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Re: [ronpaul-523] Greer and his smear campaigns are exactly why the RPOF is thinning
| From: | Jason Newcomb |
| Sent on: | Monday, January 12, 2009 3:46 PM |
Hi All,
Before you get out the tar and feathers, take a
deep breath.
This sort of endorsement is a common political
strategy. I don't think Mark Cross should necessarily be blamed. I'm sure his
intentions are true to his word, that he hopes to gain more access to the powers
that be in this way, to influence for liberty.
Unfortunately, I doubt it will work out that way.
Greer owes him nothing really, since Cross himself felt he couldn't win. If
Cross had donated a bunch of money or some other tangible resource Greer
might feel slightly beholden, but I doubt that would've bought much in the
end either. All that Cross managed to do was to alienate himself a bit from
the "Ron Paul" constituency. And that's really foolish since that's his whole
support.
I don't know Mark Cross at all. Never met him or
conversed with him, but if he's anything like me then he is relatively green
when it comes to the dark world of American politics. It is a very dark world in
which there is a constant temptation to leverage your soul for something that
you want to have happen.
I might have made the same mistake in his position,
as might any of us. If you want to know where Cross was coming from I suggest
asking him and looking into his heart before condemning him.
This is all going to happen over and over again as
long as inexperienced players try to take the field with people who have devoted
their lives to this manipulative and rather sinister game.
Why is Greer the FL GOP Chair? Is it because of his
noble spirit and idealism? No, it's because he's a tough,
dirty, manipulative fighter. If you do not admire him for his
behavior, you must at least respect it. Failing to respect the strength of one's
enemy is the quickest path to defeat.
Do you think Greer would have done what Mark
Cross did if the situation were reversed? Probably not. He would've talked to
his rich cronies and gotten together so much smear against Cross that no one
would be able to vote for him without feeling nervous that the world would end
the next day if he were chosen. Perhaps he already did that, and this is the
reason Cross felt helpless.
But Cross definitely will get less than he hopes
for. It must always be remembered that there are
no favors that cannot easily be forgotten in
politics, especially those that are intangible like a last minute endorsement of
a candidate that will already win. This is just the weak ram giving up before
the head butting begins.
This thinning of the herd will happen over and over
again whenever anyone does or says something inconsistent with your philosophy.
If you want to gain political power you are really all going to have
to learn to play the game better. Take it from one who played it very
poorly. The greatest strength is love and truth, but if you want to win what
really matters is numbers. We are nothing without each other.
This is the time to be finding solidarity, not
banishing the weak or foolish. Teach strength, and we will be strong. Wisdom
comes only with experience, often bad experience.
"Then came Peter to
him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?
Till seven times?
Jesus saith unto
him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."
Mat 18:21-22
Love
Jason Newcomb
----- Original Message -----From: milaSent: Sunday, January 11, 2009 6:01 PMSubject: [ronpaul-523] Greer and his smear campaigns are exactly why the RPOF is thinningBelow is my news story on what transpired. I was trained in college as a journalist and to the best of my ability I'm going to write it as it might have appeared if the media had covered it.
Nick Egoroff
Orange County, Fl. Campaign For Liberty Organizer
Yesterday Mark Cross, Florida State Coordinator for Campaign For Liberty, surprised many supporters of Ron Paul with a sudden endorsement of Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Chairman Jim Greer. Greer had been locked in a contentious three way contest for another two year term of the Party.
Greer won the contest with a lopsided majority.
Cross said that he was not going to win the race so he decided to throw in with the current incumbent, "to better help the chances" of Ron Pauler's to be included in intra-party organizations. Cross later said that "he felt comfortable with his decision."
Cross pointed to "shaking Florida Governor Charlie Crist's hand" afterwords. "Lots of Republican Executive Committee members told me I had done the right thing, and invited me to come speak at their club meetings on how to get more Ron Paul people involved."
Nick Egoroff, Orange County Campaign For Liberty Organizer, had reservations. "Mark is taking a very dangerous course in suggesting that Ron Paul supporters would support Greer." Egoroff has had many run-ins with RPOF brass.
"I've talked with a half-dozen Campaign for Liberty leaders around the state of Florida and all were shocked and repulsed at the idea of supporting Greer. One said Greer stands for everything that is wrong with the Party. There is no way I can support that--it's a matter of principle."
Cross's announcement came at the end of a speech made on the floor of the Quarterly meeting of the RPOF. They were in the middle of nomination speeches when Cross's turn came to speak.
His speech centered on the positive aspects of Ron Paul's presidential campaign. The people involved in it "were kind of like a family," he said. "Each of us was free to help the campaign any way they could or wanted."
It was towards the end of the speech when Cross peeled off a lapel sticker that said 'Mark Cross--UNITY Candidate for Chairman.' "I think everyone got one of these on their chair today. And in the spirit of unity I wish to withdraw my name from nomination and instead give my support to Chairman Greer."
Egoroff said that the Ron Paul supporter he was sitting next to said, "What the f--- is that. Ron Paul would have never done that."
Also hurt by Cross's sudden change of mind was Eric Miller, another candidate seeking the chairman's position. According to Egoroff who knew both candidates, Miller was a traditional Ronald Reagan conservative.
The two candidates had worked together sharing advice and information on the race for months. Each had promised the other that should either be eliminated in early balloting they would endorse each other.
One person that saw the interaction between the two as both left the ballroom where balloting had taken place described it thus: "Eric (Miller) yelled out to Mark (Cross), 'they told me not to trust you, and now I know why."
Egoroff talked with Cross afterwords and asked why the sudden change of mind. "I knew I wasn't going to win and neither was Eric, so I tried to make the best of it."
Cross went on to explain that now he will have much more access to Greer and hopes to help end the factious fighting that has broken out across the state between Ron Paul supporters and the Party leadership.
Egoroff also reminded Cross of other 'gentleman's agreements' that had been made between RPOF officials and Ron Pauler's. All were broken to the detriment of the Ron Paul people who made them, said Egoroff. Cross answered, "We'll just have to wait and see."
Egoroff said that once Cross decided to give up, "We had the chance to stand with someone (Miller) that wanted to reform the RPOF. Eric had flatly stated that what the current state party leadership was doing was hurtful to Ron Paul Republicans."
"If Mark didn't want to run that's fine. Nobody pushed him into it. But it is questionable that he asked for donations and volunteers from Ron Paul people and got it, only to end up supporting the candidate that they were opposing."
Post Script. I'm very good friends with Mark Cross and know that this post will no doubt strain our friendship. I've worked with Mark for a year and a half on the Ron Paul campaign. We've had our differences over strategy and tactics. Never have I doubted Mark's support of liberty.
I wrote this in such a forthright way because the issues involved are so central to ones that we will have to face in the years ahead. They revolve around 'to what extent do we compromise and make alliances to grow the liberty movement.'
I'll leave it to the readers to decide.
--
Nick Egoroff
Orlando Campaign For Liberty Organizer
Check Out My New Blog at
http:// nickegorofforlandopoliticalact ivist.blogspot.com/
--
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