Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.'s Blog, page 2729

Tom Woods on Ames

Ron Paul Takes Very Close Second in Ames

AMES, IOWA – August 13, 2011 – News reports, as well as Ron Paul himself, indicated that the twelve-term Texas congressman was expected to do well in today's straw poll in Ames. Today's second-place finish – by a razor-thin margin against local favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann – is a clear victory for Congressman Paul, who neither hails from Iowa nor espouses the foreign interventionism that continues to resonate with some Iowa Republicans.

"Any candidate has reason to celebrate a strong showing like Congressman Paul's in Iowa," said Thomas Woods, Revolution PAC advisory board chairman, "but given how radically different Ron Paul's message is, he should be especially delighted to have come within a handful of votes of first place – a poll in which he placed fifth four years ago.

"Ron Paul is taking dead aim at issues no one else will even touch," noted Woods. "No one was talking about the Federal Reserve System until someone of Ron Paul's boldness and knowledge came along and showed us how this institution was making our economy so unstable and ripping us off in the process. No one questions the premises behind our government's disastrous foreign policy. Ron Paul is trying to undo 100 years of brainwashing, from both official Left and official Right. The Left has its faith in Big Government at home, and the neoconservative Right an equally misplaced faith in Big Government abroad. Both have embraced fairy tales over real history.

"Ron Paul rejects it all. The same corrupt political class that has wrecked our economy is the same corrupt political class that has us mired in these trillion-dollar wars. It's about time both sides woke up and realized they've been had. That's what Ron Paul is trying to tell his countrymen. And in light of his strong showing in Ames, the message is getting through."

According to Woods, the Congressman's willingness to take politically unpopular positions on the very eve of the straw poll was an indication of the strength of the candidate's convictions. "Congressman Paul said things in that debate – reminding the crowd that people tend not to like it when the CIA installs dictators and secret police in their countries, as happened in Iran in 1953 – that were not calculated to curry favor with the crowd he was wooing at Ames. But that's who he is. He would rather tell unpopular truths than win cheap votes or applause. He's not a blowdried phony out of central casting, like most of the candidates our system serves up to us. He is a real person with real principles, and he has stuck to them since entering public life 35 years ago. Even his bitterest opponent has to respect that."

To be sure, in the days leading up to the straw poll, media sources were already trying to downplay the event's significance. "This is typical of the media," said Revolution PAC President Gary Franchi. "If it looks like one of the officially anointed candidates isn't going to win, they grab their toys and whine all the way home. But even the media is going to have a hard time pretending it doesn't really matter that Congressman Paul did so well in a state where his limited-government philosophy is a hard sell even to many self-described conservatives."

What's more, strong showings in Ames have often translated into strong showings at the important Iowa caucuses at the end of the year.

"This was a great day for the Congressman," said Franchi. "But it's the end of the beginning. Much hard work remains ahead of us. We can now carry out that work with the confidence that the message of freedom is resonating as none of us could have imagined."

Jesse Benton on Ames

From Gary Howard, national press secretary, RonPaul2012.com:

Dr. Paul shatters expectations, proves strength of candidacy

AMES, Iowa – Congressman Ron Paul won 4,671 votes in today's Iowa Republican Straw Poll, topping Governor Mitt Romney's vote total from 2007 and drawing a near statistical tie with today's winner at 27.6 percent of the vote versus 28.5 percent.

Dr. Paul's finish earned him a strong second place and it was the fourth highest vote total ever received by a candidate at the important test of candidate strength.

Said campaign chairman Jesse Benton, "Dr. Paul is surging in this race, and today's results show the strength of his grassroots support and top notch organization.

"These straw poll results, our growing poll numbers and our strong fundraising shows that our message is resonating with Iowans and Americans everywhere.

"Our message was the same in 2007 as it is in now in 2011, but this time we have quadrupled our support. That means our message is spreading, our support is surging, and people are taking notice.

"We are uniting a coalition of longtime supporters, fiscal conservatives, constitutional conservatives, independents, tea party and anti-big government activists to take on the Washington establishment."

"Today, Ron Paul has emerged as a top tier candidate and is a serious contender to win the Republican nomination and the Presidency."

Ron Paul Wins!

In war-Christian Iowa, for Ron to virtually tie Michele Bachmann for #1 is a clear victory. Indeed, for Ron to do this well just a few days after telling the truth about Iran, and outraging every neocon, is thrilling. They can't stand the Peaceful Libertarian, and they especially can't stand the resonance his views on economics, war, and freedom is achieving among Republicans and all people. This was a red-letter day for liberty. But look for the attacks from the militarists to step up significantly.

Here are all the results:

1. Michele Bachmann (4823, 28.55%)

2. Ron Paul (4671, 27.65%)

3. Tim Pawlenty (2293, 13.57%)

4. Rick Santorum (1657, 9.81%)

5. Herman Cain (1456, 8.62%)

6. Rick Perry (718, 3.62%) write-in

7. Mitt Romney (567, 3.36%)

8. Newt Gingrich (385, 2.28%)

9. Jon Huntsman (69, 0.41%)

10. Thad McCotter (35, 0.21%)

Scattering (162, 0.96 %) Includes those receiving votes at less than 1% that were not on the ballot.

Ron Terrifies the Neocons

Writes Matt Helwig:

Last night I was flipping around on the TV and turned on the O'Reilly Factor. Juan Williams was hosting (only reason why I stopped). His guest was Dick Morris and they were discussing each candidate. Dick said Ron Paul is nothing but a flake, due to the fact he would allow Iran to get a nuke. LOL! Of course Ron simply spoke the truth by saying that Iran is surrounded by nukes, so why wouldn't Iran want one to protect themselves and to gain more respect on the world stage?

Dick also mentioned that it was silly to compare Russia and China to Iran...since the leaders of Iran are crazy and would definitely use the weapon on Israel. Now I think I know my history, but didn't the Soviet/Chinese leaders murder MILLIONS of their own citizens through famine, concentration camps, etc.?

But those leaders were not crazy...NOOOO! Yet a nation that has not attacked another nation in over a thousand years should be feared!! Absolutely amazing how people still listen to this creep!!!

Also, later in the program Carl Cameron came on to give his political commentary from Iowa. He reported that the "establishment" are scared that if Ron Paul wins the straw poll, it will ruin the seriousness and influence of their straw poll. HAHAHAHA! Ron has them running scared baby!!!! GO RON!!!!

LA Times Notices a Political Earthquake

Ron Paul comes in from "the fringe," as they call it. Actually, the mainstream is having to deal with Ron, the Paulians, and libertarianism, as the regime becomes ever more brutal,  dysfunctional, and laughable. (Thanks to Eric Spiess)

Ron: End the Welfare-Warfare State

(Thanks to Johnny Kramer)

Huckster for the Regime

Writes Johnny Kramer:

Huckabee was just on Fox News. He said that Ron can't win the nomination and if he wins today, it invalidates the results. Of course, the rest of the segment was about Bachmann vs. Pawlenty. Ron at 14% can't win the nomination, but Pawlenty at 3%, despite massively greater media coverage, can? It's not like Huckabee's the first to say this nonsense, of course. The memo went out.

Victory Tent

The one that is also the most fun, in Iowa, today. (Thanks to Johnny Kramer)

Bruce Ramsey: Ron Smashed Santorum

Indeed, Ron has taken down the whole endless-war imperial evil called neoconservatism.

Ron Is Right on Iran

And he won the debate, too, says Scott Rubin of Benzinga.