Ron Paul Revolution Needs a Third Political Party
If freedom and the Constitution are to be saved for future generations, Congressman Ron Paul and his movement will surely be recorded in the history books as dramatic sparks that helped to ignite the restoration.
This being said, however, we need to acknowledge that the Paul campaign in 2008 made some mistakes. The most important one was: Paul ran as a Republican! In this writer's view, the past 40 years of "big government conservatism" demonstrate conclusively that trying to change Republicans into Jeffersonians will never bear fruit. The GOP is not interested in freedom; only in power. Only the formation of a third political party can take America back.
It is a fallacy to say that third political parties in American cannot work. The reason why is that all third parties throughout the past century (like the Libertarians and Perot's Reformers) have been built upon two serious flaws that automatically doom them to failure. Correct these two fundamental errors, however, and a powerfully effective challenge to the Demopublicans could be fashioned.
Americans for a Free Republic in Dallas, TX is launching a third-party, the Free American Party, for 2012 that avoids these two fundamental errors. We have a revolutionary political strategy (never before envisioned in history) that will unite all conservatives, libertarians, and independents into one party. The key to the party's success will be its unique tax plan that goes beyond the flat tax and the sales tax. It will lower rates to 10%, simplify tax preparation to 10 minutes every April, bring back millions of jobs from overseas, dramatically restore the economic productivity of our nation; and because of the way the tax plan is structured, it will stop the growth of the Federal Government cold and begin its automatic reduction.
Imagine a government that is relentlessly shrinking every year instead of relentlessly expanding. This tax plan will do it, which will easily get the party the necessary 15% in the polls to qualify for the national TV election debates. This will give the freedom movement a powerful voice in America every election year for the first time in history.
Those who preach that we must, at all costs, eschew third-party efforts and "remain within the GOP" are captives of a myth. To realize why, you must read our AFR Mission Statement at: http://www.afr.org/mission.htm
As much as a third party seems attractive, even I
conclude 'NO' to third party. And I was for third party a few months ago.
Had Dr. Paul jumped ship to the Libertarians during the primaries, for example, then our destiny would be different today. But he didn't. From his perspective, that would be suicidal since he is already in Congress voted in by Republicans in his District.
People, thousands of us across this country have moved in and taken executive positions now. We are committed as they say. Here is where the rubber meets the road.
We will decide what and how we will communicate with our constituents from now on. I am sure that those behind the closed doors are already plotting how to deal with 'us'. But so what. We will deal with it if it comes up!
I really like what John McManus, President of the John Birch Society says after making such a well reasoned presentation about the Communist conspiracy to take over our country.
He says, we call their bluff. In other words we act 'as if' we are free, sovereign citizens of the USA!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4537550159823516000
That is one of the most important things to live by these days. Look at what happened to our Campaign for Liberty guy who was interrogated at the airport leaving MO.
"The courage of one man is a majority" - Andrew Jackson
The LP's Only Flaw Is
The LP's only flaw is the one built into the Freedom problem: by definition, it is a political party for people who hate politics, don't want politicians telling them what to do, and who would just as soon live and let live, and let people do what they want in exchange for being left alone.
That's the fundamental reason why freedom gives way to power over time.
This is why freedom runs in cycles. It has to get worse, before it gets better. Ignoring the problem doesn't work, but until freedom-lovers realize this and take up the challenge, the few who do battle on principle are simply carrying the flag.
It can be a thankless task to battle for years and get no support because things just aren't bad enough, yet. (The LP and Ron Paul began their battles in 1972 and haven't had much support until now.)
IMissLiberty
IMissLiberty
All parties will tend to corrupt themselves from within
as power struggles develop, and money has to be allocated. Let's just say it's human nature. The Democrat and Republican parties have made this soooo obvious. Dr. Paul reminds us that there are "laws" on the books that actually prevent third parties from taking root. Of course, a really well developed effort that could be broad based enough to capture the one really large majority: Everybody that is tired of Democrat Vs. GOP. Then, you have to give the new party a name that stands for what it means, and means for what it stands for: The Ron Paul Party, 'nuff said. The name says it all. And then, you've got get some real marketing professionals that know how to battle mainstream media. But until then, let's just watch HR 1207 and see how that fares. I'd say if Ron Paul can be successful there, we'll be making progress.
alan laney
Not really...
