02.08.08

Ron Paul at CPAC

Posted in Election/Voting, News, Politics, Republicans/Conservatives, government, policy, wordpress political blogs tagged conservatives, cpac, Election 2008, Ron Paul at 7:21 am by Ryan

Here’s an interesting speech from Ron Paul from CPAC yesterday. With the Romney and McCain headlines, I think much of what is going on at CPAC was drowned out…

W ord Pre s s .com P o l i t i cal Blog ger A llian c e

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6 Comments »

Stephanie said,

February 10, 2008 at 5:20 am

If only…if only…
deaconblue said,

February 10, 2008 at 2:35 pm

Paul’s out. NOw hat will you do?
Ryan said,

February 10, 2008 at 5:03 pm

He’s not out. At least not that I have heard.

Here’s the latest from his website:

http://ronpaul2008.typepad.com/ron_paul_2008/2008/02/message-from-ro.html

If he does drop out, I will have to look at others. I will not sit out, but I will not hesitate to simply make a symbolic vote to show my disdain for the GOP’s direction.

Who are you voting for? i don’t know if you’ve made mention of that.
deaconblue said,

February 10, 2008 at 5:16 pm

Yeah, I read a bit too much into it, but with the cuts to campaign staff, and a serious challenge to his congressional seat, he won’t be doing much campaigning I would think, and if he’s not campaigning, if there are any more debates (which I doubt) he won’t be “invited”, he is effectively done.

As for me, I’m the apostate. I’ve been backing McCain since 2000. While I don’t agree with Mac 100%, I don’t agree with anyone 100%, but I find that I have the most fiath in him in this particular time. So tryig to find that “perfect” candidate is Quixotic quest IMO, as it doesn’t exist.
Ryan said,

February 10, 2008 at 7:06 pm

Well, if he is willing to invest time and money to push through until the convention so he can continue to get his message across, more power to him. I think it is a symbol of dedication to a cause and I have the utmost respect for that.

You are right about trying to find a “perfect” candidate… However I think people need to stick to their ideals even if that means not being on the winning team. If you believe in McCain, more power to you. I would never fault somebody who sticks with somebody for the right reasons - which it sounds like you are doing. It’s the people who jump on bandwagons who I scorn
deaconblue said,

February 11, 2008 at 12:22 am

We’ll have to see how much time and money Paul can invest in this, and maintain his congressional campaign. Might be hard to do, but beyond a few polls (and we know how reliable they are), I haven’t looked closely at what Paul is facing for his seat.

As for my ideals, well, I don’t hold to them rigidly. A lifetime of team sports and some military time taught me to be flexible tactically. You may have a great game plan going in, but things change rapidly, so often times the game plan goes to shit and you have to make do on the fly. Or as the Murphy’s Rule states: “No operational plan ever survived contact with the enemy.” I know the direction I’d like to see this country go. I know what my end goals are. But I’m very open in how to achieve those goals. I’m also very willing to settle for something rather than coming away with nothing. By doing that, I have a basis from which to move from. Plus, it creates the “beach head” in terms of policy that are necessary. Just to add a few more tired cliches: Rome wasn’t built in a day; France wasn’t conquored in 2. Patience is the key, waiting for the right opportunities, and taking what you can when you can.

It takes a very strong man to drag a horse to water. It’s much easier, safer, and better both for you and the horse to take it one step at a time. This is to say nothing of getting the damn nag to actually drink the water when you get there. But in terms of politics, it’s all about the middle.

It’s a political fact that if you want to get anything meaningful done, at any level of government, you have to win the middle of the spectrum. Not only in terms of politicians and god awful bureaucrats, but in terms of voters, and the minds of voters. You win the middle, you win the fight. Just like in chess. If you control the middle of the board, you have the advantage.

I do agree about bandwagons, which is often why bad laws and initiatives get passed. Sometimes it’s just about image and perception, but sometimes the reasons run much much deeper, as you already well know.

My general take is that voters are looking not for a standard bearer from either side, but a center-right guy who has the credentials to be listened to, and doesn’t preach to them. I think this is why Mac had his resurgence. He wasn’t the staid same old conservative. He wasn’t in lock step with the talking heads. He appeals to more than just Republicans, he appeals to the middle. Sure some are bandwagon people, every candudate is going to get those. But once they’re on board, the question ecomes can we keep them on board? Do that, and you draw more people in to the movement in general. And that is how the war will be won.