Getting to know Kent Snyder was one of the greatest pleasures of working for the Ron Paul campaign. His character matched his philosophy: he wanted peace in the world and showed the way with his inner peace. (Kent had a background in Buddhism and, during the campaign, an ongoing engagement with the Quaker faith.) He was a model of effective leadership, and not coincidentally libertarian leadership. He led by example, not merely by rank; his dedication and work ethic inspired us all and brought out the best in everyone on the campaign.
He was a man of vision: Kent saw what Dr. Paul could achieve by running for president this year before anyone else, even Dr. Paul himself, realized what was possible. And throughout the campaign, even as he worked to the limits of human stamina to get Dr. Paul the nomination, he looked beyond to continuing the revolution in the years ahead. It's a huge loss to liberty that he is no longer with us.
Kent's kindness is proverbial to everyone who worked with him. Not many presidential campaign chairmen would drop by the press room and refill the staff candy jar. That might sound trivial, but it shows his reflexive generosity in the most everyday things -- the things that are easiest to overlook. He also loaned his copy of Stephen King's On Writing in turn to about half of the campaign HQ staff.
I could ramble on. The bottom line is that everyone who knew Kent was better for knowing him, and even Ron Paul revolutionaries who never met him have benefited from his work more than they may realize. Kent deserves to be memorialized, so please donate to the Mises Institute's scholarship fund in his name. He was ill for over two months before he died, and there are significant medical expenses to pay off. Justine Lam, the former RP2008 eCampaign Director, has set up a ChipIn page to help Kent's family defray the costs. Every contribution is a tremendous help.
