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Ron Paul: The Elephant in the GOP Room
December 12th, 2011 10:10 pm | by Marc Gallagher

Published in Constitution, Election, Foreign Policy, Liberty, Maven Commentary, Politics, Ron Paul | 28 Responses

The GOP is commonly represented as an elephant. This is a rather appropriate symbol for a political party that attempts to ignore one of it’s own members. A member who actually represents what the rest of them have abandoned any hope of becoming long ago: an actual tried and true limited government conservative with a long track record of integrity and consistency. Of course, I’m talking about Ron Paul, the elephant in the GOP room.

That elephant might as well be a lion right now. Ron Paul is in the top tier of candidates for the GOP nomination. This is not wishful thinking or libertarian fantasy. Following his strong debate showing over the weekend he has the pundits wondering out loud, “Can Ron Paul win?”

If you fancy yourself a Republican, conservative, or independent and you want nothing more than Barack Obama to lose in 2012 then your only choice can be Ron Paul, even if you vehemently disagree with him on foreign policy or think he’s a nut job. I’ve said this before, but if any other GOP candidate gets the nomination, we’ll see a second term for Obama. And this won’t be due to Ron Paul running as a non-Republican as many in the GOP fear. It will be because the rest of the Republican candidates are weak where it matters to most Americans these days: honesty, integrity, and consistency.

Obama isn’t exactly stellar on those attributes either; however, he’s already in the White House. He’s the incumbent with charisma and those are kryptonite to the likes of Newt Romney. If you want to make him uncomfortable force him to attack from the Right. Imagine Obama debating Ron Paul on foreign policy. Who will his anti-war supporters support? The ones that don’t end up thoroughly confused will logically vote for Paul and his strong and consistent anti-war position. Paul will already have the support of the Republican base, some of which, may hold their noses and vote for him. He’s already proven in the polls how popular he is with independents. Those same independents went largely in favor of Obama in 2008.

This all adds up to a victory for Paul over Obama, if only he could secure the nomination. In fact, getting the GOP nomination is a tougher road for Paul than winning in the general. Another reason why the general election would be easier is that his experience in the GOP primary will prepare him for nearly everything he’s likely to face during the general.

A recent interview had Paul answering the “will you run 3rd party” question yet again. Then the ever-present followup question asking him if he’d support the GOP nominee assuming it wasn’t himself. Just once I’d like to see one of his opponents get asked those questions. It would probably go something like this:


BLITZER(CNN): Speaker Gingrich, if Ron Paul gets the nomination will you get angry, pick up all your toys and go run as a 3rd party candidate to give those in the GOP that do not agree with Dr. Paul’s foreign policy an alternative?

GINGRICH: I may not agree with Ron Paul’s foreign policy but he’s better than Obama and I would not hesitate to support our party’s nominee, yes, even if that nominee is Ron Paul.

BLITZER(CNN): Governor Romney, same question to you.

ROMNEY: Ron Paul and I have our differences for sure, but I have greater differences with Obama, and I would support the Republican nominee, no matter which one of us is selected for that great honor.

So let me repeat and make it clear:

If you don’t want Obama for 4 more years, Ron Paul is your only hope.

If you consider his positions too extreme then you still must support him. He has two other branches of government to temper his “extremism”. Every other candidate is tinkering around the edges and would have a zero net effect on American prosperity. A libertarian-leaning president coupled with a more moderate judiciary and legislature is exactly the shot in the arm America needs right now.

If you are worried Paul would ignore his oath of office and the Constitution and use his presidency as an extreme libertarian power-grab, well then, you don’t really know Ron Paul and you need to study up on libertarianism.

Republicans rejoice! You have a candidate in the race who can beat Obama. It’s time you embraced your inner elephant and make Ron Paul your nominee.