Paul's People
David Weigel | November 1, 2007, 10:51am
MSNBC national affairs writer Tom Curry has punched up two informative articles on the Paul phenomenon from Iowa—a state whose importance
ranks after New Hampshire and South Carolina in the campaign's calculus. He
watched Republican officials "sit on their hands" during a Paul speech and chatted with Joe Trippi, Howard Dean's 2004 campaign manager.
“From what I see, Ron Paul is doing much better than his better-known opponents think he is doing. He is at that stage of the Dean campaign when all the other campaigns are laughing at him and have no idea of how strong he really is.”
Trippi added, “This kind of candidacy can be surprisingly strong in a caucus state particularly if it stays just below the radar.”
Drew Ivers, Paul’s Iowa campaign chairman, used that same phrase in addressing the Paul rally in Des Moines Saturday.
Ivers asked for show of hands on how many members of the audience were registered Republicans. Seeing that about half weren’t, Ivers told them they were “under the radar — which is exactly where I want to be.”
Curry points out that Ivers worked for Pat Robertson 20 years ago, and that Robertson shocked almost everybody by placing second in Iowa. And Ivers might provide grist for the anti-Paul blogs:
For Ivers the enemies are “global socialism, the New World Order, empire building… The neo-cons, the elitists who are promoting global socialism” and who say, “We’re smarter and wiser than the masses.” He added, “This is not a conspiracy: the Bilderbergers meet, the G-8 meets” to plan an agenda of globalism.
The
companion piece is about something I'm still trying to wrap my head around: Paul's young supporters.
Jacob Bofferding, a student at Iowa State University, said he decided to work for Paul after seeing him on a televised debate.
“For Ron Paul to stand up there and say, ‘people hate us because we intervene in their lives’ and for (Rudy) Giuliani to say ‘that’s ridiculous,’ that blew my mind,” said Bofferding.
“Our imperialistic foreign policy is the biggest threat to this country, not groups of terrorists that have no state sponsor,” Bofferding said. “The first thing you have to do is stop subsidizing oppressive regimes in the Middle East.”
More reason on Paul here.
Hal | November 1, 2007, 11:26am | #
Iraqi Islamic Party says, “Al Qaeda is Defeated.”
O1 November 2007
Iraqi Islamic Party: “Al Qaeda is Defeated”
“Al Qaeda in Iraq is defeated,” according to Sheik Omar Jabouri, spokesman for the Iraqi Islamic Party and a member of the widespread and influential Jabouri Tribe. Speaking through an interpreter at a 31 October meeting at the Iraqi Islamic Party headquarters in downtown Baghdad, Sheik Omar said that al Qaeda had been “defeated mentally, and therefore is defeated physically,” referring to how clear it has become that the terrorist group’s tactics have backfired. Operatives who could once disappear back into the crowd after committing an increasingly atrocious attack no longer find safe haven among the Iraqis who live in the southern part of Baghdad. They are being hunted down and killed. Or, if they are lucky, captured by Americans.
Colonel Ricky Gibbs, the American brigade commander with responsibility for the Rashid District in south Baghdad today told me, “So goes South Baghdad goes Baghdad.” General Petraeus had told me similar things about the importance of South Baghdad. In fact, Rashid is quickly developing into what might be one of the final serious battlegrounds of the war.
During the meeting, another member of the Iraqi Islamic Party said that al Qaeda has changed its strategy now that fomenting civil war between Sunni and Shia has backfired. Al Qaeda has shifted targets, now trying to generate friction between tribes. This time, however, the tribes are onto the game early, and they are not playing.
Sheik Omar, who has gained the respect of American combat leaders for his intelligence and organizational skills, said the tough line against al Qaeda is also enforced at the tribal level. According to Sheik Omar, the Jabouri tribe, too, is actively committed to destroying al Qaeda. So much so, that Jabouri tribal leaders have decided they would “kill their own sons” if any aided al Qaeda. To underscore the point, he went on to say that about 70 Jabouri “sons” had been killed by the Jabouri tribe so far.
In addition to brigade commander Colonel Ricky Gibbs, four of his battalion commanders were also present: Lieutenant Colonels James Crider, Patrick Frank, Stephen Michael and Myron Reinehe. Sheik Omar expressed deep gratitude for their assistance.
Omar’s influence extends beyond tribal and party levels, to include important channels within the Iraqi government and the US military in Baghdad, as evidenced by the agenda of the hours-long meeting. But for the talk about al Qaeda, the focus was mostly on other topics, such as returning displaced persons to their homes, efficiently delivering basic services and jumpstarting the economy. In fact, more and more meetings in Iraq are turning to day-to-day business, and less time is required on military and security topics like targeting and addressing intelligence-type matters, which until recently monopolized most meetings across Iraq.
Michael Yon does not receive funding or financial support from Fox News, or from any network, movie, book or television deals at this time. He is entirely reader supported. He relies on his readers to help him replace his equipment and cover his expenses so that he may remain in Iraq and bring you the stories of our soldiers. If you value his work, please consider supporting his mission.
VM | November 1, 2007, 5:40pm | #
just curious what I'm missing.
a sense of humor, of course.
SO THE URKOBOLD SHALL CONTINUE TO WHITHER TAINTS, MAKE INSIDE JOKES, META REFERENCES, AND POST GOBBLEDYGOOK AND USE SELF-INVENTED WORDS, SUCH AS "TWADDLENOCK".
IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, WELL, YOU CAN SOAK YOURSELF IN CORN SYRUP, READ UP ON THE ANCIENT GREEKS BEFORE YOU EMBARRASS YOURSELF ANY FURTHER, CONTACT A MELETARY LOIER, GET JOHN AND joe A ROOM, WONDER WHERE LEFTY AND LAZ LONG ARE, HUMP THE NOAM CHOMSKY BLOW UP DOLL, AND RE-READ THE LEATHER-BOUND EDITION OF
HEATHER HAS TWO MOMMIES (THE EDITION WITH THE SWEATY PILLOW FIGHT SCENE ON PAGE 69), CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION, THREATEN TO LEAVE, BE A SHILL FOR BIG WEIGAL, ORLY, FIGHT OFF THE IRANIAN DENTISTS (HIER), ENJOY THE SALTY HAM TEARS OF RICK SANTORUM'S DOG, WONDER WHICH PERSON IS GOING TO CHANGE THEIR BACKSTORY AGAIN (AND WHO WILL NOTICE), MISUSE THE WORD "MEME", GET PISTOL WHIPPED FOR USING THE WORD "SHENANIGANS" AGAIN, GUESS THE CLASH REFERENCE, STUDY THE DEMAND KURV WHEN ADDRESSING THE LAUGHTER CURVE, AND WONDER, WHERE THE HELL MR. STEVEN CRANE IS.
THERE. YOU'RE CAUGHT UP.
IF YOU HAVE ANY HUMOR WHATSOEVER, YOU SHOULD SEE THAT THIS IS THE MOST FREAKIN HILARIOUSEST LAUGH RIOT, YOU ARE PERFECT FOR GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT.
