Michele Bachmann edges Ron Paul in Iowa

Tea party darling Michele Bachmann edges Ron Paul in Iowa | Alaska Dispatch - Linda Feldmann, Christian Science Monitor, Aug. 14, 2011:

"Out of 16,892 votes cast, Congresswoman Bachmann won 4,823 votes, or 29 percent. Coming in a close second was Rep. Ron Paul of Texas with 4,671 votes, or 28 percent. Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota came in third with 2,293 votes, or 14 percent....

"Congressman Paul’s close second-place finish demonstrated the force that he has become in Republican politics. Viewed as a fringe candidate when he ran four years ago, he had a large, enthusiastic crowd at the straw poll. Paul’s low-tax, small-government approach makes him, to many, the godfather of the tea party movement. But his unorthodox-for-a-Republican views on foreign policy – he opposes US military engagements abroad – will limit his potential in the GOP field....

"Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania placed fourth with 1,657 votes, or 10 percent. Businessman Herman Cain came in fifth with 1,456, or 9 percent. [Rick] Perry’s 718 votes put him in sixth place, ahead of seventh-place finisher [Mitt] Romney’s 567 votes.... Newt Gingrich came in eighth with 385 votes.... Jon Huntsman Jr. ... came in ninth with 69 votes. And Rep. Thaddeus McCotter of Michigant ... won 35 votes."

Dems waste no time casting Bachmann and Paul as extreme - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Dems waste no time casting Bachmann and Paul as extreme - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room - Michael O'Brien, Aug. 13, 2011:

"Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), said that the results of the unofficial poll ... showed that the Tea Party had effectively seized control of the GOP.

"'All of the Republican candidates have made clear their allegiance to the Tea Party, supporting extreme policies that would hurt the middle class, seniors, and students,' Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. 'The only winner tonight was the Tea Party.'

"Bachmann's been an unabashed supporter of the grassroots conservative movement, and Paul is seen as somewhat of a forefather of the Tea Party movement. They finished in first and second place, respectively, at about 29 percent and 28 percent of the final tally....

"Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul represent the extreme right wing, which is the core of the Republican Party today," Wasserman Schultz said on MSNBC following the announcement of straw poll results."

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/176773-dems-waste-no-time-casting-bachmann-and-paul-as-extreme

Paul Endorsed by 3 Story County GOP Chairmen

Ron Paul 2012 press release - August 11, 2011 11:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time 

Ron Paul Endorsed by Three Story County GOP Chairmen

Heath Hill joins Spiker, Adams in choosing Paul

LAKE JACKSON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign announced today that Dr. Paul has received the endorsement of former Story County Republican Party Chairman Heath Hill.

The endorsement is the third Story County Republican Party chair endorsement of Dr. Paul’s 2012 campaign.

Story County is home to Ames, the city in central Iowa 30 miles north of Des Moines that hosts the famous Ames Straw Poll. This year’s Ames Straw Poll will take place on Saturday, August 13, 2011.

“If you want to preserve your community, preserve your liberties and reverse the tide of the ever-growing, ever in debt, and ever-intrusive Federal Government, please stand with me this Saturday at the Ames Straw Poll in support of Congressman Ron Paul for President in 2012”

Current Story County GOP Chairman Cory Adams endorsed Dr. Paul on July 25^th and A.J. Spiker — who served as Story County GOP chair after Mr. Hill and before Mr. Adams — serves as Iowa Vice-Chair of the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign. The endorsement of Mr. Spiker, who is also a State Central Committee Member of the Republican Party of Iowa, took place de facto as he assumed the role of Iowa vice-chair on April 26^th, when Dr. Paul announced the formation of an exploratory committee to assess his options for the 2012 presidential campaign.

“My endorsement of Congressman Ron Paul today is not simply because he wants to shrink the size of the Federal Government. It is because he is the only presidential candidate who would have invoked the Tenth Amendment and not granted the Federal Government 95 percent of its current size, power, and programs in the first place,” said Mr. Hill, current Market President at Premier Credit Union in Ames.

“If you want to preserve your community, preserve your liberties and reverse the tide of the ever-growing, ever in debt, and ever-intrusive Federal Government, please stand with me this Saturday at the Ames Straw Poll in support of Congressman Ron Paul for President in 2012,” said Mr. Hill.

Mr. Hill made his endorsement before a crowd gathered at a Ron Paul campaign event that also featured Dr. Paul’s son, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY). The event took place at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 11^th at the Hilton Garden Inn, located at 1325 Dickinson Avenue in Ames.

