What Would USA Today Say about Howard Dean's Performance in Iowa?
As Jason noted earlier, the results are in — Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has handily taken top honors in the 2011 Ames Straw Poll, edging out Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) and obliterating former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty. Bachmann became the first woman in history to win the straw poll in the home of America’s first caucus, according to the National Journal Of the candidates actively participating this year, only Pawlenty has any kind of background of centrism , and he has taken a right turn since announcing his candidacy. Much of the attention will be on Bachmann, who has been doing well in recent Iowa polls, and Texas Rep. Ron Paul , the darling of libertarians. Both these candidates are outside the broad political mainstream . During the recent debt-ceiling fiasco, Bachmann was among the House members who pledged not to raise the government’s borrowing limit under any circumstances. Paul shared this position, and he has views on banking and monetary policy best described as pre-industrial. Both are long shots to win the Republican nomination, let alone the presidency . And yet the Iowa Republican Party has devised an event that seems almost perfectly suited to showcasing their doctrinaire views . Is that good for the GOP? Or for the USA ?
After all, when Howard Dean’s team asserted itself on legions of progressives who were using MeetUp.com to coordinate leaderless campaign activities across the country, and convinced them to descend on Iowa as part of the advance team, rural Iowans wound up feeling put off by the Starbucks-sipping Seattle and Portland types who insisted that the Democratic Party and the dynastic influence of the Clintons needed to be overthrown and ultimately remade in a more progressive vision . Dean supporters later carried this strategy into his 2005 bid for Democratic National Committee chairmanship, but that’s another story for another day.
Ron Paul Meetup - News
While there's plenty of journalistic snark on this issue, similar questions about Paul's mixed group of supporters have come from within. The New York Times profile quoted a revealing 2007 email message in which the organizer of a Ron Paul meetup group
I've been a fan of Ron Paul's since early 2007, but I absolutely HATE most of the people he attracts - namely conspiracy theorists and anarchists. I even made the mistake of joining a meetup group to spread the word for his 2008 run.
Ron Paul (R-Tex.) and obliterating former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty. Bachmann became the first woman in history to win the straw poll in the home of America's first caucus, according to the National Journal. But that hasn't stopped the editorial
Many of the ideas helped Ron Paul supporters to build a highly visible grassroots movement in 2008, including meetups, money bombs, and community blogs: I'd suggest that the Greens in Tuscon start up a meet-up group, on meetup.com, and see who shows up
The Return of The Ron Paul Meetup « The Virginia Conservative
Back during the 2007-08 Republican Presidential Campaign, the phenomenon of the Meetup group was a bit of a peculiar oddity associated heavily with the Ron Paul movement. Across the country, ordinary (and often otherwise apolitical) folks gathered together in their own communities. In many cases, they did not have much experience with traditional campaigning, but came together to voice their support for the good doctor from Texas.
Here in my hometown of Harrisonburg, there were a group of us who advanced his candidacy in a multitude of ways; we made signs, we wrote letters, we discussed philosophy. Once I took an official position with the campaign and relocated down to South Carolina, like with Virginia, I discovered a whole host of Meetup groups in that state. They were all over the place: Greenville, Charleston, and Rock Hill…just to name a few.
Regardless of your feelings regarding Dr. Paul, you really should admire the remarkable way his candidacy attracted support. It wasn’t based so much on some sort of cult of personality, but rather to a steadfast commitment to the Constitution and the principles of limited government.
Well, I’m pleased to say that the Ron Paul Meetup groups are springing forth once more. Shenandoah County is the first area in the Shenandoah Valley to both reform their group and hold meetings in this new election season. Although it appears that the Charlottesville group has reactivated their organization from 2007 as well, as far as I can tell, they have not held a general meeting in this cycle yet.
But I’m here to offer a bit of good news to my fellow lovers of liberty and Ron Paul supporters in and around my own community. Although it is not an official Meetup group, there is a Harrisonburg & Rockingham County Facebook group devoted to Rep. Paul. That’s right! In fact, they will be holding the first gathering later today (July 31st).
I joined Florida for Ron Paul 2012 on Meetup. You should too! 
Laguna Beach Tabling & Sign-Waving - The Irvine Ron Paul 2012 Meetup Group (Irvine, CA) - Meetup via @
Check out this Meetup with The Irvine Ron Paul 2012 Meetup Group 
Meet up: Whiteville Ron Paul 2012 Meetup 
I joined Dauphin County Patriots for Ron Paul 2012 on Meetup. You should too! Ron Paul Meetup - Bookshelf
Paul
Wangerin "weaves the history of the early church and its greatest apostle into a powerful epic."--Jacket.Paul, in fresh perspective
Wright ranks Paul as "one of the most powerful and seminal minds of the first or any century," endlessly engaging and perennially elusive.Paul, A Man of Grace and Grit
Paul's life was never dull.Paul
In his original introduction to the disciple’s life and thought, E. P. Sanders, whose research on Paul has significantly influenced recent scholarship, pays ...Paul Is Undead
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