Only the most Panglossian Republican die-hard would not recognize the Republican party is in serious trouble. Regardless of whether one supports the war or not, it is pretty clear that Republicans are losing favor due to the war and the effect that war spending is having on the economy. The Republican party will struggle to survive if it is to focus primarily on a policy that disenfranchises a large majority of the nation.
If idealism is at the heart of the support for war then why does the party no longer have the confidence to promote and fight for some its primary conservative ideals of small government, free enterprise, constitutional obedience and liberty?
The Republican party used to stand united and strong against the forces that strove for social welfare, centralized big government, over-regulation, big taxation and big spending. Lately it has compromised on these ideals to appease fringe voters and to avert media criticism of the party’s perceived lack of compassion. The Republican party has become the small government party in rhetoric only and usually with a muffled voice when in the company of the party choir.
Optimism may lie in the recent groundswell of support emerging for these conservative ideals, that were not so long ago at the forefront of Republican debates. The catalyst for this groundswell has been the campaign of presidential candidate Ron Paul. His message does not merely attract people of anti-war sentiment, but it ignites a forgotten passion among many Republicans who have found no strong voice for the traditional conservative ideals of small government, free enterprise, constitutional obedience, low taxes and reduced spending.
And it isn’t just disenfranchised Republicans flocking to Ron Paul’s message. Many liberals and independents are becoming converts to these conservative ideals. How long has it been since liberals began flocking to the Republican party and becoming students of and active proselytes for the ideals of conservatism?
This proves that these ideals are powerful and gaining popularity in this Internet age of communication. It is clearly not just the anti-war message that inspires the Paulites; if it were then similar levels of grassroots support would have arisen for Democrat anti-war advocates Kucinich and Gravel.
Ron Paul’s message is far deeper and complete than just being anti-war. At the center of his message is the ideal of smaller government restrained by the constitution and that by inference and with historical references he teaches that war increases the scope and size of government. It increases spending, taxation, debt and inflation. We are seeing the effects of this quite clearly now and that is part of the reason why many in the financial and economics areas are also being drawn to Ron Paul’s message of real fiscal conservatism.
Mainstream Republicans should note with great interest the fact that Ron Paul’s campaign has enthused a huge, dedicated and determined grassroots Republican movement that has changed the nature of political activism and political fund raising. Ron Paul has over 100,000 Meetup members, 5 times more than all candidates, Republican and Democrat combined. He has a growing nationwide army of door knockers, delegates, sign wavers and so on. He raised over US$12 million dollars in just three one-day online fund raising money bombs in the last few months.
These record-breaking donations came from around one hundred thousand individuals, most of whom discovered Ron Paul on the Internet and most of whom have never before donated to a political campaign. Nothing even close to this has happened for any other presidential candidate, Democrat or Republican, on the Internet.
This grassroots movement is beginning to learn the ways of traditional political grassroots action now, with many of them entering their local GOP and becoming involved in local activities, by becoming delegates, precinct leaders and all-round effective activists. A more passionate and enthused bunch, who love what America stands for, is hard to imagine.
Yet this sometimes motley crew, who could become the new blood of a powerful Republican revival, is often met with chagrin by the Republican mainstream. This is not entirely the fault of mainstream Republicans, who may see Paulites as liberals and libertarians in disguise; this has a lot to do with the Paulites themselves, some of whom see the mainstream Republicans as the opponents of their ideals. But what we need to do is find a middle ground.
Mainstream Republicans should recognize, accept and encourage this new energized movement for what it offers in promoting traditional conservative ideals while the Ron Paul Republicans need to communicate with and support the Republican movement, with a focus on reviving the party as a powerful voice for traditional conservative ideals.
With more mainstream Republican support, the Ron Paul Republicans would receive access to larger and more receptive audiences. While the Ron Paul Republicans assistance to mainstream Republicans would strengthen the GOP with a powerful, energized and technologically savvy arm to the party which resonates and communicates with young voters.
The future of politics will be determined by those who master the new technological mediums. These masters will be decentralized and of large number, unlike the information masters in traditional media. The first generation of the new masters are quite clearly the Ron Paul Republicans. Why risk losing this new generation to the Democratic Party or a third party?
It is time for mainstream Republicans to welcome and assist the Ron Paul Republicans in reviving a stronger GOP with a clear and powerful voice for the future. It is time for mainstream Republicans to support Ron Paul as their best chance, for not only winning the election in 2008, but in reviving the Republican party and its conservative ideals.
January 31, 2008
