The Other Side of the Ron Paul Revolution

I have returned at long last. Rested and replenished. No longer exhausted and writer's block averted. There are a bunch of articles yet to be written this evening and you'll get them before the night is done. Here is the first of a few.

The Other Side of the Ron Paul Revolution
Anthony Harris
Opinions Editor
anthonydeanharris@gmail.com

I want to get something off my chest for a second. There's been something bothering me lately about this election and people not thinking things through and about the subsections of culture that isn't really getting proper analysis.

I'm getting tired of the "Ron Paul Revolution."

Seriously, I'm seeing two factions of people in this whole thing and I'm about ready to see a stop to it. The people in league with Rep. Paul see him as America's savior. His libertarian stances are a good jolt to the GOP and to the American public, this is true, but the strict stances Congressman Paul makes neglect a significant part of America.

Rep. Paul may be a great constitutionalist, but he forgets the socialist aspects of this nation that supports our infrastructure. No, we don't have the best medical care, but programs like WIP made sure I am typing this out today because of the cheap, government-aided vaccinations I needed as a child. I remember people from elementary school who were on welfare. I remember people from elementary school who needed welfare.

The Ron Paul Revolution is a group of people who have rabid love for their candidate and this is entirely understandable, but this is because this is a demographic of America who will benefit from strident libertarianism. They are strongly middle class. They are more likely to have economic security. They are people who split the ticket when they vote. They are fiscally conservative. They are idealistically democratic. Of course, Ron Paul stands for their issues, but their rabid love is still isolationist when they believe themselves to be the best thing for America.

In this sense, they could be worse than the original Republicans in the stance of bipartisanship. They are the people who will destroy the safety net of many Americans who need the social elements of our socio-capitalist economy. They are blind because they have no need to see and they finally have a man who acknowledges their blindfolds and calls it more than valid.

On the other side of the issue is the media that refuses to accept Rep. Paul as a viable candidate and, more importantly, refuses to accept the legions of people who share his ideology. They pay no heed to the wonder of small government. They turn a blind eye to those who don't want government intervention in every facet of their lives. They invalidate the idea of American individualism in the realm of government.

The day before the New Hampshire primary elections, ABC in a joint effort with Facebook held a night of debates with the Republican and Democratic candidates. Congressman Paul was lucky to be sitting at the table. He answered his questions knowledgably and gave his base new hope. He even reassured me as a candidate in those moments when he wasn't railing against domestic policy that shaped my childhood, help provide my livelihood, and that probably helps put me through a rather expensive college right now.

The market is not all knowing and an S.O.L. stance with the lower class is not the America that we should tout as the ideal for America. But he got little camera time, no analyst time, little spin time, and no poll time. Needless to say, it's not like it would have helped his numbers in New Hampshire anyway.

But both sides seem to have forgotten something about the Ron Paul Revolution. The Ron Paul Revolution has potential because it is a strong, grass-roots operation. But people must also realize Ron Paul is an Internet celebrity. I have said this for some time, "Internet celebrity is not real celebrity." We can try to think it as much as we can. Tay Zonday can sing "Chocolate Rain" on Jimmy Kimmel Live and there's still a chance only a few people knew what was going on at the time, let alone his 4chan origins.

Rep. Ron Paul is the Snakes on a Plane of American politics. Sure, there are plenty of people invested in his success... on the internet. But this still doesn't change the fact Paul received only 8% of New Hampshire's vote, 10% of Iowa's vote, 0% of Wyoming's vote, 6% of Michigan’s vote, and not one delegate to date. Paul is saying what the people on the Internet want to hear, but it's the same as the $34 million gross of Snakes on a Plane. He looked like he was going to be huge when you factored in online buzz, but Internet celebrity is not real celebrity.

So I can understand why the media ignores him, but not to the extent that they do. Hell, I can understand why every Paul supporter ignores the lower class. The lower class doesn't have the resources to be on the internet in large numbers. But I want to give everyone involved here credit where credit is due. Some of Paul's ideas would be good for America and would be great as a consultant. He's great in the House. He'd be great on a cabinet. But he wouldn't be the best leader for America.