Take back the Republican Party
I am a younger voter and am recently interested in politics. I'm a registered Republican and support Dr. Paul.
With that said, I have been researching this notion of a third party option in the hope of restoring the people's voice to the political process. I've spoken with many Repubs, Libertarians, Independents, and many undecided younger voters like myself who recently joined or are thinking of becoming politically active.
My simple conclusion is that it is much more effective to remain in the Republican Party and reform it from within than to attempt to either create a new party of build up a third party.
The vast majority of young voters like myself who endorsed Paul are going to opt to stay Republican or independent regardless of the outcome of this election.
Most of the talk (not all) about going into a third party is coming from older disgruntled voters who are disenchanted with the process and the Republican leaders.
Now, while I certainly sympathize, there are two very logical and obvious reasons why leaving the Republican Party is ultimately fruitless.
First, it thins out the support. You have the Consitution Party and Libertarians, etc. competing for voters with the Republican Party.
Second, it plays right into the hands of the two party leadership and effectively cedes control of those parties to them. Additionally, being an independent is equally fruitless because you have a fake choice. Sure, you sent a message to both parties that you disapprove, but you didn't change the choice.
The only way we are going to get a continual improvement in the quality of candidates running is if we get directly involved in the two parties that control the majority of candidates. We have to control the content of the platform in our party.
The counterarguments that I have heard to this are mostly coming from Libertarians and they usually are either that 1) They are too good for the republicn party, or 2) That they hope to tap into the pool of non-voters and independents and woo them to the LIbertarian party.
If this was going to happen, it would have already. It is my belief that this will never happen for a variety of reasons. For one, the libertarian party is not mainstream enough for most voters and moreover, most voters identify with the party, not the platform. Which leads me to my conclusion of... Change the platform, not the people. Take back the republican party.
And so, I encourage everyone willing to consider staying Republican, get involved, run for local office, support local candidates, pool our resources into an already established infrastructure and build a coalition over time.
The proof of this is that Paul has received over tens times the support running as a Republican than as a libertarian.
As you mull this over, do keep in mind that the huge block of young voters like myself are the future. We're in this for the long haul. We are not in this race only for instant gratification and results. We know that change takes time. So our choice to stay Republican is logical and prudent. If you want to win, you need to build consensus. Paul is just one candidate. It's not enough to be libertarian and just come over when there's a good candidate like Paul and then leave if he doesn't win. You have to stay Republican and work for change. You have to work with others and that includes evangelicals. They way that I have seen some (not all) libertarians be so caustic to evangelicals makes no sense to me. Do you want to get change or not? If you do want change then you're going to have to learn to get along with others.
Elitism will not win over the majority of voters. You have to build consensus.
The Republican Party used to stand for the platform Paul is running on. All we need to do is remind voters of that fact. That's much easier than starting from scratch. This is not the revolutionary war. We ar enot fighting against another country. There is no place to move to that is better or uninhabited.
This is the year 2008.
Get off the internet and do something and quit complaining about how bad things are. They are only going to get better if you do some work. The founders worked. They weren't a bunch of bloggers sitting around naval gazing. Now, go pass out some slim jims, donate and run for office. You aren't getting anything accomplished on this website.
EOM
Republican Liberty Caucus
First of all I think everyone can agree that the two party system is NOT working and many voters are disenfranchised because of it. Do we want this to change? Of course we do! How do we do that? Well I personally believe that we have a much better chance of doing with within one of the existing two parties. We choose the Republican party because much of what we want IS the foundation of what the party USE to be. This just makes good strategic sense. We infiltrate, we get our platform voted back into the Republican platform from the bottom up. When we have Ron Paul Republicans in office, they can begin to take the steps to make it possible for third parties to have a better chance. Do we run the risk of getting people in only to have them forget about that important goal? Certainly! We must choose carefully.
The point is that how many battle do we want to fight at the same time? Do we slave in a third party, fighting just to get on ballots and take the chance of loosing too often, which is where they are now OR do we win with Republican candidates so we can start the work much sooner with the strength and resources of the GOP supporting us? No matter how much I wish it wasn't true and I didn't have to be a party of the GOP as it is today, I personally will try to be realistic and use anything I can to help achieve the goal.
The goal is LIBERTY ~ PEACE ~ PROSPERITY!
Now I would like to introduce to you the Republican Liberty Caucus. If you read over at the ronpaulforums at all you may have seen the invitation that was extended to us to join. Here is some of the information:
Our organization works through the Republican Party to promote libertarian ideals. We do this by promoting and endorsing liberty minded candidates. We attend GOP events to cultivate relationships within the Republican Party and identify like-minded party members. We also work with single issue groups and combine forces to pursue mutual interest. Essentially, our mission is nothing short of changing the GOP's political culture to one rooted in libertarian ideals. Unlike many of the organizations springing up in the wake of Ron Paul's presidential run, we have been in existence since 1990 and run a politically experienced organization. We are a national organization with established members in each of the 50 states. We're organized enough to even have an attached Political Action Committee (PAC) that donates to campaigns of pro-liberty candidates.
