Republican Debate Poll: 50% Vote for Ron Paul
The recent online poll at ABC News reveals startling numbers that show Congressman Ron Paul giving an overwhelmingly superior performance in the last Republican debate. Out of nearly 20,000 people that voted, Paul received over 10,900 votes. Click on the image to the left to see the actual numbers.However, the key word here is "online." You can be assured that Ron Paul supporters will seize every opportunity to boost his numbers, and most of Ron Paul's support is coming from the online community. However, were they to poll the "man on the street," we would likely see much different numbers. Like Howard Dean in 2003, Ron Paul is resonating with an internet-based constituency comprised of a great deal of younger voters--this is in addition to the vast amount of support coming from paleo-conservative/libertarian constituency.
Howard Dean made the mistake of being "bad on camera" one too many times. That will not likely happen to Congressman Paul. No other candidate--Republican or Democrat--has the character or consistency of Ron Paul. Even the Democrat darling, Barack Obama, is forced into pumping up his war rhetoric by threatening to invade Pakistan. He's obviously being advised to say such idiotic things. In the meantime, Congressman Paul remains true to his convictions and voting record, i.e. Paul is the only non-politician in the whole lot!
Even if Ron Paul managed to fight his way to the U.S. presidency, the resistance of bureaucracy would hinder his mission at every point. The military-industrial complex will not stand aside and allow our foreign policy to be taken over by a strict Constitutionalist. The welfare state will not seek employment elsewhere while President Paul deconstructs nearly 70 years of government expansion. In short, the totalitarians will not permit a single man to wreak such an overhaul.
That's why the real lovers of freedom cannot pin their hopes on "one man" winning a presidential election. In fact, this is not the real value of Ron Paul. Rather, the Texas congressman is the single greatest chance we have of awakening more Americans from the slumber of gradual statism and the rapid loss of civil liberties. The Ron Paul campaign is about "education," not election. He's forcing these false conservatives to show their true colors. He's showing that almost every war fought has been an unjust war; and he's pointing at what no other candidate since JFK has dared to aim: the Federal Reserve.
Politically, my confidence lies in education, and reaching 300,000,000 Americans is too difficult for any measly institution like Chalcedon. But, a Ron Paul can serve as a catalyst for a great political awakening. One in which the outcome is both exciting and terrifying. My prediction is thus: the state will grow more tyrannical with more domestic spying and an eventual evolution into an American version of the military state. In addition, the value of the U.S. dollar will continue to fall while the cost of living, and the cost of energy, continues to rise. Yet, at the same time, millions of Americans will continue to awaken to the threat the state represents, and this bifurcation will lead to a collision with the federal government and its citizens.
I cannot think of an example of a great nation returning to its foundations. They all seem to end with the bang of invasion, revolution, or economic collapse. This is why only an educated citizenry is capable of dealing with such national crises. Hopefully, a peaceful but determined army of citizens will one day make their will known and drive out the moneychangers from America's federal temple.
