Guest Voice: Dr. Paul’s Glorious Drive For Freedom (UPDATED)
Bill Steigerwald is a columnist at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. His column is distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons.
Dr. Paul’s Glorious Drive For Freedom
It won’t matter how high Ron Paul finishes in the Iowa caucuses this Thursday or in the New Hampshire primary Jan. 8 or anywhere else.
He’s already won his prize.
Despite the fact that his ideas and his unconditional devotion to the Constitution are exactly what America needs, the Pittsburgh-raised libertarian doctor and 10-term Texas congressman isn’t going to become the Republican presidential nominee.
In Iowa, he’s been averaging about 6 percent in polls, though a Dec. 20-23 poll by the American Research Group shows him hitting double digits for the first time at 10 percent. In New Hampshire, he’s been hovering around 7 percent or 8 percent.
The actual vote totals may turn out higher. But he and everyone else who hasn’t lost his grip on political reality has always known that America’s future doesn’t include a President Ron Paul.
Yet Dr. Paul — arguably the closest thing to a libertarian America’s voters have seen since Grover Cleveland — has already succeeded beyond his and any liberty-lover’s wildest dreams.
In April, shortly after he announced he’d run for president, Paul told the Trib that his goal — besides winning, of course — was to make an impact on the race and to spread his ideas about maximizing freedom, limiting the federal government and practicing nonintervention overseas.
Though his presence at the debates has shown what a bunch of unprincipled, flip-flopping, war-loving, faux conservatives Messrs. Romney, Giuliani, Huckabee and McCain are, Paul’s political impact on the primaries has been minimal — so far.
The “Paulistas” who are fomenting and funding “The Ron Paul Revolution” in the virtual streets of the Internet complain that the mainstream media have ignored Paul. But it’s not true.
He could be the most widely publicized libertarian politician in U.S. history. He and his “radical” ideas have been publicized, praised or treated with respect by everyone from the constitutionally impaired Tim Russert to Jay Leno, Stephen Colbert and Tucker Carlson.
Carlson — perhaps Paul’s biggest fan on TV — recently traveled the campaign trail with Paul in Nevada and wrote about it for The New Republic.
Carlson observed the same humble, charisma-free candidate I saw late last June when Paul came to Pittsburgh to visit his old house as part of a “Today” show series on “Candidate’s Cribs.”
Paul, as debate-watchers know, is the anti-Mitt Romney. But Carlson notes, correctly, that Paul’s seriousness and lack of political slickness is a large part of his appeal.
“His fans don’t read his awkwardness as a social phobia, but as a sign of authenticity. Paul never outshines his message, which is unchanging: Let adults make their own choices; liberty works. For a unified theory of everything, it’s pretty simple. And Paul sincerely believes it.”
Paul has shocked the political establishment by attracting a zealous Web-connected army of young people and raising $20 million, almost exclusively over the Internet.
He isn’t going to become president and he isn’t going to convert the sleeping masses, the liberal media or even his own lost party to the tenets of libertarianism.
But sometimes winning the election isn’t what matters in the long run. Ideas do.
Remember Barry Goldwater? His crushing defeat in 1964 reinvigorated conservatism and spawned the Reagan Revolution. In a country still cruising down the road to socialism, Ron Paul’s success in selling freedom is a sign of hope.
©Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, All Rights Reserved. Distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.
UPDATE:
Here’s a list of some weblogs discussing this Cagle Cartoons column:
–Former Paul supporter Casarana offers a different view of Ron Paul.
Also of interest:
–NPR says Paul could do well in New Hampshire:
It’s all about the independents in New Hampshire. How well a candidate does in the Granite State’s primary can often depend on how many of those independents he or she attracts. And Felice Belman, executive editor of the liberal Concord Monitor, and Joe McQuaid, publisher of the conservative New Hampshire Union Leader, say the candidate who might get a lot of support from independents this year is Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul.
“He doesn’t show up much in the polls, but yes I do think he could do very well here,” McQuaid told Melissa Block on All Things Considered. “I don’t think he’ll do well past here, but I think he’ll surprise people.”
