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Update on Ron Paul stories.
Since I have interest in the candidate I have watched some of the goings on with his campaign as well as reactions to it.
The most interesting part comes with something alluded to in his introduction to the site as per this thread.
http://www.captaincynic.com/thread/28546/3/ignorant-voting-the-death-of
-democracy.htm#67350
The fact of the matter is, Ron Paul has won the majority of all debate polls and straw polls.
The mainstream media actually tried to suggest that he simply had hackers backing him and fudging outcomes, even in situtaions where hackers could have no influence.
Now straw poll results have been coming in and we see Dr. Paul taking them by storm.
However, the first, biggest, and most widely reported on straw poll in Iowa had Paul in 5th place with far less vote percentages than his average outcome.
Interestingly there was visibly inaccurate reporting on the size of crowds supporting particular candidates, primarily in reference to Paul and Romney, Romney being the reported winner of the poll.
Not only was such information visibly skewed, this was the poll that used Diebold voting machines, the same ones mired in scandal from presidential elections of late. And there was a reported delay on counts do to "malfunction".
The result of which ended up with nearly half of the paying attendees suddenly tabulated as not having voted. Though I don't know all the facts of these matters, there seems justifiable reason for concern on the issue of integrity.
Iowa Straw Poll
Mitt Romney 4516 31.5%
Mike Huckabee 2587 18.1%
Sam Brownback 2192 15.3%
Tom Tancredo 1961 13.7%
Ron Paul 1305 9.1%
Tommy Thompson 1039 7.3%
Fred Thompson 203 1.4%
Rudy Giuliani 183 1.3%
Duncan Hunter 174 1.2%
John McCain 101 1.0%
John Cox 41 0.1%
14,302 Total Votes
26,000 Total Tickets Sold
This is also the poll that Romney garnered all kinds of media attention for his win, including reportingly spending around 2 million to bus people to the event, while in contrast Paul has won multiple televised polls and literally laughed at and berated in many cases by the very same media.
Results for other straw polls. You can judge for yourself whether you feel the results warrant any attention or lend credence to my concerns.
Alabama
Tom Tancredo - 0 (0%)
Sam Brownback - 2 (.75%)
John McCain - 2 (.75%)
Mike Huckabee - 6 (2%)
Rudy Giuliani - 7 (3%)
Fred Dalton Thompson - 9 (3%)
Duncan Hunter - 10 (4%)
Mitt Romney - 14 (5%)
Ron Paul - 216 (81%)
New Hampshire
Ron - 208 (73%)
Romney - 26
Huckabee - 20
Tancredo - 8
McCain - 7
Cox - 5
Hunter - 5
Fred Thompson - 3
Giuliani - 3
Brownback - 1
Washington
Paul, 45 - 30%
Thompson, 40 - 27%
Giuliani, 29 - 20%
Huckabee, 12 - 8%
Hunter, 10 - 7%
Gingrich, 8 - 5%
McCain, 3 - 2%
Brownback, 1 - 1%
Gilmore, 0 - 0%
Hagel, 0 - 0%
Ultimately, what concerns me the most about this is that I feel I am witnessing one of the greatest visual and verifiable outrcyings of the people of this country for change, not just vague ambiguous change, but specific and articulate change of all the cliches of a bought and paid for corrupt elitist system in exchange for a back to basics sound ethical practice of a democratic republic actually representative of the will of the people.
The concern comes not in the outcry for such change, or the relief that such passion is translating to votes, but the evident resistance to the will of the people in response to it.
I see Dr. Paul's candidacy as not only safe to get behind, where I don't feel I have to worry about whether he is lying to me or not or whether his personal views will outweigh that of the collective people's, but as an opportunity to stand up to the empire.
What I see is a challenge laid at the feet of the people of this country, I have heard it said that this man stands no chance, and since it appears he speaks for a majority of americans who aren't giving into fear and blind fealty, they are by proxy saying that the will of the people stands no chance.
This makes my stomach turn.
But this is the point where the people must make it known what they really do want, freedom or tyranny.
"The Greatest Enemy of Knowledge is Not Ignorance, It is the ILLUSION of Knowledge. Stephen Hawking"
[ Edited by Ironwood at
]
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