Obviously Paul must be encouraged by his record-breaking $4.2 million haul in November's successful grassroots fundraising event which netted him the hefty sum in a single day of mostly on-line donations. There is even a blimp emblazoned with "Google Ron Paul" set to sail the skies for New Hampshire next week. Rival and GOP frontrunner Rudy Giuliani is starting to take notice of Ron Paul, recently commenting to reporters that Ron Paul's supporters are everywhere. John McCain has begun to attack Ron Paul in debates, and used the tactic widely viewed as desperate of resurrecting Hitler's name in the Florida YouTube debate. The Iowa Independent has predicted that Ron Paul will place third in the Iowa caucus, ahead of Giuliani and McCain. He's made the rounds on The Tonight Show and even women's morning talk show The View, which he managed to survive. Ron Paul is getting noticed, and this is sure to happen again in a big way on December 16, day of the Tea Party 2007 celebration in which supporters plan to send another moneybomb his way of several million dollars.
Is Ron Paul smart to stay in the GOP race? I think so. Even if he doesn't win the Republican nomination, which I would not rule out by any means given his ever-increasing momentum, there is always the Constitution Party. On paper Ron Paul seems to fit in well with its members. The Constitution Party also recently eclipsed the Libertarian Party as the nation's third-largest political party. Still, I hope the GOP will come to its senses and fast. I've been a Republican since I was 18 and could vote. If the Republican Party doesn't nominate Ron Paul I am seriously considering leaving it. I know many other conservatives who feel the same way and wish for the GOP to return to its fiscally responsible, pro-liberty, pro-life, and non-interventionist policy. As Dr. Paul often points out, what ever happened to "no nation-building"?
©2007 Colette von Hessen, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Monday, December 10, 2007
Last modified: Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The views expressed in this article are those of Colette von Hessen only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Colette von Hessen is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
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Reader Comments:
Posted By: Jim ODonnell
Date: 2007-12-10 03:00:23
You betcha Colette.
I toyed around with the Libertarian Party in the 1970's and nothing has changed, maybe it has gotten worse. If they stood for "principle" instead of "party" then would have the party get behind Ron Paul and not the other way around.
Then later they could join the Ron Paul Wing of the Republican Party.
Do-the-name-Ronald-Reagan-ring-a bell?
Jim
Posted By: Jim ODonnell
Date: 2007-12-10 03:11:46
Also, regarding Dec 16. Looking at the pledges and donations they have almost leveled off to a "flat line" in about the past week.
But if my suspisions are correct everyone is holding back to really bomb the hell out of everything on Dec 16. This is just my guess, but it applies to me anyway. Would anyone care to make a guess? I will and be VERY optimistic $10 million, this was my guess right after Nov 5.
Was going to do an article on this but I am busy so this will have to do.
Jim
Posted By: Kyle
Date: 2007-12-10 04:28:52
If the Republicans would wake up they would see a candidate who has a chance of winning the whole thing. What is Bush's approval rating these days? 15%? 20% ?? How on earth do they think that putting up Bush lite will win them the country?
Ron Paul is doing so poorly in the polls because they only poll people who were Republicans last time around. Most of Ron Paul's supporters are from all over the map. First of all, wouldn't it be nice to have a man who united folks for once? This country is so divided we are at each other's throats.
Ron Paul brings folks together. If you did a poll of all people planning on voting in the upcoming primaries Ron Paul would be way out ahead. But they don't want to know this. They don't want to scare their constituents. But why not? Why not tell them that Ron Paul can win! He can win big. He can beat Hillary in a landslide.
Ron Paul offers everything everyone always claims they want, so what are they balking at: he offers following the Constitution so governements powers are limited and cannot be used against the people. Who is against that?
He offers a return to sound money where inflation doesn't eat your savings away and year after year you work harder, earn more and can buy less. Who doesn't want that?
He offers a way to get the soldiers who are dying home. No one even knows what we are fighting for, it was all based on a lie and yes, it will be a mess when we leave, but it is a mess now, so we stay there, give up our lives, ruin families back home and for what? So they can have ten car bombs a month instead of 15? Do you want to be responsible for one more arm being blown off, one more case of blindness, one more loss of a father or mother? Who can be for war?
