Topic: Ron Paul
The Evolution of the Ron Paul Movement For those of us who have intently followed every single Ron Paul-related article, blog-post and comment, it may appear that the Movement is fracturing. What we are seeing is not fracturing, but something much more natural.by Mike Foster
(libertarian)
Sunday, March 2, 2008
For those of us who have intently followed every single Ron Paul-related article, blog-post and comment, it may appear that the Movement is fracturing. I myself have felt almost excluded because of the push to work from within the Republican party. I then thought about all those Paul Patriots who's States have not yet had their primaries. They may feel excluded too. Even those who are working so hard to be Paul Republicans -- they may also be feeling it. I then realized that what we are seeing is not fracturing, but something much more natural.
A Bug in the Virtual Machine
The suggestion that the Movement is falling apart is infecting many of us like a virus, and affecting us deeply. Imagine if, in the MSM as well as on the web, there were tens of thousands of reports of a new, infectious flu virus and the evidence disproving these reports was not reported. How many people do you think would suddenly contract this flu? I think there would be many.
We are not seeing the "big picture". There are many wonderful things happening within the Movement, but it takes enormous effort and those individuals don't have time to blog and constantly chat about what they are doing. So now it is time to see this virus for what it is: hypnotic suggestion. Let us debug this "program".
Goals and the Means of Achieving Them
In the early stages of the Movement we had one goal, and we generally agreed on the means by which to accomplish the goal. Now things are different. The goal is more abstract and the means much more numerous. Yet I think we all can agree on an over-all goal. If I might presume to paraphrase it, it is to so affect the thinking of individuals that they come to love and cherish the ideas of Liberty and Constitutionalism.
No one person, nor group of people, will be able to convince ALL Ron Paul supporters to join the Republican party, nor the Libertarian party, nor any other political organization. We may as well accept this, get over it, and push on. No one, not even Ron Paul, will be able to convince ALL Ron Paul supporters to walk the same path to the goal. But it seems a simple fact is being over-looked: we all have basically the same goal! Do we all have to walk the same path to get to that goal? No! Besides, it is simply not going to happen.
Ron Paul supporters initially came from a wide spectrum of political thought: Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Independents, etc. It is more natural for each of us, after having been seeded with "Pauleolibertarianism", to take this seed back into the political group from which we came. In this way the Message of Liberty and Constitutionalism will have the broadest effect over time.
Our Greater Bond
Some people may choose to work from within the Republican party. Some people may choose to work from within the Libertarian, Constitution or other parties. Some people may choose to completely ignore political parties! But all of us, as the Ron Paul Movement, have common goals. Our greater bond is in these common goals, not in their methods of implementation.
We must continue to support each other, regardless of political affiliation, because this Movement is more than a mere political movement. Yes, we need more Paul Republicans, and we also need more Paul Democrats, more Paul Libertarians and more Paul Independents.
A Call for Unity
I am not talking about forming yet another political organization, even if it claims to be a non-partisan "coalition". There are already too many political organizations, they have not fulfilled their promises and they are much too expensive. But this is just my opinion.
As for Ron Paul supporters: Let's support each other! Restore the "out of the box" thinking that characterized the early grassroots movement and characterizes some of the innovative initiatives currently taking shape. We have the same goal in sight! Let's agree to disagree on the "path" toward our common goal.
In many ways Ron Paul's Presidential bid has been incredibly successful. Was that success due to any particular political organization? No, it was not. I submit that this Movement is not a Revolution, but rather it is an Evolution. This Evolution requires radical thinking -- no less radical than that thinking which has brought us to this point.
The views expressed in this
article are those of Mike Foster only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Mike Foster 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.
Point well taken, but in my view we still need a coordinated voice in the upcoming election and I don't see it in the Republican Party. The campaign needs to give us a way! I just posted the following on Third Pary Watch. (Reference to Eric is Dondero.)
I am glad that several saw through Eric’s sour grapes. I think that Dr. Paul is sad because he sees that a third party run can not gain any momentum due to the restrictions placed on it. However, I am disappointed that all of his supporters will seemingly have no place to go in the upcoming election. Write in votes won’t cut it. In my view, we need to be able to demonstrate through our vote that we are not to be neglected. I am hopeful that he will be re-elected in the 14th. But after that I hope the campaign comes up with some innovative way to bring us together in the election so as to make a statement that will demand attention from both of the major parties. It would be fine with me if he was drafted as the VP for the Libertarian Party so there would be no question as to why we were voting Libertarian.
