Saturday, September 22, 2007

36 Hours on Mackinac Island

We finished up in Lansing at 8:00 a.m. Friday. We have to be back for session on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. I made the run with my wife and 8-yr. old up to the island for the GOP conference. Best place to talk to the movers and shakers and policy-makers.

Here is the latest on the Presidential candidates.

Romney--strong presence. He's everywhere.
McCain--He's here, workin' the crowds.
Giuliani--I haven't seen him yet, and not a lot of signs or T-shirts.
Thompson--arrived on the island this morning. Meeting with policy makers today. I hear he received some very positive poll numbers in Michigan this morning. He is viable.
Huckabee--didn't make it. New campaign finance laws made it cost prohibitive to get a plane up here. Too bad. He has a great message.
Hunter--was here for a brief stay. Working on a shoe-string.
Ron Paul--you got to give him credit. He has a huge support base on the island and signs everywhere. His band of believers are small but dedicated. Must be every supporter in the state is here, all 200 of them.
Newt Gingrich is also on the scene, talking real policy.

Rumor: There is a straw poll today. One of the candidates came to the island with a satchel full of $50 bills. Buying votes? No way! Does that fall under McCain-Feingold? Feel free to post any comments if you can confirm or deny the rumor.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Buy votes? Why not. Thats how Romney almost did well in Iowa. Don't rule out Ron Paul. The college kids love him! Check the youtube where they hired a plane with banner to fly over the UM - Notre Dame game and reached 100,000 people.

Anonymous said...

Make that 201. I support Ron Paul and couldn't make it to Mackinac.

Thanks and keep up the good work fighting this tax increase.

Anonymous said...

I can say without question McCain was handing out $50 bills to College Republican members as long as they voted in the straw poll. McCain's champaign also paid for hotel rooms and conference registration for the CRs.

How do I know this?...I was one of them. Yes, I do feel dirty and no, I still didn't vote for him in the straw poll.

In concurrence with with the last poster, don't rule out Ron Paul. He has a message that many people can stand proudly behind, a voting record that speaks for itself, and a grassroots movement that can make a impact on voters in a REAL BIG WAY.

Anonymous said...

I can tell you with certainty that it was not "all 200 Ron Paul supporters" that showed up because I couldn't go. And I know others who couldn't make the trip too.

It's all good though, underdog is a good place to be.