Ron Paul's Campaign For Liberty: The Revolution Continues

[Fed Up]

Looks like this is the next step for the Revolution.

Fed Up

Website:

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/

Announcement at 9pm EST tonight (by Ron Paul live) here:

http://www.justin.tv/ronpaul2008

Letter from Ron Paul

Dear Supporter,

These past 17 months have been among the most exciting and eventful of my life. Together you and I delivered a message of freedom the likes of which American politics had not seen in decades. I wasn’t sure the country was ready for it. But it was a message, I discovered, that many Americans had been waiting for a long time to hear.

I have been blessed with the most informed, well read, and enthusiastic supporters of any presidential campaign. Your extraordinary efforts in organizing and fundraising grabbed the attention of millions of Americans and shocked just about everyone in politics and the media. I still cannot get over all the fantastic work you did.

Something of great significance has just occurred in our country’s history.

With the primary season now over, the presidential campaign is at an end. But the larger campaign for freedom is just getting started. Therefore, I am happy to announce the official launch of the Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty.
The work of the Campaign for Liberty will take many forms. We will educate our fellow Americans in freedom, sound money, non-interventionism, and free markets. We’ll have our own commentaries and videos on the news of the day. I’ll work with friends I respect to design materials for homeschoolers.

Politically, we’ll expand the great work of our precinct leader program. We’ll make our presence felt at every level of government, where just a few people with our level of enthusiasm can make a world of difference. We’ll keep an eye on Congress and lobby against legislation that threatens us. We’ll identify and support political candidates who champion our great ideas against the empty suits the party establishments offer the public.

We will be a permanent presence on the American political landscape. That I promise you. We’re not about to let all this good work die. To the contrary, with your help we’re going to make it grow – by leaps and bounds.

This is the most ambitious venture of my political career, and I think it can achieve great things. But I can’t do this alone. I need you to help me. I need your energy, your creativity, your ideas, and your dedication.

People frustrated with our political system often wonder what they can do. I have founded this organization to answer that question, to give people the opportunity to do something that really makes a difference in the fight for freedom. Please join me by becoming a member of the Campaign for Liberty. Our goal is 100,000 members by September. Can we reach it?

Our campaign netted 1.1 million votes in the primaries of a shrinking Republican Party. Millions more support us. I need you to help me reach them – and to keep making new converts to the cause. What a force we can be, if only we rise to the occasion.

Now what about the Republican Convention in St. Paul? Our delegates will attend, of course, and I expect our contingent to have a visible presence there. Without disruption, we will do whatever we can to influence the party and its platform, and return the GOP to its limited-government roots. This is very important.

This brings me to my second announcement. I invite you to join us at Williams Arena at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday, September 2nd, for a grand rally. We intend to draw over 11,000 people. We’ll have live music and entertainment, and special guests. I’ll address you all as well. A massive rally will generate still more interest in our ideas. And what a great time it will be.

Remember that it was Senator Robert Taft, who shared our views, who was called Mr. Republican. But we are not merely the Republican Party’s past. If the enthusiasm of young people for our campaign is any indication, we are also its future.

Right now I will need your patience and input as we develop our program and assemble just the right team of individuals. But it is my intention to launch the Campaign for Liberty in its full capacity at our rally in Minneapolis this September.

Over the past week we’ve learned that the Democratic presidential nominee, supposedly an antiwar candidate, is committed to the same rhetoric, the same propaganda, and the same aggressive intentions toward Iran as the Bush administration. As usual, the major parties refuse to offer Americans a real choice.

The Campaign for Liberty will lay the groundwork for a different America, the kind of America you and I, and millions of our fellow countrymen, want to inhabit.

“Dr. Paul cured my apathy,” a popular campaign sign read. Others said our campaign cured their cynicism. We have now reached a moment of great moral decision: will we let ourselves retreat into apathy and cynicism once again, or will we dig in for the long haul and fight all the harder? Will we retire from the scene quietly, or will we give the establishment the fight of its life?

“In the final analysis,” I wrote in my new book The Revolution: A Manifesto, “the last line of defense in support of freedom and the Constitution consists of the people themselves. If the people want to be free, if they want to lift themselves out from underneath a state apparatus that threatens their liberties, squanders their resources on needless wars, destroys the value of their dollar, and spews forth endless propaganda about how indispensable it is and how lost we would all be without it, there is no force that can stop them.”

