Liberty Maven

This is an excellent interview with Ron Paul on NPR Radio’s “Talk Of The Nation” show. Ron Paul even used a little humor which is somewhat unlike his normal “serious talk” on the campaign trail

Listen the 34 minute interview at NPR.

Browsing the issues pages of all the presidential candidates last year revealed a glaring omission. Sure there were taxes, foreign policy, Iraq war, health care, immigration, and a slew of others, but probably the most important was not listed. “Has a chance to win” is the unmentionable issue yet it is the response many give as to the reason they chose not to vote for Ron Paul. “I’d vote for him, but he doesn’t have a chance,” goes the mantra. It trumps, “He’s crazy”, or “His views are too extreme.” Indeed, if “has a chance” never was, then Ron Paul would be the Republican nominee.

Of course, there is no way to necessarily prove this assertion, but the larger question is why “has a chance” is even an issue in the first place? In most other areas people love the underdog, but in politics the underdog is usually treated unfairly by the establishment (especially in primary contests) and belittled as “unelectable” by the media and therefore the masses.

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Readers of Liberty Maven know by now how much we adore Ron Paul and his message of freedom, prosperity, and peace. That does not mean we can’t be critical of him when circumstances call for it. Anyone who views the list of candidates Ron Paul has endorsed for office should notice something missing. He hasn’t endorsed a single candidate who is running against an incumbent Republican in a primary.

As a Ron Paul supporter of all the liberty minded candidates it greatly concerns me that Ron Paul has not endorsed some candidates who are close to 100% in line with his platform. A perfect example of this is the race in Virginia’s 10th District between Vern McKinley and incumbent Frank Wolf. Vern McKinley is about 90% aligned with Paul on the issues. Frank Wolf is an Iraq war supporter, who voted for both SCHIP and minimum wage increases along with the Democrats. Wolf voted against repealing the DC gun ban. Wolf voted for Bush’s prescription drug plan. Wolf just had a bill that he sponsored signed into law by President Bush that will make property rights advocates vomit.

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I cannot be impartial when reviewing Ron Paul’s new book “The Revolution: A Manifesto“. I’ve spent over one year of my life thinking “Ron Paul” in almost every waking moment. More accurately I’ve thought about the potential for true liberty in my lifetime.

As a Libertarian voter since 1996 I’ve grown accustomed to losing elections. For me that did not matter. All that mattered was that I was voting for the person I believed would best uphold and defend the Constitution. Hope for winning was never an option. Then Ron Paul came along.

I knew of Ron Paul and was ecstatic to learn he was going to run for President. I liked that he was going to run as a Republican. That fact alone gave me hope. I didn’t realize just how hopeful I would become. Early in the campaign I did not have much hope. I said that he is the one with the right message but is the wrong messenger. I never expected for him to raise so much money and win the hearts of Constitutionalists everywhere.

In the sound bite world of TV news and politics Ron Paul sometimes comes off as extreme. He normally shines like a founding father in the longer more in depth segments, such as the interview he did on PBS with Bill Moyers. Then came his book. It demonstrates his expansive knowledge of history, the Constitution, the rule of law, and political psychology.

For someone who has studied Ron Paul for a year like a graduate course in liberty, the book started with the same principled Ron Paul. As the book developed it got better and more enjoyable. In the end it left me smiling on the inside, happy to be a member of the rEVOLution.

Many will likely see the book as the end of Ron Paul’s upstart campaign for President. Those of us who have been paying attention know better than that. In fact, the last words in the book demonstrate that this is only the beginning. There are Ron Paul supporters registering as delegates all over the country. The Meetup Groups are still meeting and strategizing. Ron Paul influenced candidates are running in states from Florida to Alaska.

The Republican Party is slowly being transformed back into the party of the “old right” in the name of Ron Paul. No one is aiming to crash the Party. The desire is only to blow out the candles of warmongering neo-conservatism and rekindle the flame of liberty. We owe it to ourselves, our children, and the founders.