We would have seven months to maximize our message. IMHO.
Yes, my article doesn't really address the Nov election. I guess I have already decided as to how I will vote. I will vote for the LP candidate unless Ron Paul is on the ballot.
I too would love for there to be a huge vote for the LP!
I agree that a write-in is a waste. In some states it is not allowed and in some it will not be counted.
I'm glad you wrote this. Lately I've been feeling pretty lonely not being well-connected to any other Paul supporters and not knowing what I was going to do for the November election. The other day though I had a teacher ask me to speak in the government class at my high school because the teacher knew I had mentioned Ron Paul once. I spoke for about 30 minutes, taking questions and the students responded surprisingly well even though I was a bit discouraged by comments, from adults that I respected, about my ideas on Paul. This showed me that there's more to it than party statements and political organizations. I wasn't a political guy before Ron Paul but people don't seem to realize the message of freedom and personal liberty is applicable in any area of life. I agree with you that this is an EVOLUTION more than a REVOLUTION... and at the risk of sounding alarmist, I hope the EVOLUTION happens before any serious problems come.
Hi Peter, way to go! It's awesome, and a great sign, that your fellow students were so open to Ron Paul's ideas. Liberty is addictive! It could be that the adults were a little intimidated by you, LOL! I wish I could have seen that.
which of the three remaining candidates do you think a Ron Paul supporter would gravitate towards (assuming the McCain, Obama, and Clinton are the three)?
Or do you think that it would be more productive to withhold our vote and let the government know we're not happy?
just curious. I love Ron Paul, but also doubt that he will be our next president.
Posted By: john AKA highwaytoserfdom
Date: 2008-03-02 20:19:39
Lets see what happens in the next few weeks..As I posted on dailypaul...
Senator McCaskill submitts unconstutional bill on McCain's eligibility.. Help Needed
John McCain is not a natural born citizen of the United States. Unlike Ted Olson McCain’s lawyer (you remember the Bush lawyer of hanging chads fame) Muddy Thoughts boggler of the “Internet is officially screwed” camp. Has written a very sound defense of the reasons why the constitution has to be changed.
Now it seem that Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri is claiming that she can change the constitution of the United States of America by making a legislative declaration. See “Bill would remove Doubt on Presidential Eligibility” Published February 29,2008 by Carl Hulse(NYT web site)
When she took the oath of office she swore to up hold the Constitution of the United States. I have included this little issue that she has avoided.
Article V
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Who should care about this? Well every democrat that saw 2000 election and had any doubt about the Supreme Court ruling, which made George Bush president. All conservatives both Libertarian thinking and Statist leaning who respect the rule of law. Anyone who disagrees strongly with the neo-con or Council on Foreign relations policy of global policing the world with entangling alliances. What we have is mainstream media cartel push candidates intending to maintain an empire. As a huge Ron Paul freedom advocate please write and voice your displeasure with politicians not living up to the oath taken to uphold the Constitution … The Main Stream Media is very Orwellian in exactly the big brother way…
/******************
The very interesting thing is the economy is acting exactly as Paul has said. What is very interesting is the Media's New Republic treatment of Paul and the treatment that the NYT gets.
/**********
Paul has my vote and conscience and has changed me. I am even started writing and studying Lysander Spooner for a doctumentary. Here is Spooner that says that the Constitution is without authority and Paul has me turned on the him..Paul for any chance needs the Constitution and a brokered convention..Spooner is a great and timly character to study in the land speculation, paper money, reglious zealots abolitionist,entrepreneur and political radical.....
It's just my personal plan, but here is what I have decided for myself: If Ron Paul is not on the ballot I will vote for the Libertarian Party candidate - regardless of who it is. I will not even consider voting for McCain, Obama, nor Clinton.
As DX10 mentioned above, and also IMO, voting third party is the only option we have (if Ron Paul is not on the ballot).
The more votes a third party gets, the easier it is for them to get on the ballot next time.