We must enlist the American voter to eject anyone out of BOTH parties who doesn't "support and defend the Constitution."
Supporting the Constitution should be the STARTING point, not the "Mission Accomplished" point of any political reform.
NO PARTY!
Has anyone ever considered the idea that we neither need nor want any political party? Imagine an election wherein the candidates were chosen by the people based upon their political philosophy and not that of some corrupt organization of fat-cats-
Political parties serve only one purpose; they provide a structure, a breeding ground, to foment the pursuit of ill-gotten political influence. Average people are no more influential in the D or R party than the average Russian is a member of the Communist Party. The "Party system" is a closed loop and we're not in it. All "Parties" serve to do is to limit the agenda to only those interests of a group of insiders. And as we've seen for the last hundred years, they've bought both parties so that whoever wins, their agenda moves forward. We might as well have the "Boeing Party" or the "General Electric Party" or the "Lockheed-Martin Party".
We don't need a third (or a fourth or a twentieth) party. We need to permanently rescind the privlege of having monopolistic political parties choose our candidates for us. Perhaps then, we could once-again start counting the votes instead of weighing them.
That's right. All we need is PRINCIPLE.
The right set of principles could conceivably unite people from a wide array of political parties. And when I say "principles", I'm not talking about us whipping up a laundry list of standard campaign "planks". (Such as: 1)strong defense, strong borders, no drugs, no abortion, or 2)nationlized healthcare, get out of Iraq, save the whales.)
These are the standard fare of the parties, and every time they come up with something like this, they naturally divide the nation.
Instead, we need an exceedingly focused platform that has nothing to do with laundry lists, and everything to do with playing by the rules. And it is not necessary to form a new party---or to reform an old one---to accomplish this.
The "platform" of the Rule of Law Revolution is pretty much: Obey the Constitution as written, and if you don't like it, amend it as prescribed.
Jack Pelham
Rule of Law Revolution
www.ruleoflawrevolution.com
Jack Pelham
www.jackpelham.com
www.ruleoflawrestoration.com
Funny how we have several competing "third parties"
and suddenly this guy has his only third party that will magically draw in those which the existing others will not
When you have a flawed theory and want to sell a book to support that flawed theory then I guess you need to advertise somewhere.
Hultberg claims that his national sales tax will bring down the size of government because everyone pays the same proportion of their incomes and this will cause people to object to more government because even the poor, who now escape income tax, will be forced to pay. Never mind that the many states rely on sales taxes, but this has not constrained their own expansion or the demand of the poor for more government largesse.
The problem is that if you divide government spending by the population to find out how much government we each are getting, a national sales tax still leaves the rich paying more for the government they are getting and the poor paying less for the government they are getting. We are all getting the same government. So the poor still have plenty of incentive to demand more government; they are getting it at a bargain price after all. So just like state sales taxes are impotent to restrict government expansion, so would be a national sales tax.
Whatever tax the government uses, you still need a tax collector, so the tyranny of the IRS in collecting the income tax would be replaced by the tyranny of the IRS collecting the national sales tax.
If you want a tax policy that would take away any incentive for the poor to demand more government, then we need a head tax where everyone pays an equal amount irrespective of his income or spending. Of course this is repressive to the poor, and that is the whole point. It not only takes away incentive but provides a disincentive to demand more government. The head tax would have a natural limit, because if it were set too high there would be widespread refusal or inability to pay.
Unlike the claims of the proponents of the "fair tax" it is just another scheme to fund big government. The attack must come on government spending, not Mickey Mouse playing with the government revenue scheme. End the income tax and the Fed and replace them with nothing. The free market would bring us honest money and government would no longer have a printing press.
