The campaign is over, but Ron Paul’s supporters need to realize that some of their tactics didn’t really help the campaign:
OWATONNA, Minn. - An 18-year-old Republican’s enthusiasm for presidential hopeful Ron Paul could cost him more than $550.
Cody Hauer has been cited four times in one week for displaying a 13-inch-by-40-inch “Ron Paul Revolution” decal in the rear window of his car. The problem is that such decals are illegal if they obstruct the driver’s view.
“I support Ron Paul, the city police department doesn’t,” he said. “They gave me a DWR — driving while Republican.”
No, they gave you a ticket for disobeying a perfectly reasonable traffic regulation.
And do you really think that stuff like this, or spending $ 400,000 on a blimp, or having Ron Paul’s name tattooed on the back of a boxer, really helped the campaign win recognition from the mainstream Republicans he was supposedly trying to appeal to ?
I can guarantee you that it didn’t. In fact, I think I can guarantee you that Ron Paul’s supporters cost him votes that he otherwise would’ve gotten — assuming he’d run a more competent campaign.
February 9th, 2008 at 10:36 am
I agree that the guerilla marketing tactics that were resorted to by the Paulistinians were seen as counter-productive to some in the old GOP. Some of the acts, such as hanging signs from overpasses and on monuments, were clearly campaign violations and flagrantly violated local sign regulations.
However, this issue should be examined beyond the surface issue that Paulistinians violated some sign ordinances.
Ron Paul has a message that is not approved by the zionistas in the mainstream media, consequently media moguls at FOX and CNN, did all they could to discredit the Paul campaign and FOX went so far as to ban Dr. Paul from a debate.
When a candidate is facing media black-out, the citizens will very likely get the impression that the candidate is not worthy of their attention. Most sheeple will not take the time to research candidate’s positions on the internet, they just take what ever they hear from the idiot box as gospel; this gives CNN and FOX the power to select our President for us.
A plausible solution to this is to have a short, three month campaign season, where the candidates all have the same access to media. The citizens deserve to hear more than just a few sound bites from the candidates whom the networks favor.
As for the Paulistinians, I hope that they will all join their local Republican Committee and become part of the solution for the future. If these young, energetic Paulistinians apply their energy to selecting liberty loving candidates for local offices, they can change the course of politics in just a few election cycles.
The Ron Paul airship was a stroke of genius, by the way.
February 9th, 2008 at 10:53 am
“Zionists”?? Really?
So, the “Zionists” control the media ‘eh?
The ones who bash Israel, and bash the War in Iraq, and protray Israel as the aggressor against the Palestinians, these are the “Zionists who control the media.”
Boy, these “Zionist media control freaks” must be smoking crack.
February 9th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
What “perfectly reasonable traffic regulation” is that? I’ve seen the photos and the driver could see just fine through the rear window, not to mention with side mirrors.
This kind of nanny state stuff used as an excuse to cloak political issues has been around since the Viet Nam era: harrass the anti-war folks, lock up and fine those blankety-blank smart-ass hippies.
In November 2007 the US Supreme Court declined to review a lower court ruling that upheld someone’s right to display a “for sale” sign in his vehicle window. The excuse of the police department there was that it could pose a traffic hazard.
What’s more, since the ‘for sale’ sign in that case was considered so-called ‘commercial speech’ which is not as tightly protected as Cody Hauer’s political speech, the Court struck down the application of the silly local ordinance using a standard markedly lower than Mr. Hauer is entitled to claim.
Cody may be young and in his enthusiasm to exercise his Constitutionally protected right under the First Amendment to express political opinions, may have been less than diplomatic, which pragmatically is a mistake. But one’s rights are guaranteed with no requirement that one be pleasant to those who would abridge them.
I believe Chip Mellors’ Institute for Justice would enjoy another journey through the courts with an outcome likely to be a slam-dunk compared to the case they won last November. That’s why I like to send them money from time-to-time.
And, yes, brash youthful enthusiasm can engender ‘blowback’ from more seasoned Republicans, to borrow that CIA term near and dear to the supporters of Ron Paul’s presidential run. I remember even as a kid being thoroughly annoyed by the aggressive seeming militancy of Goldwater supporters in the 1964 election, just as many were put off by the stridency of Howard Dean’s enthusiastic supporters in the 2004 election cycle. I’ll take infectious enthusiasm on behalf of principles any day over measured diplomacy and humbly asking permission. Foregiveness is always easier to obtain than permission, anyway.