and they auto. won them because no other candidate applyed for them. Anyway i voted the 2 huckabee delegates and threw the rest of my votes away(you get 15). Most of the people there were for RP or Mccain, Mccain also filled up the slate. Thats 21 delegates that will be voted on...

And based on other accounts I've read, it looks like Ron Paul could get a huge number of those 21 delegates. On top of which, there is also a primary election on February 9th which can determine where the remaining 20 delegates from Louisiana go.

If the winner of the primary wins by 50% or over, the 20 will go to him. Or, if a candidate doesn't take it with 50%, the 21 delegates from the caucus will vote for another 20 delegates.

Official word for caucus results should be available tomorrow.

Jane Roe has an Announcement to Make

Jane Roe, the "Roe" in Roe vs. Wade, and whose real name is Norma Leah McCorvey, will be making an announcement tomorrow. From National Review:

WASHINGTON, DC – On Tuesday, January 22 – the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision – Texas Congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul will hold a press conference with pro-life activist Norma Leah McCorvey. McCorvey, who runs Crossing over Ministry, is "Jane Roe" of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.

What/Who: Announcement by Norma McCorvey ("Jane Roe") and Congressman Ron Paul

Is the announcement that Ms. McCorvey will endorse Dr. Paul? I guess we'll have to tune in tomorrow to find out.

The Early Results in NH are in: McCain and Obama win

From ABC:

Residents of two tiny towns stayed up late to give Barack Obama and John McCain early victories in the New Hampshire presidential primary.

Voters in two small New Hampshire villages, Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, cast the initial ballots just after midnight Tuesday.

In Hart's Location, Democrat Obama received nine votes, Hillary Rodham Clinton received three and John Edwards received one. On the Republican side, McCain received six, Mike Huckabee received five, Ron Paul received four and Mitt Romney one.