The time has come to act on these words. May future generations look back on our work and say that these were men and women who, in a moment of great crisis, stood up to the politicians, the opinion-molders, and the establishment, and saved their country.

Join us, and be a part of it.

For liberty,

Ron Paul

[thewise1]

Joined. We'll see where it goes, though.

[motivez]

Interesting

Do you guys think he should endorse Barr?

[thewise1]

Originally Posted by motivez

Interesting

Do you guys think he should endorse Barr?

I like Barr from what I've seen so far, but I don't know enough about him yet to say yes or no.

[Fed Up]

Originally Posted by motivez

Interesting

Do you guys think he should endorse Barr?

It's a good question.

Barr is too wishy washy IMO.

Voted for the Patriot Act and the Iraq war.

Regrets it.

I can't say this is a man of principle.

People do change, but there's not enough history to make
a well informed decision to endorse him.

So I don't see Ron Paul, who hasn't been wishy washy for 30 years,
endorsing him.

But it's just an opinion...

Fed Up

[Smull]

I don't see why he would just pretend to be a libertarian though. He knows hes not going to be the president so it really doesn't matter if he secretly loves the patriot act, he'll never have to back up his words with actions. His candidacy's purpose is to drive the debate and draw attention to his ideas.
So long as he keeps on talking the talk, what does it matter if he doesn't intend to walk the walk?

[Ardentfrost]

I'd like to see the Campaign for Liberty delve deep into Barr's philosophy, his regrets, and what happened that changed his mind. I think doing something like that could (potentially) open the doors for a solid endorsement from Ron Paul and the CfL members.

That would spell a major victory for Libertarianism this election cycle... though it, of course, wouldn't change anything as far as November elections go.

I joined the CfL. I joined before 6AM EST this morning and was about the 11kth member. It says he wants 100k before September which I think is attainable.

[Fed Up]

I watched the announcement live last night and his video kicking off CfL this morning. I too signed up for CfL.

I'm happy that he has taken the next step in organizing his supporters into one site to replace his campaign rather than the many, many that have popped up in the last year. This was the direction that was missing the last few months since that infamous video of him quasi giving up.

He seem rejuvinated and has expressed a desire to keep making videos to keep the Liberty movement going.

It seems that his campaign has split the Libertarians into two groups though wouldn't you say? Justin Raimando just wrote a piece on it: Taki's Magazine: Libertarianism’s Divergent Roads

I can't say I agree with the folks at Reason for their attacks on Ron Paul.

I'm glad he has gone his own way with the new site.

Fed Up

[Ardentfrost]

Originally Posted by Fed Up

I watched the announcement live last night and his video kicking off CfL this morning. I too signed up for CfL.

I'm happy that he has taken the next step in organizing his supporters into one site to replace his campaign rather than the many, many that have popped up in the last year. This was the direction that was missing the last few months since that infamous video of him quasi giving up.

He seem rejuvinated and has expressed a desire to keep making videos to keep the Liberty movement going.

It seems that his campaign has split the Libertarians into two groups though wouldn't you say? Justin Raimando just wrote a piece on it: Taki's Magazine: Libertarianism’s Divergent Roads

I can't say I agree with the folks at Reason for their attacks on Ron Paul.

I'm glad he has gone his own way with the new site.

Fed Up

Libertarians needn't get their panties in a wad if some leave their influence to follow RP's group. RP is bringing in people who weren't previously Libertarians to a group that isn't officially Libertarian but certainly libertarian. That's an overall win for little l's albeit perhaps a slight step backward for big L's.

There's always the chance that RP's group could get Republicans back on track... save the party. Big L's tend to think that isn't possible. I'm not going to say either group is correct in the assessment, but it doesn't hurt to try as long as the same ideals are being worked toward by both groups.

Personally I see no other conclusion in the short term for CfL except to support Libertarians.

[Darlin]

Thanks for posting this.

I've always seen Ron Paul as more of a Constitutionalist than a Libertarian, but a rose by any other name and all that.

[Ardentfrost]

It's just splitting hairs to make a distinction with the current state of politics. No issue in need of immediate change would garner a difference in opinion on those groups.