"The deepest sin against the human mind is to believe things without evidence." Thomas H. Huxley
Contrary to popular opinion, the only way to UNITE
multiple factions is with a very NARROW platform, and not with one that seeks to be so wide as to encompass multiple groups.
The Rule of Law Revolution, though not a political party, has an extremely narrow platform: Obey the Constitution as written, or amend it as prescribed.
That's it. It puts us all back on a level playing field so we can know what the rules are again. And if, from there, one guy wants a socialist government and another wants a capitalist government, let them duke it out in Congress according to the rules---without exceeding the powers granted them in the Constitution.
Jack Pelham
Rule of Law Revolution
www.ruleoflawrevolution.com
Jack Pelham
www.jackpelham.com
www.ruleoflawrestoration.com
I have been voting for years
I have been voting for years like some say to do ..Vote for an individual ...Well individuals get eaten alive when they get with the two party animals...This movement has to be willing to chance losses in order to move forward ..You can stay here at stailemate untill all is destroyed & harder to bring back from the dead, if you like...IT is time to move, people on both sides are waking up...BOTH partys are scared.
you-no
Do you see what I see ?
Without the base their goose is cooked as a strong alternative...PAUL needs to step up to the next level...It is his to perform...
you-no
Really?
That would leave Ron Paul out since he is a Republican.
oh my lord
They're trying to disconnect us from Ron Paul!
My Question....
How are you going to have success in a 3rd Party centered around Ron Paul ..when even he wont be joining your party?!
“Let a man never stir on his road a step without his weapons of war; for unsure is the knowing when need shall arise of a spear on the way without.” - Odin
Fellow Veterans, This Is A Call To Arms!
http://www.facebook.com/events/192677970828185/
February 20, 2012 - Veterans For Ron Paul March on D.C.!
I think the 3rd party talk
can be fun and interesting but ultimately unrealistic. So much has been accomplished inside the Republican Party we must continue to take the party from within. Why start a third party when we can take the 1/2 of the entire political machine?
Proud to be a RON PAUL REPUBLICAN.
LOL
Exactly!
Der burt its not about Ron Paul.
But Ron Paul has massive influence and if what he did was successful in garnering a following should we then also do as he does?
Don't try to break something that has so much proven success in waking up the masses.
Slama rama ding-dong. We
Slama rama ding-dong. We have a winner.
Wrong,Wrong,Wrong!
I listen to Ron Paul when he told all of us that a third party is NOT a viable option. Period. End of story.
I am wary of anyone clamoring for a third party. This would go hand in hand with what the powers that be would want to see happen to the revolution. Closed up into a bubble and tossed aside.
No, I repeat, no third party. Its called controlled opposition as in
third party=control over the opposition.
KEY NOTE
TIMING is everything, in all things...IS it time ?you-no
hmm
SSgT_AF Says "When bird fly why break its wings?"
Not gonna work.
Even if they pull off the miracle of miracles and get that 15% to get into the Pres debates, what's to stop them (the CPD) from changing the rules to make it 20%? 30%?
Besides, they have a fundamental flaw that they aren't addressing, which is they're thinking top-down. Real political change happens bottoms-up, as we all have seen between the C4L and the R3VOLution.
Besides, there is the problem of ballot access in all states. This is the battle that third parties have been fighting for years, which saps their resources and takes up their time. 51 different sets of rules, some easy, some draconian, some like AL and OK impossible, all designed against third parties.
If the playing field were level and their tax plan wasn't so stupid, they might have a shot, but neither is true, so this is just a fart in the wind.
this could help the cause!
check it out!
clickity click click...........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVuXawk-LNg&NR=1
http://www.dailypaul.com/node/92320/edit
B.R.O * M.I.K.E.
9/11 Lessons From Star Trek-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CyjD6Ulf6s&feature=channel_page
'9/11 Conspiracy Theories Ridiculous' - Al Qaeda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_OIXfkXEj0&feature=dir
B.R.O * M.I.K.E.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Right now we have a couple of problems: society and government. Since government is a reflection of society, my goals from now on are to not follow a party, but to be behind a set of ideas that I follow any candidate regardless of party that follows them, and to educate the masses so that as a society we move closer to freedom which in turn will pull and push the Democrats and Republicans towards a free society.
