Topic: Ron Paul
A Message to Ron Paul's Republican Supporters I love Dr. Paul and all he has done in the name of liberty. It is up to us to determine the next step.by David K. Williams, Jr.
(libertarian)
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Ron Paul has a huge cadre of believers. His followers are all "small - l" libertarians, but many, like Dr. Paul, are members of the Republican Party.
Ron Paul wants to change the Republican Party from within.
Ron Paul's desire to change the party is noble. In my opinion, and many others, it is futile. Look how he was treated by his party. He was shunned by the "powers that be." He is an outcast within his own party.
Why does he not re-join the Libertarian Party? (He ran as the LP presidential candidate in 1988).
Some suggest it is because Libertarians have zero chance of winning. Well, so did Ron Paul in the Republican Party campaign for President.
I'm not sure how far that argument goes in convincing anyone to stay in the Republican Party. In my opinion, it stands for the proposition that believers in liberty should leave the Republicans to the social conservatives and neo-cons and believers in big government like John McCain.
Believers in liberty are shunned by the Republicans. The Libertarian Party welcomes you.
If Ron Paul had run as a Libertarian, he would get a huge percentage of the vote in the upcoming Presidential race. (20%? More? Perhaps... but he would have made a huge difference.) As it is, he will get zero % of the vote.
Dr. Paul is on a mission beyond this election, I understand. I think all lovers of liberty and freedom are on that same mission. We have just chosen different ways of achieving those goals.
And if the Republicans return to the principles of Barry Goldwater, I'll join up.
I think that is about as likely as Tara Reid winning a Nobel Prize.
If all of Dr. Paul's supporters joined the LP, the LP would be formidable. It would wield power. It could change things. And success breeds success.
The most fertile ground for that success is in the LP. Dr. Paul is sowing the seeds of liberty on the asphalt of the Republican Party. Every time he plants a seed, the Republican elite say "kill it before it grows."
What Dr. Paul has done is tremendous. But even Napoleon had his Waterloo. Staying in the Republican Party is Dr. Paul's biggest mistake in my oh-so-humble opinion.
I hope I'm wrong, because we all want the same thing: Freedom.
I see Dr. Paul and many of his followers as akin to those suffering from "battered wives syndrome." They love the Republican Party they knew years ago, even though it has abandoned them, mocked them, cheated on them, treated them like dirt and belittled them. They know if they love their abuser enough, he will straighten up and it will be like old times.
It won't be.
Like Bobb Barr says, he did not leave the Republican Party. The Republican Party left him.
If any of you get tired of the abuse, you are welcome in the LP. I hope to see you all at an upcoming meeting.
If not, good luck. We are all on the same side.
Did you like this article? If you did, Thumb It! 25 thumbs so far
The views expressed in this
article are those of David K. Williams, Jr. only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. David K. Williams, Jr. 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.
However, if what you say is true, how do you explain the battles being fought in the Republican State Parties? Lady Liberty is being defended even now. Do you even know about the many struggles on behave of her? Her enemy is strong and her active defenders are few, but she is not without the many that love her. And these three are on a path to the National Convention. The battle is not over - it is still being waged - waged by the faithful.
The Republican Party is not monolith, it is not as the Church of the Television would have you believe. The sum total of it is not the National Party, nor the present puppet RNC. If it is to be as you say, it will only be because we choose to surrender it - choose to surrender what ground we have on the "inside" - choose to do a thing Senators Taft and Goldwater refused to do.
Nor am I inclinded to obey the masters who call on us to surrender. John Paul Jones was once called upon to surrender, he said, "Ihavenot yet begun to fight!" Methinks, that doggedly determined Republican Congressman from Texas and those of us who take him to be our Champion, Ron Paul Republicans as you say, are rather like John Paul Jones.
As for me, I'm stickin' with the Champion! The Champion of the Constitution, and the champions of those before him. I shall not let them erase the heritage of Taft and Goldwater, nor dive Ron Paul out, without a bloody good fight - I am not the surrendering type - and thank God George Washington wasn't either.
