Ron Paul…What Happened?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Libertarian, Republicans, Ron Paul
If you followed Ron Paul’s candidacy closely, you’ll want to read this…
Before the election, pollsters such as John Zogby and Scott Rasmussen thought Paul might come in third place. [...] But Paul finished in a momentum-sapping fifth place, polling worse than he did in Iowa even after spending $3.6 million in the state. Only a second-place showing in Nevada relieved the doldrums of a bleak winter: 6 percent in Michigan, 4 percent in South Carolina, and 3 percent in the make-or-break state of Florida.The chance of a Paul nomination, never likely to begin with, became mathematically impossible. Once that became clear, interest turned naturally to the members of Paul’s decentralized, ad hoc movement—often dubbed the rEVOLution, after a slogan coined by Arizona libertarian Ernie Hancock. The big surprise is how many of his supporters want to scrap parts of Paul’s campaign platform. The big question is how many of them will stick around for whatever comes next.
It’s a good article, but I fear that the Paulites will just ignore it, call it trash, accuse the author of “not getting it” and being a shill for the media.
I’m also afraid that their idea of “what comes next” is just as fantastical as the likelihood of a Ron Paul presidency…
Can the Paulites make lasting change? Eve Fairbanks of The New Republic described Paul’s supporters as “the closest thing this race has to the Deaniacs of ’04.” Those Web-savvy, young, and excitable supporters of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean may not have powered their man to the White House, but their influence remains a potent force in Democratic politics. Dean’s Web team, including Matthew Stoller and Jerome Armstrong, became some of the loudest voices in the lefty blogosphere and go-to gurus for all Democratic Internet campaigns. Ex–Dean staffers populate the Courage Campaign, a liberal activist group in the MoveOn.org mold. And Dean himself has run the Democratic National Committee since 2005. If Paul’s people wanted to copy a movement, they could do a lot worse.I heard the idea of a Ron Paul RNC chairmanship tossed around by Paulites in New Hampshire, and I heard it afterward. They know it’s a pipe dream, but they’re starting to ask: How might an activist libertarian splinter movement influence a larger and more moribund Republican organization? “We’re learning this stuff for the first time,” said D.C.-area Paul supporter Brett Guidry during the week of the Michigan primary. “The petitions, the caucuses, the logistical stuff.”
I feel for the Paulites. I really do. The Dean campaign gave so many people so much hope and then it just imploded right before our eyes. The same thing happened in a less dramatic fashion for Paul, although I would say that the newsletter controversy pushed a lot of people away from him. More than many Paulties would like to admit.
However, where Dean and Paul’s stories differ is it’s obvious that Ron won’t become the RNC chair. In fact, it’s extremely likely that the most he can hope for is he’ll win his seat in Congress and maybe run for President in another four years. It would be a shame to see him become the perennial candidate, but I think that’s where it’s headed. Another Nader-like figure who had a chance at really being part of the debate, but instead chose to not challenge his party with a national campaign. There’s nothing to suggest otherwise.
Oh, and he’ll start getting paid to be a speaker. That’s inevitable. So the Paulites will essentially continue to give him money in one form or another and the “movement” will end, not with a bang, but with a digital whimper.
CORRECTION:
A commenter said this…
This post is dated March 10th, but a week ago, Paul won his GOP primary by over 70% of the vote. He has no Democrat opponent. Try reading the news before posting.
Obviously I knew he had won the GOP primary, but I didn’t realize he would run unopposed in the general election. Silly me, I assumed he’d have a Democratic challenger.
Still, my mistake.
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March 11th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
We are here. You can’t see us or hear us. We are your neighbors.
We are hard at work. There are more of us then you every realized.
There are more now that the media has shown the American public that it can’t report and they fix elections right from the tv set.
March 11th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
So, which way will things break?
1) the libertarians for the Ron Paul movement fade to the fringes
2) the libertarians overcome their dislike of large organizations, and gradually take over the GOP.
Anybody who foresaw the Christian conservatives taking over the GOP before it happened can make a prediction. Those of us who didn’t see that coming have little basis to guess.
March 11th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
“… the newsletter controversy pushed a lot of people away from him”, I disagree, I blame mostly the mainstream media for shutting him out and acting as if he wasn’t in the race. Ron Paul’s message goes directly against their interests. Media coverage can make or break a campaign, just look at John McCain.
March 11th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
What happened you ask?
