Fwd: My Status as a Candidate

Dear Erick, I'm forwarding this email from my dad to you just in case you didn't have a chance to read it. He's committed to fighting for delegates and spreading the message of liberty all the way to the convention. I promise to doing everything I can to help him. I hope you'll commit to supporting his effort to carry on. Please take a few moments to read my dad's email and sign your Carry On Pledge. After you sign the pledge, please chip in your most generous contribution so he can have the resources to continue our movement. For Liberty, Rand Paul Dear Erick, The mainstream media got the Super Tuesday story wrong.  Very wrong.  Again. I'm sure you heard them gleefully talk about which establishment candidate "won" which primary or caucus Tuesday night, if you were even watching.  Most Americans thankfully had more sense and switched on something else. The fact is, just like in many of the earlier contests, very few delegates to the Republican National Convention were decided on Tuesday.  Most will be decided several weeks, or even months, from now at District and State conventions - conventions where our local delegates will have a big say in who goes to Tampa.  In fact, while I didn't win any state's straw polls, my team expects me to win a plurality of delegates in at least three states, as well as outright majorities in two more of the states that have already started their process. Of course, the media totally ignores this story - as they have consistently ignored our message, our passion, and our grassroots army. Even more lost in the shuffle is that no candidate for President has even made it one-third of the way toward the number of delegates needed to win the nomination. And for that reason I am determined to proudly battle on, picking up more delegates and skewering the pretensions and historical rewrites of ALL the establishment candidates – Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich. And I will continue to proudly speak up for liberty, respecting the Constitution in domestic and foreign policy, and returning to a limited government that acts and spends within its means. And I will continue to do so as long as you will stand with me. So what does all of that mean? It means this race is FAR from over.  In fact, you could argue it is just getting started.  With the decisive number of delegates still to be awarded between now and June, and with our activists swarming local and county delegate selections, you and I will surely end up with an army of delegates... … IF we don't give up now. I know it can be tempting to hear and believe the reports of how we can't win.  Even worse, you can listen to the professional political class tell you that ideas, the grassroots, and the future do not matter.  They rarely say it directly, but their message to you and me from Day One has been - if you cannot win it all this year, you shouldn't even try.  It can be tempting to question whether or not all the hard work is worth it. Well, I know it is. That's why I'm flying thousands of hours and crisscrossing the country.  That's why I am leaving my family and home for weeks on end - to fight for the future of our movement and our country. I am vowing to you today that I will keep fighting.  I will fight in every convention and every place where delegates will be selected.  I will fight until there is a clear winner - not because the media says that’s the end, but because the nomination has been clinched. And by my calculations, that may never actually happen.  Even if one candidate starts to rack up a clear advantage, it is unlikely he will have all the delegates needed to win on the first ballot. And if that is the case, then the hundreds of delegates who support our ideals and my campaign (many of whom may be bound to another candidate for the first ballot or two but then free to vote their conscience), will be unleashed. And they will hold the key to deciding the nominees for President and Vice President, as well as what the platform and policies of the Republican Party will be. These things – and, even more, the long-term standing of the liberty movement - are worth fighting for, even when we are tired and feel like quitting. But I cannot do it alone. Will you join me over these next few weeks and months in pressing our battle forward? If so, I MUST have your continued support today, tomorrow, and in the coming weeks. You can show your support by signing the CARRY ON Pledge HERE.  I really urge you to take the pledge, as without your support my efforts won't make enough of a difference. And then, frankly, there’s something else I must ask you to do.  I ask you to again make a contribution, even if it is a smaller contribution of $25 or $50 to my campaign.  As you know, we run a debt-free campaign, and we pushed our resources to do all we could on Super Tuesday. Your pledge and your contribution are critical to keeping this campaign running for the upcoming fights in other states, as well as finishing our strong efforts in key caucus states that are already underway. As I'm sure you know, this won't be the only time I’ll ask.  There will be more emails.  More money bombs.  More state and local conventions and elections where we must – and will – fight for delegates. I hope you'll come to my aid every time you possibly can. Our message is too important.  Think of the issues that are dominating the political debate right now. ***     How and when to BALANCE THE BUDGET.  I am the only candidate with a plan to balance the federal budget and end our debt crisis in one term; ***     Fighting for Individual Liberty, including restoring and protecting the Bill of Rights by stopping the Patriot Act and the Indefinite Detention of American citizens; ***     Auditing the out-of-control Federal Reserve; ***     Stopping the continuing bleeding in our housing market by ending Fannie and Freddie; ***     Ending all government bailouts. These are OUR issues.  And NONE of them were part of the discussion by the other Republican candidates in 2008.  Nearly ALL of the candidates now are trying to sound like us! That tells you our message is breaking through.  We are winning on many fronts. And we must carry the message through the rest of this campaign. So will you join me?  Will you sign the CARRY ON Pledge and send your most generous contribution today to help me carry this fight forward? I don't believe the media.  YOU shouldn't either.  This fight goes on as long as you and I are in it together. For Liberty, Ron Paul P.S.  With no candidate even one-third of the way to locking up the nomination, and our campaign set to bank far more delegates then the media acknowledges, now is not the time to back off, back down, or quit.  Our liberty message and our movement are growing stronger every day. They will continue to do so, if we continue to insist on it. That's why I'm pledging to stay in this fight and to battle for every possible delegate.  But I can only succeed if you will keep fighting alongside me.  If you will, please sign the CARRY ON Pledge HERE. And then, please help keep this campaign running by making a contribution (even if it is only $25 or $50).  I insist upon a debt-free campaign, and I cannot carry on without your support. Paid for by Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee www.ronpaul2012.com