Insights[]
Email blast with warning from December 2007[]
Hi folks, just a word.
Recently, a number of "Vote Fraud" groups have been making the rounds on Meetup lists and pro-Ron Paul sites, essentially trying to poach Ron Paul supporters (and donors) into supporting their cause, against the explicit wishes and objections of the Paul campaign.
The ones that I've caught that are all in the same loose-appearing coalition of efforts: Jim Condit Jr., VoteFraud.org, Operation Sunshine, Truth 247 (all three are Jim Condit Jr. operations), Robert Schulz of the "We the People" foundation, takebackamerica2008.com, NCEL (National "Clean Elections" Lawsuit), and I'm sure more.
Some of these groups specifically caused the national campaign a lot of headaches at the Iowa Straw poll, getting to the point where the national campaign sent out a very terse and public "knock it off" message to them (which, to my knowledge, they've never done for anything else). These guys mean to do it all over again at the Iowa caucuses, New Hampshire, and more.
Jim Condit Jr., for instance, now argues that the reason they were told to fu...blow off, is because the Ron Paul campaign is full of neocon shills.
Yes, that the Ron Paul campaign is full of neocon shills. His words.
They sound good on a first pass (who doesn't want fair elections?). But if you scratch the surface, the usual agenda for these groups often boils down to "The Jews are stealing our elections." And more.
You can find links to the quick and dirty here: http://thecrossedpond.com/?p=2179
But really 10 minutes with google tells you about all you need to know.
Point being, they're trying to get Ron Paul supporters on board to support them, using Ron Paul grassroots channels, and actively working against Ron Paul's interests and the stated wishes of his campaign. They're trying to get Ron Paul supporters to volunteer for them and donate to them despite the fact that the campaign has already told them once to go away, that their "help" is not needed or wanted, and that their only accomplishment at the Iowa straw poll was to sour a lot of people to the Paul campaign.
I've got no problem with them doing their thing independently, or anyone joining them if that's their cup of tea, but not under the Ron Paul banner. To my mind, they are trying to lure good-intentioned supporters to their cause, and their cause is not first and foremost to get Ron Paul elected, which is the dealbreaker right there.
I'd suggest you spread the word so, at the very least, people aren't fooled and know what they're getting into, and where you see these missives and call-to-arms of theirs pop up, smack it right back down again. These guys can cause significant damage to the campaign and the movement if they're allowed oxygen.
Brad