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First Read is an analysis of the day's political news, from the NBC News political unit. First Read is updated throughout the day, so check back often.

Chuck Todd, NBC Political Director

Mark Murray, NBC Deputy Political Director

Domenico Montanaro, NBC Political Researcher



Paul scales back, focuses on TX-14

Posted: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 11:34 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: ,

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Ron Paul has scaled back his presidential run and is focusing on his congressional primary race, Paul spokesman Jesse Benton acknowledged.

Paul is being challenged by Republican Galveston City Councilman Chris Peden in the 14th congressional district for the March 4th Republican primary, the same day as the Texas presidential primary. Paul's name will appear on the ballot for both races in that district.

Paul has raised $400,000 for the TX-14 race, Benton said. Paul cannot use his presidential funds for congressional primary, since he has not withdrawn. The campaign has about $5 million on hand for the presidential race, Benton said.

Paul's goal, Benton added, is to get a substantial delegation to convention (they estimate they'll have about 42 delegates) get a good speaking spot, and "spread the conservative message."

On the $5 million, Benton said, "We're not looking to take any with us. We're going to spend it on what donors contributed it for." Even though he said they're "looking to spend every dime on the presidential race," he acknowledged that there is certainly an "organization that has been built out of this campaign" that they will use after the presidential race, including their more than 300,000-person e-mail list.

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Correction -

Dr. Paul estimates he currently has 42 delegates.  He plans to arrive to the convention with a much higher number.
Bye, Kenn. Watch that door; it's about to hit ya in the butt on the way out.  Call me when Hillary loses, and ... maybe take some typing lessons.
Iam scaling back...kenn (Sent Tuesday, February 12, 2008 12:20 PM)

So long Kenn.  

Although none of us are perfect bloggers, but could you please keep your comments on the proper thread?  The article here is about Ron Paul.  Place your incoherant rant somewhere else.
It's allabout donations,send yours  hillaryclinton.com
So, scaling back automatically means "dropping out" or atleast thats what I got from this "article".... lets start our own media corporation! www.breakthematrix.com look it up and sign up to be a stock holder its time to take our media BACK!
It is too bad that the $ Dr. Paul has remaining for his presidential campaign could not be forwarded to the National Cancer Society,or a similar organization. Such a large contribution could possibly bring us closer to finding a cure for cancer, diabetes, heart disease, etc.That would be money well spent, compared to using it to get reelected in Texas or wasted on continuing his quest for the presidency.
It looks like Dr. Paul was not that great at math.
I'm scaling back my reliance on corporate and bureaucratic propaganda shrouded in the guise of objective news.  I must now return to defend my god-given rights to life, liberty and property against a tyranical government.
SEE RON PAUL's OFFICIAL WEBSITE.  HE IS NOT SCALING BACK HIS PRESIDENTIAL RUN.  HE'S CALLING FOR A MARCH ON WASHINGTON TO SHOW THE ESTABLISHMENT JUST HOW MUCH SUPPORT HE HAS.  
lol this is a sad attempt at the MSM blocking RP further, he isn't suspending his campaign 1 bit, he has announced the largest march on DC in history for june 7th, the revolution will be heard, our message will spread and flourish, and YOU MSNBC, cnn, fox, abc,cbs and all you other medias CANNOT ignore an event like that, gl rp2008

even if ron loses, we win, why? were young and we can voice our libertarian views till the day we die.

even when ron is gone 1 day sadly, WE WILL CONTINUE THE FIGHT THIS DOESN'T END IN NOVEMBER IT WILL NEVER END, THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM DOESN'T DIE
The 300,000 person email list is the biggest story not covered by the media in the entire campaign.  Not only did Ron Paul raise the most money in the Republican race in the fourth quarter, he raised it from the most individual donors, by far, with a median donation of around $90.  He also had far more volunteers than the other Republicans, over 100,000 in over 1,000 local Meetup groups nationwide.

In other words, the candidate the media portrayed as a longshot with few supporters, had more actual supporters than the other Republican candidates.  That's one reason why he's done so much better in the caucuses than in the primaries, having reached double digits in Iowa, Nevada, Maine, West Virginia, Minnesota, Alaska, North Dakota, Montana, and Washington.
Paul supporters NOW HAVE IT LAID OUT FOR THEM.  He does not plan to spend the MONEY ever.  U went without so he can keep his money and never put a single ad campaign out there.
Uh...  The Clintons are crooks, liars and political prostitutes.  They have hired hitmen, used police (in Arkansas) and Federal agents to cover up their crimes and lied to the courts and to the American people more times than Nixon.
I understand that sometimes a President has to withhold information.  I understand that, because he always told the truth about every bad thing that was happening, Jimmy Carter was a bad President.  (He also was a terrible leader and made bad policy... but that's neither here nor there.)  I understand that, WMDs or no, stopping Saddam from killing hundreds (or even thousands) of his fellow Iraqis was a good thing.  I understand that wagging your finger at the military and government of Darfur and saying "That's bad, you should stop your campaign of genocide" isn't going get them to actually stop.
While I would love Ron Paul to become President... I know he doesn't stand a chance.
So...  Go McCain!
Sick of lamestream media? I am. That's why I started an outlet not run by a major multinational corporation... http://truthalert.net/Shows/Sample%20First%20Show.htm

With a focus on substantive news... http://truthalert.net/News.htm

We're losing our country... http://truthalert.net/Mission.htm
5 Boards of Directors control more than 95% of all the non-internet media.  Mainstream media (MSNBC included) has proven it's worth amongst the friends of those Boards.  Money will keep flowing unless the Americans demand their country back.
Do not believe everything you hear, lest the sheeple shall remain under control of these evil "shepherds" of media who are required by law to provide value to their shareholders.  The system is flawed until we make change happen.
Watch these films:
-Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media
-America: Freedom to Fascism
-The Corporation
Ken has disappeared. Better not say anything against the MSM. I think Dr. Paul has an important message and some want him silenced and stopped.
Here is something else the media won't really report.  