TODAY brings a new tommorow
I'm with you on this but we need to start a party sometime for a build process ..NOW is the time, as you & I are grass roots...Let's get started.
you-no
3rd Party would need to raise 100 to 200 million
That is the only way to compete.....Ron Paul did great but I dont think I see him raising 100 to 200 million dollars. 3rd parties are legally excluded from debates etc...so a 3rd party would have to buy their own TV air time during the debates to get any kind of public discourse going about an alternative party
Wouldn't it take 1-2 Billion?
Didn't Obama just spend a billion? How can an unknown third party make it on 10-20% of that amount?
Jack Pelham
Rule of Law Revolution
www.ruleoflawrevolution.com
Jack Pelham
www.jackpelham.com
www.ruleoflawrestoration.com
The only Third Parties that count are the successful ones.
"What, start another damn Third Party? What for?"
Those who say "over 135 political third parties exist" and post a list of all the ridiculous ones, past and present, are being misleading. In pragmatic terms, even Ross Perot's Reform Party, which got 19% of the vote in 1992, is defunct. Only third parties that make it onto the ballot are genuine entities, in my view. On a national level, that means we currently have four---the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, the Constitution Party, and the Ralph Nader party. Ralph Nader will drop out, most likely, in the next four years, and then there will be three.
Could the Ron Paul movement start a new party that makes it onto the national ballot in 2012? Absolutely. Easily, in fact.
Just food for thought.
SUPPORT OUR FOUNDERS' AMERICA
Support the Constitution of the United States
SUPPORT OUR FOUNDERS' AMERICA
Support the Constitution of the United States
Ok..so your key to this working is....
" its unique tax plan that goes beyond the flat tax and the sales tax."
Your "revolutionary political strategy (never before envisioned in history)" has been trotted out by at least 3 3rd parties that I can think of off the top of my head...
And to get here - "easily get the party the necessary 15% in the polls to qualify for the national TV election debates." Is not going to be so easy - it is going to take crazy amounts of money to get the message out there - simply putting out a press release is not going to cut it - We're talking 80 to a 100 million dollars here at least - and then you have to get on the ballot, which is no easy task........
Think incrementalism hasn't been tried before?....that's what the Libertarian party was shooting for when they nominated Bob Barr last year.....
And to call Dr. Paul running as a Republican a mistake? He would still likely be in the shadows today if he hadn't been in those Republican debates....
I wish you luck - but I think you will just be splitting up 5% of the vote that already votes for 3rd parties....which i happen to be part of :)
I think my time and energy is much better spent here -
http://www.rlc.org/
than trying to build yet another version of the libertarian/constitution/reform/natural law/objectivist/etc... party.
The big question I have for you is this - How are you going to have success in a 3rd Party centered around Ron Paul ..when even he wont be joining your party?
Fellow Veterans, This Is A Call To Arms!
http://www.facebook.com/events/192677970828185/
February 20, 2012 - Veterans For Ron Paul March on D.C.!
All parties should be abolished
_________________________________
My liberty-minded home base of thought:
www.ponderthis.net
_________________________________
Freedom - Peace - Prosperity
Don't you think someone had the same thought
When they made all the other parties? There's a slew of political parties in America. Probably because everybody always thinks there's only 2 and instead of joining one, they start one. It will be a long road to disappointment.
Explore Orthodox Christianity
Been there, done that.
Dr. Paul ran on the Libertarian ticket, and Ross Perot ran as an independent. The long and short of it is, the way the deck is stacked today, we're not going to regain our freedom without restoring one of the existing major parties to its principles. The Republican party is the one that's on the ropes are ready for some new leadership.
-jcr
"The problem with trying to child-proof the world, is that it makes people neglect the far more important task of world-proofing the child." -- Hugh Daniel