Ron Paul’s “Manifesto” manifests uncompromising liberty. It is the bible of human freedom. It is up to each of us individually to spread this message. We must take action now so that one day in the future our children will not dust off a yellowing copy of the book and ask “Why didn’t we listen to this guy?”

The latest reports from the Nevada Republican State Convention are disturbing on the face, but should give any liberty loving American a sense of validated unencumbered hope. GOP County, district, and state conventions all over the country are being dominated by Ron Paul supporters. Some say those words, “Ron Paul supporter”, with spite. As if it is a curse of its own. The supporters themselves wear the title as a badge of patriotic honor. In Nevada, the peaceful but determined “Ron Paul Revolution” struck a major blow to the establishment.

The Nevada convention divided the establishment Republicans vs. the New Order Paulites and the establishment cried for mercy. When the process went over the alloted time the Chairman called for a recess and left the room. No national delegates were chosen. The convention will be reconvened at a later date. This angered the many in the Paul camp. Indeed it seems the rules of the convention were bent (or broken) in order for the recess.

Many are angry over the events on both sides, but supporters of Ron Paul should be ecstatic. This is the kind of activism required to coerce the Republican Party back towards its roots. This is not a takeover, it is a take back. Neo-conservatism stole the Republican Party from “Old Right” Ron Paul Constitution oriented principles. The “Old Right” wants its party back and is willing to fight for it.

The decision (perhaps forced by time allotment) by the Nevada Chairman to end the convention before finishing the delegate vote selection is certainly questionable. Perhaps more important are the many patriots in Nevada who turned out for the Convention and involved themselves in the process.

This should make all Paul supporters smile because it further proves the message of freedom still lives in the hearts of some Americans and that someday we may be able to truthfully say that it lives in the hearts of ALL Americans.

The more news that comes out about the current administration’s foreign policy and Iraq war maneuvers the more Ron Paul’s Presidential campaign rhetoric is vindicated. If Ron Paul were the type to gloat we would likely see him prancing up and down the aisles of the House floor pointing at his cohorts repeatedly shouting “I told you so! I told you so!”

As enjoyable that act would be for Ron Paul’s supporters, it is unlikely to happen. Ron Paul is a gentleman in the truest sense. Today media pundits feel vindicated at their negative predictions regarding Ron Paul’s chances for the GOP nomination. It must be nice to be able to make predictions and then have the power to help them come about. The media marginalization of Ron Paul is just one example of this. In another example, it is Ron Paul who is vindicated.

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Throughout Ron Paul’s campaign he has been called many inaccurate and demeaning names: kook, mayor of crazytown, etc.. It is interesting that not many people call him a pacifist. For someone who rejects preemptive war and wishes the troops would come home from overseas, that is surprising. Also interesting is that it is proper not to label him a pacifist, but the truth never stopped them before.

He voted for going after Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan. He has continually spoken as a proponent for the Christian “just war” doctrine. So if an attack is truly imminent or if a retaliatory strike is required he would be for it. It comes down to a matter of focus. He focuses on defense, while our recent policy focus from both Democrats and Republicans has been on offense.

Contrast this with labeling John McCain a warmonger. Ed Schultz, a left leaning radio talk show host, called McCain a “warmonger” at an Obama rally over the weekend. The McCain campaign cried foul and sure enough, the Obama campaign rejected the remark as false. By definition John McCain is a warmonger. No one should be apologizing or crying foul. He advocated the “surge”. He advocates maintaining a presence in Iraq for possibly 100 years. He has also said that “there will be more wars.”

If John McCain is not a warmonger then Ron Paul doesn’t believe in the Constitution.

It’s too bad the Obama campaign doesn’t have the political chops to publicly stand behind a comment everyone knows to be true. I guess that’s why his campaign is all about the audacity of hope, instead of the audacity of truth. For me, I’d rather have truth.