Ron Paul himself was once chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus and is CURRENTLY a member of our advisory board. Dr. Paul has often stated that what we're doing in the campaign isn't just about him, it's about the message. This isn't merely a campaign, this is a movement. The Republican Liberty Caucus is the vehicle for our movement. I know that many of you have been debating what we should do moving forward; I've heard everything from joining the Libertarian or Constitution Parties to remaining an independent. I urge you all to consider instead using the working through the Republican Party.
Republican Liberty Caucus National
http://www.rlc.org/
Wikipedia Article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Liberty_Caucus
You can read the entire post here:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=111402
I encourage everyone to take a look. The more we separate, the less strength we have. I am willing to at least for now, swallow my dislike of the GOP to achieve our goals. I am not willing to give up on those goals and will do all I can to work towards them in the most efficient manner possible. How about you?
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I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson
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I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson
Lots of indies wouldn't even consider Dr. Paul....
.....because he was running as a republican. The only good running as a republican did was it got him into the debates.
You don't know how many people told me that they swore to God they would never vote GOP again!
Dr. Paul would get way more votes running 3rd party than he did running as a republican.
republican okay for congressional races....
....dem or indie better for presidential races.
Bravo! well written and thought out
Ron Paul is making a difference. There are candidates in other areas who are running on his platform. If we stay involved there could be changes in the coming elections and even at local elections. The young people will help make the Republican Party one in which we can all be proud of. I was an independent now I am a Ron Paul Republican.
Prepare & Share the Message of Freedom through Positive-Peaceful-Activism.
"The Republican Party used to stand for the platform"
"The Republican Party used to stand for the platform Paul is running on. All we need to do is remind voters of that fact." Good post from a young voter, except for this.
You may be too young to know the difference between rhetoric and reality, fiction and facts. Your party is in trouble because they use the platform line to bag voters (as much as the anachronism of a party platform has any meaning at all) and then govern as if it does not exist. Today it hardly even goes through the motions of being a small government party at all, since they have an eternal global war to sell. Maybe it was co-opted somehow from its "purity" or "circumstances" overruled ideals, but however it happened 8 years in power tends to reveal any political party's deceit and chicanery. Much dissatisfaction with the party stems from this.
Stay in the party, but be ready to do a lot more thinking about your assumptions. I think the tactic of simply reminding voters of the "facts" of the rhetoric of the past as all thats needed is going to be lacking in the internet age. I look forward to seeing how the youth drive post-Paul republican politics, they certainly are awash in disingenuous examples. Regardless of the lure of easy "consensus", please stay on the road less traveled.
Did you get an email from David Franke over at Ultimate RP ..
.. urging you to sign a petition urging Dr. Paul to seek and accept a third party nomination?
I responded: While I'm as sympathetic to the motivations behind third parties as Paul is, this is bigger than just this presidential election. I have some concerns about your efforts. If you are a Ron Paul supporter, why are you trying to thwart his strategy? It seems to me that your efforts will only splinter the freedom movement that our country has needed for so long. Paul's strategy is basically to unite all freedom lovers and take over the Republican party, which makes a lot of sense. If you are a Ron Paul supporter and a lover of freedom, I ask you to support his strategy and help turn it into an unstoppable mass movement.
Count me OUT.
"If only they could see past the divide, we could end up with an easy majority of voters if only The Constitution Party, Libertarian Party and Republicans who support Ron Paul could work together."
This is the whole point. Regardless of how great we think we could make the Republican party, we'd still be stuck in a party. And the parties have done more to damage America than any other entity. They allow the sheep to remain ignorant, because they feed them just enough info to make it seem like they are fighting for the sheep's beliefs, all the while counting on their blind support. And man oh man do they get it.
Well, they aren't getting my support. The quote at the top of this post should say it all. Everyone is dividing themselves into parties when we could have a huge base of support for Ron Paul if we were all Independents.
Parties are just plain bad news. I will NOT remain in the Republican party when my state's primary is over.
Applause
Thank you!
We had a new person show up at our Cmte meeting the other night and I suspect he was a Paul voter.
YES
Any successful attempt will have to go through the Republican Party.
It is about name brand recognition. 75% of the people in this country don't want anything to do with politics, and are more or less robot voters..
(in robot voice)
I...AM...REPUBLICAN...MUST...VOTE...FOR..."R"...BESIDE...NAME...
The key to taking the country back is winning the votes of the sheeple, not by opening their eyes, they don't want them opened, but by putting the little "R" or "D" by your name on the ballot.
We can affect the platform and direction of the parties. No it won't be tomorrow, or November, or even 2012. But some day in the not so far future the Neocons (See paleo-liberal chicken hawk) will wake up and realize that they have lost the majority control of the Republican Party.
Look at what they have done, they came to the party dressed as republicans with socail conservative values, and then became an atrocity...which scared off a large part of the party, but gave them a bigger majority in the party.
