Ron Paul Rallies the Troops

While the mainstream Republican Party was trying to convince the country that it isn’t doomed to disaster this election, Congressman Ron Paul (D-TX) held a rally attended by about 12,000, most of whom paid to be there. It marked the beginning of his political action committee, Campaign for Liberty. He just might revive the small government wing of the GOP.

Mr. Paul didn’t get much in the way of delegates in his presidential bid this year. That is largely because the GOP’s rules favor establishment candidates. Had his campaign occurred under the kind of rules the Democrats have, his delegation would take up 10-20% of the total. Indeed, he might have done even better because he would have been seen as more viable in the first place.

What he did get was an enthusiastic bunch of libertarians to back him with their internet dollars and their caucus attendance. One of the attendees interviewed on CNN was Carrie Duffield of Pennsylvania. She said she backed Congressman Paul because, like him, she is “dedicated to bringing the GOP back to its traditional conservative roots of low taxes, low spending, national sovereignty, sound money and a non-interventionalist [sic] foreign policy.” She added, “I wish the rest of the Republicans would come home.”

As the Republicans face the fall-out from the Bush years, it appears almost inevitable that they wind up in the wilderness. That is not to say that Mr. Obama will be the next president, although it is likely. Instead, win or lose, the Republicans have exhausted the ideas of the Reagan Revolution, and the party stands at a crossroads. It must define what Republicanism is in the 21st century, and even John McCain wants to distance the party from the current president..

The three main factions of the GOP are starting to go their own ways. The social conservatives haven’t got their school prayers and abortion ban yet after 28 years of voting Republican. The business welfare statists don’t care about that as much as a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailout. And then, there is Ron Paul’s libertarian wing. It offers the Republicans a way to return to their roots and at the same time turn their backs on the Bush years. Right now, the most dangerous man in Minnesota is a congressman from Texas.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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