By Colin Campbell 9/10/12 9:22am

Paulites

Dan Halloran speaking before the crowd at the Rebel.

Dan Halloran Keeps Up the Good Fight for Ron Paul Supporters

GOP Councilman Dan Halloran is an underdog congressional campaign in a staunchly Democratic district where his opponent has repeatedly attacked him for his support of Ron Paul’s presidential campaign, but Mr. Halloran has no plans to slow down his advocacy in Mr. Paul’s political movement any time soon. To that end, he was among the supporters of Mr. Paul who gathered in Maine a couple weeks ago, and last night, he addressed a crowd that had gathered for Mr. Paul’s son, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, near Penn Station last night.

“Problem is, we ain’t getting Ron in the White House. … We have a choice: Do we keep what we have, or do we trade it in?” Mr. Halloran said to the enthusiastic crowd, making the case for Mitt Romney’s campaign. “We can’t afford to have four more years of Barack Hussein Obama. We can’t afford it. Our country can’t economically. Our people can’t afford it. If you think people are out of work today, when the real depression hits us, and there’s no leadership in the White House, there’s going to be nowhere to hide. This country will come to a grinding halt. The Constitution, you can just forget about it.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 9/09/12 10:36pm

revolution of the big apple

Rand Paul addressing the crowd.

Rand Paul Not a Fan of ‘Nanny Bloomberg,’ Soda Restrictions

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is in New York City as part of his book tour for his upcoming  tome, Government Bullies: How Everyday Americans Are Being Harassed, Abused, and Imprisoned by the Feds.This evening he spoke before a couple hundred fans packed into the Rebel nightclub on 30th Street and he made the case for restraining the federal government while slipping in a dig or two at the local municipal one.

“The whole thing is about submission,” Mr. Paul explained after a long rant about indefinite detention and security procedures at the Transportation Security Administration. “They want you to submit, they want you to listen, do what you’re told. I think we’ve had it up to here in New York because you’ve got ‘Nanny Bloomberg’ for your Mayor.”

The crowd booed and Mr. Paul went on to malign Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s controversial plan to restrict the size of soda cups at restaurants and concession stands. Read More

By Colin Campbell 8/20/12 8:59pm

Israelapalooza

A photo of Dan Halloran in Israel.

Halloran Mocks Meng’s Foreign Policy ‘Chutzpah’ in His Own Op-Ed [Update]

Earlier this month, Assemblywoman Grace Meng, the Democratic candidate for New York’s 6th Congressional District, penned an op-ed in the Jewish Week outlining agreements and disagreements with President Barack Obama on his policies towards Israel, while simultaneously taking some shots at her Republican opponent, Councilman Dan Halloran, for his support for the non-interventionist Ron Paul’s presidential campaign.

Mr. Halloran’s campaign, naturally, had some choice words for that, declaring, “There are serious issues at stake here that a ghostwritten, waffling op-ed does not address.”

But the back-and-forth on the Holy Land didn’t stop there. Not even close. Read More

By Colin Campbell 8/17/12 8:26am

the holy land

Dan Halloran praying at the Wailing Wall. (Photo: Halloran campaign)

In A Long Statement, Halloran Touts Endorsements From Israeli Leaders

Councilman Dan Halloran, running for congress in a Democratic district that he hopes will become competitive with the help of northeastern Queens’ various Jewish constituencies, is back from last week’s trip to Israel and pointed to his “eye-opening experience” and the support he received there in a press release sent out this morning.

“Just like Americans, the Jewish people may build and live wherever they want,” he declared in the statement. “All free people have the right to live where they choose. I fully support Israel and the settlement in Judea and Samaria. I will never forget what I learned, saw and experienced on my trip to Israel. And when I am in Congress, I will be Israel’s most devoted advocate. The United States needs a secure, free Israel to make this world safer for all freedom-loving nations.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 8/10/12 8:27am

next year in jerusalem

Grace Meng (Photo: NY1)

Meng Outlines Her Position on Israel, Takes Shots at Halloran [Updated x2]

Yesterday morning, GOP Councilman Dan Halloran, a candidate for Congress against Democratic Assemblywoman Grace Meng, declared he was hopping on a plane to Israel this weekend. What’s more, he blasted the entire Democratic Party for failing to properly nurture a proper U.S.-Israeli relationship.

