March 03, 2010 News+Opinion » Jack Hunter

Followers of the Texas Congressman represent the real conservative movement 

Ron Paul's People

by Jack Hunter
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When Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was censured by various GOP county committees in his own state recently, Graham blamed it on "Ron Paul people." When Florida governor and U.S. Senate candidate Charlie Crist was defeated in a Republican straw poll by challenger Marco Rubio in December, Crist complained it was nothing more than "Ron Paul people."

At this year's 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., there were plenty of Ron Paul people, enough to deliver the congressman a first-place victory in the annual CPAC straw poll, which has long been considered a decent gauge of the GOP's mindset.

But when Paul's victory was announced, much of the CPAC crowd booed. Those pesky Ron Paul people had struck again, it seemed. Many Republican establishment types quickly dismissed the poll. But two glaring questions remain: Who is it that Paul's critics prefer? And what kind of "people" are they?

What, for example, are "Mitt Romney people"? When Romney, who placed second in this year's straw after having won the poll the last three years, was introduced at CPAC by newly elected Sen. Scott Brown, the two Massachusetts politicians stood side-by-side before a cheering conservative audience. The crowd seemed oblivious to the fact that both men helped implement government-mandated healthcare in their home state, a plan similar to the Democrats' current national plan. President Obama and his party have often cited the Massachusetts plan, known as "Romneycare," as the model for Obamacare. In his speech, Romney also praised George W. Bush. The crowd went wild.

What are "Dick Cheney people"? After receiving a standing ovation at CPAC, Cheney said, "A welcome like that almost makes me want to run for office," which elicited chants of "run, Dick, run!" from the audience. Cheney promised that Obama would be a "one-term president" and said that conservatives could look forward to victory in 2010. When you consider the former vice president's big-government track record, the idea of him telling conservatives what to do is as laughable as Tiger Woods giving marital advice. Yet loudly and with zero irony, the folks at CPAC cheered Cheney.

And we could go down the list of CPAC speakers: What are Newt Gingrich, John Boehner, or Tim Pawlenty "people"? What solid, tangible conservative platform are any of these people suggesting, beyond defeating Obama and the Democrats in 2010 and 2012? Is a return to Bush Republicanism really a desirable goal, as Romney and Cheney's warm welcomes seemed to suggest? According to Rush Limbaugh, Paul's straw-poll victory is a sign that CPAC simply wasn't conservative this year. This begs the question, if Paul isn't conservative, then who is "conservative," Rush?

Ask yourself this: Since CPAC's inception in 1973, what has actually been done to shrink the size of government? What about the last Republican administration gives anyone hope for a better, more conservative future?

When you boil it all down, those who complain about Ron Paul people only care about one thing: GOP victory. Those at CPAC who cheered Romney, Cheney, and the conventional rest have no intention of ever challenging the status quo precisely because they are the status quo.

And then there are the so-called Ron Paul people. Paul's CPAC speech was not simply an exercise in Democrat bashing. It was a lesson on how the GOP must finally deliver on the conservatism it has always promised. According to Paul, Republicans must finally show true fidelity to the Constitution. Paul asked the crowd to cast a critical eye upon the Right's enthusiasm for wars that don't make much sense and cost too much money and the party's propensity for incurring massive debt. In short, Paul called for an end to big government — even the GOP form of it. Asks Pat Buchanan: "Who in the Republican Party today is calling for a Barry Goldwater-like rollback of federal power and federal programs? Except Ron Paul." Answer: No one.

Often derided, the many young people who support Paul are the heart and soul of what has been dubbed the Ron Paul Revolution. And if their visible and vocal presence at CPAC was any indication, they are a force to be reckoned with.

I would expect Paul supporters to become even more visible and more vocal in the future. It will be impossible to silence a genuine movement driven by actual conservative passion, and not simply the two-party horse race the Republican establishment continues to mistake for principle.

In their ignorance, conservatives who boo Paul at CPAC or anywhere else are essentially dismissing the only force in contemporary American politics that is serious about smaller government. And despite the constant media spin and gnashing of teeth, Ron Paul and his people's onward march is not representative of some sort of confusion within the conservative movement — but the only conservative movement.

Catch Southern Avenger commentaries every Tuesday and Friday at 7:50 a.m. on the "Morning Buzz with Richard Todd" on 1250 AM WTMA.

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A scalpel doesn't work in the hands of a community organizer. A baseball bat, which I would consider to be a blunt instrument, does what is required to force solutions to "complex" problems. Ron, as a doctor, knows how to use a scalpel to cut away the waste and corrupted cancerous tissue from the body politic so it can leave the hospital restored to its intended health and vitality. Obama knows how to wield a bat the "Chicago way" so America, the patient, is battered and pummeled to a point that it begs for mercy rather than endure more pain. Which would you rather have as a leader?

Posted by Goldenhawk on | Report this comment

diablocz,

1) What the founders of this country intended is debated by very intelligent people who have devoted careers to the topic. I have a hard time putting faith in the interpretation set out by the uncritical average American citizen who spends more time watching television than reading and thinking.
2) I agree that the constitution is a very resilient and adaptable document. However, the line you almost quote is from the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution "Paul People" claim to follow.
3) Lets assume that those values are contained in the Constitution, (the right to property is a specious claim since the original intention of the founders was that only land owners could vote), absolutely anything can "follow" from them. I can claim as my right anything based on those grounds. Whether we as a political unit acknowledge my right depends on my reasoning. For example, we would accept one's "right" to his own life and seek to prevent murder, but we may or may not protect one's "right" to his property if it's in a trash can on the curb.
4) I've imposed nothing, let alone elitism. I merely presented a well-reasoned argument which you have met with a poor argument and unfounded accusations. Not to mention that you presume to know my motivations. Ask Jack, I'm not opposed to secession, libertarian ideals or small government, but I am opposed to ill formed opinions, group think and smoke screens.
5) Thank you for proving my point. There are valid concerns about our government including its size, but the way to change it isn't to create some fantasy land full of socialist dictators populated by aborted fetuses and try to switch it for a utopian vision based on glorified misunderstandings you call the founders intentions.

Posted by Logic Avenger on | Report this comment

@Logic avenger - Puhleez! Your arguments of nuance and complexity are smokescreens for a departure away from the very core (and adaptable) beliefs of the founders. Boil it down to the essentials of the rights to life, liberty, and (the right to) personal property and from that all else naturally follows. Your argument of the world being complex is a foil for big government intervention into how we, as individuals, live our lives. Don't impose your elitism on me thank you very much.

Posted by diablocz on | Report this comment

The Jack Hunter-Ron Paul Salad Toss Continues.

Get a room guys!

Posted by Mario Delgado on | Report this comment

Ron Paul rEVOLution!
Support our troops, Bring them home!

Posted by Getusoutoftheun on | Report this comment

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