the internet and rise of Ron Paul

....to the dollar.

He had written pro Gold articles before 1971, but only Gold-bugs had read his good sense writings......Because mainstream had already declared monetary war on sound monetary policies, only a small segment of the American population had heard of him before 1988. { I proudly voted for him in in my state in 1988, and wrote him in in every presidential election there after. }

Yes, the 'net' boosted his popularity immensely because he spoke the TRUTH, something completely unheard of in political circles. { where in the past politicians changed opinions hourly }

Why do you think corrupt politicians want to control the "net"? Answer: So the truth can be hidden!

Why didn't Ron Paul get nominated?

Because the majority of Americans are too lazy to do research,,,or maybe they're just too lazy to read at all.

Can you just imagine that Ron Paul is the "ONLY" Presidential candidate in history that wanted to "ABOLISH" the IRS?.....And he told us how to replace it!

Which leads me to the conclusion that the majority of Americans are sheeple that vote for whoever the MSM tells them to vote for!

Unless you're a good speaker, word of mouth causes arguments......I know!!!

I disagree that the presumed "freedom" of the internet created the rise in recognition for Ron Paul. Actually, maybe that did create it. But then if that did, it's partly a fallacy. I would almost guarantee that if everyone involved in this movement tried this not in virtual reality but in reality, it would fail or at least not be as successful.

While I do think the internet is successful in providing a unlimited and almost irrepressible amount of communication, it is all not real; it is all virtual. No emotion, all thought. That's simply not real. How many times has there be outlandish, ridiculous arguments on here about conspiracy theories or other extreme stuff? In person, there would be resistance to that, or uncomfortable feelings, or maybe outright fighting. But there definitely would not cooperation and any cooperation that did exist would dissolve in the midst of those conflicts. The internet is a medium that absorbs conflict instead of taking it on.

I just simply think it's way irresponsible to not realize the probable glorification of this movement and that if done in person, in reality it would probably be quite different.

Moreover, the current times provide for new and extreme voices to gain a foot. However, once the crisis subsides, that dynamic closes. So I also expect this success in Ron Paul and others to eventually collapse. Most people want life to be the way it is. Most people do not want to be responsible and to be free means to be responsible. Probably most people don't even want that. I imagine there are many in this movement, who if all the laws were removed, would be that greedy, self absorbed person if given the opportunity, even if they believe themselves otherwise.

Ron Paul would be a complete unknown today if not for the Internet.

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I've said many times before, that it is no coincidence that the LP was formed at the same time Dr. Paul entered politics, and for the same reasons.

Also, that the LP is full of tech-savvy, math-savvy (i.e., principled people), and rule-of-law types, engineers, physicists and programmers. The LP was the very first political party to have a website.

This message of the free market, action and consequence, and the ability to take things to their logical conclusions put libertarians right at home on the Internet.

But my big idea this week is this one: the Internet does not let history die. Obama will be hit in the face with his own campaign promises. We can use this same tool to show our other leaders for what they are.

Dr. Paul is one of the few elected officials capable of standing up in the face of his own history: his archived material only proves him more principled and right.

The Internet, though not perfect (witness how wrong they got Dr. Paul during the campaign, but also how we were able to defend him), is going to cause our elected officials to live with their past votes and actions in a way they never have had to do before. It will also allow us to become better educated about the more complicated issues, not coverable in a sound bite.

IMissLiberty

"The Information Age offers much to mankind, and I would like to think that we will rise to the challenges it presents. But it is vital to remember that information — in the sense of raw data — is not knowledge, that knowledge is not wisdom, and that wisdom is not foresight. But information is the first essential step to all of these." - Arthur C. Clarke

I was looking for another quote of his, one roughly saying "The short term effects of a technology are often overestimated. The long term effects are often grossly underestimated." but I couldn't find it. The one above seems to work well for a different idea.

The Internet has made this movement, and all the other similar movements, possible. That said, we are just at the beginning of this quest.
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"Freedom suppressed and again regained bites with keener fangs than freedom never endangered." -- Cicero

Well, word of keyboard, at least. But faster.
Also, there is a statistically significant overlap between netizens (technological early adopters) and libertarians (cultural early adopters.) On average, people on any frontier are typically more emotionally flexible and intellectually powerful. As the net becomes more mainstream and accessible, we will eventually be overrun by the booboisie. We are still within our window of opportunity, but it is closing fast.

Youtube did not exist during the 2000 election and was barely a blip by 2004.

Think about the big media bias.

It all makes sense.
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My liberty-minded home base of thought:

www.ponderthis.net

Ron Paul is a game changer. He is what some in the tech business would consider a disruptive technology. Ron Paul's vision of America destroys the status quo and restores liberty and freedom to where it ought to be. There are many among us who do not wish to see Ron Paul succeed for that very reason.

Many people also believe that the media is controlled to a great extent. If you judge the mainstream media by their actions, it often appears true that they are indeed very much controlled.

So, why was the Internet so crucial in Ron Paul gaining in recognition and support?

Let me answer your question with something else to ponder...

The Internet was originally called the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network.) It was developed by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, of the Department of Defense during the Cold War. The basic premise was to design a communications network that could survive the loss of one or many segments of the network. It was designed to ensure that communications were not disrupted. The ARPANET was the predecessor of today's Internet.

I find it very interesting that a communications network designed by the Department of Defense is the primary reason that we were able to so effectively spread the news about Ron Paul. Without DARPA, ARPANET or the Internet, many of us very likely would still not know who Ron Paul is or what he stands for.

Signs all over the country with that simple message.

It works on several levels. It tells people to look up some one they've never heard of. It plants the seed for people to learn things for themselves, not to wait for the MSM or word of mouth.

If it weren't for the free and timely exchange of ideas the internet provides, Ron Paul's recognition would be nil. We know this because of the blatant MSM bias and blacklisting of Ron Paul.

Be thankful we had the internet last election and hope that we still have it for the next one.