"What we have done is miraculous" says Mike Benoit, leader of the San Diego Ron Paul Meetup Group. He offers his sage wisdom as to where the Ron Paul Revolution should go from here. by creator
(libertarian)
Monday, February 11, 2008
♣ I consider it a great honor to again present an article by Mike Benoit, organizer and leader of the large and growing San Diego Ron Paul 2008 Meetup Group here in the Truth Realm today. Please consider joining this active group!
Benjamin Franklin once said "We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." Mike offers similar good advice:
Hello all, many of you have asked me where we go from here now that the primary is over here in California and it seems the steam has left the national campaign.
Well I can tell you that what we have done is miraculous and I don't want it to end. We united under the purpose of supporting Dr. Paul for President. We have many different reasons for that support but we united in spite of differences. We were pretty much able to keep the differences out of the game for our common goals. Because of that we grew and grew.
Now we must shift our gears a little if we are to keep the revolution moving forward. I say a little because if we shift too much we will destroy the movement. People have to feel comfortable in the group or they will leave and if we let issues divide us then we lose the revolution. It is that simple.
So it is for this reason I say we should not entertain ideas such as "we should join the Republican party and take over" or "we should join the Libertarian Party and fight for freedom that way." I think our group should encourage the members to seek out other groups where they think they have the best chance to effect liberty and stop tyranny. However we in my opinion in the RP Revolution group should not endorse any one particular solution. If we were to state that we are going to do this or the other thing as our official stance then we turn off some members as they find that particular thing offensive.
Personally I like the idea that our group stands for the principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Not just to mouth it but to own it. At the root of all this is the respect for the individual's right of self determinism.
We have the opportunity to build something huge here and if we are going to do so, great care is needed in that regard.
I personally encourage you to do whatever you would like to do in the great cause of liberty. If it is your thing to join the Republican Party and try to change it from within then so be it. If you think that to join the Libertarian Party and to build that into a force to beat tyranny is the right thing for you then so be that. There are hundreds of groups available to be joined and I recommend that we do just that in pushing the cause of Liberty, but remain Ron Paul Revolutionaries.
Editor's note: Mike Benoit is a candidate for Congress in California's 52nd district and he deserves your strong support. No one that I personally know has worked more tirelessly to promote Ron Paul's candidacy for president. Please strongly support Mike both by rolling up your sleeves and promoting his campaign and with your generous financial support.
If you want to see his sterling leadership qualities clearly displayed, be sure to also read these other great articles by Mike Benoit:
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Posted By: Walt Thiessen
Date: 2008-02-11 14:17:00
Good commentary. The only thing I would add is that I think the meetup groups need to think in terms of continuing the Revolution within those groups. Ron Paul Meetup activities shouldn't end just because the campaign ends. Work should still be done to educate the local community, find potential supporters, have parties and events, canvass for issues common to all of us, and keep adding to the number of people involved in the Revolution.
If the Revolution had actually started in 2006 rather than 2007, and if we had had one more year to organize and develop it, how would your group have spent that extra year? Since hindsight is 20/20, let's start using that 20/20 vision. Couldn't we have canvassed more precincts, more often? Wouldn't it have been great if we'd done more of what we do best?
If it's important to have a candidate name, why not Ron Paul in 2012? He doesn't even have to be a declared candidate. Much like third parties petition to get on the ballot using candidate names from years-gone-by as placeholders because they have to gather signatures before the next group of candidates have been nominated, so also Dr. Paul's name can be used as a placeholder for future candidates...now!
It's not enough to say that the Revolution must continue. We must actively come up with ways for the energy level of the Revolution to also continue. This means we must find ways to turn energy into action, so we can build even more energy.
The campaign doesn't have to stop just because the current campaign is over.
The most important thing that we must do is "not go anywhere." We must STAY IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
Third Parties are unable to make the same, sizable impact that a changed republican party can make.
We need to remain "Ron Paul Republicans," and we need to remain Republicans. Thinking that we now must "go somewhere else" is exactly what will truly help the Republican party fully dismiss our ideas.
We need to talk to republicans and show/tell them that "the emperor has no clothes."
