Future direction for Ron Paul movement: Alliance with Obama?
As the Ron Paul movement gains momentum and gets ready for the long haul, I present some radical options, namely alliance with Obama. by Paulitefirst
(libertarian)
Monday, January 21, 2008
I am not an expert in US presidential politics, but as I watch and follow this race, it gets more and more interesting by the day. I should declare that I am an avid Ron Paul supporter, not because I agree with his entire platform, but I like his non-interventionist, sound-money and small-government policies. Its becoming clear that we are witnessing a unique new revolution in American political landscape, namely the Ron Paul movement. Some people might like to think that it is a manifestation of the correctness of Libertarian ideology, it may be so, but I tend to think that it is much bigger than Libertarian movement that Libertarians like or want to acknowledge. Mainly Ron Paul's message resonates because he is the right person at the right moment in this nations history. It has united a diverse group of people, far-right, far-left, independent, libertarian, etc. If nothing else, something like this has never happened before. Essentially people who are intelligent, conscious, internet-savvy and can see through media slant have found a platform that they can call their own and the internet has helped them unite and become a viable political force.
With the above understanding of the current situation with the Ron Paul movement, I am concerned about its future direction, in fact all Paulites should be, because making the wrong move could make this movement irrelevant which could jeopardize our cause and eventually bring its downfall. We cannot afford that as individuals or as a nation, since Paulites know that America now needs our help and leadership more than any other time to save this country from a sure disaster that is brewing for our nations future.
By February 5 super Tuesday, we will know how the race is going and whether Dr. Paul will have a chance to win the Republican nomination. If he does not seem to have a reasonable chance, I would like to propose the following alternative for the sake of keeping this movement alive within the Republican party and to get a chance to work within the system to bring in real change.
I would like to propose that the Ron Paul movement should make an alliance with the Obama candidacy. Now why I propose this radical idea is because of the following. Out of all the candidates in this race there are two who have the most chance to win this election, Obama and Clinton. For Paulites Clinton is a definite no, so Obama is left as a lesser evil of the two. From the Republican side, the current front runners McCain, Romney or Huckabee, all three are diametrically opposite to what Ron Paul stands for, so there is no question of any alliance with any of them, as they represent the very force that Dr. Paul fights against.
From my limited understanding, I can see the following dream team:
Obama, Edwards, Richardson, Paul, Kucinich and Gravel
Obama as President and uniter brings in middle-class white and majority black votes
Edwards as VP or a Cabinet Secretary brings in the remaining Democratic votes
Richardson as VP or Secretary of State brings in the Latino votes and gets to utilize his vast Foreign policy experience
Kucinich and Gravel can choose the Secretary of Defence position, as they have the strongest opinion on Defence matters
Dr. Paul, in my opinion, should be given the VP or Sectretary of Treasury position. He will bring in the Pualite votes and will get a chance to implement his sound-money policies and promote the small-government direction
With this team, the remaining Republicans or Clinton will have no chance, the game will be checkmate from the beginning. And all of us Paulites will be happy to continue our work to take over the leadership of the defeated Republican party establishment, which have caused so much hardship for this country and its people in the last 7 years. And by working within the system, we will be able to negotiate with the Obama team to make sure that the most important goals of Dr. Paul's policy platform get sympathy and hearing at the highest place of power. Secondly Paulites should know that a Presidential election will not change the political scene overnight, much work is needed to organize at the grass roots level, energize the enthusiastic young people and get them involved in Congressional politics and it is in Congress and Senate where bills are passed and laws are made or unmade. So we need a large number of Paulites in both Democratic and Republican party. We need a large number of Paulite Congressmen and Senators before any meaningful change can take place. Leadership change is needed in both Democratic and Republican parties and ideally Paulites can do this from within both parties and eventually bring a win win situation for the future of this country. The internet has helped to open our eyes from the media tyranny, now we need to open the eyes for the rest of the nation, so they can no longer be fooled and misled.
