Ron Paul Progressivism Key to Republican Party's Future

I attended the March 10 DeKalb Republican Party Convention at Henderson Middle School as a Ron Paul delegate. The only time I had ever attended a county convention was Fulton in 1984 when state Rep. Dorothy Felton (Sandy Springs) asked my wife Eve and me for help. Eve had been an aid to the groundbreaking lawmaker in 1981. I was also canvassing for Pat Swindall’s first run at Congress.  The two pols would ultimately take different roads. Swindall was later indicted by a federal grand jury and Felton would later be recognized as a founding legislative champion of a City of Sandy Springs – the I-285/Roswell Road interchange, central to the new city, has Felton’s name on it.

I’m not a member of the Republican Party now and likely will never be again because anti-establishment dictums are antithetical to a two-party system – and it is becoming clear to an increasing number of people that if anything is hurting the average American, it’s the Establishment. Therefore, it is obvious to me that viable alternatives, either parties or independent candidacies must be supported to force "issues shift" in mainstream politics. Ron Paul currently has the best shot at communicating how the corporate/government duopoly is destroying Main Street America, so for now I go where he goes. When (not if) he loses the Republican nomination, I’ll find another anti-establishment standard bearer, probably the Americans Elect nominee.

This year’s county conventions followed the March 6 primary, so the popular vote was already in with Paul taking 6.6 percent of Georgia, 11 percent in DeKalb and did even better in some areas of the state. What I found out at the convention and with subsequent reading is that Paul's state delegate count won't reflect the popular vote and is sure to be lower. In fact, in Paul's case, overwhelming delegate turnout at the county conventions won't even mean much. At a party meeting a few days after the conventions, DeKalb chairman Frank Auman, while castigating Paul supporters for what he felt was unproductive contentiousness (see 2:30 into this video http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1810580/pg1 ), reported that Paul delegates and “party regulars” split the take. However, those Paul supporters will be significantly diluted at the next level, congressional district conventions.

Some of the stories of the lengths that party organizers go to thwart upstart candidates are interesting to say the least. In Clarke County (see Athens Patch video ), Paul supporters had enough convention attendees to overturn the meeting chair and call for a floor vote. The convention was then summarily cancelled by the chair and the state leadership will determine what happens next. In St. Charles, MO, an exurb of St. Louis and one of the state's largest GOP counties, Paul supporters sought to elect their own chairman and adopt their own rules when proceedings opened, both of which are part of standard caucus rules and procedures. Police disbanded the caucus because of a resulting ruckus. Fully documented here: http://ronpaulflix.com/2012/03/st-charles-county-caucus-shutdown-ron-paul-delegates-arrested-mar-17-2012/ .

The Ron Paul movement battles on two fronts, as an outsider with a message for the Republican establishment and a man on a mission for America. Paul won his 12th term as a U.S. Congressman in 2010, intermittently since 1978 breaking to unsuccessfully run for Senate and President (once as the Libertarian Party nominee).  He is viewed by most as an impractical Washington outsider that wants things investigated that mainstream politicians shy away from. He is persistently snubbed by major media, even with a huge buzz in the “secondary” media market. Paul has earned the animosity of almost every corporate lobby by trying to expose the impact the Federal Reserve debasing the dollar; decrying using inflated dollars to wage war abroad and pander to domestic entitlement lobbies; and objecting vigorously to now-termed “Homeland” security and what he sees as attacks on Americans’ civil liberties.

“Change or die” might be Ron Paul supporters’ mantra. The youth movement in Ron Paul’s campaign isn’t as policy-driven as much as simply based on the attraction of energy and excitement—and Paul organizers say that’s just what Republican leadership needs. DeKalb for Paul organizer Mark Augustyn replied to Chairman Auman’s umbrage at the March 15 party meeting by saying Paul’s people or what follows in his footsteps will be the only thing expanding the Republican “tent”. The Paul “delegation” is well organized and highly motivated all across the nation. It brings a new excitement to party politics which is dominated by traditions, most notably in age, gender and race. Party leaders in DeKalb are actually split among men and women, but they are indeed elderly.

I’m really not concerned whether Ron Paul wins the Republican Presidential nomination. However, the only way he gets his ideas on the table, indeed as part of a Republican platform is to win delegates. Otherwise, his has to be an extra-political “movement”, such as Occupy, to influence public opinion within a very loud minority.