Belman agreed
“His issues are so disparate that he’ll pull from a lot of different groups …fiscal conservatives … anti-abortion people … anti-war people. That’s not a typical kind of primary voter. He’ll take away from everybody.”
While both journalists think that the voters of New Hampshire are watching Iowa closely, neither thinks that the state’s voters are waiting to see the results before making up their minds about who to support.
opinions powered by SendLove.to
22 Responses to “Guest Voice: Dr. Paul’s Glorious Drive For Freedom (UPDATED)”
Thank you for the wonderful article on Dr. Paul! But, why the insistance that he can’t win? It saddens me that so many people (especially journalists) have lost so much faith in the power of the people here in America to affect change.
The most rewarding part of being part of the ‘Ron Paul Revolution’ so far is watching apathy disappear from people. To see ordinary Americans energized, excited and enthusiastic about the possibility of meaningful, liberty oriented change is wonderful to witness.
In my 37 years I have never seen such a diverse group of people so committed to the cause of liberty. Freedom is indeed infectious and these grass roots are taking hold! These people aren’t ‘tired’ of the same old thing…they’re HUNGRY for the truth, hungry for something meaningful and are willing to do something to see it happen.
To say that Dr. Paul can’t win is to fall victim to the hopelessness that we’ve all felt when it comes to politics and politicians in general. Well, I’m here to tell you that the Ron Paul candidacy is offering you and every one of your readers something that hasn’t been offered in generations… a principled statesman that speaks for us…we the people.
Dr. Paul can win and I ask you to embrace that which you may have lost and which is lost on so many of us in today’s culture of war, lies and corruption…that thing being hope.
This news story gets first place on google news HOW the media and internet is rigged.WAKE UP PEOPLE. I just hope the polls are not. This article is ridiculous and a blatant lie to try to mislead and discourage people. Dr.Ron Paul won more straw polls than any other republican candidate, and did that get the number one spot in the main stream media NO! what about the fact that Dr. Ron Paul has taken in probably more money this quarter than any other republican candidate 18 million dollars with 6 and 4 million in one day setting a record .Don’t let the media decide for you Dr. Ron Paul has the best support out there.
Mr. Paul represents the Libertarian protest vote. Most of us understand that the libertarians joined with the Republican party as the lessor of two evils.
The problem is that they are aghast at a few War time incidents that all presidents have employed. Eavesdropping, internment. During WW2 the pows would have been held indefinitely until the war was concluded. This war still rages yet the Libertarians scream bloody murder that we are pissing on the constitution.
We are not. It is just that the Libertarians and the Anti/war have joined forces, held hands and now the 10 percent he is polling is the protest vote within the GOP over perceived injustices.
Had Bush really violated the constitution even the GOP would have hung him. It is just this fringe……loon…..Constitution thumping Evangelists of the libertarian vein that preach to us over and over the evils of BDS until finally a nation became brainwashed by its message.
Hallelujah brother. Shout it loud. Shout it long. Preach to the masses brother.
But in the end look at what the man has done in congress and what he stands for.
That can be summed up in one word.
NOTHING
“the Pittsburgh-raised libertarian doctor and 10-term Texas congressman isn’t going to become the Republican presidential nominee.”
can i use your crystal ball when your done with it?
“But he and everyone else who hasn’t lost his grip on political reality has always known that America’s future doesn’t include a President Ron Paul.”
insulting.
I’m sorry I wasted 5 minutes on this.
The real problem isn’t that some calling themselves libertarians are joining the radical left lunatic fringe. (I’ve seen similar nonsense by the same people in the past, such as denying that China is an adversary or a threat to any other nation in the world.)
The real problem is that the vast middle class, not merely the poor, are hooked on entitlements and they welcome an overgrown, over-interventionist federal government.
While reality has forced smarter Americans to reconsider this position, Goldwater would still face scummy treatment and an astounding defeat today; too many continue to find what Paul as well as those of us who are more reasoned want done in general to this nation quaint at best and obviously unacceptable.
The anti-war cause only makes some Paul fans look as silly as the radical left. Are Sean Penn and “Baghad” McDermott going to vote for Paul?
