Posted on 01/14/2008 2:28:06 PM PST by mnehring
It was supposed to be a revolution. Ron Paul was set to take America and the world by storm by winning primary after primary on his way to the White House. The supporters of the ten-term US Congressman from Texas were convinced that the money he raised would equal support at the actual ballot box. Now in the cold hard days of January, the truth has broken though.
So what has happened to Ron Paul? The answer isn't difficult; his support was never very large to begin with. It was magnified by a presence on the Internet (or the "Internets" if you prefer) and it would never push through into the real world of voting. This was never really anything more than an online revolution that could never come close to cracking the mainstream of political thought.
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For a dark horse candidate, he made all that he could out of his Libertarian philosophies. He brought forward a whole bunch of young folks that didn't really understand the political process and they are now excited and involved. Of course, Iowa and New Hampshire slapped many of them across the face and Michigan and New Hampshire will do the same. Come February 5 even the staunchest Paul political supporter will have to realize that it isn't going to happen.
The problem that many didn't really understand is that Paul wasn't preaching anything new. This was the same Libertarian Party line that had been regurgitated over and over in one form of another for election after election. I'm not certain why so many thought it might be "magical" this campaign season.
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There is a reason that the Libertarian Party exists in relative obscurity. Though many of us hold several of the ideas of the party dear to our hearts and believe them fully, once the movement of the fringe takes hold it is too much to bear for most people.
Many scoffed at the "mainstream" and believed they didn't need them as their man Ron Paul would rise above and dominate. They didn't believe the polls that showed little support and the true believers don't even believe the votes that have been cast at the ballot box. I'm not certain if Paul and his supporters will go away quietly, but one thing is certain, they won't win this election or even come close enough to move the political debate.
Yes, it takes a whack job to believe that this lunatic had a chance of winning.
My problem is Ron Paul dancing with the enemy, not his other ideas. Running a national campaign while trashing this nation and it's military is not a way of winning support.
Freepers who shill for Ron Paul should be shown the Zot kitty as well.
I do not know how old you are but RP is no BG.
Your view of history/BG is just plain incorrect.
RP is not catching on because he is a cut/run candidate.
That sounds very plausible to me.
Money isn’t everything. You have to give it to someone who isn’t certifiable.
“The problem is that some of those areas where libertarians ren’t right can have deadly consequences...”
The real problem is that libertarians will tell you that all their policies are derived from first principles and all are consistent with each other and that this means that one cannot take away one with compromising all the rest.
Perhaps the libertarians should go back, examine their ‘first principles’ and start over. If your principles lead you to an undesireable ending, then there is something wrong with your principles.
Libertarianism is anarchy from my point of view.
I guess reality has finally caught up to them.
Actually, that’s probably not true. Ron Paul’s Internet Army will just revert back to being truthers and again spouting off comments about the lizard NWO on youtube.
Still wondering if the mods were on vacation through out this whole Ron Paul fiasco.
Goodbye, Ron Paul Libs. I don't mind if the door hits you in the a**.
The chances of the Libertarian Party are like the chances of seeing the advent of controlled nuclear fusion: always 20-30 years away.
Libertarianism is, at root, about an ideology rather than practical methods of governance. And the problem with the Libertarian Party is that "growing up" inevitably involves acknowledging a thing or two about reality, including about human nature and what it means to live among people with different ideas and opinions. And thus grown-ups tend no longer to be "libertarians" in any sense that could support a political party.
There are libertarians who are adults, in the biological sense of the term. And some of them are even grown-ups. However, I've found in debates with libertarians that when the debate gets down to brass tacks, one often (not always, but often), sees the libertarians go ad hominem rather quickly ... which suggests that they find "grown-up" to be an elusive trait.
“Actually, the problem with the Libertarian platform — particularly in regard to international relations — is that it pretty much requires everybody to agree to play by the same set of rules.”
Or, to put it slightly differently, the libertarian platform only works if everyone is a libertarian.
You can see this in Ron Paul’s positions on Al Qaeda, ie, the only reason they attack us is that we are over there and if we leave ‘over there’, they will not attack us ‘over here’ anymore. This is a the classic mistake of attributing your thoughts and motives to some one else.
Agreed — both here, and on your previous post about “first principles.”
Your comment sums it up just right.
Now that there is a real fight on the Dem side the support has dried up, you are exactly right.
Paul and Dean! Sometimes you feel like a nut and most of the time you are a nut! Two nutjobs and one happens to be in our party....I think.
Please thank your husband for us too.
This is ever the fate of those that clutch the viper to their breast.
ping
Thanks to Ron Paul, thousands of ordinary folks have awoken from their stupor. A new generation of conservatives have been born. Paul will be spoken in the same breath 20 years from now as Reagan is now. Who's going to call themselves a "Thompson Republican" 20 years from now? A "Giuliani Republican?"
And you might want to tell the fat lady to go back to the dressing room. Only 2 states have voted so far, and Paul has actually gotten more (popular) votes than both Thompson or Giuliani, and if it wasn't for free liberal media coverage he'd have more votes than Huckabee as well. He has more money than the three of them too, and he'll be in the race beyond Super Tuesday. Even then, he's in the unique position to go Independent or 3rd party, especially since the GOP is hell-bent on nominating RINOs McCain or Huckabee.
So Dr. Paul has already made his mark and he'll be in the same history pages as Reagan, Goldwater, and other great politicians, while the other GOP candidates will be part of trivia questions.
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