If Ron Paul wants to keep his movement from prematurely collapsing back unto itself, he needs to "Ron" for Texas governor. Without going into a long fancy introduction, here is why:
As Texas governor, he can set the example for every future candidate for state government by God, for any elective executive position by doing the exact same thing he could have done had he fought and run in his presidential campaign to actually win: he can veto every single unconstitutional law that the legislature puts before him. Wanna bet the press and Congress will take note? He could do this with the remark, "Show me where the Texas (and US) Constitution specifically authorizes this law, and I'll sign it." In doing so, he will remind Texas politicos on an almost daily basis that (a) there is such a thing as a Constitution, and (b) that it's worth paying attention to because, after all it's the law!
If he does only these four things and nothing else during his tenure, which are all exactly in line with his political and economic philosophy, what do you want to bet that he will stay in the public limelight and get his message of freedom across not only by lectures and talks, but by actual, political and economic executive action in the second most populous state of the union?
Forget about turning former Ron Paul Meetups into book clubs' around the country. Forget about using the paltry support of the campaign for liberty in trying to run for local city council, or whatever. That will never recreate the energy we had last year. If Ron Paul runs fro Texas governor, however, that will rock the establishment and will turn the entire country's and the world's attention to Austin, Texas - and to Ron Paul's political philosophy of freedom and prosperity.
If he merely stays in Congress, the press will forget about him, the bloggers will fall asleep, and the Meetups will slowly dissipate. His long and educational lectures on Austrian economics, delivered though his allotted speaking time as a member of the financial services committee before Congress, will relapse into evoking little more than yawns again as they have for so many years until he ran for president. But, if he even as much as declares his candidacy for Texas governor, he will create a public relations furor.
After that, there will be no stopping.
With his new-found notoriety and name recognition, he will have a dynamite chance to win his party's nomination for the office of Texas governor. Once he has that, his victory is guaranteed. Just take a look at how Texas voted in the last federal election. Texas conservatives will know that he is the real deal. Foreign policy which is the one point on which Texas conservatives might disagree with him in principle - won't be an issue I a state lection. A Texas governor has no business in foreign policy but his border policy can set the nation straight about how important national sovereignty and territorial integrity are to the survival of this great country.
Then, after staying at the center of the national spotlight for two years and with a bully pulpit that will arguably be more powerful than Obama's (because of the novelty', at least to the political establishment, of the issues and policies he pursues and advances), he can renew his candidacy for US president in 2012. That time, he will not suffer from a lack of name recognition the way he did in 2007!
What does he need to do to accomplish all of this? Little more than make up his mind and develop some political fighting spirit (and maybe select a better group of advisors and campaign managers and staff around him).
Letting the GOP get away with obvious and documented vote fraud like in new Hampshire won't cut the mustard as it didn't then, either. As long as he develops a real desire to win rather than just a wish to educate, he will win but even if he doesn't, so what? The movement will have a focus again. Meetups will be revitalized. People will be re-energized. Texas will have Hope the way America once did when he was running and that hope will inure to the benefit of the rest of the country as well.
Out-of-state Meetups will have a reason for donating to money bombs again. Ron Paul has the capacity to vastly out-fundraise any opponent that might run against him for state governor for that reason alone. Gosh, he out-did McCain and Ghouliani on a national level - before New Hampshire came around to change it all with the help of Diebold and friends'!
Do you think Ronpaulers from out of state will fail to grasp the significance of his run for Texas' highest office, should he choose to run? No.way. They will all understand and they will donate. Remember where the current white house occupant came from. Most successful presidential candidates were state governors before they became presidents. Even before his presidential run, his strongest financial support for his congressional campaigns supposedly came from outside of Texas as I once read back in early 2007.
So, what will it take to get him "ronning" for Texas? Maybe it'll take you.
Who am I to write an article like this, trying to tell Ron Paul what to do? I am nobody, but maybe you are somebody. Maybe you are even the right somebody or maybe you know the right somebody who can get to him. Who knows?
Think about it.
Alex Wallenwein
©2008 Alex Wallenwein, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Last modified: Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The views expressed in this article are those of Alex Wallenwein only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Alex Wallenwein 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.
Report violation by Alex Wallenwein of Nolan Chart LLC's terms of use policy.
| More Articles By Alex Wallenwein |
Reader Comments:
Posted By: Randy
Date: 2008-11-19 05:59:12
This would be a mistake because Kay Hutchinson (female GOP senator from Texas) will be challenging sitting governor Rick Perry.
I would think he would be better off to sit and wait for Kay Hutchinson to announce for Perry's spot for governor and then Ron should announce for her seat.
Posted By: Walt Thiessen
Date: 2008-11-19 06:21:40
Frankly, I agree with Randy, and I would add that even if Dr. Paul managed to win the office and achieve the goals you have laid out, it would still be no more than a pyrrhic victory.
Making silver eagles legal Texas currency doesn't accomplish anything so long as the federal legal tender laws are on the books. Eliminating property taxes will only encourage the legislature to raise the more "progressive" forms of taxes such as a state income tax. And while many will undoubtedly cheer if he were to put national guard troops on the Texas border, it would not accomplish nearly as much as many people think it would.
Besides, I doubt that these would be Dr. Paul's priorities if he were elected. I think he'd be more interested in cutting Texas' spending policies than in eliminating property taxes, and that alone would be a full-time job that would gain him little or no national notoriety. Remember, it was Dr. Paul who kept criticizing all the talk by his opponents about tax cuts that don't also take spending reductions into account.
Meanwhile, Dr. Paul would no longer be getting national TV attention each time he grills Ben Bernanke. I think those interviews are going to make Dr. Paul more and more prominent in the public eye as the economic situation worsens in the years to come.