IMO it would have been impossible to convince people who get their information from traditional sources to switch to Ron Paul’s ideology because it goes against everything they have been feed (IRS good - pays for needed government, Fed Reserve good - no more wacky gold standard, war good - protects our liberty). Even though these are THE source of America’s economic troubles and goes against the advice of the Founders of this country you can not simply tell these people they have been tricked - they get very defensive and ignore most of what you try and explain. And unfortunately there are Ron Paul supporters who start off in conversation telling people they are wrong. Instead if these Ron Paul supports went the much longer route in explaining (in simple understandable terms) how it effects their every day life and why it cannot continue, I have the feeling that even when the Media calls him a _ insert kooky term here_ he would have gained more popularity amongst the political savvy old schoolers .
Almost all of Ron Paul’s supporters were people who left politics in disgust or have never joined in before.
March 11th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Have you ever heard the story of the boy who cried wolf? See, these very things have been said since the start. I remember after the first debate, fox news - “Ron Paul, he’s done”. And it’s been going on over and over since. I don’t buy it sorry.
Personally, I never expected a fair shake in the GOP nomination. I don’t know why anyone would. It’s been clear since the start that the establishment doesn’t give a damn what people think anymore. They know they control everything, so they don’t care. It’s obvious that the GOP has no chance this election. Everyone knows it, and the GOP establishment is fine with that because there is only 1 party.
The election system is rigged period. It fits every description of fascism. You can deny it, you can say it’s minor or whatever, but the fact of the matter is it is there. From Mitt Romney buying multiple votes in straw polls (documented and allowed, no media report), to blatant media bias (documented, even videos showing specifically not to show Ron Paul supporters). Exclusions from debates, Polls just not even listing him at all in states, and then taking a national average where more than half the states show 0 by default. To closed primaries, not allowing people to vote for the candidate of their choosing, and numerous other problems.
And btw, Howard Dean got media attention. And lots of it. I didn’t hear about Howard Dean on the internet, nor did I see blatent bias against him. He’s the Democrats chairman for petes sake. He is hardly against the establishment, he was only against the Iraq war, no different than Kerry.
Furthermore, I have never, nor do I now care about what anyone’s opinions on what is possible is. It doesn’t have a thing to do with expectations. It has to do with being right, and standing up for the right things. It might not be possible to get the troops out tomorrow, but it is right. It might not be possible to have economic freedom tomorrow, but it is right. These are peoples opinions, not prophecy as the media tries to present their opinions.
And yes, these people and yourself are clueless. Because they think what the majority of people, or more importantly what appears to them to be the majority of people think/want is right, and not what actually is right or wrong. Because the majority of the people it seems, don’t even have the first clue whats going on. And that goes to the saying - you will get the government you deserve, not the government that is best. Because if the people don’t know any better, then they deserve what they get - and they will get it. It is when people stand up and say no, that it stops. Because those people deserve their freedom, and they will get it. Just like the founding fathers. They got what they deserved.
“If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a small chance of survival. There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.” — Winston Churchill
March 11th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
On the contrary to popular belief, Dr. Paul is still in the race. “Elections are short term goals, R3volutions are long term goals” - Ron Paul on CNN.
Every word that comes out of this man’s mouth is spontaneous. He is never afriad to speak the truth, no matter who he is talking to. He is NOT your typical politician, he is rather honest and as we understand it now, is not popular.
If Ron Paul was in India, he would be known as an enlightened master. The enlightened masters speak of the cosmic truth like Ron Paul speaks the political truth. Long live Swami Dr. Ron Paul Maharaja!!!
March 11th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
RP blew it. He started with a very conservative campaign plan and when the money poured in he failed to rev things up a notch.
RP is a smart guy but he played it too safe. The likelihood of him winning was never substantial. He should have played the hardline limited government message the whole way. It was his only shot.
RP is great. He has advanced the agenda greatly in a bleak time. We will soon need a new standard-bearer and we need a whole lot of other candidates like him but also with the courage to unabashedly advocate for freedom.
Seriously though, it will be a long time, a long long time, before his values are the core values of the Republican party so I question the decision by many to try and convert the Republican Party to our cause.
One of the great problems we face is the Republicrat duopoly. Instead of working to strengthen that duopoly we need to build up third parties.
March 11th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Hi,
it appears you are not in touch with the actual movement. I count just over 37 who are running for Congress.. It appears 22 of them may have a good chance of winning as Ron Paul Republicans for a few reasons.
Also, sevearl states have been taken over and the states GOP plateform mimic Paul’s run for office.
I know of at least one Senate member who will run for the Senate and someone told me today that it appears to be two more for the Senate,.
March 11th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
I read your article very carefully. The problem is, you didn’t watch Ron Paul’s campaign and his grassroots support. You didn’t mention his rallies with over 5,000 supporters that the media failed to report.
We’re not done with this election and we’re still here. The whimper you mention is your dream not the reality. We are busy plannning our next run. We have many candidates running right now for Congress.
