“In contrast to the presently leading candidates, Ron has had one and the same wife for some 50 years. When the Christian right discovers him, he’ll get a big boost. They agree on guns, abortion and immigration (on the latter two I happen to disagree with Ron). The mainstream media try to paint Ron as a Libertarian, not a Republican. Nonsense; he is both. Of course, he is a libertarian, but he is ALSO a Republican; a Taft Republican. Happily, one of the early elections will take place in New Hampshire, chock full of Free State Project libertarians.
Further, and TERRIBLY important, Ron is the ONLY Republican who can beat Hillary. He’ll “steal” many antiwar democrats from her. As a doctor, he’ll kick her butt on socialized medicine. The reason Ron is now so low in the polls is that most people simply haven’t yet HEARD of him. When they do, WATCH OUT! When Republicans come to realize that only Ron can beat Hillary, there will be no stopping the publicity for the free society.
But none of this is entirely relevant to your Institute’s non-support for Ron. Let us stipulate that you are right, I am wrong, and that Ron’s candidacy will not succeed. But, still, he’s got almost $6 million in the bank. Soon, he’ll start an advertising campaign. This will have the effect of massively promoting liberty, even more than so far. In fact, I would say that Ron has ALREADY promoted liberty to the average person better than anyone in history. Ayn Rand only comes in second, in my opinion. Ron will next week be on the Jay Leno show for goodness sake. Even the NY Times now writes about him without calling him a wierdo. And this is only the tip of the veritable iceberg. I tell you B, when his campaign first started, I used to hungrily search for mention of Ron. I can no longer do that. To keep up with the publicity he is now garnering, I’d have to devote my full-time efforts to this one task. Ron is a one-man band of publicity for liberty. I am appalled that (your Institute) takes the stance on him that it does. In my view, Ron is a sort of litmus test for libertarianism. So far, (your think tank) is failing this test. Can you not talk Ron up with X and Y and your other colleagues?”
Walter Block (writing in LRC) is absolutely right on this. The constituency that needs to hook up with Dr. Paul is the Christian evangelical, yes, even the prowar crowd.
I slanted “Mobs, Messiahs and Markets” as best I could, toward traditionalists – no easy task, considering some of our positions.
I think it worked. If so, it was – at least, on my side – a contribution toward the campaign of the most honest man in Washington – Ron Paul.
(I should add that I also think Kucinich is a principled politician – on the Iraq war especially)
GO RON!
Some on the Religious Right are already in Ron Paul’s camp. Pastor Chuck Baldwin and others are writing about this.
I don’t understand why Phyllis Schlafley is not there. On the abortion issue, she proposed in her book The Supremacists the exact solution that Ron Paul has proposed in legislation year after year. That is jurisdiction stripping.
The kind of government established by our Constitution is so obviously consistent with the blueprint laid out in the Bible for civil government, that it amazing to me that more people of the Religious Right have not bolted to Ron Paul’s side. I can only figure that they are focusing too much on the conversion experience and not at all on the historical wisdom exhibited in the pages of the Bible.
One of the problems is that people think you can only live with people in a country if you get them to agree with you on major issues. They worry that Paul will strip women of the freedom to choose an abortion if they want one.
Not at all. What he wants is for the federal government stay out of the issue. Which is quite right.
I’ve a lot of confidence that evangelicals will come around to the man who most obviously represents their religious values as well as the political values on which this country was founded.
I actually emailed our book promo to a couple of televangelists.
In America, the church is usually where movements begin..
Maybe we should call it Ron Paul Revival!