Bradley in DC
10-02-2007, 01:15 PM
http://www.redstate.com/blogs/cardinal_red/2007/oct/02/a_respectful_open_letter_from_a_ron_paul_supporter
A Respectful Open Letter from a Ron Paul Supporter
By Cardinal Red
I have been a long-time lurker on Redstate, and have generally admired the thoughtfulness of the dialogue I’ve found here. However, some recent Redstate postings have compelled me to register and make my own first post here and it is a voice of respectful dissent. My concern relates to the hostility accorded to Ron Paul by a significant number of writers at Red State.
I am, in fair disclosure, a strong Paul supporter and donor, although I also disagree with Dr. Paul on several issues. I understand that the hostility to Dr. Paul can be a two way street and that some of Dr. Paul’s supporters have not been civil on Red State and elsewhere. I have no doubt that sometimes the actions of some Paul backers in support of their candidate have crossed the bounds of appropriate behavior. This can happen with the supporters of any candidate, especially one who is bringing in many supporters who may be new to politics.
But the Paul campaign is not about the behavior of a small but vocal minority of his supporters. It’s about Dr. Paul. Ron Paul is a 10 term Republican Congressman. And his is a conservative-- Both in his politics and his personal life. And he deserves better than the fear and detestation I’ve read in some posts on this site. And I fear that this hostility against someone who has bucked the mainstream of the party on a few key issues bodes poorly for the future of the “Big Tent” Republican Party.
Let’s examine Ron Paul’s record briefly, and see if it sounds like it is conservative or liberal.
(1) He’s never voted for a tax increase or an unbalanced budget—He stands second to no one in the entire Republican field in his fiscal conservatism
(2) He has one of the best records with the NRA of anyone in congress
(3) He supported Ronald Reagan for President in 1976 when only three of his fellow Republican Congressmen had the courage to do so—And I think it’s safe to say, his belief system hasn’t changed since then.
(4) He’s for overturning Roe Vs. Wade and more than that, as a career Ob-Gyn, he has authored two pro-life books, and has made the pro-life issue a centerpiece of his platform for years.
(5) Against the wishes Bush administration and some misguided Republicans, he has constantly pushed for border security and even for a Constitutional amendment to eliminate birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens—striking at the heart of our system of encouraging illegal immigration.
It’s important to note that in the last two items, which are core issues for the Republican base, he is very much out of the Libertarian mainstream and very much in the conservative one. One could go on for some time on Dr. Paul’s conservative bona fides on issues great and small, but I think the aforementioned makes my general point pretty well.
Now, lets look at his supporters.
Conservative voices from Laura Ingraham, Barry Goldwater Jr. to John Derbyshire, to Congressman Walter Jones and John Duncan (not exactly Libertarians) have praised him effusively. That’s also a pretty wide swath of conservative opinion.
His Iowa Campaign manager formerly managed the campaigns for Pat Robertson and Pat Buchanan in Iowa—those don’t sound like Libertarian names to me, they sound like conservative ones.
He’s also drawn praise and support from the left and center of the political spectrum. But I view that support as an asset not a liability. If Dr. Paul can bring more people to look at the Republican Party who might not have done so otherwise, I would hope that people at Redstate would support that.
Then there’s Dr. Paul’s personal life. His story of his early life overcoming the challenges of growing up in the great depression is a classic all-American tale. Married to the same woman for 50 years, he’s a small-town doctor who is a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He is close with his five children, three of whom also became physicians. Compare that record to the rather shaky “family values” of some of the leading Republican contenders in the field. He’s a veteran who served in our armed forces with distinction. He is, by all accounts, mild-mannered and courteous person.
And he has real grassroots momentum behind him. Despite modest, and often dismissive coverage in the media, he generated over 40,000 online donations last quarter. He has certainly have raised above $3 Million and perhaps substantially more. His momentum is clearly growing. In the last week of the quarter alone, He raised $1.2 Million from 14,000 online donations, more than all of the Democrats except Obama and Hillary, and likely more than any of the other Republican candidates. For a candidate on the fringes of media coverage, that’s remarkable. His online support isn’t just “spammers”—It’s real people. There’s a genuine hunger for his candidacy among a significant segment of the conservative base (such as myself) who are alienated from the “big government conservatism” practiced by many of today’s Republicans. There is no question that among the Republican candidates, his candidacy has inspired more grassroots activism than any other.
I recognize that some of Dr. Paul’s positions may not be held by most conservatives. But on core issues of fiscal conservatism, right to bear arms, abortion, immigration, and many others, Ron Paul is about as conservative as they get. I recognize that, particularly on the Iraq war, he is in conflict with a large portion of the Republican base (although it is fair to note that a significant portion of that base also supports his position). But given his overall record of conservative advocacy, and his support of and from an A to Z of conservative Icons from Reagan to Goldwater, it hardly seems fair to read him out of the movement on account of a disagreement that is certainly one of genuine principle and not political opportunism.
Ron Paul has a 30+ year record of highly principled, conservative activism in Congress. He’s leading an entirely healthy debate about what the future of American conservatism should be. I hope that the members of Redstate and other similar conservative venues will decide to engage him in that debate, and not eliminate him from it.