Then low and behold the have the power of the party, and the robot-sheeple-voters from above and they can win elections masquerading as republicans.
Any reason we can't retake the party?
One point of disagreement
You said:
The key to taking the country back is winning the votes of the sheeple, not by opening their eyes, they don't want them opened...
We MUST open their eyes for this to work. The neo-cons have the elite on their side, with all the money and power that goes with it. We have the truth. We must spread that truth, not by declaring "conspiracy!!" but with simple logic. We will not wake everyone up overnight, and, true, many people will never wake up, but slowly, we can convince people. Think of how many people told you they agree with Dr. Paul, but didn't think he could win. Those are the people we need.
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"No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal
rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him." --Thomas Jefferson
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Libertas, Pax, Prosperitas
does it bother no one?
Does it bother no one that we're so accepting of two-party domination? I agree with the good Doctor no matter what he plans, but I will be disappointed if the movement staggers a little without a strong, viable option outside of the Republicans.
Sad thing is, we could have an incredibly effective quick fix to the system by requiring 50.1% majorities in elections (and no, this does not mean popular vote for the presidency - the electoral college already demands 51% of the electoral votes). Think about it... you wouldn't have to worry about voting 'against' someone just to prevent their party from winning; You could vote GOP or LP and it wouldn't matter which you voted for if the Dems don't cross the 50.1% threshold. Critics will argue it's expensive to do another run-off election thereafter (which is a pathetic argument... that we don't have the funds to fund our own democracy, but we have all this money to engage in illegal wars), but you could even counter that with instant-runoff voting if you'd like (and no, no range voting - it's a crooked system).
Secondly, we should be working harder to stop our politicians from making it so difficult for third parties to have influence! The revolution proves we can accomplish much when we're energized and organized! Let's do this!
I'm building a website as we speak about fair voting, which will not only be a non-partisan central site for all federal office and governorship candidates, but will argue for things like 50.1% majorities to restore our republic!
"Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
"Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
It bothers me
The two major parties are the major problem.
I 1000% Agree!
It's apparently very easy to hijack one of the 2 'main' parties, as evidenced by their organized takeover in the last 30+ years.
We simply need to mobilize our people into becoming active in BOTH parties at the local level, and over the course of a few short years we would find that we now run the show!
It's a lot easier than most people think, just GO TO YOUR LOCAL PARTY MEETINGS! Introduce yourself, tell them what you're all about. You'd be surprised at how many people at the local level in the GOP are excited about the young people getting involved, REGARDLESS OF WHO THEY SUPPORT!
Once we can get involved at the local level, it's really easy to grow into the higher levels and end up with control of the parties! If the NEOCONS can do it, we can do it!
Jeremiah Galli
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If you believe in real freedom, you must accept the risks that come
with it, and there are many. The same rights essential for a free
people can and often are abused by a few.
Jeremiah Galli
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If you believe in real freedom, you must accept the risks that come
with it, and there are many. The same rights essential for a free
people can and often are abused by a few.
My local republican club....
....hasn't had a meeting in months. I talked to one of the members, and when he found out that I wasn't a neo-con he never spoke to me again.
This is the year 2008.
This is the year 2008.
I disagree. The year is 1984.
"We don't have to start a brand new revolution...All we have to do is restore the original Constitution." -Ron Paul
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"...a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people." -John F. Kennedy
I've been in touch with
I've been in touch with several people from both The Constitution Party and The Libertarian Party. Ron Paul has a great deal of support from both of those parties.
But it seems to me that those two parties cannot get past the divide in order to make things right in this country. It all seems to go back to "our party, not yours."
If only they could see past the divide, we could end up with an easy majority of voters if only The Constitution Party, Libertarian Party and Republicans who support Ron Paul could work together.
We must get past what divides us, because as long as we remain divided we will not be as strong as we could be.
...
Remember this
If only they could see past the divide, we could end up with an easy majority of voters if only The Constitution Party, Libertarian Party and Republicans who support Ron Paul could work together.
Only Ron Paul was able to bring these people together. And it was through the Republican Party. I despise everthing the Republican Party has become, but if it was taken over once by a few rich neo-cons, it can be taken over again, this time by thousands of motivated individuals.
Until someone else can unite such a large number of people toward the cause of freedom, it looks like the Republican Party is the way to go.
NOTE: This does NOT mean you have to support mainstream Republican candidates!
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"No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal
rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him." --Thomas Jefferson
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Libertas, Pax, Prosperitas
3rd party meeting
All the 3rd parties need to meet and decide who they will support. The issues where they differ on can be hashed out later among the group. A third party coalition working together as one party is what we need.
I like the idea of the 3rd parties getting together
It would give them a larger percentage of the vote and they would be able to attract better candidates.
Well said. Thank you!
Well said. Thank you!
Mathew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Agreed. Take the long view of our situation.
Thanks for taking the time to write this post.
The meaning behind my screen name
The battle of Gonzales, TX. (Oct. 1835)