"I'm a Ron Paul fan. And I put together the type of book I'd like to read: a book for Ron Paul fans." by George Dance
(libertarian)
Friday, September 2, 2011
September 1, 2011, marked the official launch of Ron Paul and his rEVOLution, a book on Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign by Nolan Chart correspondent George Dance. To celebrate the self-publication, Dance conducted a self-interview using his blog, GD's Political Animal [PA].
PA – Why are you writing on Ron Paul's 2008 campaign?
GD – My background in libertarianism, including the Austrian variant that Paul espouses, goes back almost 40 years, to the mid-'70s. I've known of Paul for most of that time, since he was first elected to Congress in 1976. I remember his 1988 presidential campaign for the Libertarian Party.
I rediscovered Ron Paul at the end of 2007, and within two months was writing my own Nolan Chart column, “The Ron Paul Reports," about his campaign. (That column is still going strong as “The Continuing rEVOLUtion,” by the way.)
PA – And the column became the book?
GD – Yes, quite literally: Almost all of the contents are 2008 columns from the “Ron Paul Reports.”
PA – What's your personal favorite?
GD – Chapter 1, the title chapter. I got a great quote from Doug Burn, the editor of the Ontario Libertarian Party's Libertarian Bulletin (for whom it was originally written); he called it “a great starting point for anyone interested in the Ron Paul phenomenon.”
PA – Any other highlights?
GD – The five-part series on “Ron Paul's Delegate Wars” was the top choice of column readers. The promotion I received for that series from Ron Paul supporters gave me my own phenomenon. Before “Delegate Wars,” I had never received 1,000 page views of any of my articles; I got that many for “Delegate Wars (I)” in one day. The article ultimately received 4,000 page views that year, and is currently over 5,000. The other articles weren't as successful, but they're all over 2,500 views on the chart. That doesn't count other exposure: I”m sure that a lot of people read the bootleg copy of “Delegate Wars (II)” on Richard Viguerie's Ultimate Ron Paul site, for example.
If you search "George Dance" in Google Trends, you'll notice a spike in searches during the second quarter of 2008. The "Delegate Wars" series was a big part of that.
PA – Any big scandals in the book?
GD – With Ron Paul? No. I did omit articles on the two most “scandalous” things: “The Newsletters” and “Snubgate.” I'd originally begun the column to debunk misinformation on the newsletters; but in hindsight I don't see the affair as being all that important to the campaign. I did think Snubgate – Bob Barr's perceived snub of Ron Paul's September press conference -- was important enough to include – especially since I included two other articles on the Barr connection – but I hesitated to do so, because I didn't write the "Snubgate Saga" but just compiled quotes from other sources. At least the press conference does get dealt with in two articles later in the book.
PA – Which are?
GD -- “Third-Partying the rEVOLution in Louisiana" is the story of the Ron Paul supporters who formed the Louisiana Taxpayers Party, got Ron Paul on the ballot as their presidential candidate, and campaigned on the four points of his press conference agenda. “Ron Paul's No-Third-Party Deals” contains some criticism of Barr for his press conference no-show and his counter-offer to Paul to be his running mate. It also contains some then-current criticism of Paul's decision to not run third-party himself. It's the most critical article of the Paul campaign in the book.
PA – You ended the book with the most critical article?
GD – No way. I thought the information summarized in "No-Third-Party Deals was too important to leave out; but I didn't want to end on such a negative note. I'm a Ron Paul fan – I like almost everything about the guy, from his beliefs to his Mr.-Smith-Goes-to-Washington manner of presenting them. And I put together the type of book I'd like to read: a book for Ron Paul fans.
So I found a better last chapter: a December 2008 column on the launching of Young Americans for Liberty, which quoted liberally from Ron Paul's endorsement of the group. It also included a look back on Students for Ron Paul and the campaign in Iowa.
PA – And that's the book?
GD – Almost. I included two pieces I wrote for my “rEVOLution 2.0” series earlier this year as a Foreword and Afterword. The Foreword attempts to put the 2008 campaign in a historical context, while the Afterword predicts bigger things for a 2012 campaign. That's pretty much it.
PA – Anything else you'd like to tell the readers about the book?
GD – First, please visit my virtual bookstore for more information about Ron Paul and his rEVOLution. Clicking on the book's cover there allows you to access a 10-page preview, which will let you judge its quality.
Second, if you like what you read, please help me promote it: Like it on social media, talk about it on forums, and buy a copy -- or copies. It just might be the right book to give new people to introduce them to Ron Paul and his rEVOLUTion.
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The views expressed
in this article are those of George Dance only and
do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates.
George Dance 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.
PA – Any other highlights?