From the September 2007 Idaho Observer:
It’s a new morning in America: Wake up and join the Ron Paul Revolution
Ron Paul turned 72 August 20, 2007. Thousands of people all over the country came together at gatherings like the one above at the Varley home north of Spokane, Washington, to help him celebrate—and to help the grassroots of a real revolution grow.
In all humility, it is impossible for The Idaho Observer—a monthly, 24-page, tabloid-sized newspaper—to cover 10-term Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) and his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. There is so much to report and things are happening so fast that all we can do is print a few newsbits and a few essays in an effort to inspire hope—and activism in our readers.
Rep. Paul is the focal point of an awakening in America that is long overdue. His message is simple: Abide the Constitution. Never in recent decades have so many diverse (and traditionally adversarial) groups been so committed to a common political ideal: Non-intervention in the internal affairs of sovereign nations (or the internal affairs of the several states and their citizens), honest money, honest taxation—and immediate withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan.
This revolution has another interesting twist: It is bringing people out of their homes, away from their TVs and they are talking, organizing, meeting, greeting and involving themselves in politics the old-fashioned way—yet the Ron Paul Revolution’s phenomenal and continued growth is largely due to the networking and instantaneous live news dissemination power of the Internet.
If you do not have access to the Internet, you are missing part of the fun for sure. So, do not let your lack of electronic access stop you. All of us know someone who is hooked up to the Internet. You can use them to access info and to find out where Ron Paul "meetup groups" are forming in a town near you and you can go there and be part of THE most exciting, inspiring and hope-restoring development in our political lives—ever.
As an added incentive, one of our most maddening nemeses—the fourth branch of government (network media)—is really losing face in the Ron Paul Revolution. As more and more people come on board, it becomes increasingly obvious that the media has been assigned the task of marginalizing Ron Paul in favor of the status quo candidates. The disgust is growing, the fourth branch’s credibility is sinking and people are abandoning mainstream news sources while getting into the habit of seeking alternatives.
Notes from the Texas straw poll
The Texas straw poll held at the Ft. Worth Convention Center Sept. 1, 2007, has become famous on the Internet. Attempts by convention center employees to exclude polite but exuberant Ron Paul supporters from the event is now legendary and indicative of the machine’s attempts to keep the Republican party from being swallowed by the Ron Paul Revolution. The following report gives us on-the-ground insight into what this revolution will do for America.
By Madelyn Burley Allen
I joined a group that left Austin via bus about 4:45 a.m. Sept. 1, 2007 and arrived at the Ft. Worth Convention Center about 9:00 am. They were middle class Americans, 35% female, 65% male, ages running from early 20s to mid 70s, consisting of Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and Independents. There were buses that also left from San Antonio and Houston resulting in approximately 120 people being bused to the event. Overall there were more than 500 supporters at the event to support Ron.
Others came to the event on Friday, August 31. There was a luncheon and dinner that over 1,000 people attended to generate campaign funds, to be used in the primaries, t. These events generated $102,000 for the Ron Paul campaign while the rest of the Republicans totaled only $98,000.
It wasn’t the political party that we belonged to that motivated us to be at the event...it was Ron Paul and the principles and issues for which he stands:
• never voted to raise taxes - Repeatedly named the "Taxpayers Best Friend" in Congress
• never voted for an unbalanced budget or unconstitutional spending leading us to bankruptcy
• never voted to raise congressional pay
• never took a government-paid junket
• never voted to increase the power of the executive branch
• voted against regulating the internet
I could go on and on...
Ron Paul has stated in his speeches that his presidency would:
• End the IRS
• Stop the central bankers "inflation tax"
• Stop the financial dependency on China, Saudi Arabia, and other foreign countries
• Oppose trade deals and groups that threaten American independence such as: UN, GATT, NAFTA, NAU, WTO, CAFTA and ICC
• Protect our privacy and stop the national ID card
• Protect our constitutional rights and end the "Patriot" Act
• Secure our borders and end illegal immigration and "birthright" citizenship to illegal aliens
• Bring our troops home from no-win "police actions"
And...his constitutional voting record demonstrates his words are not just campaign rhetoric.
All of us were given Ron Paul signs to take with us into the program. My guess is there were a total of 2,000 to 4,000 people at the event.
Texas Republican party vice-Chair Robin Armstrong and event MC Michael Steele opened by describing the party platform. The content of their speeches reflected the issues and principles Ron Paul has been presenting during his campaign, in some cases almost word for word, but they didn’t give Ron credit or refer to him in any way. The one difference was the issue on WAR. They of course supported it and emphasized how right it was to make war on countries that have terrorists.
Several of the candidates supported going to war in Iran!