March 11th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
I think that part of Ron Paul’s purpose for embarking on this campaign was to have a platform for speaking about issues that are very serious in these times. And in that he succeeded. Forget labels like Libertarian and Republican, and consider the issues he spoke on with genuine conviction. The inflationary monetary policy controlled by a group of unelected bankers called the Federal Reserve, and the consequences of such in the form of a free-falling dollar and a religious economic dependence on borrowing rather than saving. The propensity we have for attempting to control affairs around the world, whether by invading and occupying, subsidizing dictators, or other over and covert means, and the blowback that all of this incurs (also the fact that we fund this by deficit borrowing). The loss of civil liberties in the wake of 9/11 as a result of government-fomented fear-mongering and propaganda, and the associated government expansion (the neoconservative strategy). I could go on, but you get the picture. While other candidates were harping on petty, ridiculous trivialities and avoiding any real discussion of the issues, Ron Paul was repeating his points to a deaf and dumb media. Fortunately, with the power of the internet, the message was broadcast and I believe that it is a catalyst for further awakening.
March 11th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
We all knew the revolution would not be televised. It will not be stopped. Ron Paul’s campaign is just a minor skirmish. Whether it takes another two years, four, or twenty, the old guard will fall from its own weight. We who understand liberty, peaceful coexistence and the other virtues that made America great will be prepared, on that day, to introduce the world to America 2.0–the one without slavery, without warmongering, and without the petty intrusions of the state.
March 11th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I don’t understand the whingeing about closed primaries. The purpose of a primary election is for the members of a political party to select its nominee. Why wouldn’t this process be closed? If you want to affect who the Republicans choose for their presidential nominee, join the Republican Party and participate in the process.
March 11th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Maybe because I am a US citizen, not a republican or democrat. Why should I be limited in who I can vote for? It’s denying people a chance to vote for the person that want and be part of the process period.
And as for the fear tactic that people will vote cross party etc. People who would do such things will just register ahead of time. It’s intended to keep only approved people to vote.
The entire thing is all about controlling the election process. And that is certainly not a fair and balanced election as is evident here.
This is the kind of bullshit that happens in 3rd world countries, not here.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Well, badmedia, the answer to your dilemma is contained within your whingeing: register ahead of time in the party whose candidate you want to vote for.
Part of the problem is that the Democrats and the Republicans are two wings of the Big Government Party. We don’t really have a two party system any more, and with that in mind I agree with your point. If the parties were really differentiated, this wouldn’t be a problem and you wouldn’t be complaining.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Here they go again. The reason Ron Paul lost and the reason libertarians of any stripe will remain fringe candidates is this thing called the real world. The Fed is not the reason for our economic problems. Neither an absolute gold standard or a variation on it are some kind of magic cure for our problems. Gold standard economies just have a different set of problems. In the real world people like some sense of security. They are bright enough to know that they can bust their butts for their employer for years, earning just enough to get from paycheck to paycheck and a bad management decision, a desire to pump up stock prices for a publicly held company or an unexpected serious illness can cause it all to come crashing down. Libertarians as a rule want to eliminate any social safety net that isn’t private and they severely overestimate what private charities can do. They look to the past constantly, noting that in their opinion “It worked in *pick your favorite past era* so it can work now.”, apparently utterly incapable of understanding that intervening social and economic changes have made their romanticized ideas about what the past was like virtually impossible to recover even if they were true. It isn’t going to happen and it won’t happen for very good reasons.
March 11th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
the most he can hope for is he’ll win his seat in Congress
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
This post is dated March 10th, but a week ago, Paul won his GOP primary by over 70% of the vote. He has no Democrat opponent. Try reading the news before posting.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
hey! what about the march and rally in washington this summer led by dr paul? that doesn’t sound like a wimper to me, it sounds like revolution baby, and its loud, and thunderous, like zeus’s lightening bolt heading straight for the whitehouse!
for those of you who know who indigo children are, ron paul is an early indigo. thats why he resonates with the youth. if you don’t know what indigo children are, look them up. we’re here to change things.
March 12th, 2008 at 1:04 am
It only takes 2% of a motivated populace to change a Republic. This week we vote in the county convention and there will better than 25% of the total dedicated to RP platform.
The old guard GOP is sending canned Voice Mails pleading with us to change our minds. The problem is all the hype of McCain is akin to selling a dead fish to hungry man.
The Fish Seller looks like a better meal.
Because I am full of rage against the political system I will strike at the heart of my enemy, they are old and rotten to core and my son will not lose all his forefathers fought for while I live. I will take my time and creep closer each day in the name of my founders and country.
With or without RP this movement is marching, it is marching into every county GOP office and offering to help and joining up not to continue but to convert the Pro-Fear, Pro-war, Economic chaos and willful stupidity called towing the party line or voting for the lesser of two evils morass.