I considered joining the Libertarian Party. Then I began to see the ridiculous in-fighting that goes on in that party. I believe in most of the libertarian positions, but the right wing or "purist" portion of the Libertarian party seems almost as laughable as the left wing "centerist" portion of the Republican party. The Republican party has the power structure and is far and away more of a threat to our individual liberty than the Libertarian party is a champion of that same Liberty. I have chosen to fight where it will do the most good, and in my opinion that is within the belly of the beast, the Republican party. This does not mean that I will not support a Libertarian candidate, and I fully intend to vote for candidates that stand on libertarian values. This just means that my party affiliation will officially remain Republican, and I will do what I can to move them more toward libertarian values.
Having always voted the person not the party it was a big step for me to sign a party loyalty oath. I did it because I loved the freedom of finally voting for someone instead of the usual lesser of two bad choices predetermined by our corporate owned media.
I hope and pray America wakes up in time to research the Candidates on something other than the tube and printed news. I will vote Paul if he succeeds at the RNC. Oherwise baldwin2008.com has my vote unless it looks like a vote for Baldwin will help Obama win. Obama win is worse than Mccain win. With any luck Mccain will get so angry or excited he will have a fatal heart attack before he can do much damage.
I feel Barr is merely capitalizing on the Ron Paul run after looking at his voting record in congress and his past statements as well as current. He voted 4 the war,the patriot act among many other key issues that disgrace our Constitution.
If Ron Paul had taken your advice before these republican primaries there would be hundreds of thousands less that would know about liberty. Myself and many of my friends have for the first time heard of true liberty and small government, all i knew before this year was more government or the same amount of government.
We should not worry about the libertarians they are not the ones that need the teaching of liberty. They understand it full well it is in the vast masses of angry, and disatisfied republicans that need to hear the message of liberty and realize there are people that share their beliefs and are in their own party. The republican party is that is where it needs to stem.
Also liberty needs to be spread in the democratic party too. Everywhere there are people wanting to hear this message, but will feel left if he and others like Ron Paul leave the parties.
Quite frankly, you say that Ron will get 0% of the votes? I will still be voting for him even if I have to write him in! Nobody else earned my vote. It would be great if he ends up getting 20% of the popular vote regardless of any nomination. If you belived in Paul then, belive in him now too.
What would it help Dr. Paul if get gets say 20% as a third party candidate, but has to give up his seat, for which he has received 1 m USD in donors? He would not be in congress etc., and he would also abandon his friends in congress, plus the candidates running under the RP platform.
Also, Paul is strongly pro-life and not for open borders/against illegal immigration, two issues which some Libertarians strongly disagree with him. He will also have his political "enemies" in the LP, just as he has his political enemies in the GOP. He has to get support from within both main parties, so it is the best to stay in the one closest to his platform and work from within. I can assure you, some neocons in the GOP exactly do want to see him leaving the party, as then they will be rid of him. They see him clearly as a threat.
Also, are you aware of the sore loser clause in 4 or 5 states, like Texas? where he cannot be on the ballot?
If he does not get to be the GOP nominee or VP or can negotiate a change in platform, then you can vote for Barr or Baldwin, for a local conservative and libertarian Republican or Libertarian or Constitutional or Independent in your district. Write-in will in many states not be counted and Dr. Paul has already advised against this.
Well the author is wrong because his assumptions of "can't win" rest solely on the presidency. He is ignoring the fact that Ron Paul has won his congressional seat the last 10 times he's run, and quite a few Ron Paul Republicans are beating the neocons in this years congressional primary too. Not to mention, what if the LP actually just became a PAC like they should be, and they all registered Republican? You'd already have the Taft/Goldwater/Paul party established but instead LP's want to do the easy thing which is sit and gripe on the internet, preach to the choir. The hard thing is to sit amongst people who you disagree with on the issues, and peacefully educate them and influence them. If LP's, and even a lot of RPR's, could learn to do that, thi would be the Ron Paul Republican Party by 2010.
Want to comment on this
article? Leave your comment here. Your email address is
required to track your comment. However, we will neither
publish your email address nor distribute it to other
organizations or persons. The only reason we might use
it would be if we needed to contact you regarding your
comment. All comments are subject to our
terms of use policy.
