Well, this Presidential race just got a whole lot less complicated.
The Democrats have unveiled their keen new strategy for re-electing the most unpopular incumbent President in history; the game plan is to convince us that our American system of limited government and free markets has never worked. It is hard to imagine how the Republicans could find a way to lose to that – but never underestimate the Party of McCain’s capacity for epic fail when victory comes knocking .
For reasons which escape logic unenhanced by chemistry, the Republicans have stonewalled Gary Johnson, ignored Ron Paul, and decapitated Herman Cain, marginalizing the three candidates who generate the most enthusiastic grass roots support in its base. Using contrived televised debates and juiced polls, the GOP establishment has tried in vain to shape its nomination race into a Newt/Mitt battle of the insiders. Too bad that quirky little fellow from Texas foiled their plans, and I do not mean Rick Perry.
Like most Republican standard bearers going back to the days of Richard Nixon, Mitt Romney’s chief qualification for the nomination is that it is his turn. Newt Gingrich has risen to first among his rivals by scolding the media and remembering things. Neither man suffers from chronic consistency or principled position. And while either would be preferable to going over the falls with Obama, neither excites the passions of the liberty movement who rolled Washington in November of 2010.
Narrowing the field to a contest between the richest man (Romney) and the whitest man (Gingrich) makes for bad optics in a party suspected of caring only about rich white men. But what is more problematic for my Republican friends is that neither of those two guys is the anti-Obama; that would be the afore-mentioned Ron Paul. From where he stands on nearly every major issue, Paul must look past both Romney and Gingrich to get a glimpse of the President’s position.
I am a libertarian, so naturally I’m a Paulie; have been ever since he ran as our party’s standard bearer in 1988 against Bush the Elder. My conservative friends like Ron Paul but get all hinkey about his libertarian views on the drug war and his aversion to real wars of the undeclared variety. I remind them that their beef is with the Constitution, not with the cranky Texan baby doctor who stands steadfast in its defense. And besides, he’s in pretty good company on these matters – Washington, Jefferson, Goldwater, Buckley, and Will, to name just a few.
Let’s cut to the chase: only 33% of Americans self-identify as Democrats with another 33% calling themselves Republicans. And don’t kid yourself; none of those folks are going off the reservation unless their team springs Charles Manson from prison to head the ticket with Octo-mom as his VP. Whoever’s name is followed by (D) or (R) respectively is getting their chad punched by the straight-party-line voters.
Which means the next President of the United States will be the one who can get the most members of the last 33% - the independents – to get up off the couch and stand in line in the rain to vote for him. Do you think Romney can do that? Gingrich? When is the last time you even saw a bumper sticker for either one of them? No seriously – those guys are not setting off an epidemic of leg tingles.
A great number, if not a majority, of that independent 33% are conservative on economic and fiscal issues, neutral on social issues, and non-interventionist in foreign affairs and military matters. Does that sound like Newt, Mitt, or Barry? No, but I just described Ron Paul – and that’s why he would wipe the floor with President Obama in the general election. As he says, Freedom Is Popular and we are about to find out how popular in less than a year.
I wish Ron Paul really were a raving bat-stuff-crazy nutcase, because then all the things he has been warning us about for the past three decades would not be unfolding right before our eyes. Warrantless wiretaps, indefinite military detention, drones used on North Dakota farmers, confiscation of Gibson Guitar inventory, Fast and Furious, the Fed’s secret trillions, the housing bubble – do I have to keep going?
Ron Paul has been liberty’s best friend for decades. He has often been its only friend, at those moments when the passions of the day led even good conservatives in Congress to trample on the Constitution they swore an oath to defend.
Ron Paul is the real deal. His economic plan cuts spending by $1 trillion; Mitt Romney has 59 points on a PowerPoint. He could forget two of the cabinet departments he will abolish and still be ahead of Rick Perry by 50%. He called out the Federal Reserve before Herman Cain ever joined a Fed board. He doesn’t have as many kids as Michelle Bachman (who does?), but he has delivered a few thousand more. He has voted alone against more Bills than Newt Gingrich co-sponsored with Nancy Pelosi.
With Gary Johnson pondering a Libertarian Party run, there is a real danger of a third-party challenge splitting the anti-Obama vote and re-electing the worst President in history on a plurality. A Ron Paul GOP ticket forecloses that possibility and unites conservatives, libertarians, GOP moderates, and liberty-minded voters from across the political spectrum. Ron Paul’s Supreme Court appointments alone will be worth the price of admission.
It is ironic that the oldest candidate in the race – Ron Paul – engenders the most enthusiasm among young people. Ron Paul rocks on campus, and his supporters turn out at straw polls, conventions, and rallies in large numbers. As he says, freedom is popular, and a freedom candidate would enlist a new generation of freedom lovers in the movement to take our country back.
He was Tea Party when it was a party of one. He had the drop on Wall Street before it was Occupied. He’s a pro-life libertarian and an anti-war conservative, the fly in everyone’s ointment. If you are looking for the anti-Obama, there is only one choice that will satisfy – Congressman Ron Paul of Texas.
“Moment Of Clarity” is a weekly commentary by Libertarian writer and speaker Tim Nerenz, Ph.D. Visit Tim’s website www.timnerenz.com to find your moment.
The Democrats have unveiled their keen new strategy for re-electing the most unpopular incumbent President in history; the game plan is to convince us that our American system of limited government and free markets has never worked. It is hard to imagine how the Republicans could find a way to lose to that – but never underestimate the Party of McCain’s capacity for epic fail when victory comes knocking .