Meanwhile, the real issue is here at home — when you rob from several Peters to pay several more Pauls (pun not intended), you have the vast support of the several more Pauls.
One thing. This is a Guest Voice column. I’ve already gotten two very insulting emails on this from Ron Paul supporters. OR they are people Ron Paul OPPONENTS must have emailing people because they’re really insulting emails that go after me and this site. If people see their eye doctors they will be able to note from this post that it is a GUEST VOICE post which means it is written by someone else and his byline is there.
Secondly, the writer of this piece is saying that given what every single major poll has shown: Ron Paul isn’t going to win the Presidency, at least if he intends to do it through the Republican party. That is not an unusually harsh statement to make, given the polling numbers and it does not show that he is biased against Ron Paul. Unless I missed it, there is not one single poll that shows Paul in even the top four. This is not BIAS saying that. It’s stating a fact (if we missed a major poll that shows Paul in the top four, then please put the link in comments and we’ll run it).
Those who wish to email THE AUTHOR of this column (I’m changing the byline on this to Cagle Cartoons which it should have been anyway) can do so at the email below.
One bit of advice: sending name-calling emails to bloggers, reporters, blogs and mainstream publications doesn’t help your candidate. I got a lot of emails from people who like Ron Paul thanking TMV for running this so to be accurate the emails I got were not indicative of all Ron Paul supporters. I will delete any further emails from those people who emailed me earlier. No time and not worth the time.
Here is the email address to contact THE WRITER of the piece above if you want to convince him that Ron Paul is a shoo-in to win the Republican nomination:
steigerwald@caglecartoons.com
I have to add this. Just because experts and polls say that as of a given moment someone can’t win doesn’t means people should give up the good fight for their candidates. For one thing, political shocks do occur but usually the polls are NOT off by that much. Secondly, if the ideas of a candidate and the content of his/her candidacy matter then that must be continually pressed because it could be that in X election the candidate doesn’t triumph, but picks up enough support so that (a) the ideas triumph via a candidate with identical ones in a future election OR (b) one or more of the political parties “steals the thunder” of the candidate and incorporates their ideas so they become the conventional wisdom in the future. If candidates and their supporters were supposed to give up hope and campaigning, then why bother with costly elections? Why not just do a national poll on election day and let that decide the winner?
But that said, there is a reality in poll numbers. There is a margin of error. And that means that in terms of political science reality it is indeed highly unlikely right now that Ron Paul with the polling numbers he has is going to win the Republican nomination.
Could it happen? There are various reports that indicate if New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg decides to run he’ll use a chunk of his own big bucks to do so since money DOES count. And Paul has the money for advertising.
Still, it is hard to see an instance in political history where a candidate with such low polling numbers went on to get their party’s nomination. FACT. Not OPINION.
Paul won’t get the nomination. Nor will Huckabee. He might be offered the VP slot eventually, but the big-money crowd (I hope they don’t push Bloomberg, a big DQ, next year) and the big-government GOP crowd will not want Huckabee as President. The nomination will just be sought in a way that hopefully will encourage rather than discourage the Religious Right to turn out and vote. I suspect that even with a large R.R. turnout, a Democrat is going to win next year, anyway.
Here in Tennessee, Dr. Paul has had more folks apply to be a delegate than any other Republican candidate. Over 100. Fred Thompson is 2nd with 70-something. That is what counts.
Yes, you have missed at least one. With all respect I consider this AOL (isn’t that Time-Warner nowadays too?) Poll to be a “Major” Poll, especially with the very large sampling and “one ISP on Vote” set up. See it [and vote] for yourself. I hope you’ll make good on your post and “run” it.
I myself was awestruck at the thousands of self described RP supporter’s well written words on NPRs “Bryant Park Project”‘s weblog page as it grew the other week; seems this sort of thing is the real story, can you recommend a real news outfit where I can really read about it?
I agree with you Joe. He will not win.
The proponents of the Libertarian and alternative to the big two just SO much want something different that they get very animated and vocal in opposition to anyone who might throw water on their campfire.