Dr. Paul is today 72 years old but he is healthy, strong and sharp. As Paulites, we should think how best we can utilize his presence and make a positive change for our country and future. For him time is limited and as a nation we are also facing peril, so we must think outside of the box and make the best use of what is given to us as options and not think too much about Democratic or Republican party lines. What good are these parties if they cannot secure and protect our future from disaster. As many of you have shown loyalty to Dr. Paul by switching party, Dr. Paul and his close advisers also should think and consider the above "radical" ideas. Even though they sound outlandish, for the greater interest of America, its future and its leadership role in the world we should consider creative solutions, because we can no longer afford to loose a single day to continue in the wrong direction we are headed as a country. Unusual times needs unusual solutions.
I admit I am a novice and some of my ideas can be totally out of touch with reality, but please consider the spirit or motivation behind the ideas and I would welcome Paulites to debate some viable alternatives for future directions of the Ron Paul movement.
Lastly and not the least, if you are a Ron Paul supporter, please donate at MLK money bomb today, I just donated $100.
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Paulitefirst, I like your thinking outside the box. What worries me about Obama is that he will not pull troops out before 2013, he is willing to strike Iran with missiles and he will put himself in the awkward position of backing fellow Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel's call for a military draft. I'm not so sure if I'm excited about Ron Paul being part of that administration. Of course I would like to see a black man president, but that's not what this election is about.
Obama says he is about change. What he really means is status quo on imperial wars and take the change out of our pockets.
Abe, thanks for your comment. Having a black president while it sounds exciting and nice is not why I presented this idea. I don't know Obama's positions well, but I thought it was less war-like than others, such as Clinton or McCain. With large and disproportionate numbers of Blacks and Latinos in the Army, I would think Obama/Richardson (with or without Edwards) administration would try to go for an early withdrawal. I don't want to give every issue a racial color, as it is taboo, but they are part of the existing reality in this country today. About big govt., high taxes and welfare system, although I am totally against these, I think it is wise to attack this demon after tackling the more important and easier to tackle demons of foreign policy and sound monetary policy.
The other reason I mention Obama is that he has an international back-ground. His stands on Israel, his closeness with AIPAC and other similar organizations are well known, but there are a lot of people in Israel and the Zionist lobby groups that are nervous about him. My personal feeling is that his current positions are important to win the election but if he becomes president, he will try to tackle the problems as professionally as possible, which is to do what is necessary for the best of this country. But I could be totally wrong about this, who really knows what lurks in people's heart, that is one of the challenges of picking a candidate.
One reason why Obama may be so close to these "establishment" lobby groups is because of their power and control over media without which he knew that he did not stand a chance. At the delegate convention, the situation would be different, he has already become a front runner and the media can no longer ignore him. And with a right alliance with Richardson, Edwards and Paul, he may no longer need the "establishment" and the media on his side to win this election.
Like all Paulites I hope and pray that Dr. Paul does win the nomination, Feb. 5 I am voting for him in California and in November I will vote for him if he is in the balot, but we need to think about plan B. If Obama admininstration is not a good option, I suppose the only other option will be to continue with the revolution, provided that the grass roots supporters do not get demoralized from an emotional campaign. Regardless of the route we take, I will be with the movement and supporting it in every way possible for the long haul.
This sounds like Fanstasy Football for politics. You can't keep all those egos in one room.
No. After his election, the best we can do is help candidates around the country get elected to congress on the priciples of smaller goverment, sound money, greater personal freedom, and non-intervention. Both parties need constitutionally-based legislators.
I saw a candidate running for the 10th district of Ohio, whose platform was how much money she could get out of Washington. How sad.
The choices suck when your first priority is to get out this war that's killing our people and our economy. If Obama wins and Paul doesn't, I might have to vote for him on this one issue.   I may not agree with half of what he says, but he has a few point that I like better than most of the GOP.
But if it is Hillary, I would write in my dog's name first. Better yet, I'd stay home and drink heavily.
