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The problem with incrementalism is that the one President since FDR who seriously tried to roll back big government, Ronald Reagan, was seriously thwarted by the MSM-Democrat axis and by the need to compromise with the liberals in order to fund the rebuilding of our military. As a result, staunch conservatives like James Watt were abandoned, and, except for the tax cuts, domestic reforms were mostly abandoned.

Ron Paul is doing amazingly well in fundraising, and it is ironic that the very people who decry the conspiracy minded 9-11 Truthers themselves fantasize the machinations of George Soros as Paul's hidden money source. The fact remains that all polls show Paul in single digits, and, more significantly, over half of potential GOP voters in at least one state have a negative opinion of him. His negatives far outweigh those of the two arch-Yankee RINOs in the race, Giuliani and Romney. George Stefanopoulos was right when he told Ron Paul during an interview that he would bet every dollar he had that Paul would lose. (Even a liberal can be correct occasionally!)

However, his campaign has introduced thousands of young people who are inclined leftward to the benefits of laissez faire economics and limited government. These are people who are culturally incompatible with the GOP base and with traditional conservative ideology. Frankly, evangelical Christians, a group to which I belong, have drifted too far toward support of big government and social welfare schemes, baptized as "faith-based initiatives." Republicans in general who were quick to condemn the big government schemes of Clinton stood by as Bush introduced his own statist programs like No Child Left Behind and Medicare Part D.

To the extent Paul can shift the domestic agenda of the GOP away from liberalism with a "family friendly" facade and back to its limited government, low tax roots and can attract new converts to laissez faire economics and minimalist governance, he will benefit the conservative cause.

the very people who decry the conspiracy minded 9-11 Truthers themselves fantasize the machinations of George Soros as Paul's hidden money source

It's not hidden at all: George Soros is passionately and openly opposed to the US presence in Iraq.

Ron Paul is also passionately and openly opposed to the US presence in Iraq.

George Soros is the man behind MoveOn.org. That's a matter of public knowledge.

MoveOn.org openly cosponsors Ron Paul meetups on meetup.com. That's also quite public.

It makes sense that people with such openly declared common interests would work together.

This isn't mysterious speculation or conspiracy mongering: it's a quite public and open collaboration.

Some good points, but I still don’t get how these ‘culturally incompatible’ people are able to overlook Paul’s stand on abortion, prayer in schools and other issues which are absolutely anathema to them.

I just find it hard to understand people acting completely against every one of their other beliefs just because Paul is anti-war. It makes me suspicious of their motivations.

Dave