"What revolution?", you ask. I'm talking about the Ron Paul revolution. For those who are unaware, Ron Paul is a Libertarian congressman from Texas, who is running for president as a Republican. He's probably got little chance of winning the nomination, but he's having incredible success in his campaign, raising enormous amounts of cash, and gaining supporters, from both the left and right halves of the political spectrum.
I've considered myself to be affiliated with the Libertarian party since it's inception in 1972, and I've been deeply disappointed with its dismal track record and lack of progress in fund raising, publicity, and in getting candidates elected. Oh, yeah, there's been a Libertarian councilman or two in a few scattered cities, and I'm aware of a couple of county sheriffs who've taken office as Libertarians, but in 35 years, that's about the extent of the party's actual penetration into the halls of power. There's been very little success in getting libertarians into state legislatures and Congress. Ron Paul did run for president once before as a Libertarian, but the results weren't just disappointing, they were embarrassing. I think that he did a wise thing in remaining in the more well-known, if hated, Republican party this time. He's coming across as a real breath of fresh air in the debates.
But something is different this time, and I've been puzzled and amazed by it for a while. Ron is getting support and campaign contributions from everywhere. He even seems sometimes to be surprised by his success. Ron Paul's got some real momentum, and I just read an article that perhaps explains why. It may be that it's Paul's unassuming manner and his obvious honesty and integrity that's causing people, especially the younger ones, to become swept off their feet by him. The author, Carl Fiser, is saying that Paul's campaign has been hijacked; hijacked by the people:
The eye-popping reality of the situation is this. No longer can it be said that Ron Paul is running for President. Amazingly enough, his candidacy has been hijacked, and it appears now that the people are running for President. . . through Ron Paul! That’s the true revolution about which your neighbors are speaking.
Fiser's article was published only yesterday, and already it's received 179 comments, almost all appreciative. You can check it out here.
© 2007 by Bernard Schneider. All rights reserved.
