Aubrey,
No problem, I understand. Hope the tabling went well today. I don't know how late you stayed out there; I tried calling you and Jawj around 3pm, but didn't reach either of you, so I went down and made some phone calls for Ron Paul instead.
Every weekend, a few people from the local Campaign for Liberty chapter have been phonebanking from the office of John Dennis's old company, Humanscale, located at 695 Front Street (@Pacific). When I got there this afternoon, there were four folks there, Jun Dam, Dan the Man, Paine, and Scott. The website set up by John Dennis's Grassroots For Liberty PAC, http://www.RP2012.org, makes it easy to make calls, providing a script, allowing you to enter data you get from asking the Iowans you call questions, and tracking how many calls you've made.
Pat Lamken, a woman who's been perhaps the most dedicated caller, posted this article on the C4L-SF list today (well, yesterday now!) from the New York Times -- even that paper is reporting that Ron Paul is a leading candidate in Iowa (header: "Two Iowa polls this week showed Ron Paul in a statistical tie for first."). I've copied the article below.
Right now I honestly think Ron Paul has a better chance of winning the Iowa caucuses than any other candidate, and if he wins Iowa, that could be a game-changer.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
Hi Starchild! I just called Jawj and discussed this possible change of events with her. We both like the idea, but it won't work out this time. One of the reasons is she has already posted the time/location of her cat adoptions on Craigslist, so it would be tacky if she were just to not show up. Also, there's around a $50 fee for the adoptions, and since most high school students don't carry a lot of cash around, she feels having mostly minors present (and not their parents) wouldn't work out. So, we'll stick with the Castro for today. However, please let me know the next time they have another such event as the JSA because I am definitely interested in tabling there. I also like the idea of partnering with other counties, and that is another avenue of action that we should consider in the future. Thanks for a great suggestion. Next time, for sure.
Thanks!
Aubrey
P.S. Phil, no kitty lunch for Tessa today. At least not before 4:00 since the cats, and not our literature, will be the main attraction!
From: Starchild <sfdreamer@...>
To: LPSF Activist List <lpsf-activists@yahoogroups.com>; LPSF Discussion List <lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2011 9:49 AM
Subject: [lpsf-discuss] Re: [lpsf-activists] Libertarian Cat Tabling Today / JSA event in Santa Clara?
Hey guys,
I've got a suggestion, if Jawj can spare the time. There's a JSA
state convention happening today in Santa Clara where the LP will be
doing outreach. These happen a couple times a year; for those who are
unfamiliar, JSA is a high school debate society. Hundreds of students
attend these conventions where they hold debates on different topics,
etc., and they always have a room where political parties and other
groups are invited to set up informational tables.
I've helped do outreach at these events numerous times, and they are
some of the best outreach opportunities we have, imho, because these
tend to be kids who are more knowledgeable and interested in politics
than the average high schooler, and this is the perfect age at which
to connect with them.
Anyway, I think the cats would be a big hit at the Libertarian table
there, and could help highlight the LP's focus on voluntary, non-
government initiative as a way of addressing social problems (such as
getting cats adopted so they aren't killed or allowed to go feral).
The event goes from 2-5pm (roughly the time Aubrey mentioned for
tabling in the Castro), and then people typically go out for dinner
afterward. Lawrence Samuel of the Monterey LP has been coordinating
and bringing literature and stuff to this for years, and always
welcomes extra people coming to help staff the table. So I'd like to
go, if there's someone driving; I think it would be excellent if all
three of us went (or more, if anyone else is interested). If you can
drive, give me a call (not email), since I'll be sleeping in otherwise
-- (415) 625-FREE (3733).
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
>
> Hi All! Unless it rains, Jawj and I will host a joint venture today
> (Saturday) at 18th and Castro. She will try to find good homes for
> 7 or 8 of her cats while we table our literature and ideas of
> limited government. The tabling last month didn't attract many
> people, but I'm hoping that Jawj's kitties will create more
> curiosity and interest. It also won't hurt to show the community
> that Libertarians do good things voluntarily, and without government
> help. Might help our "branding" problem. We will be there from 1-4
> PM. Please join us, Starchild, and anyone else who has the time.
>
> Thanks!
> Aubrey
Article from today's New York Times:
The Caucus
The latest on the 2012 election, President Obama, Congress and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion.
Follow The Caucus on Twitter
FiveThirtyEight: Nate Silver's Political Calculus
More Politics News
Daniel Acker for The New York Times
Two Iowa polls this week showed Ron Paul in a statistical tie for first.
Daniel Acker for The New York Times
Showing support at a campaign event in Vinton, Iowa.
This year, the Anderses are behind Representative Ron Paul of Texas, who supports drastically shrinking the federal government and closing the Education Department.
In a year when the Republican field is unusually fractured, with front-runners coming around as often as carousel ponies, Mr. Paul’s ability to mobilize niche groups like home-schoolers may make a big difference. His campaign, which has won a number of straw polls and is picking up momentum, has demonstrated its ability to organize and mobilize supporters, which is particularly relevant in Iowa, where relatively small numbers can tip the scales in the caucuses.
For his part, Mr. Anders was looking forward to a meeting with a Paul campaign staff member to strategize “how we can go to work for Ron Paul.”