"Cherishing the ideas of Liberty and Constitutionalism" is a great goal. Turn that on its head, and you have "Despising the Megalithic Leviathan" that the federal government has become.
I would like to draw the attention of Ron Paul supporters of every stripe to Downsize DC, an organization that IMHO exhibits real genius in terms of how to practically achieve the goal of shrinking government.
adam: "which of the three remaining candidates do you think a Ron Paul supporter would gravitate towards (assuming the McCain, Obama, and Clinton are the three)?"
NONE!! A true Ron Paul supporter would not vote for any of those lying, corrupt, pro-war candidates!! Either do a Ron Paul write-in, or do not vote.
Posted By: Nathan Carter
Date: 2008-03-02 22:54:04
I like this article and think it has a lot of truth to it.. I can't tell you how often I hear (mostly from somewhat-reluctant Hillary and Obama-ites) "I agree with everything he says..." and of course we all know what happens next: "... BUT he's not a viable candidate"! This is starting to really fire me up.. My only reply is "He's not a viable candidate because no one thinks he's a viable candidate" STOP THINKING OF HOW TO VOTE STRATEGICALLY ON VOTE ON PRINCIPLE! Otherwise we're doomed to fascism.
What follows are some thoughts that I feel need to come to light.
We are all being incredible naive. The results of the primary mechanisms, the Blockade of the Media and the failure of people to rally around Ron Paul show one of three things: 1. That people are too
I respect your right to choose to write-in, but keep in mind that in some states a write-in will not get counted, or will not be allowed at all. In that case I encourage you to vote for your favorite third party.
Of course, I much prefer Ron Paul be on the ballot :-)
I agree that it can get frustrating. I have to remind myself that if reason and logic fail, on either side of the conversation, then I don't need to push it any further.
Saying that casting a "write in" vote for Ron Paul will "not get counted" is absolutely wrong! Write-in votes are legal in every state. In some states you must register as an "official write-in candidate", but this is easy to do. Saying that a write-in vote will not be allowed/counted is as bad as MSM saying that Ron Paul is not a viable candidate! It is true that if the number of write-in votes in any particular state is not large enough to change the outcome of the election, even if all write-ins were for Ron Paul, that they would not be counted. But, on the other hand, if there are enough write-in votes to possibly change the outcome, they all must be counted by hand! So, we avoid all Diebold shenanigans this way.
On the other hand, a lot can happen between now and September. It is too soon to be thinking about any of this stuff!
You are assuming that Ron Paul will file as a write-in candidate in all the required states. I doubt that he will do that -- but as you note, it is too soon to say.
Please note that I said "in some states a write-in will not get counted or will not be allowed". Three examples:
Missouri: "If a candidate files for nomination to an office and is not nominated at a primary election, that candidate cannot file a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate for the same office at the general election."
South Carolina: "A defeated primary candidate may not actively offer or campaign as a write-in candidate for the ensuing election". and "Write-in votes are not allowed in primary elections or the election of President or Vice-president."
Michigan: "Write-in votes cast for an individual seeking the office of U.S. President who fails to file the required documents are not counted."
I am going to march on Washington, and write in Ron Paul in November.
After that I'll either leave the USA, or declare all out war on the federal government.
"We the People" have every right to fight the government with force if necessary. They are unwilling to even hear our cases of grievences as the First amendment guarantees. The more they run away with our elections and deny us our rights, the more angry "We the People" get. If they keep up at the rate they are going, this will be a full police state in 5 years time. I can hear the news reports now... "...another police officer killed today in the 3rd strait week of violence...The governor is calling for the national guard...", can you hear it?
I hope I'm wrong, but I'll bet that the USA ends up in a second civil war this century.
Great insight. Beyond all of the short term goals of getting certain 'paul-republicans' (or the like) elected, something even greater has happened: the American public has awakened. A large majority of us revolutionaries will not go back to sleep, rather waken and embolden others to take up our cause of limited government, freedom and liberty.
danny, can you provide any logic for that assertion? My previous posts have proven that it will be a waste to write-in Ron Paul. In most states the write-in will not be counted. Isn't it better to make at least some kind of a statement by voting 3rd party?