I sympathize with them but if you look at Mr. Pauls record in congress it is the epitome of Nothingness. He opposes nearly every thing because it does not coincide with his version of what the constitution means.
Ron Paul for president means dismantling 225 years of work because Ron Paul says so.
Ron Paul for president means dismantling 225 years of work because Ron Paul says so.
Not true, Somebody. That’s also not true for the big-L Libertarians and those of us who are mainstream little-l libertarian (except where being an ideological purist is inferior to something else), who are among the many who know better about Big Government and reject lock-step approval of it nowdays.
The common starting points for “undoing” things are 1932 (as we’re almost at 2008, that’s 76 years) or 1913 (95 years) depending on the desired goals.
We know mistakes were made and hopefully these should be corrected. Given the numbers of those in favor of the New Deal and Great Society, in particular, it’s not going to happen any time soon.
Instead we settle for improved rationality (questioning the failed Gospel of Government, which only people who are stuck at the year 1972 or decades earlier still adhere to religiously) and, of course, damage control.
That’s why often the Republicans are the lesser evil, boring or unattractive or non-positive (as well as often unappealing) as they often are. Grown-ups aren’t beholden to the Democrats but at least look at the GOP.
DLS look at his record. I do not advocate that Libertarians in general are as obsessive as is he. Look at his record.
It speaks for its self.
I understand where libertarians come from. They are anarchists. Some more so then others. The ones screaming the loudest are the ones who would revert this country to 1779 and the articles of confederation in which states were supreme. This nation would be once again a conglomeration of states with a central government only responsible for defense.
A roll back is what they…all of them demand. To when is what keeps them splintered.
Somebody said “The problem is that they are aghast at a few War time incidents that all presidents have employed. Eavesdropping, internment. During WW2 the pows would have been held indefinitely until the war was concluded. This war still rages yet the Libertarians scream bloody murder that we are pissing on the constitution.”
There is a huge difference between WW2 and today. In WW2 Congress declared war – they have not since. We are either not at war or a in an illegal war. So please explain how you think that the same rules should apply today?
The dollar slid across the board on Friday as data showing a 9 percent decline in sales of new U.S. homes last month heightened concern about the economy, putting the greenback on track for its worst week in more than a year.
The housing report, which was weaker than economists had expected, also bolstered the case for more Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in 2008. Earlier this week, the S&P/Case-Shiller index showed a record decline in U.S. home prices in October.
This is what’s happening to YOUR house. All the ‘money’ and ‘equity’ you though you had saved – eliminated! The equtiy through falling house prices – and the money because we are DEBASING OUR CURRENCY. That low fed rate you’re reading about gets created by printing money and lending it to people. With more money, the money YOU have is worth LESS. So your money is worth less and your property is worth less – where can you turn to keep ahead of inflation? I think you BETTER turn to Dr. Paul. He’s the ONLY one running that has a HOPE of being able to deal with this.
Not all, just the ignorant and (worse) the childish who ironically ape the radical left in demanding no limits, standards, or judgments of personal [mis]conduct. They are the offensive ones to me, not the merely naive with total faith in what amounts in practice to an honor system.
[...] recently ran a post that simply did not mention Paul and got three insulting emails. Then TMV ran a column that praised him but said he didn’t have a chance of winning and got 10 personally insulting [...]
There is a huge difference between WW2 and today. In WW2 Congress declared war – they have not since. We are either not at war or a in an illegal war. So please explain how you think that the same rules should apply today?
This has been argued for 5 years. Nothing has changed. If GWB has violated the constitution then Impeach him.
find nursery decoration here…
I’m looking foward to getting all the baby stuff together. My mom already bought us a carseat which is convertable and should last the kid as long as he needs a carseat. It does not have one of those parts that comes out so you can carry……
find baby nursery bedding here…
Colour is everything- lots of bright, fun colours should be used to make the place as lively as possible. Go over- the- top with your decoration too. If you think something is bordering on the garish with bright reds, yellows, greens and blues visible …
find baby furniture cribs here…
My son is in fifth grade and is spending a great deal of time after school doing homework. I love to sit with him as he plows his way through history, English, math, science, Spanish and more. I have to admit that I am learning so much……