As an added attraction, Pentagon bombing survivor Lt. Col. (ret.) Brian Birdwell spent an hour talking about his experiences to boost the party’s pro-war position.
Message from Ron Paul:
Has this been a hectic and encouraging time! First we got almost 17% in the Texas straw poll, an event set-up to represent the establishment, with very restrictive voting rules. That 17% of the Republican hierarchy would support our views, after a full day of pro-war propaganda, is good news. Then we won the more open Maryland Republican straw poll with 28%. In both cases, as usual, hard-working, well-organized volunteers made all the difference.
The Fox debate was a lot of fun as well. It’s true that a few of the network people are not exactly with us on foreign or domestic policy (though one famous guy whispered to me that he is a libertarian), but the audience—with lots of students from the University of New Hampshire—was definitely fair and balanced, as their enthusiastic reaction showed.
My opponents called for more war, more torture, more secret prisons, more eavesdropping, more presidential power. Some seemed to identify the government and the people as if they were one entity. But you and I know that once the government moves beyond its very limited constitutional mandate, it is an opponent of the people, a rip-off operation that takes our money and our freedom and our social peace, and gives us a mess of statist pottage in return.
The government failed miserably on 9/11 to protect us, despite spending trillions. So the answer was supposed to be the giant, socialist Department of Homeland Security, protecting you and me from taking our toothpaste on the airplane. I was ridiculed for saying that the airlines, which know best how to protect their property, should have been allowed to arm their pilots. But then, you and I really believe in the Second Amendment. It is not just a political slogan for us.
When I discussed the blowback that came from us intervening on the Arabian peninsula, Chris Wallace asked me if I wanted to follow the marching orders of al-Qaeda. I responded that I wanted to follow the marching orders of the Constitution, and not wage undeclared, aggressive wars that cause us only trouble. This is mystifying to some, of course, but not to more and more Americans.
There was much talk of taxes, and a pledge not to raise rates. But as usual, I was not allowed to discuss my lifelong pledge to abolish the income tax. Just holding the line, when the government takes such vast sums through an illegitimate guilty-until-proven-innocent system, is hardly enough. We need to slash taxes and spending if we are to have a future of prosperity for ourselves and our families.
After the debate, many young people gathered around the stage to discuss our ideas and ask questions about them (and to have me sign their badges). My colleagues got no such response, and after a few moments, "security" ordered me off the stage. Can’t have any such demonstration of interest in liberty.
But the young are with us, and so are Americans of every stripe. Even party officials. When one of my opponents said it was OK to lose elections through supporting the Iraq war, that set party people’s teeth on edge, and rightly so. The Republican party is shrinking. We need new people. It’s either our ideas or President Hillary, and more and more people recognize it.
But the media, and everyone else, will be looking at fundraising totals at the end of this month. They’ll judge us by how we do. And we need help to wage what we hope will be a full-scale, 50-state campaign. Please help me head into the next quarter fully armed to do battle for freedom, peace and prosperity. Make your most generous contribution. This Revolution is on the move, but it very much needs your support.
Sincerely,
Ron
Why support Ron Paul if he can’t win?
We are all living through a critical time—both nationally and globally. Many of us have been watching in horror as our ignorant, self-absorbed countrymen remain oblivious to the tyranny growing all around us. Those of us who have been studying contemporary events through the perspectives provided in history can see that what we were predicting and dreading for the future is now our present reality. Right now things are very dark and it appears there is no hope; the bad guys seem to have won and there appears to be no way to stop the New World Order. But, there is an axiom in law: There is always a remedy. I believe that law is universal rather than afforded by man. In this respect, a remedy has been provided for us. Joel Skousen has stated it perfectly in the article below.
By Joel Skousen
Excerpted from: "World Affairs Brief, September 7, 2007. Commentary and Insights on a Troubled World.
Our dilemma
This is the most common question I receive among the minority of subscribers who are reluctant to "waste time" on a Don Quixote political candidacy. Most of you know that I don’t think we are going to win back our freedoms politically—though it is certain that even the powers that be (PTB) still concerned enough about Americans waking up to their "awful situation" that they continue to pour huge amounts of money into manipulating public opinion.
I also harbor no hopeful illusions about controlling the corrupt Republican party which has been taken over by globalists (as have the Democrats). That is why I have been more inclined toward principled third parties like the Constitution Party or Libertarian Party. However, it is my experienced opinion that barely 2 percent of the nation is capable of coming to a fully principled understanding of the issues, under optimal conditions.
That is just the nature of soft good people who are too spread out or lack the intellectual vigor to really think through the issues. Any larger movement of good people has to be driven by a combination of feel-good sound bites and bandwagon patriotism—not substance.