Ron Paul offers restraints on the government that forgot we have a fourth amendment that protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. So far, the FBI has issue 700,000 warrants they wrote themselves and never had a judge sign, heck, they didn't even have another agent sign them and they broke into people's homes. Then they tell you if you say a word and tell one soul, they will put you in jail. This is our America?
Ron Paul would stop torture that by the way, in case you haven't heard, doesn't produce reliable info anyway. People will make up anything when they are being tortured. You can call it an enhanced interrogation technique, but that means torture. Changing the words doesn't change the act. Ron Paul would end all that. Can you really be in favor of torture?
Ron Paul would eventually end the Income tax and give you a choice about whether or not you want to be in the SS system. He's not going to replace it with a huge freakin' sales tax like Huckabee, he is going to get rid of it completely. If you really enjoy paying taxes so much you can pay mine.
If you think he is nuts and we can't run the country without an income tax, then do some reading. Find out. Don't just give a knee jerk reaction that we need this stupid tax. I bet you don't even know how much of our income comes from that tax and how we could do without it. Until you do, you are defending a tax that is killing you, hurting your children, taking food from your table, hurting your ability to retire, and all for a tax you don't understand.
Ron Paul does understand. He has studied economics with the top economists in the world. He has learned how we can make do perfectly fine without an Income tax. He has read many books. You can either read the tons of books he has or you can read what he has wrtitten on the subject at the www.ronpaullibrary.org. Or you can stubbornly stick to a belief that we need that stupid tax because someone from the government told you we needed it?
The only folks who don't like Ron Paul are the ones who only read sound bites, headlines, and don't look into the issue deeper. The ones who learn about him, love him.
I went to Yale Law School. I understand Ron Paul. I used to make 300,000 a year. I now am sick and living on 36,000 a year in disability. I know both sides of the fence. I have read the economics texts Ron Paul has. I have read the texts the other guys have. I can tell you, Ron Paul is the real deal.
I have never backed nor cared about another politician in my life. They are all crooks and liars and manipulators. I know this. Voting for one is like voting for the other. I never legitimize voting for evil.
I am voting for Ron Paul.
Posted By: E Philipp
Date: 2007-12-10 05:41:16
Excellent article Colette and excellent comment Kyle. I am avidly supporting Ron Paul because I want my country back. I want my Freedom back. I am an expat again since early 2005 and the only way I'll ever reside in the USA again is with a Ron Paul platform. Too much of our domestic policy reminds me of the 1930's-40's German domestic policies. The Department of Homeland Security????---not where I live. Maybe we're only one family, but somehow I think we represent a lot of people. Besides, anybody living outside the US knows the truth about the dollar and most of us also avoid telling people where we're from because we know how little the USA is appreciated globally. I am still a registered republican and I will fly back to vote.
Posted By: Jack Parkman
Date: 2007-12-10 05:44:20
Misleading and inaccurate article. Colette, Ron Paul was not offered "the top spot" on the Libertarian ticket, and obviously he didn't "decline to accept it." This article is terribly misleading and its appearance on Google News is inappropriate. Much of your analysis is solid, and I don't want to be harsh, but your headline and lede paragraph are just flat-out wrong. The Libertarian National Committee passing a resolution encouraging Paul to SEEK their party's nomination is not an "offer." And, to my knowledge (and you don't cite any source to the contrary), Paul has not directly commented on this resolution. Obviously, one cannot "decline to accept" something which isn't actually offered. But Paul hasn't even rebuked the resolution itself. I hope you will edit your article accordingly.
Posted By: Eric Sundwall
Date: 2007-12-10 06:06:38
What's the proof or metric regarding the CP over the LP ?
Collette, Bob Barr switched we'd be happy to have you . . .
Eric Sundwall
LNC Rep NorthEast (Alternate)
p.s - I was not present this weekend in Charleston and don't have a regular vote in LNC meetings.
Posted By: Linda Inveninato
Date: 2007-12-10 06:13:18
Although I've not seen any Libertarian Party validation of an offer to Ron Paul to lead their ticket, they have offered to Ron Paul's campaign the use of its newly formed "Ballot Base." http://www.ballotbase.org/
It would seem that the Libertarian Party fully endorses Dr. Paul's efforts to obtain the Republican nomination...
