He didn't do this by himself!
Where are the loyal backers of DeMint, Newt, Sarah, etc??
Not A peep out of them.
CRICKETS
The invites to speak have not gone out yet as of last Friday night. That about Chris Christie is from a staff member or someone who wanted him. I can see that happening but it is not set in stone.
The invites to speak have not gone out yet as of last Friday night. That about Chris Christie is from a staff member or someone who wanted him. I can see that happening but it is not set in stone.
Where are the loyal backers of DeMint, Newt, Sarah, etc??
That's what I took from it too. Ron Paul's at the head of a genuine mass movement, which will permanently affect American politics. I don't quite know how, but he's been spectacular (given what he believes) at reaching the young. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Ron Paul was the long shot who, by all conventional rules, should have remained obscure.
The secret to his success is his, or at least his message's, appeal to youth. Sometimes, I wonder if some of the criticism of him here results from jealousy and sour grapes.
For the first time in a very long time, there's a good chance that a youngster will go off to college and not come back a liberal. The Ron Paul movement has accomplished that feat.
Moreover, for those who think that Ron Paulism is a genuine danger, there's reason for hope down the line. Once Ron Paul retires, his movement will likely fade into the background. Many people will say that it will have faded away entirely. But, the movement will have left a definite residue: a permanent skepticism about the use of government - and not just in war, either.
Remember, demographers such as Neil Howe were predicting that the Millenials would be a new "Greatest Generation" devoted to public service. In other words, they'd be a new breed of self-confident liberals. The Ron Paul movement has gone a long way towards derailing that.
Also, keep in mind that kids who are conservative at heart become genuine conservatives when they mature. Rand Paul is already being denounced by libertarians as a sellout: here, for example. Many of today's Ron Paul youths might well be middle-age Burkeans in twenty years' time.
Now that primary season is effectively over, it might be worth everyone's while to drop the hostility towards the Ron Paulians on these two grounds:
a) Libertarian is better than liberal;
b) The kids will grow out of it.
There's evidence that some libertarians are conservative at heart. The notion that "libertarian" implies "pro-choice" is actually controversial in those circles. At least one hard-core libertarian has argued in digital print that a true libertarian must be pro-life.
And what if the Ron Paulians grow up to be liberal? If they do, then they'll be liberals with foxes in their bosoms. They will be less confident when pushing government "solutions," and some of them will always be half-hearted.
Primary season is now over for Ron Paul, permanently. There's less reason to be aggressively defensive now - and more reason to leave a key under the "Go Away" mat.