Why support Ron Paul?
Why then support the candidacy of Ron Paul? Simply because Ron’s candidacy is capable of building the liberty movement like no other person or organization presently can. It will probably be his last effort due to advancing age and it may be our last big chance to boost the numbers of people who will form the core of those determined to someday say to the government and New World Order, "Don’t Tread on Me."
You have to have numbers of people to make an effective stand against tyranny and right now Ron Paul is the most articulate and visible champion we have. Ron is gathering people from all across the political spectrum. I’ve been interviewed by radio stations on the Left who are fed up with the Democratic go-along party, and are talking about supporting Ron Paul. For the first time in history we have a person capable of uniting libertarians, constitutional conservatives and honest Liberal/leftists who oppose the New World Order. The political pundits have never before seen this kind of persistent "Internet effect" despite repeated efforts to downplay Ron Paul’s popularity.
We have never had this kind of opportunity before, and may not again, so it is worth supporting—for the movement’s sake. True, he isn’t going to win the nomination. The PTB would never let him win. If he ever gained the presidency they would eliminate him. But winning the nomination or even the presidency isn’t really the main issue at this late stage in the battle, because we aren’t going to win—and not just because of an evil conspiracy at the top. The majority of the electorate would probably not vote for Ron Paul even if they understood the issues because they have become corrupted by evils of democracy: Welfare benefits, jobs, government subsidies and the "benefits" of public schooling paid for at the expense of those of us who don’t want it nor use it. Despite the evils of fiat money, most would NOT vote to dismantle the Federal Reserve bank because of fear of what would happen as the economy deflated back to reality—and they would be right (in the short-term). The results would be horrendous.
The only issue that would bring the common person to turn on the establishment is a widespread understanding of conspiracy issues, and that isn’t going to happen either. No other topic is so taboo in the media except conspiracy—unless you are in the business of debunking conspiracy. That is permitted and encouraged.
At the bully pulpit
If you watched the New Hampshire debate on Sept. 5, you saw several examples of the clear and refreshing contrast between Ron Paul and the rest of the statists: The "top" candidates kept spouting the virtues of the Iraq intervention and were countered effectively by Paul.
"(Associated Press) ‘The surge is apparently working,’ said Romney, referring to the increase in troops. That brought an instant rebuke from McCain, who said, ‘The surge is working, sir, no, not apparently. It’s working.’ Alone among the contenders, Paul, a veteran Texas congressman with a libertarian streak, made the case for withdrawing troops. That drew a sharp challenge from Chris Wallace, one of the debate questioners, who asked whether the United States should take its marching orders from al-Qaeda. ‘No! We should take our marching orders from our Constitution,’ Paul shouted back, pointing his pen at Wallace for emphasis. ‘ We should not go to war without a declaration. We should not go to war when it’s an aggressive war. This is an aggressive invasion. We’ve committed the invasion of this war. And it’s illegal under international law. That’s where I take my marching orders, not from any enemy.’
"Occasionally interrupted by applause, Paul doggedly stuck to his point. ‘We have lost over 5,000 Americans over there in Afghanistan, in Iraq and plus the civilians killed,’ he said during his exchange with Huckabee."
HUCKABEE: "We bought it because we broke it. We’ve got a responsibility to the honor of this country and to the honor of every man and woman who has served in Iraq and ever served in our military to not leave them with anything less than the honor that they deserve."
PAUL: "The American people didn’t go in. A few people advising this administration, a small number of people called the neoconservatives hijacked our foreign policy. They’re responsible, not the American people. They’re not responsible. We shouldn’t punish them."
HUCKABEE: "Congressman, we are one nation. We can’t be divided. We have to be one nation, under God. That means if we make a mistake, we make it as a single country: the United States of America, not the divided states of America."
PAUL: "No, when we make a mistake—when we make a mistake, it is the obligation of the people, through their representatives, to correct the mistake, not to continue the mistake.... we’ve dug a hole for ourselves and we’ve dug a hole for our party. We’re losing elections and we’re going down next year if we don’t change it, and it has all to do with foreign policy and we have to wake up to this fact. How long - what do we have to pay to save face? That’s all we’re doing, is saving face. It’s time we came home."
Bravo. The distinction between Paul and the rest of the establishment candidates was even more clear on the issue of liberty.
Mitt Romney has fallen into the mental trap of anything is justified in war: "Use the law to follow people who are teaching doctrines of terror and hate, and make sure that if they’re doing that in a mosque, in a school, in a playground, wherever it’s being done, we know what’s going on. ... And if it means we have to go into a mosque to wiretap or a church, then that’s exactly where we’re going to go. Because we’re going to do whatever it takes to protect the American people. And I hear from time to time people say, hey, wait a second. We have civil liberties we have to worry about. But don’t forget, the most important civil liberty I expect from my government is my right to be kept alive, and that’s what we’re going to have to do."
