Last Friday, representatives of the Ron Paul 2008 campaign, along with our local legal counsel presented our case to the Louisiana GOP State Convention Credentials committee. Here is the memo we gave to each committee member.

Essentially we argued that the LA GOP violated its own rules on several occasions during the caucus process, resulting in hundreds of Ron Paul supporters being disenfranchised. Had the LA GOP followed its own rules, Ron Paul would have won 5 of the 7 state congressional districts, giving the campaign a majority of the state convention delegates, resulting in at least 35 delegates elected to the national convention in St. Paul.

One of our complaints was that the deadline for registering as a delegate was extended contrary to the party rules. And during the credentials committee meeting, it was discovered that a majority of the committee members registered to be a delegate following the January 10^th deadline. In other words, for the committee to find in our favor would have required that they expel most of their members from the convention. As you might expect, this didn’t happen. After a three hour meeting, the committee unanimously rejected our case.

The following day, the GOP state convention was held in Baton Rouge. All elected Ron Paul delegates and most alternates attended the convention.

Additionally, many supporters - including those who would have been elected had the GOP followed its own rules — attended as well to show support for our candidate and cause.

When the Credentials Committee presented its report, Michele Gaudin, a Ron Paul delegate from District 1, introduced a substitute motion to reject the Credentials Committee report and replace it with a slate of delegates reflecting the results of the election had all votes been counted.

The Chairman of the convention ruled the motion out of order and Ms. Gaudin immediately moved to contest the ruling of the chair. Ron Paul delegate Benjamin Montgomery seconded the motion and discussion was allowed on the substitute motion. At this point, Ms. Gaudin informed all the delegates of the infractions of the rules by the LA GOP and the highly irregular and unethical conduct by the state party.

When the question was called, the ruling of the Chair was sustained and the original credentials report was adopted.

Even though the chances of the convention delegates agreeing with Ms. Gaudin’s motion were slim, it was important that a contest of the credential committee’s report be recorded in the minutes of the convention. This parliamentarian move allows the Ron Paul campaign to contest the Louisiana delegation to the Republican National Committee’s Credentials Committee. So, the battle is not over yet.

The irony of the whole situation in Louisiana is that in its zeal to shut out Ron Paul supporters from the State Convention, the Louisiana GOP is jeopardizing its delegation to the national convention! By appealing this case to the RNC, no Louisiana delegate may serve on any national committee. And it is possible that the entire delegation may be thrown out.

The Ron Paul 2008 campaign wishes to express its profound thanks to Michele Gaudin, Benjamin Montgomery, and the entire Ron Paul delegation to the Louisiana State Convention. It took a lot of courage for a small minority to face down a very unsympathetic crowd. But it was the right thing to do and the stand that was taken in Baton Rouge on Saturday will not be in vain.

Are you still as upset as I am?

First, the LA GOP violated their own rules and issued the official “call” for their caucus and state convention on December 17th , instead of October 1st . In this call, the party set a deadline of November 30^th for registering Republican to participate in the caucus. Normally, a deadline is a future event– not something that had already passed more than two weeks earlier.

After this, the deadline to file as a delegate was arbitrarily extended after Ron Paul supporters filed a full slate in each congressional district. This was doubtlessly done to dilute the vote of Ron Paul supporters at the caucus.

And to add insult to injury, the LA GOP used an old voter registration list at the caucus, forcing literally hundreds to cast provisional ballots and throwing the results of 5 of the 7 congressional districts in doubt. But this did not stop the party from preemptively declaring John McCain the winner of the LA caucus.

Now, because of the uproar caused by the botched caucus process, there are some in the LA GOP who are considering tossing out the entire caucus results and awarding delegates to candidates based on the results of the Feb. 9 primary! This would effectively undo all the hard work done by thousands of Ron Paul supporters throughout Louisiana.