Yeah, I like that, it’s like the Borg, and the GOP white haired can do what they like , because it is over for the GOP until they changes their ways.
Rp’s movement will win not just because it is right to demand a return to small government but because the economics of the current system is killing the Golden Goose called the middle class and we have skills and experience and money and we are totally pissed off.
So blissfully walk your walk and talk your talk, just remember the 300 in every county sneaking up behind you. Can you hear that…., No…, Good!
March 12th, 2008 at 5:23 am
I am a diehard supporter, and I agree with what you said about the campaign, and disagree with what you said about the future of the movement.
We were up against years of endoctrination from both politicians and talk radio that has told people that the current Republican Party is what a ‘conservative’ is in the US. Nothing could be further from the truth. GW Bush is more like LBJ than Robert Taft, Howard Buffett, Barry Goldwater, or even Ronald Reagan. Millions of people listen to Sean Hannity and take everything he says as the gospel. We are on a long campaign to reverse that. The thing that is going to reverse that is being distroyed in the upcoming election. And anyone who thinks that McCain is going to win is delusional. Our 5-10% of the party will probably sit this one out, and that alone is enough to make him lose. I have been a Republican since I could vote, but by 2006 they lost me and I’m not coming back until the nutbags have been purged from the party…
These are people who believe in offensive war as a foreign policy, have no respect for personal privacy or property, and think that their job is to provide “security” for everyone. No where in the constitution is the idea put forth that the federal government is to secure people, the main reason being that in order to do so, they would have to have armed guards in our homes and drive us to work.
To do research for articles in the future, go to the dailypaul or search through some forums or even attend a meetup, yes, we still have them even after the primaries are over… that alone should tell you something. We are already changing state campaign platforms,
http://www.dailypaul.com/node/36385
The revolution is just beginning.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:23 am
“Elections are short-term efforts; revolutions are long-term projects.”
http://www.libertypac.net/
http://www.free-nefl.com/
http://paulcongress.com/
March 13th, 2008 at 12:38 am
What happened? you ask…
Ron Paul cured my apathy.
Thousands have opened their eyes and chosen to take the red pill.
The truth doesn’t cease to exist just because it is ignored.
We will continue to unite and speak the truth… more will listen.
Come back and ask “what happened?” in a year… or two…
Many with with their head in the sand now will regret that they didn’t support a truly great presidential candidate, and the beginning of an awakening…
We won’t have that regret.
March 13th, 2008 at 4:08 am
re: “…the Christian conservatives taking over the GOP”
It’s a match made in heaven (pun intended), since both groups encourage - or even demand - blind obedience & groupthink.
Unifying evangelical Christians is like herding sedated sheep.
Unifying the conservative GOP base is like herding cattle.
Unifying the Democratic base is like herding housecats,
But getting a useful plurality of the public to embrace their libertarian instincts is like herding scalded wildcats.
_________
re: “Millions of people listen to Sean Hannity and take everything he says as the gospel.”
Yes, mainly because his audience is far more gullible than the general population. Think about it. That’s one of the main reasons that right-wing talk radio is so financially successful - the same gullibility is what makes that audience buy the advertiser’s products.
In comparison, logical thinkers are not so easily persuaded, neither by sales pitches, nor demagogue appeals to emotion.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Justin, I feel you’re not seeing the forest for the trees. You’re still reporting on the political horse race like it’s some kind of sporting event. It’s not all about Dr. Paul. This is not a cult, although some act as if it were. Look at the issues. You may not agree with me now, but when gas hits 4 bucks a gallon this summer, (that’s just the beginning, btw), our awful debt situation continues to bear fruit, our hideous foreign and domestic policy bankrupts us and undermines our goodwill around the world, take it from me, four years from now even Dr. Paul and all the honest, far-seeing politicians in the country won’t be able to fix it. This is effectively over politically. The media and the political establishment demonstrated it’s capability at blocking public awareness of these issues. Nothing will change until things hit a very rocky bottom, and even then we will never get back what we once had. The poor and lower middle in this country will get annihilated. This is going to be worse than you imagine. It’s going to be a whole new day, and there’s a storm coming.
March 15th, 2008 at 1:35 am
It’s plain to see what happened.
American voters are lazy, uneducated, fools. We’re headed for a financial crisis, and when it happens, Americans will have nobody to blame but themselves.
Every country that went into a totalitarian government did it first by having an economic crisis. The stage has been set to place us into a totalitarian government. There’s directive 51, KBR has been contracted to construct detention centers, and the Federal government has been allowed by the lazy worthless voters of this country to spy on anybody, for any reason.
Enjoy sleeping in the grave you’ve dug, United States.
April 11th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
As long as the neo-cons and neo-liberals are running things it will be more of the same.
I think we should try and keep the dream alive for election cycles to come.