Running for governor is great if you're a traditional candidate who wants to establish that you're an "experienced" government executive, but it really won't help as much as you think in terms of "the revolution" itself.
Posted By: David F. Nolan
Date: 2008-11-19 09:20:24
Ditto to Walt's comments. And don't forget that Ron is now 73 years old. Another Presidential run seems unlikely.
Posted By: Jahfre Fire Eater
Date: 2008-11-19 13:40:48
Ron Paul Republicans will not forget Ron Paul or the principles by which he operates. He is just a man who will come and go. The principles of the Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Limited Government, Free Enterprise and defense of these principles are the things Dr. Paul has renewed in his supporters.
The Ron Paul Republicans who are working this very minute to secure as many precinct captain, county chair and district captain positions as possible do not intend to forget Ron Paul even if his political career ended today.
Too bad LP members can't do anything to help promote Dr. Paul's momentum in the GOP.
-Jahfre Fire Eater
Posted By: fredlox
Date: 2008-11-19 15:26:05
One thing we have to remember is Article I, Section 1 of the US Constititution.
As governor of Texas Dr. Paul can't change federal laws but he can as a congressman.
Posted By: clifford
Date: 2008-11-19 17:11:05
This is a little off topic, but I just did something today that I thought I would share. Being the viral bunch that you are I hope you can give this thing some legs. I was looking at My wireless connection settings and saw all my neighbors routers about ten of them. I changed my router and gave it an SSID of GORONPAUL. Just think how much expose Ron would get if every supporter who has a wireless acces point or router renamed theirs to something to do with Ron Paul or the like.
In freedom,
Cliff
Posted By: Paul
Date: 2008-11-19 21:09:42
Ron Paul will never, ever, be forgotten.
Posted By: James Cooke
Date: 2008-11-20 10:48:08
Instead of running for governor of Texas, Ron Paul should decide next year whether he wants to run for the GOP nomination in 2012. He's certainly getting more TV coverage now than he did during the GOP primary, and as long as the economy remains a key issue, he should continue to get the opportunity to build his name recognition by invites to TV talk shows.
The issue for him if he runs will be his health and his age. But I'd personally rather see him run for president to get the national GOP back on track.
Posted By: Penny Langford Freeman
Date: 2008-11-20 13:20:49
Absolutely Alex,
Article 1, Section 1 of the Texas Bill of Rights(that's right we have a Bill of Rights) declares our state sovereignty and gives ONLY the US Constitution authority over the state.
As governor, he has the Constitutional pulpit with the power of the executive office. That means since the Constitution declares only gold and silver legal tender, he can site those statutes and send a bill to the state congress for passage.
The govenors of many states have rejected federal authority on several fronts now. The governor of Montana told Chertoff to go to hell when it comes to the Real ID. The governor of Oklahoma told the feds that since ICE won't enforce immigration law, the state will do it. They no longer have an illegal problem and guess what? Just this last week many of the banks in OK rejected the bail out funds.
So, yes, the governor could raise the freedom standard in this state big time!
Posted By: Lojiko
Date: 2008-11-23 21:14:25
I wish the cultistas would concentrate on the policies advocated by Ron Paul, be individuals, start their own Revolution, and stop depending on Ron Paul to do everything for them.
Posted By: Benjamin Vander Jagt
Date: 2008-11-24 06:23:48
At the risk of sounding Hollywood Cliche, I don't think Ron Paul's celebrity style fits. Jesse Ventura is viewed as a powerful and aggressive politician. He's more of the juggernaut that people imagined Ron Paul's campaign would be. Ron Paul is a sly, progressive politician. Each step backwards is really a step forwards. Ventura, on the other hand, could probably regain governorship if he reached for it.
Having said that, I agree with many others online that a Paul/Ventura (or Ventura/Paul) ticket would be broadly appealing. It would have a left jab followed by a kick to the groin, just like when McCain picked up Governor Palin. Ventura's gubernatorial status is probably more valuable than Paul's would be.
Posted By: Lojiko
Date: 2008-11-29 12:14:14
No, what RP is going to do is stick to his Congressional seat and not make too many waves. Sure, he'll do interviews and such, but one by one, the Paulistas are going to become increasingly disappointed with RP and the C4L.
Posted By: Roger Williams
Date: 2008-12-30 14:32:58
The only thing that'd be worse than having a big-government faux-conservative like Rick Perry in office would be a CLUELESS big-government faux-conservative like Hutchinson.
Ron Paul would be a long-shot in the race, but not as long a shot as his presidential campaign. With the right moves I think he could take the mansion.
He'll be up for reelection in the house again in 2010 so I think could he run simultaneously as a republican in the Texas Governor's race. He'll bring nationwide media coverage and funding, along with a record that speaks for itself, and an ethos that's particularly appealing to Texans.
How do we convince him to do it?
Posted By: redsabre
Date: 2009-04-19 15:33:59
The best way to lead is by example, and God knows, we could use a good example right now. Kay Bailey Hutchinson is just Hillary with a better haircut, and Rick Perry has more than out-worn his welcome. Frankly, I trust both of them about as far as I could shotput a Steinway grand piano. How about an executive in the Governor's Mansion who understands that the only special interest he is beholden to is We, the People? As Governor, Dr. Paul could galvanize the states rights / state sovereignty issues that are starting to get a lot of traction, and perhaps even enter into some mutual aid / mutual assistance treaties with Texas' neighboring states. And those states make treaties with their neighbors,and so on, and so on . . . to the point where any federal aggression against one state brings several more states into the fray. Although Dr. Paul fought the good fight on the Hill, Washington, D.C. is a lost cause. 2012 is too far off; we need REAL leadership immediately, if not sooner. I hope he decides to come home where he can do some good, while there's still time to save SOMETHING out of this godawful mess.