Authorized and paid for by Ron Paul 2012 PCC. www.RonPaul2012.com

Contacts

Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign
Gary Howard, 855-886-9779

Source: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110811006003/en/Ron-Paul-Endorsed-Story-County-GOP-Chairmen

Ron Paul Wins Iowa GOP Debate; Is Right On Iran

Ron Paul Wins Iowa GOP Debate; Is Right On Iran - Scott Rubin, Benzinga, Aug. 12, 2011 :

"Ron Paul won last night's GOP Presidential debate in Ames, Iowa ... the polls, and applause, overwhelmingly showed that the people thought Ron Paul won the debate. Fox News was even forced to take down its own poll from its website after Paul crushed the competition in a landslide.

"Paul is winning nearly every single online GOP debate poll, many of them by a very wide margin. It was also obvious who the crowd preferred last night in Ames, as Ron Paul supporters were clearly the loudest and most influential contingent at the event....

Even TheHill.com is declaring Paul victorious. Last night, was a huge boost for the Texas Congressman who has emerged as one the GOP front-runners, and is polling third nationally, only trailing Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. It is becoming quite clear that the American people are gravitating towards Paul's honest and principled positions which emphasize peace and personal liberty ... with candidates such as Newt Gingrich and Michelle Bachmann now parroting many of the ideas that he has been promoting for the last thirty years."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/08/12/benzinga1854956.DTL

Ron Paul Ames High in Iowa

Ron Paul Ames High in Iowa - George Dance, Nolan Chart, Aug. 10, 2011:

"All summer this year, Paul has been flying into the state by private jet for weekly campaign rallies. His campaign has had six paid operatives in Iowa, and paid advertising on state radio and TV. At this year’s land auction, the Paul campaign 'outbid all others and paid $31,000 to claim the most central spot at the straw poll for its supporters.' All of that financed by yet another online moneybomb, 'Ready, Ames, Fire,' in which the rEVOLution gave Ron Paul another $550,000 in one day.

"Far from being an unknown quantity to Iowa Republicans this year, Paul has four supporters on the state party’s Central Committee, the most of any candidate. He has been picking up endorsements from party figures like State Rep. Jason Schultz and Story County GOP chairman Cory Adams. 'I try to go for the candidates that line up mostly with the values, the principles of the Founders,' Adams told CNN-TV. 'Out of all the candidates in this cycle, I found Ron Paul to be the one with the longest, most consistent voting record to back up those principles and concepts.'

Read more: http://www.nolanchart.com/article8879_Ron_Paul_Ames_High_in_Iowa.html

GOP Presidential Hopefuls Go To Ames, Gary Johnson Rides a Bike | TPMDC

GOP Presidential Hopefuls Go To Ames, Gary Johnson Rides a Bike | TPMDC - Michael R. Corjilo:

Aug. 9, 2011 - "While seven Republican presidential hopefuls will be competing in the Iowa Straw Poll this Saturday in Ames, candidate Gary Johnson ... announced Tuesday that he would be spending Saturday competing in a 100 mile-long mountain bike race in Leadville, Colorado.

"Last week Johnson announced that although he had not given up on Iowa, he would not be participating in Ames. Senior advisor Ron Nielson said in a press release that 'asking supporters in Iowa to buy tickets and show up for an event six months before the caucuses is just not a part of providing that voice - or our campaign.' Instead the campaign intends to focus on ideas, policy, and New Hampshire....

Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/08/gop-presidential-hopefuls-go-to-ames-gary-johnson-rides-a-bike.php

Poll: Bachmann Leads, Romney and Paul Close Behind | The State Column

Poll: Bachmann Leads, Romney and Paul Close Behind | The State Column - Aug. 9, 2001:

"On Monday, Rasmussen Reports released a telephone survey of likely Iowa Republican Caucus participants that showed Romney and Bachmann battling for first place with Paul a close third. The Rasmussen survey, conducted on August 4th, showed Bachmann in first place with 22 percent of the vote. Romney grabbed a second place finish with 21 percent of the vote and Paul finished in third with 16 percent of the vote....

"Gingrich and former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain pulled in less than 10 percent. Gingrich earned 5 percent of the vote and Cain grabbed 4 percent of the vote. Former US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman only captured 2 percent of the vote. The Rasmussen Reports survey of 667 likely Iowa Republican Caucus goers had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points."

Read more: http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/poll-bachmann-leads-romney-and-paul-close-behind/