“Home-schoolers are really independently minded,” Mr. Anders said, estimating that most of the 10 other families in his Saturday morning coffee club in Council Bluffs, Iowa, supported Mr. Paul. “He believes the federal government has no role in education, as most home-schoolers will agree.”
Home-school families are among the lesser-known converts to Mr. Paul — along with small-business owners and voters well past college age — who have helped him build support beyond his fierce core of followers, often young people.
His support has usually added up to less than 10 percent in surveys of likely Republican primary voters.
But now, thanks to the best organized grass-roots campaign in Iowa and heavy spending on television advertisements that portray him as consistent while other Republicans have flip-flopped, Mr. Paul is breaking through that ceiling, giving rise to a once far-fetched scenario — that he might win the state’s caucuses on Jan. 3.
“I’m buying Ron Paul today,” said Craig Robinson, a former political director for the Republican Party of Iowa, who on Wednesday sent a Twitter message saying, “Ron Paul’s Iowa Campaign Office was abuzz at 8 p.m. tonight when I drove by on my way to the bank. Impressive.”
Two state polls this week show him in a statistical tie for first. One, released Monday by Bloomberg News, showed Mr. Paul winning 19 percent of likely Republican caucus voters, within the margin of error with Herman Cain, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.
The Bloomberg poll showed that about two-thirds of Iowa respondents had been contacted by the Paul campaign by phone, e-mail or a knock on the door, more outreach than any other candidate.
“We’ve been out-hustling the other campaigns,” said Jesse Benton, Mr. Paul’s national campaign manager.
Because of strong fund-raising from small donors on the Internet, the campaign has been able to saturate the Iowa airwaves with ads. It has outspent all others — $2.5 million on TV and radio commercials in Iowa and New Hampshire (where a Bloomberg poll had Mr. Paul in second place this week behind Mr. Romney). It plans to spend $4 million more before the voting in those two states begins in less than two months.
The ads highlight Mr. Paul’s message of deep cuts to government spending and conveniently avoid his isolationist foreign policy, which risks turning off undecided voters.
Chuck Walsh, who works for his family’s G.M.-Toyota dealership in Carroll, Iowa, is a recent convert to Mr. Paul.
“I don’t think I was his core type, the young college type,” said Mr. Walsh, 42, a volunteer firefighter and veteran of the Persian Gulf war. He voted for Mr. Romney in 2008 and was leaning toward him again this year, but he changed his mind because the federal government, he said, needs more drastic cuts than Mr. Romney proposes.
Mr. Walsh felt squeamish coming out as a Paul supporter. “The reaction is, ‘Oh, the guy is fringe, he’s crazy,’ “ he said. “People tell me, ‘You’re throwing away your vote.’ I said to myself: ‘Chuck, you wore the uniform, you fought for the right to vote. If you’re voting with your heart, I don’t think you’re throwing away your vote.’ “
In making his third run for the presidency, Mr. Paul, 76, has benefited from the splitting of the social conservative vote in Iowa among a number of candidates, and from the fact that this year jobs and the economy trump concerns over abortion and same-sex marriage.
Four years ago, Mr. Paul stumped around the state, warning that the country was heading for financial calamity because of Washington’s overspending. This year he appears in the same hotel ballrooms, and many regard his message as having been prescient.
But even as he picks up support, very few independent strategists see a path for him to the Republican nomination.
“I don’t think he’s going to be the nominee,” said Steve Roberts, a former chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa. “But he’s certainly in a rarefied atmosphere for him.”
Tim Albrecht, a top aide to Gov. Terry E. Branstad of Iowa, said, “His biggest hurdle is his foreign policy piece.”
“I figured he’d get 16 percent in the caucuses,” Mr. Albrecht added. “Right now he’s polling around 20 percent. That’s enough to be in the hunt this year because it’s so splintered and wide open. But he’s got to continue expanding his message to collect more voters.”
At an event at the Pizza Ranch in Vinton, Iowa, on Friday, the 40 or so voters who came to hear Mr. Paul speak were a cross-section of his core supporters and curious newcomers. The faithful sported their “Ron Paul Revolution” caps and T-shirts.
Lynn Rinderknecht, an organic farmer, said, “I’m kind of leaning toward Ron Paul,” though he noted that the conservative talk radio hosts Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin, where he gets a lot of his news, “don’t like Mr. Paul because of his ideas about the military.”
Mike Dulaney, a retiree, liked Mr. Paul’s book “End the Fed” but questioned his stance on Iran. Mr. Paul had said that Iran’s quest for a nuclear weapon, as documented in a recent international report, was overblown.
“I disagree,” Mr. Dulaney said. “I think Ahmadinejad is a very dangerous person who’s going to try to prove something,” he said, referring to Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He favored Mr. Romney, he said.
Lucy Reese, an independent, said she disagreed with many of Mr. Paul’s positions, including his opposition to abortion rights. But she agreed with his focus on the currency system and on auditing the Federal Reserve.
“I am reluctant to commit to anybody, but if I had to pick, I’d pick Ron Paul,” she said.
(Attachment PAUL-articleInline.jpg is missing)
(Attachment JP-PAUL-2-articleInline.jpg is missing)