For reasons which escape logic unenhanced by chemistry, the Republicans have stonewalled Gary Johnson, ignored Ron Paul, and decapitated Herman Cain, marginalizing the three candidates who generate the most enthusiastic grass roots support in its base. Using contrived televised debates and juiced polls, the GOP establishment has tried in vain to shape its nomination race into a Newt/Mitt battle of the insiders. Too bad that quirky little fellow from Texas foiled their plans, and I do not mean Rick Perry.
Like most Republican standard bearers going back to the days of Richard Nixon, Mitt Romney’s chief qualification for the nomination is that it is his turn. Newt Gingrich has risen to first among his rivals by scolding the media and remembering things. Neither man suffers from chronic consistency or principled position. And while either would be preferable to going over the falls with Obama, neither excites the passions of the liberty movement who rolled Washington in November of 2010.
Narrowing the field to a contest between the richest man (Romney) and the whitest man (Gingrich) makes for bad optics in a party suspected of caring only about rich white men. But what is more problematic for my Republican friends is that neither of those two guys is the anti-Obama; that would be the afore-mentioned Ron Paul. From where he stands on nearly every major issue, Paul must look past both Romney and Gingrich to get a glimpse of the President’s position.
I am a libertarian, so naturally I’m a Paulie; have been ever since he ran as our party’s standard bearer in 1988 against Bush the Elder. My conservative friends like Ron Paul but get all hinkey about his libertarian views on the drug war and his aversion to real wars of the undeclared variety. I remind them that their beef is with the Constitution, not with the cranky Texan baby doctor who stands steadfast in its defense. And besides, he’s in pretty good company on these matters – Washington, Jefferson, Goldwater, Buckley, and Will, to name just a few.
Let’s cut to the chase: only 33% of Americans self-identify as Democrats with another 33% calling themselves Republicans. And don’t kid yourself; none of those folks are going off the reservation unless their team springs Charles Manson from prison to head the ticket with Octo-mom as his VP. Whoever’s name is followed by (D) or (R) respectively is getting their chad punched by the straight-party-line voters.
Which means the next President of the United States will be the one who can get the most members of the last 33% - the independents – to get up off the couch and stand in line in the rain to vote for him. Do you think Romney can do that? Gingrich? When is the last time you even saw a bumper sticker for either one of them? No seriously – those guys are not setting off an epidemic of leg tingles.
A great number, if not a majority, of that independent 33% are conservative on economic and fiscal issues, neutral on social issues, and non-interventionist in foreign affairs and military matters. Does that sound like Newt, Mitt, or Barry? No, but I just described Ron Paul – and that’s why he would wipe the floor with President Obama in the general election. As he says, Freedom Is Popular and we are about to find out how popular in less than a year.
I wish Ron Paul really were a raving bat-stuff-crazy nutcase, because then all the things he has been warning us about for the past three decades would not be unfolding right before our eyes. Warrantless wiretaps, indefinite military detention, drones used on North Dakota farmers, confiscation of Gibson Guitar inventory, Fast and Furious, the Fed’s secret trillions, the housing bubble – do I have to keep going?
Ron Paul has been liberty’s best friend for decades. He has often been its only friend, at those moments when the passions of the day led even good conservatives in Congress to trample on the Constitution they swore an oath to defend.
Ron Paul is the real deal. His economic plan cuts spending by $1 trillion; Mitt Romney has 59 points on a PowerPoint. He could forget two of the cabinet departments he will abolish and still be ahead of Rick Perry by 50%. He called out the Federal Reserve before Herman Cain ever joined a Fed board. He doesn’t have as many kids as Michelle Bachman (who does?), but he has delivered a few thousand more. He has voted alone against more Bills than Newt Gingrich co-sponsored with Nancy Pelosi.
With Gary Johnson pondering a Libertarian Party run, there is a real danger of a third-party challenge splitting the anti-Obama vote and re-electing the worst President in history on a plurality. A Ron Paul GOP ticket forecloses that possibility and unites conservatives, libertarians, GOP moderates, and liberty-minded voters from across the political spectrum. Ron Paul’s Supreme Court appointments alone will be worth the price of admission.
It is ironic that the oldest candidate in the race – Ron Paul – engenders the most enthusiasm among young people. Ron Paul rocks on campus, and his supporters turn out at straw polls, conventions, and rallies in large numbers. As he says, freedom is popular, and a freedom candidate would enlist a new generation of freedom lovers in the movement to take our country back.
He was Tea Party when it was a party of one. He had the drop on Wall Street before it was Occupied. He’s a pro-life libertarian and an anti-war conservative, the fly in everyone’s ointment. If you are looking for the anti-Obama, there is only one choice that will satisfy – Congressman Ron Paul of Texas.
“Moment Of Clarity” is a weekly commentary by Libertarian writer and speaker Tim Nerenz, Ph.D. Visit Tim’s website www.timnerenz.com to find your moment.
4 comments:
"He was Tea Party when it was a party of one. He had the drop on Wall Street before it was Occupied. He’s a pro-life libertarian and an anti-war conservative, the fly in everyone’s ointment. If you are looking for the anti-Obama, there is only one choice that will satisfy – Congressman Ron Paul of Texas."
It's obvious that the reason he is getting shut out by his own party is because the Republican machine is very much like the Democrat machine these days - both want big government, central planning and projection of influence globally.
Yes, I am voting for Ron Paul if he remains on the ballot no matter what intitial follows his name, because of his track record.
And I'm voting for Ron Paul whether his name is on the ballot or not.
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