June 12, 2008
Paul suspends presidential campaign; forms new organization
Posted: 05:07 PM ET

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Texas Rep. Ron Paul announced Thursday he is suspending his bid for the Republican presidential nomination to focus his time on building an organization to help recruit and elect “limited government Republicans.”

“We want to elect constitutionalists, limited government Republicans across the country at the state and federal level,” said Paul spokesman Jesse Benton.

The congressman will speak about his political plans at the Texas Republican State Convention being held in Houston. Late Thursday afternoon, Paul launched a Web site for his new organization where he explained the decision to suspend his presidential campaign and form “Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty.”

“With the primary season now over, the presidential campaign is at an end,” Paul said in the letter. “But the larger campaign for freedom is just getting started.”

Arizona Sen. John McCain locked up the GOP nomination back in March, but unlike his fellow Republicans running for president, Paul never abandoned his White House bid.

Paul’s decision to leave the race is an acknowledgment he had no chance of winning the GOP nomination. But even in loss, Paul is one of a handful of candidates who walked away from this presidential contest a winner. His presidential campaign had a broad base of support that included traditionally fiscal and socially conservative Republicans to young people who were angry about the U.S. decision to wage war against Iraq.

The Internet helped to tie together his group of supporters who joined the “Ron Paul Revolution.”

“The work of the Campaign for Liberty will take many forms,” Paul wrote in the letter posted on his Web site. “We will educate our fellow Americans in freedom, sound money, non-interventionism, and free markets. We’ll have our own commentaries and videos on the news of the day. I’ll work with friends I respect to design materials for homeschoolers."

He added, “Politically, we’ll expand the great work of our precinct leader program. We’ll make our presence felt at every level of government, where just a few people with our level of enthusiasm can make a world of difference. We’ll keep an eye on Congress and lobby against legislation that threatens us. We’ll identify and support political candidates who champion our great ideas against the empty suits the party establishments offer the public.”

Paul will not endorse McCain, unless the Arizona senator “wants to change some of his positions,” Benton said. But Benton added that this effort in no way is intended to hurt McCain in November.

Nah i don't think thats the direction hes trying to go. Thats why i believe hes creating this organization. He knows creating a party and trying to win a presidency is impossible these days. Thats why i think he wants to start from the bottom up, so the more limited government, constitutionalists there are at the local levels then the better chance you have to get them elected at the state and federal level.

You suck.

-Lewie

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories...shtml

* * *
Paul's granddaughter Valori Pyeatt helps organize fundraising receptions and has been paid $17,157. Another granddaughter, Laura Paul ($2,724), handles orders for Ron Paul merchandise. Grandson Matthew Pyeatt ($3,251) manages Paul's MySpace profile. Daughter Peggy Paul ($2,224) helps with campaign logistics. The candidate's sons Randall and Robert and his daughter Joy Paul LeBlanc have all been paid for campaign travel and for appearing as surrogates at political events.

Who keeps track of all these finances? Paul's brother and daughter, naturally, who have been paid a combined $62,740 to handle the campaign's accounting.

Campaign aides said they discussed the possibility that involving so many family members could create the impression that nepotism was driving hiring decisions, but ultimately they saw no problem with the practice.

"You always think about those kinds of things," said Jesse Benton, Paul's spokesman and, it just so happens, the fiance of one of the candidate's granddaughters (he has been paid $54,573). "But his family is very important to him. There is something important about having a family element involved in a campaign. Having people around you that you can unconditionally trust."

Paul has received relatively few votes in his insurgent bid for the Republican nomination, but he has attracted an extraordinarily dedicated following that has flooded his campaign coffers with more than $30 million in donations. Even after releasing a video on his Web site in March indicating that he no longer expected to win the Republican nomination, Paul has continued to collect and spend those riches.

Most of the money has gone to typical campaign expenses such as television, radio and Internet ads, travel, and political advice from consultants and strategists. But unlike other presidential candidates, Paul has also made room on his payroll for his extended brood.

There are no laws prohibiting candidates from hiring relatives, though the Federal Election Commission does require family members to be qualified for the job and be paid the going rate for their work. Melanie Sloan of the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said her organization has twice issued reports critical of the practice among members of Congress.