Some have asked what they can do about this whole mess. As you know, our campaign has filed an official contest with the LA GOP. While we pursue this issue, there is a very important thing all our Louisiana supporters can do: GET OUT THE VOTE ON FEBRUARY 9 .

We need to send a message to the GOP establishment that we don’t appreciate the way our campaign and our candidate have been treated. We need to let them know that we don’t appreciate the attitude that party rules are only to be followed when they benefit the establishment’s choice and hurt the people’s choice.

The best way to send this message is by dragging all your friends and family members to the polls on February 9^th to vote for Ron Paul.

To vote, you have to have been registered Republican by Jan. 9 .

If you qualify under this rule, then make sure you vote on Saturday! If you don’t qualify under these rules, find people who do qualify and get them to the polls!

Many of you were unable to register in time to participate in the January 22nd caucus. Now’s your chance to let your voice be heard. On Saturday, Feb. 9, let’s strike a blow for Freedom and give Ron Paul a great victory in Louisiana!

See you at the polls on Saturday!

Matt Chancey

The state of Louisiana has seemingly always been ignored by presidential campaigns. All the attention is focused on Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, South Carolina and the advent of “Super Tuesday”.

Somewhere in the fray we get overlooked. I am pleased to announce the end of this pattern: Dr. Ron Paul is coming to Louisiana on Monday!

His three city tour will start in Shreveport and then head south. After a stop in Baton Rouge for a large rally, he will continue on to New Orleans.

Shreveport

Dr. Paul will be in Shreveport from 10:30 until 11:30, Monday morning.

He will be at the Holiday Inn (Financial Plaza), 5555 Financial Plaza, Shreveport, LA 71129. The hotel can be reached at 318-688-3000.

Baton Rouge

Dr. Paul will be at the Bellmont (7370 Airline Hwy., Baton Rouge, LA) Monday afternoon from 1-2:45pm. The Bellmont can be reached at 225-359-9900.

New Orleans

Dr. Paul will be at the Hilton New Orleans Airport, 901 Airline Drive, Kenner, LA 70062 (504-469-5000) from 3:30 to 4:30pm.

As you can see, the schedule is really tight. So, I appreciate your patience if we experience some slight schedule modifications due to unforeseen things like flight delays due to weather, traffic, etc.

We are very excited and extremely privileged to have Dr. Paul visit Louisiana the day before our statewide caucus. Please spread the word to your friends, family, and co-workers about Dr. Paul’s visit.

Let’s be sure to give him a hospitable welcome to our state!

Sincerely,

Andrew Axsom

Victory is near! We are six short days away from the caucuses here in Louisiana and things are looking very good for us. The Ron Paul campaign was the only campaign to submit a full slate of delegates for the entire state, thanks to all of your hard work. In fact, even though there are six candidates competing for delegates, Ron Paul has one third of all delegates running in Louisiana!

I want to thank all of you for working so hard to get us to where we are now. I also want to ask you to help see us through and ensure a victory at the caucuses for Ron Paul.

Although much work has been done, all will be in vain if we don’t turn people out to the caucuses this Tuesday night. I need your help to make this happen. We need to see hundreds of people turn out to vote at each and every caucus. I need you to call all of your friends, family, acquaintances, associates, and relatives and ask them to come to the caucuses. This is how we will win Louisiana for Ron Paul.

This Saturday, each district is holding meetings to call people and ask them to turn out and vote on Tuesday. Each district leader has a list of identified Ron Paul supporters that need to be called. But we need you to not only help us call, but bring a list of 10 friends (registered Republican) that you believe would come to the caucus if you asked them. We all have our “inner circle” of friends that would help us out if we needed them. Now is certainly a time when we need everyone to pull together!

The general public is focused on the primaries. The mainstream media is focused on the primaries. But in Louisiana, the caucuses are really all that matter. We have a great opportunity before us that we must take advantage of. If we can elect our Ron Paul delegates in these local caucuses, they in turn will elect national delegates to vote for Ron Paul. When it’s all said and done, Ron Paul will have 41 delegates to the Republican National Convention from the state of Louisiana. This will make Ron Paul one of the top candidates with the most national delegates going into “Super Tuesday” on February 5th.

