Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I had thought about writing this yesterday, though I wrote it today, inspired by the thread "What happened to Ron Paul", but I didn't want to hijack it, and in any case this is in a different spirit.
Here goes.
In the circumstances, Ron Paul did the right thing by shifting the emphasis from his presidential bid to his bid to retain his congressional seat.
One of the most important positions on Paul's platform is that the US return to sound economic policy, both fiscal policy and monetary policy. Dr Paul also knows the Constitution, so he knows that, ultimately, Congress is responsible for fiscal policy. It took twenty years for Congress to balance the budget through a movement that began in the early 1980s, I believe, with figures like Graham, Rudman and Hollings.
This sub-forum is about the presidential campaign, and I believe that it is somewhat naive to seek substance in this venue: yes, there are some policy differences between the candidates, but, really, it is mostly a popularity contest.
Just as important are the elections for the House and Senate, and Ron Paul supporters should follow his lead and concentrate on the elections for this branch of government which is just as important as, if not more important than, the presidency, at least as far as domestic policy, fiscal policy in particular, are concerned (but even funding for foreign wars).
They should also follow his lead by maintaining discipline and by not experimenting with third parties and write-in candidates (the US system is not proportional representation, it does not reward such initiatives), rather they should concentrate their efforts on promoting congressional candidates, ideally within both parties, that share his views on the important issues, especially fiscal discipline.
In short, Ron Paul followers should be pragmatic and focus their energies on achieving what is possible in the framework of the system, concentrating on those issues that are most in tune with mainstream America. For example, discipline means living within our means, a balanced budget, at all levels, from households to local government to the federal government. It means turning away from the mania to consume beyond the level of production, it means returning to a mode where hard, productive work, saving, and investment on free soil are viewed as values and worthwhile achieving.
So Ron Paul supporters should devote time and energy to local elections too, instilling their values from the bottom up.
He did well to run for the presidency to bring these values to the consciousness of millions of people, and he did the right thing by turning around at the right time to continue the battle on the proper plane. We should all follow his lead, one household, one town council, one state legislature, one house of representatives, one senate, one presidency at a time.
We should all follow his lead, one household, one town council, one state legislature, one house of representatives, one senate, one presidency at a time.
The truth is, I don't care much for his political views as they apply to households, town councils, and state legislatures.
I don't necessarily want my state and local gov't to start cutting services. The whole point of RP's candidacy, to me, was reducing the scope and size of only the federal government.
The best case scenario here, IMO, is that Paul's views become co-opted into the mainstream Republican party, and by 2012 we have a viable small-government candidate. Whoever it is needs to drop the unpopular ideas like "Bringing back the gold standard" or "Abolishing the CIA."
Paul has demonstrated that you can't win an election through strict ideology, because only a minority of people believe strictly in any ideology. In order to win, you have to be a little more practical and more flexible.
I don't necessarily want my state and local gov't to start cutting services. The whole point of RP's candidacy, to me, was reducing the scope and size of only the federal government.
The best case scenario here, IMO, is that Paul's views become co-opted into the mainstream Republican party, and by 2012 we have a viable small-government candidate. Whoever it is needs to drop the unpopular ideas like "Bringing back the gold standard" or "Abolishing the CIA."
Paul has demonstrated that you can't win an election through strict ideology, because only a minority of people believe strictly in any ideology. In order to win, you have to be a little more practical and more flexible.
Balancing budgets does not necessarily mean cutting services, and it certainly doesn't mean cutting essential services like utilities regulation, law enforcement and basic education, there are two sides to the equation.
In any case, I agree with ditching unpopular ideas and any strict ideology, and instead sticking to pragmatic policies and focusing on introducing Paul's best views into the mainstream of not necessarily only the republican party, but into the mainstream of any group that will listen to common sense without hysterics.
The majority of people outside of the internet had never heard of Ron Paul. If they had, they were misinformed about his positions. I talk to these people all the time. He wants to go back to trading gold coins? He wants to abolish the CIA? I think it's sad that people have no real clue about the founders' intentions when they wrote the Constitution.
Balancing budgets does not necessarily mean cutting services, and it certainly doesn't mean cutting essential services like utilities regulation, law enforcement and basic education, there are two sides to the equation.
My point is that Paul's views on local and state government are irrelevant to me.
I don't disagree with your statement, but I'm not following your point. So what?
Quote:
In any case, I agree with ditching unpopular ideas and any strict ideology, and instead sticking to pragmatic policies and focusing on introducing Paul's best views into the mainstream of not necessarily only the republican party, but into the mainstream of any group that will listen to common sense without hysterics.
Well, I think it's GOP or bust. I don't see Federalism and Libertarianism catching on in the Democratic party, given their proclivity for things like populism, economic egalitarianism and Marxism.
Well, I think it's GOP or bust. I don't see Federalism and Libertarianism catching on in the Democratic party, given their proclivity for things like populism, economic egalitarianism and Marxism.
And IMO a 3rd party is a waste of time and money.
I'm not giving up yet. The Louisiana GOP changed their rules at the last minute to exclude Paul's delegates at their state convention this past week. It was all caught on video and will be presented at the RNC in September. Paul's supporters are working to rework the Republican party. We want a Goldwater platform. Smaller government, less spending, a lot less taxes. The rest, we can wait until we have a candidate that will honor those things first.
The majority of people outside of the internet had never heard of Ron Paul.
I agree with this.
Quote:
If they had, they were misinformed about his positions.
I'm hesitant to resort to this as an excuse for Paul's loss. There's certainly some truth to it; however, it is possible that the meat & potatoes voters of the GOP were properly informed, but just didn't agree with some of his more radical views.
I think it would be productive for the GOP, Paul supporters, and libertarians in general to acknowledge that Paul was delivering answers to questions that nobody asked, regarding the aforementioned gold standard and CIA.
Quote:
I talk to these people all the time. He wants to go back to trading gold coins? He wants to abolish the CIA? I think it's sad that people have no real clue about the founders' intentions when they wrote the Constitution.
Well, I think it's GOP or bust. I don't see Federalism and Libertarianism catching on in the Democratic party, given their proclivity for things like populism, economic egalitarianism and Marxism.
And IMO a 3rd party is a waste of time and money.
Agree 100%. Trying for influence in the other party as well would be a second step, at least theoretically. Common sense without hysterics is the goal. We need to restore this to the republican party, maybe the democrats will catch on in a few decades.
I have been a Republican all my life, But now I got to see first hand the party is just a bunch of lobbyest same as the Democratic party. I think its just a waste of money that we keep buying into the party platforms. Private organizations should not be running an election !!!!!!!!!!The Constitution as we know it, is all but dead. Come on the biggest talk last week was congressional hearings on drug use in sports!! Why in the hell is the federal government doing this? What part of the Constitution is that under? Ron Paul is the only one in this race that has a clue what is going on in the house. Face it we have hit the turning point in the country and hold on to your hats cause it will be a fast trip down.
Agree 100%. Trying for influence in the other party as well would be a second step, at least theoretically. Common sense without hysterics is the goal. We need to restore this to the republican party, maybe the democrats will catch on in a few decades.
I think the days of the red and blue are over. This year we will see purple. I think people are way too smart today to be led like cattle!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