The ideological Ron Paul math can be summed up with the following expression:

Ron Paul(Foreign Policy) + Ron Paul(Economy) = The Solution

Ron Paul’s position on foreign policy is consistent with his position on economics. He preaches non-intervention overseas and the deregulation of markets. His positions are interesting in that they steadfastly refuse to contradict each other. Likewise, He is pro-life and against the death penalty. Many other Republicans contradict their pro-life view by supporting the death penalty.

His is a true non-interventionist position. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have a faux non-interventionist position. They make the colossal mistake of thinking that pulling out of Iraq is enough non-intervention. Ron Paul correctly and consistently points out that Iraq is only part of the entire foreign policy portrait. Obama and Clinton do not preach non-interventionism because they don’t believe in the principle. They will not bring our troops home from Germany or Korea. They advocate repositioning troops from Iraq to Afghanistan. This is hardly any real “change” from George W. Bush. Chances are neither would even follow up on their promise to bring our troops home from Iraq. Certainly, some new excuse to keep troops there can be manufactured when the time comes.

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Throughout the Ron Paul campaign amateur and professional pundits on television, newspapers, blogs, and forums were quick to point out that Ron Paul supporters were made up of crazy conspiracy theorists. This apparently, meant that by association Ron Paul was one as well. Similarly, Obama was guilty by associating with Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Both were and are unfair.

The recent events of Ron Paul supporters organizing and working within GOP convention rules to win delegate seats and resolutions has been labeled by the Republican establishment as a coup against the Republican party. This notion is preposterous and is nothing more than a conspiracy theory of their own in order to motivate opposition to true conservative ideas. Ideas that they say they believe in, but rarely practice anymore.

The recent events at GOP conventions in both Missouri and Texas show that Ron Paul supporters are not going away no matter what tactics are used to thwart them. Ron Paul supporters are not trying to “take over the Republican party”. They are merely trying to revive the conservative roots of the party.

There was a time when Republicans were conservative. They believed in non-interventionism, low taxes, controlled spending, small government, free markets, individual freedom, and the Constitution. Today’s Republican Party is nothing more than a public relations firm set up to hide that Republicans rarely vote in line with conservative principles anymore. Ron Paul and his supporters just want to restore truth to the rhetoric.

Political discourse in America is a washing machine spinning without any clothes inside. It’s all about the power and money grab to get elected. In Ron Paul many see something different. A candidate of integrity, honesty, and principle. Those that latched on to his campaign were quick to point out that once you actually listened to the man, ignored the media marginalization, and researched his positions, he was hard not to support.

In a perfect America we would all be tuned in to the rhetoric of our leaders and potential leaders. In a perfect America our leaders and potential leaders would stay true to their principles once in office. In a perfect America we would not dismiss a candidate because of his perceived “zero” chance at winning. In a perfect America we would vote for the candidate who we believe would best uphold the Constitution. After all that is their ultimate oath and supposed obligation.

The American citizen has become nothing more than a polling demographic for office seekers to utilize for snake oil pandering. Whatever happened to our founding principles of individual rights? There were many words spoken by Ron Paul during his campaign that resonated with me, but there is one I will always remember, “I serve the smallest possible special interest group: The Individual (paraphrased)”. Bravo Doctor.

Now the Republican establishment is accusing Ron Paul supporters of taking over the party. Maybe they should stop with their own conspiracy theories. Ron Paul supporters are merely trying to rescue the Republican Party and take it back to its true conservative roots. Something that is long over due. Instead of denigrating and blocking the Paul supporters, they should welcome the infusion of new blood. Hopefully they realize it before it is too late.

If John McCain had his way a book released last month would be banned. “Who Speaks For Islam? What A Billion Muslims Really Think” analyzes the results of a 6 year survey (2001 - 2007) about what Muslims think about America and the West. The survey sample represents “more than 90% of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims, making this the largest, most comprehensive study of contemporary Muslims ever done.”

To put it simply, the findings show that Ron Paul is right and John McCain is wrong.

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