From the February 2008 Idaho Observer:


The Revolution Party

By Hari Heath

Is the Ron Paul Revolution solely a one-shot deal for the Republican nomination so Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) can be elected the 44th president of the United States next November?

Though it would be wonderful if Dr. Paul were elected president, that is when the real work would begin. That is when we, the fully-awake base of his support, would assume the responsibility of helping him implement the changes his candidacy is proposing. With Ron Paul as our president, we would be teaching people how to thrive in a land of limited government and modeling the noble behavior of men and women living in freedom.

While we should not lose hope that Ron Paul could be elected president, there are a few temporal realities that must first be overcome before the 10-term Congressman from Texas can move into the White House. He must, in the next few months, overcome the apathy and ignorance of the American people, the pro-establishment bias of the corporate media and their corporate advertisers, unaccountably stuffed electronic ballot boxes and the ruthless intentions of the power elite.

Regardless of the outcome of the 2008 elections, the Ron Paul candidacy has changed America by planting the seeds of revolution in the hearts and minds of Americans. He has used his time on TV to deliver long-overdue messages about the real problems facing our country, their actual rather than feigned causes and has offered some genuine solutions. The Paul campaign is injecting substantive debate on real subjects, leaving the media pundits to wallow in their placebo rhetoric. Their pabulum coverage fails to reach to the core of the issues, leaving those hungry for the truth unsatisfied.

The last two elections proved to a few of us that U.S. elections are rigged. The Ron Paul Revolution has broken the story wide open and now millions can see the absolutely corrupted nature of the electoral process and the conventional media’s complicity in manufacturing electoral outcomes.

With each primary, ever-increasing numbers of people are suddenly seeing the false reporting, slanted sound bytes and the major discrepancies between pre and exit polling and the reported election results.

The prevalence of electronic and conventional vote fraud is now evidenced as a systemic, interstate problem.

Revolution!

Perhaps the most important purpose of the Paul campaign is to foment a revolution. On this point there has been considerable success. The grassroots up swelling behind the Paul campaign has taken on a life of its own. Across the political spectrum, people have joined forces to promote Ron Paul and his message of hope for America.

The movement to support Ron Paul and the ideas and principles he espouses, has become nothing short of a phenomenon.

Restart?

If Ron Paul becomes president we could hit the restart button on the Constitution. We could begin to reverse our nation’s long slide into homeland fascism. We could terminate the root of our present evils—the Federal Reserve System and parasitical enterprises like the IRS, which have grown up around it. We could trim the nation’s sails and throw the bureaucratic ballast overboard. We could bring our military home, mind our own internal affairs and leave the rest of world to manage theirs. We could restore our Republic, its principles and its standing in the community of nations and resume equitable trade relations with foreign countries.

But we are a long way from getting to that point. With an uphill battle against a corrupted election process and a venal media, a Ron Paul Republican nomination is a long shot. So where do we go from here?

Third party?

Many have suggested a third party run. But what party? The Libertarians have barely received any press so far this election cycle and, as usual, they haven’t gone much farther than collecting some lofty ideals into a platform and throwing a handful of obscure candidates into scattered races. The Constitution Party shares a similar fate. For all their high principles and efforts over the years, neither of these alternative parties has made much headway against the Democratic/Republican consortium.

An independent run is also a long shot. At least as a Republican they had to let Ron Paul into some of the debates. The media’s hush today will become deadly silence if Dr. Paul were to mount a campaign as an independent.

Revolutionary assets

But look at the real assets of the Ron Paul Revolution.

• We have more active meet-up groups than the Libertarian and Constitution parties ever hoped for.

• We have the most dedicated and enthusiastic corps of highly-motivated volunteer political campaign supporters in recent memory.

• Many Ron Paul Revolutionaries have never been part of a political campaign. Many more had given up on the political process completely and are coming out to support Ron Paul because they want to be part of America’s rebirth.

• There are more Ron Paul yard signs than all other candidates combined. Most of them don’t even mention the Republican Party, so there’s no need to make new signs.

• Activists from all walks of life, all political parties and philosophical beliefs are joining forces for freedom. The inactive have mobilized. The seeds of discontent have sprouted in a nation ripe for change. It’s time to fertilize, water, weed and harvest a new future.

The challenge ahead

It appears that the Republican Central Committee has decided that the worst possible Republican candidate—McCain—is slated to be the party choice to run against either Hillary or Obama. Unless we rally so much popular support for Ron Paul’s nomination that the system pays delegates to nominate McCain, the chances that he will be invited to receive the Republican nomination at the national convention in Denver this coming August are slim.

The solution:

It’s time for the Revolution Party! It’s the only party with a future. As Ron Paul has repeatedly stated about his campaign, "This is only the beginning." It is time for the Ron Paul Revolution to become the Revolution Party.

Ron Paul recently denied that he will make a third party run stating, "Of course, I am committed to fighting for our ideas within the Republican Party, so there will be no third party run. I do not denigrate third parties—just the opposite and I have long worked to remove the ballot-access restrictions on them. But I am a Republican and I will remain a Republican."

Understandably, given the choice between the Libertarian, Constitution and Green Parties, he would choose not to make a third party run. Can he be drafted to spearhead a newly formed Revolution Party? Has he spoken to this subject already?

"If I may quote Trotsky of all people, this Revolution is permanent. It will not end at the Republican convention. It will not end in November. It will not end until we have won the great battle on which we have embarked. Not because of me, but because of you. Millions of Americans — and friends in many other countries — have dedicated themselves to the principles of liberty: To free enterprise, limited government, sound money, no income tax and peace. We will not falter so long as there is one restriction on our persons, our property, our civil liberties," so sayeth Dr. Paul in a recent letter to his supporters.

The DemoPublican demise

Democrats have made a mockery of democracy. We only have to look at the 2006 democratic "takeover" of Congress to see the hollowness of their promise. That supposed vote for change did absolutely nothing and many Democrats are understandably outraged.

The current crop of so-called Republicans has similarly outraged their Republican base with the policies of the current neo-fascist administration and the destruction of almost everything red-blooded Americans hold dear. The Democrats and Republicans are spiraling to their demise. Their false promises and hollow rhetoric are quickly running out of gas.

The Revolution Party is ripe to pick up support from all sides of the political spectrum, just as the Ron Paul Revolution has.

A call to action

Support is one thing and success is another. I am just a lone voice in the wilderness with an idea. I don’t have the skills to set up and operate

www.therevolutionparty.com,

or some similar domain, but someone in OUR revolution does. I don’t know how to run a money bomb for our new party, but someone in the Ron Paul Revolution sure can. I know nothing about how to start a new party, get it on the ballot in 50 states and win. But some of my fellow Americans do.

We have about eight months to get Ron Paul elected. I hear there is this thing called the Internet that has created its own revolution in politics and left the conventional party hacks scratching their heads in disbelief and amazement. Let’s use it again and eclipse the Democrat/Republican consortium before they catch on.

This is only the beginning! The Revolution Party is not just a springboard for Ron Paul in the post-primary election season. It’s a platform for a new field of candidates to run for many federal, state and local offices. It’s a vehicle to launch a new revolution in American politics and turn this country around while we still have one.

To quote from Ron Paul’s recent letter again, "In the meantime, onward and upward! The neocons, the warmongers, the socialists, the advocates of inflation will be hearing much from you and me."

It’s time for the Revolution Party!