What we (Ron Paul supporters) can do is very simple:
Continue as a registered Republican, and promote liberty from within (e.g., support the RLC Republican Liberty Caucus (http://rlc.org/), respond to GOP polls, etc.).
Vote for the Libertarian candidate in the general election.
If Paul supporters vote Libertarian and the candidate wins 10-15% of the vote, I can guarantee that the GOP will take notice. Even if the candidate is not Ron Paul, it will be apparent exactly where this support is coming from.
Is Ron Paul's stand on the issue much different from the Libertarian Party's stands (http://www.lp.org/issues/issues.shtml)? Some differences, but not that substantial.
Your other choice is to play the game MSM and the power elites have orchestrated, and that is vote for the lessor of two evils, of which, there is no fundamental difference between the two.
The choice is yours: carry the rEVOLution forward, or continue to play a losing game and waste your vote on someone that doesn't share your beliefs.
Before people start "going somewhere else," as the media suggests that we must, I'd like to spread this message.
The media portrays John McCain as the likely nominee and insinuates that Ron Paul supporters must now "go somewhere." I believe that they, indeed, want us to leave the republican party. We must go "nowhere."
We must STAY IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. If we leave the Republican party, they win. If we quit when they reject us, they win. If we abandon our newly gained influence, they win. We must be unwavering in the rejection of our ideas. We must persist, work within the system, grow, and continue to spread our ideas.
We need to remain "Ron Paul Republicans" and remain Republicans. "Going somewhere else" is exactly what will truly dismiss our ideas from the American government once and for all.
Imagine the sizable impact that a changed Republican party can make. A Republican party without the people that share our ideas is a Republican party without our ideas. They want us gone. We must stay.
Talk to Republicans and help them realize that "the emperor has no clothes." Convert Republicans to Ron Paul Republicans. The Republican party -- this powerful vessel of voting -- is full of people voting with direction given to them by the American Media. Let's give the voters some direction.
Great job Mike, its a pleasure to be part of your meet up group. Thank you for all of your support to the Ron Paul Revolution, thanks for all of your support to all of the newbies myself included, we could not have asked for a better leader. I will definatly cotinue my support of Ron Pauls Ideals of liberty and freedom.
Posted By: Jim in Berkeley
Date: 2008-02-12 00:45:21
I've had an amazing 4 months after finding out about Ron Paul. I want to participate more in the future and I agree it should stay within the republican party or whereever Ron Paul wants us to go. I really didn't do much participating this time except to vote for Ron Paul. Looking forward to doing more next time.
Ron Paul has called for a march on Washington DC!!!! Everybody get ready, we're going to do it...the Ron Paul R3VOLution is taking the country back! He also suggested there might be some dirt coming out on the other candidates between now and the Convention...
Posted By: David Englert
Date: 2008-02-12 13:28:01
I see a lot of calls to remain Ron Paul Republicans due to some percieved influence on the Republican Party, what influence? The main stream media and thier intentions are often sited as a motivating factor, as they want you to leave. They don't care, they dismissed the Ron Paul Revolution as a frindge element an element that barely cracked double digits in couple of states, pardon me if I don't see Republicans making any attempt to reach out. McCain will be the guy most likey, what influence did the revolution have in that?
I can play the guess what other people want Ron Paul supporters to do game. The Republicans want Ron Paul supporters stay and an fall in line and increase their registration roles, rather than go to the Libertarian Party (even though thier beliefs have been closer to Ron Pauls than the Republicans) and split the vote and be what Ralph Nader was to Democrats.
It took twenty years for me to decide to leave the Republican Party and Join to Libertarian Party in 2006, percisely because I came to the conclusion that they can't be changed from with in, and I won't go back for political expediancy.
The Ron Paul "rEVOLution" is all about liberty and freedom of choice. The good news is that (other than for the purpose of voting for Dr. Paul in certain primaries in certain states) you don't have to be "partisan" to be a part of the fun. In the general election you can vote for Ron Paul no matter what party you may be afiliated with.
As you can see, Mike Benoit is running for congress as a Libertarian. What we all need to do is put our support behind candidates who support liberty, and let partisanship die a natural death.
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