Respectfully,
Cardinal Red
A Respectful Open Letter from a Ron Paul Supporter
By Cardinal Red
I have been a long-time lurker on Redstate, and have generally admired the thoughtfulness of the dialogue I’ve found here. However, some recent Redstate postings have compelled me to register and make my own first post here and it is a voice of respectful dissent. My concern relates to the hostility accorded to Ron Paul by a significant number of writers at Red State.
I am, in fair disclosure, a strong Paul supporter and donor, although I also disagree with Dr. Paul on several issues. I understand that the hostility to Dr. Paul can be a two way street and that some of Dr. Paul’s supporters have not been civil on Red State and elsewhere. I have no doubt that sometimes the actions of some Paul backers in support of their candidate have crossed the bounds of appropriate behavior. This can happen with the supporters of any candidate, especially one who is bringing in many supporters who may be new to politics.
But the Paul campaign is not about the behavior of a small but vocal minority of his supporters. It’s about Dr. Paul. Ron Paul is a 10 term Republican Congressman. And his is a conservative-- Both in his politics and his personal life. And he deserves better than the fear and detestation I’ve read in some posts on this site. And I fear that this hostility against someone who has bucked the mainstream of the party on a few key issues bodes poorly for the future of the “Big Tent” Republican Party.
Let’s examine Ron Paul’s record briefly, and see if it sounds like it is conservative or liberal.
(1) He’s never voted for a tax increase or an unbalanced budget—He stands second to no one in the entire Republican field in his fiscal conservatism
(2) He has one of the best records with the NRA of anyone in congress
(3) He supported Ronald Reagan for President in 1976 when only three of his fellow Republican Congressmen had the courage to do so—And I think it’s safe to say, his belief system hasn’t changed since then.
(4) He’s for overturning Roe Vs. Wade and more than that, as a career Ob-Gyn, he has authored two pro-life books, and has made the pro-life issue a centerpiece of his platform for years.
(5) Against the wishes Bush administration and some misguided Republicans, he has constantly pushed for border security and even for a Constitutional amendment to eliminate birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens—striking at the heart of our system of encouraging illegal immigration.
It’s important to note that in the last two items, which are core issues for the Republican base, he is very much out of the Libertarian mainstream and very much in the conservative one. One could go on for some time on Dr. Paul’s conservative bona fides on issues great and small, but I think the aforementioned makes my general point pretty well.
Now, lets look at his supporters.
Conservative voices from Laura Ingraham, Barry Goldwater Jr. to John Derbyshire, to Congressman Walter Jones and John Duncan (not exactly Libertarians) have praised him effusively. That’s also a pretty wide swath of conservative opinion.
His Iowa Campaign manager formerly managed the campaigns for Pat Robertson and Pat Buchanan in Iowa—those don’t sound like Libertarian names to me, they sound like conservative ones.
He’s also drawn praise and support from the left and center of the political spectrum. But I view that support as an asset not a liability. If Dr. Paul can bring more people to look at the Republican Party who might not have done so otherwise, I would hope that people at Redstate would support that.
Then there’s Dr. Paul’s personal life. His story of his early life overcoming the challenges of growing up in the great depression is a classic all-American tale. Married to the same woman for 50 years, he’s a small-town doctor who is a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He is close with his five children, three of whom also became physicians. Compare that record to the rather shaky “family values” of some of the leading Republican contenders in the field. He’s a veteran who served in our armed forces with distinction. He is, by all accounts, mild-mannered and courteous person.
And he has real grassroots momentum behind him. Despite modest, and often dismissive coverage in the media, he generated over 40,000 online donations last quarter. He has certainly have raised above $3 Million and perhaps substantially more. His momentum is clearly growing. In the last week of the quarter alone, He raised $1.2 Million from 14,000 online donations, more than all of the Democrats except Obama and Hillary, and likely more than any of the other Republican candidates. For a candidate on the fringes of media coverage, that’s remarkable. His online support isn’t just “spammers”—It’s real people. There’s a genuine hunger for his candidacy among a significant segment of the conservative base (such as myself) who are alienated from the “big government conservatism” practiced by many of today’s Republicans. There is no question that among the Republican candidates, his candidacy has inspired more grassroots activism than any other.
I recognize that some of Dr. Paul’s positions may not be held by most conservatives. But on core issues of fiscal conservatism, right to bear arms, abortion, immigration, and many others, Ron Paul is about as conservative as they get. I recognize that, particularly on the Iraq war, he is in conflict with a large portion of the Republican base (although it is fair to note that a significant portion of that base also supports his position). But given his overall record of conservative advocacy, and his support of and from an A to Z of conservative Icons from Reagan to Goldwater, it hardly seems fair to read him out of the movement on account of a disagreement that is certainly one of genuine principle and not political opportunism.
Ron Paul has a 30+ year record of highly principled, conservative activism in Congress. He’s leading an entirely healthy debate about what the future of American conservatism should be. I hope that the members of Redstate and other similar conservative venues will decide to engage him in that debate, and not eliminate him from it.
Respectfully,
Cardinal Red