A "true Ron Paul patriot" is not someone who follows blindly and emotionally. Remember, this Movement is bigger than Ron Paul. The November election is not the end of the Movement. We must carry Ron Paul's message onward. We need to support other people who also believe in the message. We need to think for ourselves and encourage others to do so too.
For all of you who keep harping about a write-in, you are certainly free to do so. However, it seems that the only thing driving your decision is emotion. Not one of you has offered a logical reason for a write-in, whereas I have offered several logical reasons to show that a write-in is a wasted vote.
creator suggested people look into Downsize DC, I also suggest keeping an eye on Mr. G. Edward Griffin's site, freedom-force.com for inspiration. Many things are going on with Ron Paul folks. I'm about to post an article on KISS: Keep It Seriously Simple! This will be part of my efforts, getting away from the finite issues the media and candidates tell us are important to us so we can argue over them...my approach focuses on the Legislative Branch and simple measurements starting with the Oath of Office. We discussed quite a bit of this in last Sunday's March of Liberty broadcast and had good reactions among our listening audience.
Another little thing we are working on is a social community site. No political organization, no PAC, just a community. Consider it a combination MySpace, YouTube, Blogger, forum and more rolled into one. We have the domain names and are getting the software together. I'll let you know when we have a soft launch if you like.
Finally, third-party votes are certainly grand alternatives. The last time I had a Presidential candidate from either major party that earned my vote in the general election was 1984. It seems to some I "waste" my vote every year and every year I'll do the same for a candidate can't have it by being the lesser but only through being the better. This year the major party dog and pony show is giving us nothing but worse and far worse so there isn't even a lesser to waste it on, might as well go third-party or Independent (if we get a good one a runnin'). I agree the write-in, although a nice sentiment, is less effective in sending a clear message and as you pointed out may not be counted. Anyway, great inspiration. Stay strong, the LONG HAUL Revolution is doing fine!!
Mike, re: your answer of 03-03, I stand corrected on Missouri and South Carolina. In Michigan, "if you file papers properly," I can say that Ron Paul has never had trouble filing all the necessary paperwork for anything. So, that is two states where we can't write him in. The other 48+DC, this should be one of our major initiatives. I suggest you not try to discourage people from doing so.
A candidate losing the primary cannot file as a write-in candidate in the general election (for the same office) in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina and Washington.
Write-in candidates are not allowed in presidential elections in Arkansas, Nevada and South Carolina.
In most of the other States write-in votes will not be counted if the candidate does not file as a write-in candidate. I sincerely doubt that Ron Paul will do that. He would have much better ballot access running on a 3rd party ticket, but since he has said he will not do that, then I think it is extremely unlikely that he will file as a write-in candidate.
I will continue to encourage people to make decisions based on logic and facts instead of making decisions based only on emotion.
Logic and facts are good, emotion can also be good. Thanks for collecting the information on write-ins.
There are also rules in some states (probably just as many) that you cannot run as a third-party candidate, if you lost out to someone in one of the first two parties.
As far as not filing some paperwork, so that he can be an official write-in candidate, why would you think Ron Paul wouldn't bother to do this? The cost--if any--is probably nominal, and there is no downside.
Trying to decipher all the States' rules causes quite a headache, LOL.
perlstar asked: "As far as not filing some paperwork, so that he can be an official write-in candidate, why would you think Ron Paul wouldn't bother to do this? The cost--if any--is probably nominal, and there is no downside."
It is just my speculation. Just a guess :-). As for downsides... I'm curious if there are any "sore loser" type laws that might affect this. I'm not sure.
Yes, paperwork--is one of RP's specialties. :-) --
Presidential candidates quality for ballot
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, have qualified for Montana's presidential primary election.
According to the secretary of state’s office, candidates of qualified Montana political parties can qualify for Montana's presidential primary by filing a declaration of candidacy and fulfilling one of two other requirements. The first way is for the candidate to qualify for federal matching funds when Montana candidate filing closes on March 20. The alternative way is to turn in the signatures of 500 registered Montana voters who support placing the candidate's name on the ballot. In Montana, there is no fee to file for president. Clinton qualified with 531 verified signatures, McCain delivered 626, Paul's campaign had 885, and Obama previously qualified with 606 certified signatures on Feb. 8, 2008. All four candidates will appear on the ballot for the June 3 presidential preference primary.
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