A victory in Louisiana would give the whole campaign a huge boost and show what can be accomplished when the grassroots organize, focus, and work together. Please join with me and take advantage of this opportunity.

Please join us in phone banking this Saturday. Contact your district leader for more information:

If you live in Congressional District 1, please contact Joshua Mason (504)258-7014 or Michele Gaudin (504) 486-0188.

If you live in District 2, please contact Richard Kidd (504)312-3799 or Rayburn Clipper (504)237-7883.

If you live in District 3, please contact Cecil Zeraingue (985)232-8605.

If you live in District 4, please contact Matt Baker (318)550-7729.

If you live in District 5, please contact Jennifer Aguilar (318)792-4174.

If you live in District 6, please contact Steven Pitard (504)782-9955.

If you live in District 7, please contact Stephanie Marrero (337)526-7505.

Victory is within our grasp. Let’s work together and win it for Ron Paul and for freedom!

Andrew Axsom
Louisiana Field Director

Louisiana’s caucuses are scheduled for Tuesday, Jan 22 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Mark this date and time on your calendar and be prepared to attend, if necessary, ask for time off work. The following cities will host the caucuses: Shreveport, Natchitoches, Monroe, Alexandria, Lake Charles, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Houma, Kenner, New Orleans and Covington. Voters will be assigned to caucus sites based on the parish where they are registered to vote. Fifteen delegates and fifteen alternates to the state convention will be elected from each congressional district. Republican voters are eligible to vote in the congressional district where they were registered on November 30, 2007. In order to participate, voters must present a driver’s license or valid photo I.D. If you or someone you know is interested in running for the position of delegate of alternate delegate please contact Louisiana Field Director, Andrew Axsom.

I cannot over-emphasize the importance of these caucuses. In Louisiana, the cacuses are all that matter. Ultimately, if Ron Paul wins on the local district level that translates into delegates voting for Ron Paul at the Republican National Convention. Louisiana’s delegate selection process is grassroots politics at its best. It means that “big money” is less important than “boots on the ground.” Please tell your family and friends to participate in the caucuses on Tuesday, Jan. 22 in order to win a major victory for liberty! The only requirement to vote in the Republican caucuses is that you were a registered republican before November 30th - and that you can prove it. The exact caucus locations are as follows:

• Shreveport (CenturyTel Center)- Caddo, Bossier, Webster, Claiborne, Bienville, De Soto, Red River
• Natchitoches (Natchitoches Events Center)- Sabine, Natchitoches, Winn
• West Monroe (West Monroe Convention Center)- Union, Morehouse, West Carroll, East Carroll, Madison, Tensas, Franklin, Caldwell, Jackson, Lincoln, Ouachita, Richland
• Alexandria (Walden Gym at Louisiana College)- Rapides, Vernon, Avoyelles, Concordia, Catahoula, La Salle, Grant
• Lake Charles (Central School Arts & Center)- Beauregard, Allen, Jefferson Davis, Calcasieu, Cameron
• Lafayette (The Family Church)- Evangeline, St. Landry, Vermillion, Acadia, Lafayette, St. Martin, Iberia
• Baton Rouge (Jefferson Baptist Church)- St. Helena, Livingston, W. Feliciana, E. Feliciana, Point Coupee, E. Baton Rouge, W. Baton Rouge, Iberville, Ascension
• Houma (Houma Municipal Auditorium)- Terrebonne, Lafourche, Assumption, St. Mary
• Kenner (Pontchartrain Center)- Jefferson, St. Charles, St. John, St. James
• New Orleans (Morial Convention Center)- Orleans, St. Bernard, Plaquemines
• St. Tammany (Holiday Inn in Covington)- St. Tammany, Washington, Tangipahoa