“Our president is not a real ally of Israel’s,” he declared. “Our president’s party, the Democratic Party, is not a real ally of Israel’s. They think Israel needs to apologize for defending herself. They think that we should apologize for standing with Israel.”

Well, unsurprisingly, Ms. Meng doesn’t exactly see eye-to-eye with him on that view and, yesterday evening, the Jewish Week published an op-ed by her entitled, “Where I Agree And Disagree With President Obama On Israel.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 5/30/12 9:03am

Media Criticism

ron-paul-IOWA

Ron Paul Campaign Wants Media To Stop Treating Their Supporters Like Gay Men In ‘Leather Tutus’ And ‘Motorcycling Dykes’

Ron Paul’s official campaign website published a copy of a Minnesota Star Tribune op-ed by “Ron Paul activist and delegate” Craig Westover yesterday in which Mr. Westover argue media coverage of the “fringe of the Ron Paul movement” is akin to focusing on “the remnants of the gay-rights fringe,” which he describes as “shirtless hunks in leather tutus and motorcycling ‘Dykes on Bikes.’”

“Shirtless hunks in leather tutus and motorcycling ‘Dykes on Bikes’ are no longer the point of the gay-rights spear,” Mr. Westover wrote. “It’s the gay lawyer/gay accountant, lesbian legislator/lesbian physician–same-sex couples with kids and fundamental concerns about faith, family and freedom–who are now the face of the movement. Focusing commentary on the remnants of the gay-rights fringe is something the media would never do.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 5/25/12 7:55am

ideology

Dan O'Connor (Photo: NY1)

Dan O’Connor Respects Ron Paul but Disputes ‘Libertarian’ Label for Himself

Dan O’Connor, an economist running in an uphill campaign against Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez in the Democratic primary this year, went on Inside City Hall last evening to give his pitch for why the residents of the district should elect him and his path to victory.

One interesting moment of the interview came when the host, Errol Louis, brought up whether Mr. O’Connor is ideologically libertarian, as he’s been labeled in various places online. Mr. O’Connor responded that while he “commends” Ron Paul for being anti-war and opposing corporations’ influence in politics, “I don’t know if I’d call myself a libertarian.”

However, he has repeatedly used that phrase to describe himself a few months ago, directly saying to the libertarian-oriented Reason magazine, “I want to be the first libertarian on the Democratic side of the House.” Read More

By David Freedlander 5/23/12 5:58am

GOTV

AmericansElect

Click Out The Vote: With Americans Elect Gone, What Happens To The Electors?

It would turn out to be the column that launched a thousand ships.

In July of last year, Thomas Friedman, from his perch on The New York Times op-ed page, wrote about a “quiet political start-up” backed by millions of hedge fund dollars. Named Americans Elect, the group planned to cut through the partisan divide by holding an online convention designed to nominate the kind of centrist presidential candidate who couldn’t survive the hidebound nominating contests of the major parties.

“What Amazon.com did to books, what the blogosphere did to newspapers, what the iPod did to music, what drugstore.com did to pharmacies, Americans Elect plans to do to the two-party duopoly that has dominated American political life—remove the barriers to real competition, flatten the incumbents and let the people in. Watch out,” Mr. Friedman wrote then. Read More

By Hunter Walker 5/16/12 5:27pm

Feedback

Ron Paul rocking out. (Photo: Facebook)

Listen to An Angry Voicemail From A Ron Paul Supporter

This morning, the New York Observer switchboard received a voicemail for the Huffington Post from an angry, and apparently confused, Ron Paul fan. Presumably, he was responding to coverage of Mr. Paul winding down his presidential bid earlier this week. The unnamed Paulite wanted to let us know that, in his mind, Mr. Paul’s presidential bid is very much alive.

“Hi, if this is the Huffington Post, I’m calling to let you know that Ron Paul did not drop out of the race,” Johnathan said. “Ron Paul has more delegates than Mitt Romney now and you guys are a piece of shit.” Read More