Tom Tancredo, despite being great on the immigration issue, continues to scare me on the core fundamentals of liberty: "We have captured people who have information that could lead us to the next one that’s going to go off and it’s the big one. That was the question that I responded to, and I told you, yes, I would do—certainly, waterboarding—I don’t believe that that is, quote, ‘torture.’"
(I’d like to see him try it and see if he doesn’t think it is torture).
Here’s Ron’s response: "But you know, just going for increasing presidential powers, as has been discussed, is rather disturbing to me. This whole idea that we’re supposed to sacrifice liberty for security, we’re advised against that. Don’t we remember that when you sacrifice liberty for security, you lose both? That’s what’s happening in this country today. We have—we have a national ID card on our doorsteps, it is being implemented right now. We have FISA courts. We have warrantless searches. We’ve lost habeas corpus. We’ve had secret prisons around the world and we have torture going on. That’s un-American, and we need to use the power of the presidency to get it back in order, in order to take care of us and protect this country and our liberties."
Author Melinda Pillsbury-Foster, writing in opednews.com, summed it up well, reflecting the points I just made: "In the debate this evening in Durham, New Hampshire, Congressman Ron Paul again spoke the truth that all Americans, but especially Republicans, need to hear. No longer gasping at the single-hearted courage that propels Paul to speak truth despite the continued efforts of the NeoCon corporate field to maintain the myths promulgated by the Bush administration, the corporate CFR candidates, lead by Huckabee, attacked the only real Republican on the stage. The audience applauded loudly [for the anti-Paul forces, which is telling]. Many of us cheered.
"The Ron Paul Campaign is reshaping politics in America by raising the inconvenient facts that underlie the whole of American government. We have a Constitution; we need to return to it and to the original framing intended by the Founders. That means an end to the federal government as we know it today. Left and right, Americans from all political viewpoints are beginning to see the propaganda campaign to which they have been subjected and to understand just how far from freedom the ugly alliance of government and corporations have taken us.
"When the debate ended Fox was left holding polling results that showed Paul the clear winner [Ron Paul 33%, Huckabee- 18%, Giuliani- 15%, McCain- 14%, Romney- 12%, Hunter- 2%, Tancredo- 2%, Brownback- 1%] Naturally, the media will ignore the results, claiming that Paul supporters ‘spammed’ the poll. But they know perfectly well that is not the case. If it were so, the present technologies make proving that a simple matter. The IP addresses do not lie.
"Ron Paul is compelling the respect of ordinary Americans, the kind of people who had given up on politics. He is creating a movement more profound, deeper, and more expressive of the real spirit of America than we have ever seen."
The entrance (finally!) of Fred Thompson into the crowded Republican field reflects the establishment’s nervousness about Giuliani’s (the anointed one) ability to convince the core of mainstream Republicans that this cross-dresser is "one of them." He isn’t, and if core Republicans don’t go along with the manipulated polls showing Giuliani the perennial winner, then they have another phony conservative to take his place: Fred Thompson. They are also hoping Thompson’s candidacy will derail Ron Paul’s steady inroads he is making into the conservative Republican base.
In summary
We’re all busy, but as we try to decide if supporting a political "lost cause" is worth it, consider that our real purpose in fighting a strategic battle (with losing odds) is to use the existing and ongoing crisis to help others see the evils of false conservative causes, and false leaders (wolves in sheep’s clothing) and the hijacking of true principles for evil purposes. All of this helps us to prepare a "remnant" as Gary North calls them—people willing to see what’s real and resist vigorously when the time is ripe.
One of the first steps in converting good but partly blind people is to point them to something new and exciting that is happening in the truth movement. Right now that excitement is pointing to Ron Paul.
In comparison, all the other conservative movements, even the tried and true ones harkening back to "constitutional principles" appear old and stale in many people’s minds. Only the Ron Paul movement has the capability of gaining large numbers of converts to the cause as Paul makes clear the contrast between real constitutional conservatism and Republicrat socialism. He’s put a fresh face to old arguments and people are responding. That’s why this is the best cause to support right now.
We can and will revert to the old standards when we have to, but I do think this is a unique opportunity to double or triple the number of principled resisters to the globalist agenda. The more the media tries to distort Ron’s popularity and evade his candidacy, the more it riles up his growing band of supporters. This is good. We haven’t seen this kind of fervor in the movement for years. Keep it up.
Joel Skousen is a well-respected constitutional scholar whose political and constitutional commentaries can be found at.
www.worldaffairsbrief.com