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Ron Paul is Dead - Long Live the Revolution |
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Wednesday, 09 January 2008 |
Ron Paul is done - but the political revolution he helped re-ignite will move forward The New Republic's well-timed rehashing of previously debunked accusations seems to have quite an effect in blunting Ron Paul's support online and in the voting booth. Instead of rallying to 2nd or 3rd in New Hampshire, a state we all thought we be good for him, he's falling behind Giuliani and even his previous Iowa turnout. Ron Paul's momentum trend is downward, and the decline is fairly steep. Andrew Sullivan laments, "If Paul cannot win or even beat Giuliani in New Hampshire, his most promising state, then what hope does he have?" Well, he points out that this movement has to be bigger than one man. As good as Ron Paul's ideas are, he is a deeply flawed candidate in the current political reality.  Strong Message: Weak Campaign The fire in the Ron Paul campaign came from his supporters. There's a following in America that believes strongly in the entire Bill of Rights and is not limited to conservative 2nd amendment buffs or progressive 4th amendment fans. On both sides of the political aisle, there's a deep vein that values American constitutional principles beyond the few key points they are inclined to vote for in the name of holding together a coalition. Ron Paul's traditional campaign infrastructure was weak. While this appeals to some populist elements of his backing, it was unable to capture significant mainstream support. Instead of focusing on official media sources, Ron Paul's campaign staff was trying to control the independent media that was doing its job just fine. An example of this was after the Dec. 16th money bomb, a record-breaking event coordinated online and completely independent of the official campaign. His staff asked actually asked his supporters to stop pulling such stunts because they needed a steady cash flow. The result? Steady declines in donations after the last money bomb. No more serious money bombs are planned, either.
The Future of Grass-Roots Campaigning Independent political activists may not care much about charisma and political savvy. We're the type who likes debate the subtle merits of competing policy proposals, and are not typically inclined to focus on things like who was crying, what they were wearing, or who likes them. But we can't ignore it, either. Its good for a candidate to focus on actual policy, but they need a traditional campaign that can make friends in the media. The heir to the Ron Paul movement (gulp, I hate to say it) needs to be younger, more charismatic, and have a bigger physical/vocal presence in the debates. Complex issues need to be broken down into "Bumper sticker slogans." Barack Obama is doing a great job of this: He posts extensive policy proposals on his website, but his speeches are composed of slogan-like summaries. Personality Politics is the only Mainstream Value Did you see Huckabee rocking out the bass guitar on Leno? Well, he rode that interview to a 1st place finish the next day. Compare this to Ron Paul on Leno before New Hampshire: He tries to focus on monetary policy and the history of American foreign policy in the post-WW2 world and he's rewarded with 5th. Paul had a great opportunity to play to the crowd and bash Fox News, but he took the high road and probably put the audience to sleep. The Revolution is Bigger than One Man Although Ron Paul's total support probably peaked in the period between mid-November and mid-December, the small-government, libertarian-conservative movement has demonstrated that its an important national coalition that can attract support from both sides of the fence. Liberty-minded independents need to reach across the lines of division that we've been painted into. Conservatives must be reminded that we value free speech, fiscal conservatism, and strong economic policy. Liberals must be reminded that we value the right of states to pursue extensive social policy at the state and local level. Environmentalists must know that personal property rights gives the court an effective means of dealing with externalized business costs like pollution. So long as Americans suffer the consequences of our current federal government system in their daily lives, so long as the popularity of both parties in D.C. declines, the movement is alive and well. Thank you Ron Paul, you've done a great job for this cause. Its just going to take a lot more time.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 09 April 2008 )
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