Every Republican candidate talks about how they are like Reagan yet NONE of them, except ONE person still running, shares Reagan's beliefs about the military, the role of federal government, the importance of the dollar having real value... and was even an early supporter of (and well-liked by) Reagan.

The best new article around is "The Mouth that Roared: Why Ron Paul won the Election" by Doug Wead, a presidential historian, philanthropist, public speaker, and Special Assistant to former president, George H.W. Bush.

Barry Goldwater's run was not in vain, as it later produced Ronald Reagan.  White House nomination or not, Ron Paul's run was not in vain.  Reminding Republicans what they are supposed to protect and value is not a waste of time.  

Ron Paul may have gotten the money from his supporters, but without these supporters voting, he is not going anywhere.  How can anyone who looks at the numbers think that Ron Paul has a chance?  He may have raised the money, but that doesn't mean votes; take a look at Romney!  He had the money and didn't make it to the nomination
Ron Paul has my support now, and will in November 2008, with or without being on the ballot. The neocon Republicans will then have a Dem to thank for bringing our troops home, and continuing this crazy so-called war on terror.  I am so done with our government and our Congress/Senate/Governors, I just want to get them all out of office and start over. We have the opportunity to do that soon, please vote people, and do not let these media sources and the government try to tell you who to vote for please.
Conservatives are really frustrated with having to accept McCain and are looking elsewhere. Interestingly enough, Ron Paul's donations continue to rise, and the  number of 1sr time contributors is exploding.

People are no longer just using him as a protest vote. Once they start listening, they are getting converted.
Karen,

He doesn't have a chance if everyone lets themselves be ruled by fear. Yeah, the Clintons are evil, but we survived. And it's looking like Obama anyway...

If nothing else, Ron Paul needs those votes to impact policy and to get even more support next time.
Gee... Hillary still leads in super delegates even after Obamas mighty 8 state blow out? You would not know that from most of the posters. They think Obama already won the nomination.
Obama is so phony with his Change Mantra. He wraps himself in Ted Kennedys old Washington, pretends to be the heir to JFK from the 60's, claims to have a “hands off management style” like George Dubya, and tells us that's change. --------  I Don't think so -------  We don't need another Laz-E-Boy like Dubya, and don't need a JFK without JFK’s wisdom tempered by combat. Don't get me wrong, JFK and his brother Robert did great things for civil rights. But they were hands on leaders. They did not just inspire, they planned and acted.  ----- JFK took a hands on approach, and yet still gave us Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs, and brought us to the Brink of Nuclear Annihilation with the Cuban missile crisis. If JFK was not hands on, and let his advisors have their way, like Obama and Dubya, the shooting war would have started in Cuba, and ended in the Soviet Union and US with Mushroom Clouds.   -------------  We are finally getting rid of Hands Off Laz-E-Boy Bush, listening to idiots Cheney and Rumsfeld, and don't need another. Just say No to Laz-E-Boy Obama. He's no Change - Been there done that, no thanks.
I almost decided to boycott NPR after it had failed on MANY occasions to mention Ron Paul as a candidate while going through every single other candidate's story after story about the primaries, but this is quite remarkable.
This goes for all lesser-known candidates like Dennis Kucinich, Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter, etc. and to a lesser degree Mike Huckabee.  Ron Paul's censorship in particular in the Mainstream Media (MSM) is vindicated in full here...so anyone claiming RP fans are just whining need to sit up and pay attention now:
"A Roundtable on Campaign Coverage"
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18881616
At about the 5:30 mark listen to Andrew's question (Andrew is an RP supporter from Iowa) and Tom Rosenstiel's answer. Tom is the Director for the Project of Excellence in Journalism (http://www.journalism.org/about_pej/about_us). Here is part of Tom's answer:
"The day before Super Tuesday Ron Paul was a significant or primary figure in 0% (that's ZERO) of the stories we analyze...600 stories across 48 different news outlets. Andrew is correct in suggesting that the press has discounted the chances of Ron Paul having any success.  There is no doubt, it's an objective fact that the press has decided that Ron Paul is not a viable candidate."
This is pure vindication straight from the mouth of the MSM.  It's a little late for the admission now that the prophecy of the MSM is being fulfilled before our eyes.
Spread the word to all doubters and all MSM friends who have been hoodwinked by the media and their darlings like McCain, Obama, and Hillary.
The Project for Excellence in Journalism monitors 48 different news outlets each week for its New Index including the NY Times, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NPR, among many others.  A complete listing of its News Index can be found here:
http://www.journalism.org/about_news_index/list_of_outlets
Here is what the mainstream media looked like in its coverage of the candidates a couple of weeks BEFORE Super Tuesday, a day in which about half of the states primaries occur and a day that is largely responsible for the determination of our next President:
http://www.journalism.org/node/9436
Media Exposure by Candidate

Here is what it looks like now:
http://www.journalism.org/node/9610
"McCain Wins the Coverage Battle as Media Move to Anoint Him"

Again, spread the word to all doubters and all MSM friends who have been hoodwinked by the media and their darlings like McCain, Obama, and Hillary.



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