[JaJae]

Ron Paul's biggest problem was that he couldn't get his message off the internet. His supporters wanted us to believe he was more popular than he was and the media was getting sick of it and after a while turned him off. It's great that he's looking to expand his message off the internet, but he needs to make sure whoever is helping him with this is realist about what is going on. If they try putting up smoke screens to trick the world that it's something bigger than it is people will see through it again and just get tired of hearing it. The media will call BS and just ignore them as they did before.

Ron Paul has a good message and ardent supporters, but the delivery thus far has sucked. This seems to be a complete overhaul of their delivery process which is exactly what he needs.

[kombayn]

Originally Posted by motivez

Interesting

Do you guys think he should endorse Barr?

No I don't. Not when half his supporters are leaning towards Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party. I think he'll do a dual endorsement without using the actual word.

Campaign for Liberty is to spread the message, and promote like-minded candidates whether they be Democrat, Republican or part of a 3rd party. Which is cool.

He has $5 Million to use, so why not use it in this way, that's what his supporters wanted.

[Fed Up]

Originally Posted by JaJae

Ron Paul's biggest problem was that he couldn't get his message off the internet. His supporters wanted us to believe he was more popular than he was and the media was getting sick of it and after a while turned him off. It's great that he's looking to expand his message off the internet, but he needs to make sure whoever is helping him with this is realist about what is going on. If they try putting up smoke screens to trick the world that it's something bigger than it is people will see through it again and just get tired of hearing it. The media will call BS and just ignore them as they did before.

Ron Paul has a good message and ardent supporters, but the delivery thus far has sucked. This seems to be a complete overhaul of their delivery process which is exactly what he needs.

IMO, the media was after him from the beginning. I witnessed this first by watching Hannity and Colmes and the remarks that came out of Hannity's mouth and then tracked it on TV and radio the entire campaign.

In the beginning I was confused as to why Hannity would be this way as I really didn't mind Hannity. I had followed Ron Paul's writings prior to his run for the presidency and appearance on Hannity's show after the first debate. I knew of Paul's economic stance on things and was perplexed why Hannity would not latch on to these ideals. Of course the answer was Paul's stance on the war and foreign policy in general.

The media treated Paul as if he had the plague or something. If it was the war issue, then why did the Left leaning news organizations also give him the cold shoulder? Wolf Blitzer was the only one who would mention Paul now and then. Glenn Beck, after first calling his supporters "terrorists," finally came around to him, but didn't flat out support him. Pat Buchannan spoke exactly like Paul did, but would never publicly support him, especially while a guest on FOX News.

So I don't think that it was his supporters wanting you to believe he was more popular than everyone else, but the opposite...the media wanting you to believe that he was less popular. There was a Google study done on this in comparing Paul to Huckabee and relating it to media coverage.

Yes Paul was popular on the internet. So was Obama. Obama got more airtime from the Left media (not from FOX, that's for sure). Paul got no airtime from anyone, not even radio. As a Republican candidate, he was treated like the unwanted stepchild.

But of course, these types of discussions are moot, I understand this.

I believe that what Paul realized is that the way to get his message to the masses is best served via the internet and person to person since the media was doing nothing to help his revolution. It is through these types of grassroots efforts, like the meetup groups that were very popular and still are, that he is trying to make a difference.

100,000 people speak to 100,000 people. 200,000 people speak to 200,000 people, etc. etc. If/when this happens, then who cares what the media says?

At least that's how I viewed what transpired and what he's probably thinking now (based on his speech last night and his video email this morning). He's taking matters into his own hands and I agree...this is what he needs to do.

It's nice to see him finally step up....

Fed Up

[Fed Up]

Some more on Ron Paul vs. Bob Barr for those interested...

Comparing Ron Paul and Bob Barr on the crucial issues of the day

Fed Up

[Fed Up]

Originally Posted by Ardentfrost

Libertarians needn't get their panties in a wad if some leave their influence to follow RP's group. RP is bringing in people who weren't previously Libertarians to a group that isn't officially Libertarian but certainly libertarian. That's an overall win for little l's albeit perhaps a slight step backward for big L's.

