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Could Ron Paul Trigger a GOP
Revival?
Colin Colenso
Lew Rockwell.com
Thursday January 31, 2008
Only the most Panglossian Republican die-hard would not recognize
the Republican party is in serious trouble. Regardless of whether
one supports the war or not, it is pretty clear that Republicans
are losing favor due to the war and the effect that war spending
is having on the economy. The Republican party will struggle to
survive if it is to focus primarily on a policy that disenfranchises
a large majority of the nation.
If idealism is at the heart of the support for war then why does
the party no longer have the confidence to promote and fight for
some its primary conservative ideals of small government, free
enterprise, constitutional obedience and liberty?
The Republican party used to stand united and strong against
the forces that strove for social welfare, centralized big government,
over-regulation, big taxation and big spending. Lately it has
compromised on these ideals to appease fringe voters and to avert
media criticism of the party's perceived lack of compassion. The
Republican party has become the small government party in rhetoric
only and usually with a muffled voice when in the company of the
party choir.
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Optimism may lie in the recent groundswell of support emerging
for these conservative ideals, that were not so long ago at the
forefront of Republican debates. The catalyst for this groundswell
has been the campaign of presidential candidate Ron Paul. His
message does not merely attract people of anti-war sentiment,
but it ignites a forgotten passion among many Republicans who
have found no strong voice for the traditional conservative ideals
of small government, free enterprise, constitutional obedience,
low taxes and reduced spending.
And it isn't just disenfranchised Republicans flocking to Ron
Paul's message. Many liberals and independents are becoming converts
to these conservative ideals. How long has it been since liberals
began flocking to the Republican party and becoming students of
and active proselytes for the ideals of conservatism?
This proves that these ideals are powerful and gaining popularity
in this Internet age of communication. It is clearly not just
the anti-war message that inspires the Paulites; if it were then
similar levels of grassroots support would have arisen for Democrat
anti-war advocates Kucinich and Gravel.
Ron Paul's message is far deeper and complete than just being
anti-war. At the center of his message is the ideal of smaller
government restrained by the constitution and that by inference
and with historical references he teaches that war increases the
scope and size of government. It increases spending, taxation,
debt and inflation. We are seeing the effects of this quite clearly
now and that is part of the reason why many in the financial and
economics areas are also being drawn to Ron Paul's message of
real fiscal conservatism.
Mainstream Republicans should note with great interest the fact
that Ron Paul's campaign has enthused a huge, dedicated and determined
grassroots Republican movement that has changed the nature of
political activism and political fund raising. Ron Paul has over
100,000 Meetup members, 5 times more than all candidates, Republican
and Democrat combined. He has a growing nationwide army of door
knockers, delegates, sign wavers and so on. He raised over US$12
million dollars in just three one-day online fund raising money
bombs in the last few months.
These record-breaking donations came from around one hundred
thousand individuals, most of whom discovered Ron Paul on the
Internet and most of whom have never before donated to a political
campaign. Nothing even close to this has happened for any other
presidential candidate, Democrat or Republican, on the Internet.
This grassroots movement is beginning to learn the ways of traditional
political grassroots action now, with many of them entering their
local GOP and becoming involved in local activities, by becoming
delegates, precinct leaders and all-round effective activists.
A more passionate and enthused bunch, who love what America stands
for, it is hard to imagine.
Yet this sometimes motley crew, who could become the new blood
of a powerful Republican revival, is often met with chagrin by
the Republican mainstream. This is not entirely the fault of mainstream
Republicans, who may see Paulites as liberals and libertarians
in disguise; this has a lot to do with the Paulites themselves,
some of whom see the mainstream Republicans as the opponents of
their ideals. But what we need to do is find a middle ground.
Mainstream Republicans should recognize, accept and encourage
this new energized movement for what it offers in promoting traditional
conservative ideals while the Ron Paul Republicans need to communicate
with and support the Republican movement, with a focus on reviving
the party as a powerful voice for traditional conservative ideals.
With more mainstream Republican support, the Ron Paul Republicans
would receive access to larger and more receptive audiences. While
the Ron Paul Republicans assistance to mainstream Republicans
would strengthen the GOP with a powerful, energized and technologically
savvy arm to the party which resonates and communicates with young
voters.
The future of politics will be determined by those who master
the new technological mediums. These masters will be decentralized
and of large number, unlike the information masters in traditional
media. The first generation of the new masters are quite clearly
the Ron Paul Republicans. Why risk losing this new generation
to the Democratic Party or a third party?
It is time for mainstream Republicans to welcome and assist the
Ron Paul Republicans in reviving a stronger GOP with a clear and
powerful voice for the future. It is time for mainstream Republicans
to support Ron Paul as their best chance, for not only winning
the election in 2008, but in reviving the Republican party and
its conservative ideals.
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INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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