Posted By: Carolyn
Date: 2007-12-10 06:42:52
If you feel the Republican Party should get behind Ron Paul please feel free to give the national headquarters a call and express your desire to them. 202-863-8500 or 202-863-8820
Posted By: nzer
Date: 2007-12-10 06:50:45
kudos Kyle. I like it.
Posted By: Steve Dasbach
Date: 2007-12-10 09:39:08
A clarification -- the LNC didn't offer the Presidential nomination to Dr. Paul because they do not have that authority. Only the national convention can select a Presidential nominee. What the LNC did was invite Dr. Paul to seek the nomination (i.e. let him know that he would be welcomed by the LP). Dr. Paul doesn't have to do anything regarding this until late May. If he decides then that he wants to seek the nomination, he can. Based on his comments, I don't expect that to happen, but it's entirely up to Dr. Paul. If he were to seek the nomination, I think there is a very good chance that he would be nominated by the convention.
Posted By: Colette von Hessen
Date: 2007-12-10 10:12:57
Thanks for the great commentary, everyone, esp. Jim, Kyle, and E. Phillip. First of all, I would like to address Jack's fears that the article is "terribly misleading" -- I have added two links to support these facts and changed the wording in one phrase to "courted by the Libertarian Party." I have included two news sources which say that Dr. Paul turned down an "invitation." Hope this helps.
Eric Sundwall, I was a card-carrying member of the National LP in the 1990s and attended upstate New York LP meetings while retaining my Republican Pary affiliation because in New York you could not register as a Libertarian. That was back when they were not hostile to pro-life libertarians and had not yet officially adopted a pro-abortion platform. I'm comfortable voting for libertarians like Ron Paul and Harry Browne because they are (and were, sadly, in Harry Browne's case) strongly pro-life. I also can't deny that because of the 10th Amendment Roe vs. Wade is bogus.
Colette
Posted By: Colette von Hessen
Date: 2007-12-10 10:19:55
Thanks, also, Linda and Carolyn, for your helpful comments.
Eric, as for the Constitution Party being in 3rd place now, just google it and you can find it all over the place. I personally feel kind of torn between those two parties (Constitution and Libertarian). It's a tough call. I hope a new party will emerge that can meld the pro-life and anti-amnesty aspects of the Constitution Party with the personal liberty of the Libertarian Party (for example, I believe that drugs, prostitution, and gay marriage should be legal because in not one of these instances does anyone get his or her rights infringed upon, and there is no victim in any of these "crimes" (unlike abortion).
Posted By: tomdawg
Date: 2007-12-10 10:54:30
If the U.S. Constitution will ever be recovered, it must happen now through the candidacy of Ron Paul.
Remember, Ron Paul is not the message...the message is Freedom, the Rule of Law, Limited government and State's Rights.
TeaParty 16 December 2007 (Drop a c-note for Liberty)
Posted By: Pruerto
Date: 2007-12-10 12:38:52
Ron Paul brings a huge variety of people together. let Ron Paul be heard! I am voting for Ron Paul!
Posted By: Wrusel
Date: 2007-12-11 01:48:39
Not that I care too much about third party rankings, considering they are all pretty miniscule, but the constitution party is heavily fractured. Individual state parties go by many different names and 85% of the members may have mistakenly registered for the American independent party of California believing they were registering as Independents.
As far as party philosophy goes, it seems there are many similarities, but the predominant difference is the theological twist present on many social positions of the constitution party.
Posted By: Jeremiah
Date: 2007-12-13 18:58:57
The Costitution Party just eclipsed the libertarian party a the largest third party.... I don't think so. The libertarian Party is comming up once agian thank to doctor paul. i just looked at the constitution party platform and it doesnt match paul one bit, they want to limit free speach(outlaw pornography) ect ect... they are right wing religious nuts, constitutionalists in name only. they are right wing nuts.... The libertarian party is on the ballot in 28 states allready and counting if the neo cons can keep his messege muffled long enough(witch at this point is doubtful) the libertarian party will be there offering him a viable vehicle to continue his historic run. I think he will win over the american people no matter what label they place on him. The label i place on him is freedom fighter.