There's always the chance that RP's group could get Republicans back on track... save the party. Big L's tend to think that isn't possible. I'm not going to say either group is correct in the assessment, but it doesn't hurt to try as long as the same ideals are being worked toward by both groups.

Personally I see no other conclusion in the short term for CfL except to support Libertarians.

Here's a take on the discussion of Libertarians. It will be interesting to see where things go with the party. I wish I was attending the FreedomFest in Las Vegas in July. I went last year and it's a good place to ask these kinds of questions... It was actually the first time I met Ron Paul...:

Why Ron Paul Is Unique

Posted by Lew Rockwell at June 13, 2008 02:51 PM

Writes Steve Candidus: "I was at Ron Paul's rally indowntown Houston last night.

"I had a grueling day at work and I knew that I had a very early morning today, but I simply could not let the opportunity go past to at least attend and do whatever little I can to show this wonderful man how much I and the collective 'we' appreciate all that he has done for us.

"I have to say that having been active in the Libertarian Party for many years until they gutted the platform that I joined it to promote, that this event was totally different from any Libertarian event that I have ever attended. Even as a delegate in Seattle in 1988 when we nominated Ron Paul, it wasn't the same as this.

"There was a mix of people and their prospective belief systems that has always been lacking at Libertarian events. Instead of being surrounded by people that seem to want to argue the finer points of existentialism or some other such BS (which is why I never wanted to hang around with other Libertarians in the first place), the people at this event were from all walks of life and from all ethnic backgrounds.

"It's really true: Ron Paul's message of freedom brings people together. The message is that freedom works. The message is that we want our freedoms and our country back and it is hitting a chord with people from every political preference, ethnic background, gender, and age.

"I left feeling like I had been rejuvenated. This 55-year old man has been recharged by a spunky never give up 72 year old freedom fighter that has done what no other politician has ever done. He leads by example..."

[Smull]

I feel that the best shot libertarians have is influencing the two major parties. A moderate libertarian would probably be electable in todays electorate should one of the two major parties embrace them. Imagine if a candidate that takes the democratic rhetoric on social issues and republican rhetoric on economic issues, while far from an ideologically pure libertarian, you would have a candidate who would be electable and still by far and by wide more libertarian than either a McCain or an Obama.

I could see a Republican who embraces these views rising very quickly in the party, particularly if the R's lose big time in November, which is seeming more and more likely.

[Fed Up]

Below is an analysis from Gary North on Ron Paul's latest announcement. His bottom line is "The problem is not lack of money. The problem is a lack of dedicated, competent, visionary people who are willing to keep on truckin.'"

Ron Paul Announces Phase 2
Gary North


June 14, 2008
As you know, I am not gung-ho about national politics. With respect to the Democrats, the only sensible thing I have read is Fred Reed's suggestion on June 11 that Obama select Jim Webb as his VP candidate. This is a stroke of genius, or at least of common sense. Read his article here. Since he is the most readable columnist writing today, even when he's wrong, he's terrific.
http://fredoneverything.net/JimWebb.shtml
Let us turn to Ron Paul's announcement: http://www.campaignforliberty.com.
It's enthusiastic. Why shouldn't it be?

These past 17 months have been among the most exciting and eventful of my life. Together you and I delivered a message of freedom the likes of which American politics had not seen in decades. I wasn't sure the country was ready for it. But it was a message, I discovered, that many Americans had been waiting for a long time to hear.

The message: keep on truckin'.

This strategy has now paid off.

I have been blessed with the most informed, well read, and enthusiastic supporters of any presidential campaign. Your extraordinary efforts in organizing and fundraising grabbed the attention of millions of Americans and shocked just about everyone in politics and the media. I still cannot get over all the fantastic work you did. Something of great significance has just occurred in our country's history.

Let us hope so.

With the primary season now over, the presidential campaign is at an end. But the larger campaign for freedom is just getting started. Therefore, I am happy to announce the official launch of the Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty.

So far, so good.

The work of the Campaign for Liberty will take many forms. We will educate our fellow Americans in freedom, sound money, non-interventionism, and free markets. We'll have our own commentaries and videos on the news of the day.

I think I know where he got this idea.

I'll work with friends I respect to design materials for homeschoolers.

I think I know where he got this idea