LOLNO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xCwmw8tf7k

You all better start dialing 1-800-939-3818.

Ron Paul to campaign in Michigan next week (Feb 25-27)

specifics to follow later

Isn't this pretty much how the 92 election looked? They let Perot do his Mayor of Munchkin Land schtick for two or three debates IIRC. They even let that brain dead running mate of his debate. I would think Paul would get to debate with anything over 5%.

Paul getting 15% as a third party candidate seems close to impossible though.

Ron Paul Visiting North Dakota Next Week

2012 Candidate Selection Criteria



Commission on Presidential Debates' Nonpartisan Candidate Selection Criteria For 2012 General Election Debate Participation

A. INTRODUCTION

The mission of the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates (the "CPD") is to ensure, for the benefit of the American electorate, that general election debates are held every four years between the leading candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States. The CPD sponsored a series of such debates in each of the past six general elections, and has begun the planning, preparation, and organization of a series of nonpartisan debates among leading candidates for the Presidency and Vice Presidency in the 2012 general election. As in prior years, the CPD's voter educational activities will be conducted in accordance with all applicable legal requirements, including regulations of the Federal Election Commission that require that debate sponsors extend invitations to debate based on the application of "pre-established, objective" criteria.

The goal of the CPD's debates is to afford the members of the public an opportunity to sharpen their views, in a focused debate format, of those candidates from among whom the next President and Vice President will be selected. In each of the last six elections, there were scores of declared candidates for the Presidency, excluding those seeking the nomination of one of the major parties. During the course of the campaign, the candidates are afforded many opportunities in a great variety of forums to advance their candidacies. In order most fully and fairly to achieve the educational purposes of its debates, the CPD has developed nonpartisan, objective criteria upon which it will base its decisions regarding selection of the candidates to participate in its 2012 debates. The purpose of the criteria is to identify those candidates who have achieved a level of electoral support such that they realistically are considered to be among the principal rivals for the Presidency.

In connection with the 2012 general election, the CPD will apply three criteria to each declared candidate to determine whether that candidate qualifies for inclusion in one or more of the CPD's debates. The criteria are (1) constitutional eligibility, (2) ballot access, and (3) electoral support. All three criteria shall be satisfied before a candidate will be invited to debate.

B. 2012 NONPARTISAN SELECTION CRITERIA

The CPD's nonpartisan criteria for selecting candidates to participate in the 2012 general election presidential debates are:

1. EVIDENCE OF CONSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY

The CPD's first criterion requires satisfaction of the eligibility requirements of Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution. The requirements are satisfied if the candidate:

a. is at least 35 years of age;

b. is a Natural Born Citizen of the United States and a resident of the United States for fourteen years; and

c. is otherwise eligible under the Constitution.

2. EVIDENCE OF BALLOT ACCESS

The CPD's second criterion requires that the candidate qualify to have his/her name appear on enough state ballots to have at least a mathematical chance of securing an Electoral College majority in the 2012 general election. Under the Constitution, the candidate who receives a majority of votes in the Electoral College, at least 270 votes, is elected President regardless of the popular vote.

3. INDICATORS OF ELECTORAL SUPPORT

The CPD's third criterion requires that the candidate have a level of support of at least 15% (fifteen percent) of the national electorate as determined by five selected national public opinion polling organizations, using the average of those organizations' most recent publicly-reported results at the time of the determination.

C. APPLICATION OF CRITERIA

The CPD's determination with respect to participation in the CPD's first-scheduled debate will be made after Labor Day 2012, but sufficiently in advance of the first-scheduled debate to allow for orderly planning. Invitations to participate in the vice-presidential debate will be extended to the running mates of each of the presidential candidates qualifying for participation in the CPD's first presidential debate. Invitations to participate in the second and third of the CPD's scheduled presidential debates will be based upon satisfaction of the same multiple criteria prior to each debate.

Adopted: October 20, 2011

So to answer insidepokerman: yes, he would be on stage, if he was polling an average of 15%.

Right, so as soon as 2 polls have Paul over 15%, the other polls just don't include him and he doesn't make it to 5. GG.

needs more maddow:

Email from the campaign:

Ben Swann WXIX
Exclusive: only I have new numbers out of Waterville and Waldo county, why Maine caucus may have a 'new" winner Sat. night ! Reality Check tonight

Ben Swann WXIX
Breaking: after telling the Daily Caller that he wouldn't release until March, turns out GOP WILL release corrected Maine numbers tomorrow!

http://www.facebook.com/BenSwannRealityCheck?sk=wall

Honest question: Can someone explain to me how he seems to get more people at a single rally or two than he does votes in the entire caucus in the same state?

Lol i used to live there.

which state(s) are you referring to?

i would assume that a lot of those people are undecided and maybe when it's time for the actual caucus they don't support him

Nevada, Maine, and Iowa I guess. Just seemed like the % of actual votes he got relative to the amount of people at his rallies was pretty off but I'm not suggesting anything here.

Well, he never got more supporters at rallies than he did votes in a state. But I do see your point that he should be getting more votes if he's having such huge rallies.

My guess is that some of the people attending rallies are random people that happen to see a crowd gather and join. Also, some people attending the events are not registered properly, don't bother registering properly, don't think they can vote, can't figure out what date/time their caucus is, forget to vote, etc. Caucuses are complicated for most people. And some states had voter registration deadlines that happened weeks in advance of the rallies/voting. Also, the rally numbers may be exaggerated.

Maine's vote hasn't finished yet. Some of the caucuses vote this weekend I think.

Ron Paul's schedule from now through Saturday Feb 18 - appearances in Idaho and Washington state. He will visit North Dakota on Sunday.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

4:00 p.m. PST
Vancouver Washington Rally*
Hilton Vancouver- Grand Ballroom
301 W. 6th Street
Vancouver, WA 98660

[*Doors open to the public at 3:00 p.m.]

7:30 p.m. PST
King County Rally
Double Tree by Hilton Seattle Airport- Grand Ballroom
18740 International Blvd
Seattle, WA 98188

Friday, February 17, 2012

12:00 p.m. PST
Tri-Cities Town Hall Meeting
Red Lion Richland Hanford House
802 George Washington Way
Richland, WA 99352

4:00 p.m. PST
University of Idaho Moscow Rally
U. of Idaho Commons- Student Union Ballroom
Moscow, ID 83884

7:30 p.m. PST
Spokane Washington Rally
Spokane Convention Center – Ballroom 100ABC
334 West Spokane Falls Blvd
Spokane, WA 99201

Saturday, February 18, 2012

12:30 p.m. MST
Boise Rally
CenturyLink Arena
233 South Capitol Boulevard
Boise, ID 83702

Ron Paul Rally Speech in Twin Falls, Idaho 2/16/12

Latest from Ben Swann:

Reality Check: Maine GOP 'corrected' caucus numbers, why there may be a new winner 2/16/12

Ron Paul - Local Fox Station Seattle, Washington campaign coverage 2/16/12

someone needs to tell ben swann to stop putting his hand in his pocket