Think LONG TERM - Why 3rd party is bad & staying GOP is good!

As Ron Paul himself has stated many times, the deck is completely stacked AGAINST all 3rd party candidacies -- they have to waste majority of their time and money attempting to get on the ballot, the Demopublican party prevents them from participating in Debates, etc.

Ron Paul MUST continue to run in the GOP primaries -- and we must stand by him (regardless of the official campaign's errors or inadequacies) -- for several IMPORTANT reasons:

1) If Ron STAYS in the race, while ALL the others drop out, he then become THE SOLE focal-point for dissent within the party (i.e. "Send a signal to the GOP -- we don't LIKE McCain!" ) And then Ron Paul BECOMES the "lesser of two evils" and that old meme works FOR US -- do NOT underestimate this, it is the BEST way to breach into double digits as we pickup many Huckabee AND Romney votes! (And if/when the GOP nominee LOSES the general election -- whether massively vs Obama or just barely vs Clinton -- we can emerge as the STRONGEST element within the party... saying "WE TOLD YOU SO!" -- and "Now join US and win, or get out of our way!")

ALSO, a VERY important side benefit is that the NEO-CONS (as illustrated by Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh) with their INSANE propensity for ILLOGIC -- are already in the process of REMOVING THEMSELVES from the Republican party (by LOUDLY voting/advocating Democrat or staying home).

2) The convention itself is still a long ways away. John McCain (or whoever the "anointed" nominee is after Super-Tuesday) could easily pop a blood vessel (while having a temper tantrum) or suffer an unexpected aneurysm (he's NOT looking too well these days) or start babbling even MORE nonsense, or be hit by the proverbial "bus" and suffer one of many possible different fates between now and the convention. (Among which AFTER Democrats convention -- which is far earlier -- they will likely begin attacking the "anointed" GOP candidate, even before the GOP picks one, by the convention Ron may be looking better and better to the GOP in general).

What I mean by this: Do you know HOW Barack Obama became a United States Senator?

Simple: He stayed IN THE RACE. He was not expected to win against well-funded Jack Ryan... then a little unexpected "scandal" thing happened on the way to the coronation, his crown got broken, and Jack Ryan left the race, virtually handing it to Obama. Republicans scrambled... but Obama won mainly because he was there.

3) One very IMPORTANT LONG-TERM aspect of this campaign is that a LOT of Liberty-minded people have gotten involved in their local GOP party groups. (You did too, didn't you? If not you're missing the point.) -- many of them have ALREADY stepped into local leadership roles, and IF WE STAY, more people can do so in the future! Which means we can CHANGE the party from within -- exactly as Ron Paul advocates.

If Ron were to LEAVE the party for an independent run, many of his supporter would either LEAVE those posts, or would be looked at as traitors. COMPLETELY NEGATING all the work that has been done at a local level, and destroying any chance for LONG-TERM reform.

4) We overestimate our Size and Abilities We look at the Meetup maps, we see over 1,500 groups with over 100,000 members and think WOW! And it *IS* an AMAZING accomplishment, but it is TINY. That's right, it is TINY compared to the size and scope of a full-blown MAJOR POLITICAL PARTY, even the minority Republican party is far larger. In my state, we have 29 meetups, and probably close to 1,000 meetup members. But our state has 72 counties, and 5.5 Million people. Our GOP has a presence, a party of some type within virtually every county.

(Aside: Many of the meetup organizers in cities around the country have hundreds of members in their groups and are quite proud of their "size" -- whereas many of the more rural groups have a dozen members or less. Strangely the size of the large meetups is not so much a demonstration of their group's prowess as it is their location -- they typically have a SMALLER percentage of their actual population. The rural groups often have two, three or even five times the ratio of the cities... but all groups are small compared to the size and history of the political parties.)

Our size in opposition to that party is minuscule, both in numbers and resources. BUT as a faction WITHIN those parties (whose members are often LESS involved than our own) -- we can use our "weight" to far greater affect -- especially if we do so LONG-TERM by accepting positions and duties within the party.

HOW? In most cases, simply by showing up on a regular basis, and volunteering. The local Congressional District Chairperson is in his late-twenties. How did he get to be District Chairman? Well, when he was just 19 (NINETEEN!) he volunteered to "help" as an "assistant" and became vice-chairman of the local COUNTY party -- mainly because there was no one else willing. Within 6 months, the local county party chairman retired and moved away -- by default he was promoted to County Chairman. When something similar happened two years later with the District Chairman, he was "promoted" to that spot -- again mainly because the OTHER county chairmen did not want to do the job. So basically by being there and volunteering (fool) with a few short years he is in charge of one of the major Congressional District party positions. If he persists, within a few years he may end up as state party chairman (a post which has already changed hands several times in the last few years).

So the point of it all is this -- Ron Paul spent the past 30 YEARS of his life -- 20+ of which working within the party. If we multiply that to THOUSANDS of "Ron Pauls" like us, and we remain dedicated to the cause, even for just ONE more election cycle... gaining ground and support along the way ...THEN how can we fail?

And a closing thought to echo the one in my first point above. If the GOP nominee is NOT Ron Paul then they will very likely LOSE the general election. When that happens, that previously "victorious" nominee will not look so good ...and his most "rabid" supporters will lose heart and essentially leave the party in disillusion (they will NOT attend meetings, in part out of shame). Which means in the LOCAL PARTY MEETINGS during the spring of 2009 -- when most LOCAL party officers are chosen -- We can step into the void and BECOME the Republican Party, be in control of the tiller, and turn the ship around to take advantage of the GROWING demographic-driven voters for Liberty!

THAT is why we must stay and fight the LONG fight. This is just one battle in a century long "war" and the winner is the group that stays for the LONG TERM and does NOT RETREAT. (Armys mainly lose wars NOT by dying, but by losing heart and running away.)