VIDEO: Hijacking the Ron Paul Revolution
I just wanted my two minutes of quality time with the candidate.
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Hijacking the Revolution: My two minutes in the campaign van with Ron Paul.
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I didn't mean to take Ron Paul by storm. I only wanted a few minutes of quality time with the candidate, who keeps saying the media is overlooking his message.
So when I asked one of his campaign aides if I could have a word with Paul after he was finished greeting the 100 or so fans who'd lined up at the Courtyard Marriott in Nashua after his town hall meeting, I was surprised when the aide said, "follow me."
So I followed, as he led me out of the hotel reception room, down a hallway and into the back of Paul's official campaign van.
Pleasantly surprised, that is.
Anyway, as Paul ducked into the seat next to me a few minutes later, he only looked a little taken aback by my presence. I waited patiently as he fielded a question from a TV reporter who'd followed him to the van, on why he is declining to participate in the Dec. 27 televised Donald Trump Debate from Iowa.
Paul, unapologetic, told the reporter in so many words that having Trump as a moderator seemed to trivialize the importance of such debates to the American people.
Furthermore, said Paul, Trump owes the Iowa Republican Party an apology for standing them up as keynote speaker for their Lincoln Day Dinner, costing them – and the state of Iowa – money.
The reporter then tried to squeeze in one more question, asking Paul if he had a comment on Herman Cain's expected exit from the race, following allegations of a long-time inappropriate affair with an Atlanta woman.
Paul smiled, and said, "no."
Then, the automatic van door slid shut and it was all me.
I wasn't sure what the most important question was to ask Ron Paul at this moment, so I went with my gut. After seeing so much devotion to the "Ron Paul Revolution" here in New Hampshire, I wondered what would become of his followers, should he not win the GOP nomination.
So I tried to ask what the odds were that he'd consider running as a third-party candidate.
But Paul already knew where I was going, and cut me off to say that it was impossible to know the odds of that, until the election plays out.
Fair enough. He's optimistic.
But should he not get the GOP nod, I asked, would he be open to participating in the next administration?
Paul smiled that smile.
"Do you think they're going to ask me to be chairman of the Federal Reserve Board? I don't think that'll happen," Paul said.
He had another good point, but as a casual observer of New Hampshire Primary campaign politics, I have to say that there is no crowd like a Ron Paul crowd. They are informed, outspoken, enthusiastic. They are young enough to believe everything's possible; and they are old enough to know the difference between politics as usual, and something completely different.
And even his fellow candidates have conceded, on a public debate stage, no less, that they happen to agree with Ron Paul on several fronts.
And yet, despite Paul's ability to mobilize support, win straw polls and keep pace with whoever the frontrunners are on any given week, the "mainstream media" often forgets to mention that he's even running for president.
Comedy Central's Jon Stewart, host of "The Daily Show," has a running schtick, about how Ron Paul is the invisible man, and the political equivalent of the "13th floor of a hotel elevator," in other words, non-existant, to pundits and prognosticators.
During today's speech, Paul actually quipped that one way to get his message out to the masses would be to "hire Jon Stewart as my PR man."
With the New Hampshire Primary just weeks away, Paul's campaign said the thrust between now and January 10 is to bring in some of the undecided voters, who seem to be standing on the sidelines to see who's left standing, once the dust of a crowded, contentious, sometimes surprising, campaign season finally settles.
It's a strategy that may be working.
"I'm absolutely sold on Ron Paul, after today," said Susan Talbot Regan of Bedford, who had come to the event undecided, and left promising to work some phones to aid Paul's campaign.
"I got a good sense of his policies today. Everything he speaks for is what I feel. He's the right choice," Regan said.
Liberty
3:15 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011
Only if Ron Paul is allowed to get the exposure that Gingrich and Romney receive, the American voters would see that the modern day Thomas Jefferson is Ron Paul. He would bring fiscal sanity to the Federal Governemnt, stop the policing of the world, full audit the Fed to show the american people how the Fed has bailed out the banks and Europe and much more. We would be outraged. He would restore our liberties which has be destroyed by the Patriot Act and just recently S1867.
A vote for Ron Paul is a vote for prosperity.
Euno
3:49 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011
Excellent story, Carol...
It's concise and fair minded, it shows us your dedication to your work and we learned something new (RP doesn't think a Fed Job would be likely). Your a good reporter and writer...I just wish this story was longer!
Thanks,
Euno
RPTwentyTwelve
5:35 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011
Looking forward to vote Ron Paul in 2012!
Juan Viche
5:52 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011
phone.ronpaul2012.com
Bill
6:09 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011
OK. I know that I'm going to sound like a conspiracy theorist here, but here goes.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO MONEY & GREED.
Ron Paul wants to end the Fed. The top 1 percent controls the fed, and big media. So they marginalize him and his campaign . Saying things like "he could never win" "he's unelectable". And when they do mention him, its only with a short snippet to make him sound like he is out of his tree. However Ron Paul is an extremely intelligent individual, and the only one in this race who understands the issues inside and out, backwards and forwards. And through the internet he is able to expand on these snippets that are heard on the news. Which is how he has grown to have the following he has.
