Thoughts on Fish Fry, Newt, & Straw Poll

Quite a turn out for the GOP.  Well over a thousand turned out for the day's event.  The place was packed.  But my commentary is not about the event itself other than it should be viewed for what it is, a fundraiser that gives you food and a game to play called the Straw Poll.

I did work the entrance and I got to meet most of the people attending.  I came away with some impressions.

Ron Paul supporters:
Humorless & full of patchoulie!  Hungry looking too.  I know that the vast majority of them were given tickets and bussed in but what Commune were they recruited from in Atlanta?

To be fair, there were one or two who were quite nice and would actually engage in conversation but the truly faithful did not.  I found that most of them lived in a world separate from the rest of us and they weren't allowed to mingle with the outsiders.  Quite the cult.   If you ever engage in conversation with them (it will be in a group of them), never challenge them, it will hurt their brains.  Be nice, offer brownies.

I asked how Ron Paul was different from Newt.  Most stuttered then finally blurted "End the Fed" and other talking points which I agreed with, then pointed out Newt also was for everything that Ron Paul stood for except for his Foreign Policy (keeping the argument simple and feeling sorry for them so I threw them a bone) and then the howling began.

Needless to say, if you live in Israel or Taiwan or S. Korea or Japan or Poland or Czech Republic prepare to kiss your butts goodbye if Ron Paul gets into power.  Never knew genocide was a virtue but it is to Ron Paul supporters.

If you really want to get lynched then you can always ask, what has Paul accomplished in Congress?

Absolutely nothing, just like Bachmann but I digress.

Herman Cain supporters:
I worry about them.  They are people very much like me who have never become involved in politics yet are being forced to thanks to Socialists.  Not like me, they are idealistic and naive as to what its going to take to change Washington.

Its one thing to surround yourself with yes men in corporate America, its another to get 500+ people to agree upon anything.  Welcome to Washington, its not a corporation.

If Cain wins, he will be an automatic Lame Duck from the start and his supporters will become disillusioned and disaffected citizens like they never would have imagined, making it very very difficult to get anything productive, politics-wise, out of them in the future.

They always go on about his corporate record which always leads me to ask which is bigger, the Corporation or the Nation?

Newt did it for a Nation, Cain did it for a company.  Doesn't go over well but facts are facts.  Besides, haven't met many people who actually like working for a corporation but I digress again.

Michelle Bachmann supporters:
I could cut and paste virtually word for word mix and match from Paul & Cain.  Not worth saying anything more.

Rick Perry supporters:
Didn't see any.  Didn't meet any.  Yet he came in third in the straw pole.  Must have been a miracle!  But I'd be wary as to what power granted him that miracle.

I know he likes to pray on street corners like the Pharisee's of old.  I know he likes to grin and throw out zingers (talking points that everyone else has used) which the media immediately claim as profound!  He's not a thinker but he's hired a bunch of them to do it for him (wait, isn't that what Cain promises to do too?).

The guy looks like Bush, talks like him, acts like him (in life, in politics).  The media is going to have a field day once they stop loving him.

Republicans are going to once again shoot themselves in the foot using one of Perry's toys by making this a popularity contest.  If he somehow wins, he'll be another Lame Duck further alienating the GOP from the people.

Newt Gingrich supporters:
Its no secret, I support Newt but I do so out of Reason.

Everyone (literally) I spoke with thought Newt was the smartest man in the room but.....

... and with each "but" it became clearer it was always about personal feelings.

These people were putting personal feelings ahead of what would be best for the country.

Each acknowledged that he was the smartest.
Each acknowledged he was the best in the debates.
Each acknowledged that the Contract with America was brilliant.  
Each acknowledged that Newt was the only one that had changed Washington.
Each acknowledged how effective his leadership had been.
Each acknowledged that he would be great for America but they wanted something different.

In other words, personal feelings trumping Reason.

I'll say this nicely and then leave it at that but the personal feelings these people have would also have kept them from liking or endorsing any of the Hero's of the Bible.

Thankfully those personal feelings didn't keep the vast majority from loudly applauding Newt's speech or keep them from giving him a standing ovation at the end of it.

So, in the end, there was the Straw Poll.  The game where the one with the most bussed in people wins.  Not surprisingly Cain won with a very close 2nd of Paul.  The biggest surprise was that Perry got 3rd.  I'll admit, I was dismayed that Perry did so well, not for Newt but for the Nation.  Newt did place 4th and the rest were much further behind.  Again, in the end its a game.  A way to raise funds and gives the media something to talk about.

Later in the day I was able to witness the brilliance of Newt Gingrich again at a scheduled meet in a truck stop south of Atlanta.  He met with local officials half the time, the other half with the employees, customers, and truckers.  Watching everyone's faces, listening to each conversation one could tell how surprised they were by the man.

That is the brilliance of Newt.  Its in the meeting of him, speaking with him, listening to him.  People quickly find out what they thought they knew about Newt is either correct (he's smart, cares, and is personable) or that they were wrong (he is personable after all and smart!).

I would highly recommend that Newt's campaign begin seminars with Newt, messages from Newt, updates, package a lecture series of his old speeches, commentaries, etc. all via YouTube on a regular basis.  Once people meet him, they change their hearts and minds.

I also would recommend that Newt not wear white shirts.  Its giving me fits in Photoshop!