"This was never intended to be a family business," Sloan said. "The reason this is troubling is that it's not clear to donors whether their campaign donations are really going to support the candidacy or to support the family."

Sloan said this was not the first time Paul has hired relatives to perform campaign work on his behalf. The group found payments to daughter Lori Pyeatt during his three previous congressional races, and payments to grandson Matthew Pyeatt and daughter Joy LeBlanc during Paul's 2004 congressional campaign.

I'd rather discuss the new organization, and how its going to open American people's eyes, not bitch about how every politician and their mother collect money.

It's pointless to the thread. *crawls back under rock*

-Lewie

You're right, he getting rich off of these campaigns. How can nobody else but you see it?

"Everything in the world may be endured except continued prosperity."
--- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

More like 80k but that wasn't the point. The act itself looks shady. Not that I believe he did anything wrong but I wouldn't have made that choice myself.

Please disregard the only real common sense answers because the guy paid people he trusted to do a job. As if we're talking millions here. haha.

No wonder the political parties can put up such morons and get away with it...

Then again, perhaps it is all consistent with his views on government. Who needs professionals, right? Just get anyone off the street and they can do the job just fine. And, while you're at it, might as well keep it in the family...

That's actually my biggest problem with anarcho-capitalism: people just aren't that smart.

It's the principle.

If you don't understand that I can't help you.

Your money isn't provided by contributions either.

There's another term for that...the whole "I only trust family when I'm doing business"....oh yeah! IT'S CALLED THE MAFIA!!! You might have heard about them before. I believe there was a couple of television series about them before...not sure though.

With as many buddy deals going on in politics these days, you guys can't get over a guy who trusts his name to only those he knows? Try looking into all the politicians setting up their families with taxpayer dollars, setting up business partners with the same, or looking out for their own fortunes. And Ron Paul only trusts his name to someone in his family? haha. I needed that today.

Answer me this geniuses: As everyone knows Ron Paul started out as a complete nobody and he is not very wealthy nor lobbyist/special interest backed so how in the heck do you expect somebody that starts out with hardly any cash compared to the other candidates to be able to magically pay all sorts of third party mega buck groups like Rudy, Romney, etc?

It's coming to me now......maybe......just maybe he used his family because that's ALL HE COULD AFFORD AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS CAMPAIGN WHEN HE HAD NO MONEY.

If Ron Paul was some multi-millionaire with a crap ton of special interest cash dumped on him at the beginning of the campaign then yeah I could definitely see having a problem with him paying lots of members of his family with contribution money but when it's a freaking GRASS ROOTS candidate that NO special interest supports you'd have to be a moron to question his decision to use family members.

/argument

The Revolution has just begun.

Quote, originally posted by Stealthmode Performance »

With as many buddy deals going on in politics these days, you guys can't get over a guy who trusts his name to only those he knows? Try looking into all the politicians setting up their families with taxpayer dollars, setting up business partners with the same, or looking out for their own fortunes. And Ron Paul only trusts his name to someone in his family? haha. I needed that today.

You got it wrong yo! Ron Paul is teh mafia!

Modified by ActiveAero at 12:22 AM 6/20/2008

The Revolution has just begun.

Yeah, Dubbya trusting Karl Rove was a totally bone-headed idea.

Seriously. Just to remove Ron "Second Coming" Paul from the equation, think of this as a business. Not some nickel and dime $100,000 bullshit mom and pop McD's franchise, but a national business with at least $30 million in capitalization.

Now, imagine you are a shareholder in that business, with a decent stake. And, instead of going out and hiring Big Four accountants, a NY-based I-bank and a proper PR firm, the CEO hires family members to do everything from accouting to raising additional capital to marketing. Can you honestly tell me that would be okay with you?

Quote »

Now, imagine you are a shareholder in that business, with a decent stake. And, instead of going out and hiring Big Four accountants, a NY-based I-bank and a proper PR firm, the CEO hires family members to do everything from accouting to raising additional capital to marketing. Can you honestly tell me that would be okay with you?

I agree that he should of done a better job at finding ways to promote himself but im not going to hate on the guy because he trusts his family over some Joe shmo. Did you not read about those articles written on his behalf that were full of racist content?

After that debacle i wouldn't trust to many of these "Professionals" either.