The people who control the fed also control big media. And they are going to make this and uphill battle.
Even worse, I really feel like I need the tin foil hat even posting this. There have been 2 president in history who tried to take control/and regulate the american currency system. Both of them , Abe Lincoln and John F Kennedy where both assassinated. I'm not going as far as to say its because of that. But when you first make those connections its hard to look at the situation in the same light.
Bill
12:50 pm on Sunday, December 4, 2011
True Daniel. I'm not usually a conspiracy theorist. And I certainly and not part of the occupy movement. But it is true that big money in American owns the media. It is in their best interest to not support a candidate that will end the fed. So he will never be reported on without bias with mainstream media.
Bill
6:10 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011
*****************RON PAUL 2012****************
led
6:20 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011
You had 2 mins and you used that time to ask him questions he has been asked probably 150-200 times before. What a wasted opportunity all round.
led
6:23 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011
You had 2 mins with someone who could be president of the USA and you used that to ask him questions he has been asked 150-200 times before at least. What a wasted opportunity. Anyone could have done that - I thought reporters were supposed to have at least something about them other than repeating questions like that. I doubt you'lll get another opportunity - we learned almost nothing from your interview - I hope you learn from that experience.
Socrates Gadfly
6:40 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011
Great article. Thank you for asking good questions in an unbiased way. Please always be an honest journalist. Thank you!
Carol Robidoux
7:00 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011
led: I wasn't anticipating having two minutes with Ron Paul, and I just used the question of running as a third party candidate as a jumping off place, mostly prompted by the continued zeal of his supporters. I've covered Ron Paul probably four times so far, and so I wrote the story based on what I have observed as a reporter. If I get another chance to talk with Ron Paul, what is the one, pivotal question you would have asked him? I will be sure to ask it.
Bill
7:25 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011
I appreciated the question. I have said the only way I was going to vote for a candidate other then Ron Paul was if he was on someone else's ticket. I just assumed it wasn't going to happen. I hadn't heard anyone ask him anything regarding working in someone else's administration.
Honestly its nice to just see him reported on without bias.
Jackson Baer
1:19 am on Sunday, December 4, 2011
RON PAUL 2012!
Clear. Consistent. Honest.
http://www.whatthehellbook.com/the-book/
Richard
4:22 am on Sunday, December 4, 2011
If the mainstream media (Patch excepted!) does not want us to know about Ron Paul, isn't that a clue that he is a threat to their status-quo socialist and crony-capitalist paradigm?
Nigel Allen
6:51 am on Sunday, December 4, 2011
And yet, despite Paul's ability to mobilize support, win straw polls and keep pace with whoever the frontrunners are on any given week, the "mainstream media" often forgets to mention that he's even running for president.
The Reason? please see link below, Its shocking!
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=27980
Pablo
8:53 am on Sunday, December 4, 2011
At this point I feel like people have heard what Ron has to say and they should know that he is the best choice. However, it takes a certain type of mind to understand why his policies are so necessary. Americans have been brain washed for so long by smooth talking politicians and war propaganda, that they simply do not do a good job of recognizing the truth from the pander.
Carol Robidoux
10:21 am on Sunday, December 4, 2011
David Rufty: Point taken, David. I think that particular question comes up for Paul because he often points out that he is more Libertarian than GOP, so he would be most likely to consider a third-party ticket. I would not expect any candidate to make an important policy statement in 2 minutes, though. That's why they make their policies publicly available online.
Bill Ennis
1:34 pm on Sunday, December 4, 2011
Thanks for the interview, Carol. It's amazing to see how blatant the mainstream media is when they ignore Dr. Paul. He's one of the top three candidates( depending on the poll) and some news stories never mention him once. I think the media/ruling elite are threatened by him so the best way to silence him is to just ignore that he's in the race.
Thanks again for the story.
Bill
charles ranalli
2:23 pm on Sunday, December 4, 2011
Ron Paul can't get a fair shake from MSM because MSM is owned by the same people who own the banks (FED) and who own the politicians and who financed and ran the communist takeover in Russia and who are pushing for gun control and "hate crime" legislation here and now so they can implement the communist takeover of America and ultimately the world. now who might "they" be ? hmmm
i wonder.
charles ranalli
albuquerque
Douglas Hawks
4:58 am on Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Questions: if you bring home all military and/or end the fed, what do you expect unemployment to be at the end of your first term?
Should the dollar or gold be the worlds reserve currency?
Is the Suez canal strategically important to the US?
Does the US military have a role in safeguarding trade routes from the US to the middle east and china?
Who would make a good Vice President and Secretary of the Treasury in a Paul administration?
Douglas Hawks
5:20 pm on Tuesday, December 13, 2011
More questions:
Dr. Paul talks about a plan of paying 10% of income to opt-out of the "whole system" - that is all federal programs. So in that scenario, how would the use of interstate highways work?