Win-Win and Help!

[Esor]

I'm fairly new to active political involvement since I am only 19 years old. I actually first saw Ron Paul on Fox News as I browsed the news stations before bed one night. I've always aligned myself as a Libertarian ever since a representative from the party gave a speech at my school. The next morning I took the time to investigate Ron Paul and was thrilled to hear about his message. He is the first candidate that I can fully support without any subconcious feelings of doubt or distrust.

There has been a lot of talk throughout the media and internet, some of which trickles down through these very forums, that supporting Ron Paul is a waste of time and that he has little to no chance of winning. I was actually speaking to my friend last night when I mentioned that I was going to purchase $60 worth of Ron Paul stickers, shirts and signs. He laughed and responded, "next time just give me $60 dollars if you are going to waste it." This brings me to my next talking point.

I cannot see Ron Pauls campaign as a failure in any sense of the word. Sure, he might not win the presidential nominee or get reelected to Congress, but it is still a victory. This grassroots movement has educated thousands upon thousands of people to the forgotten message of "freedom" and "liberty." How can this possibly be a defeat? I am sure most, if not all, of the members on this website can stand-up and say that even if Ron Paul gets smashed in the primaries, they will still support his ideals and message throughout their lifetimes. Therefor, it is a win-win situation for every supporter of freedom and liberty.

Lastly, I would like to call upon everyone for suggestions and help. Ron Paul's grassroots campaign has sparked my interest in politics more than anything yet. I know that this spark will not fade come next November. I want to gather a group of people and create a community, much like the "Ron Paul Revolution," that will continue to spread these messages no matter the outcome of the presidential race.

This will be a community that will continue to blog, spread messages, raise money, endorse candidates, rally, meet, and struggle for the idea of freedom and liberty. I do not want to see this spark started by the Ron Paul campaign to fade. We must continue this momentum regardless of the outcome for us to achieve any sort of victory.

I would like to see who would be interested in participating in such a community. Any suggestions? Thoughts? Criticisms?

[Corydoras]

The people who run this forum have promised that no matter how the elections turn out, they will continue to have this forum for us.

[NewEnd]

Ron Paul is goign to kick the shit out of the neocons, they can either get behind us, or lick Hillary's feet for 8 years. It's up to them.

The only delusion is them thinking any of their useless "champions" can do anything but get trounced in all 50 states.

[Hope]

Join a Meet-Up group! You'll make lasting friends and if That-Possibility-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named occurs, you'll have a strong base of people to brainstorm with on a local level. :)

[Question_Authority]

Excellent post. You are very mature. My son is 19 and he has the same evolved sensibilities as you do.

Anyway, I still vote for the idea that was put forth a couple of weeks ago. Here's my spin on it:

We start up a chip-in...for say $40 Million.

Buy an island in the Caribbean.

Establish a new country.

Elect Dr Paul as President.

[Cindy]

Ron Paul is goign to kick the shit out of the neocons, they can either get behind us, or lick Hillary's feet for 8 years.


LMAO That would make a great sign!

[werdd]

Im 19 too welcome onboard, its a great time to be young and politically active.

[SpicyItalian739]

Excellent post. You are very mature. My son is 19 and he has the same evolved sensibilities as you do.

Anyway, I still vote for the idea that was put forth a couple of weeks ago. Here's my spin on it:

We start up a chip-in...for say $40 Million.

Buy an island in the Caribbean.

Establish a new country.

Elect Dr Paul as President.

They've made it so you can not create your own country by ingenuity... you need to use force. Look at what happened to the Principality of Sealand lol

[Seth M.]

Welcome to the Forums! Ron would be Proud..

I think that this forum has been a Godsend to Dr Paul's campaign and to America at large. I look forward to working with all of you from here on out! Thanks all.

[JoshLowry]

The people who run this forum have promised that no matter how the elections turn out, they will continue to have this forum for us.

Correct! Stick around for better or worse.

We will be co-naming this place LibertyForest.com


The Liberty Tree (1646–1775) was a famous elm tree that stood in the commons of Boston, Massachusetts Colony, in the days before the American Revolution. The tree was a rallying point for the growing resistance to the rule of England over the American colonies. In the years that followed, almost every American town had its own Liberty Tree—a living symbol of popular support for individual liberty and resistance to tyranny.

[Esor]

The people who run this forum have promised that no matter how the elections turn out, they will continue to have this forum for us.

I am thrilled to hear that, really. Will it still be associated with Ron Paul, however?


Join a Meet-Up group! You'll make lasting friends and if That-Possibility-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named occurs, you'll have a strong base of people to brainstorm with on a local level. :)

I am part of my local Meet-Up group.

I am just deeply afraid that after all is said and done the "fad" (although I really hate to use such a word) would be over and the movement would slow if not end. That is why I suggested creating a community mirroring the support of Ron Paul's grassroot revolution but distancing themselves from just the Ron Paul campaign. It would be a community to pursue life, liberty and freedom in every way possible including working to organize local election support to getting news coverage to ending the war overseas.

People are passionate about these ideas and Ron Paul gives them a face and reason to unite towards these goals. I just don't want to see it end.

[margomaps]

Lastly, I would like to call upon everyone for suggestions and help. Ron Paul's grassroots campaign has sparked my interest in politics more than anything yet. I know that this spark will not fade come next November. I want to gather a group of people and create a community, much like the "Ron Paul Revolution," that will continue to spread these messages no matter the outcome of the presidential race.

This will be a community that will continue to blog, spread messages, raise money, endorse candidates, rally, meet, and struggle for the idea of freedom and liberty. I do not want to see this spark started by the Ron Paul campaign to fade. We must continue this momentum regardless of the outcome for us to achieve any sort of victory.

I would like to see who would be interested in participating in such a community. Any suggestions? Thoughts? Criticisms?

I think it's essential that we stick together and continue to keep the concept of liberty alive in this country. An online community is a great way of doing that, and I really hope people remain connected that way.

But, I also advocate thinking bigger. I urge everyone who cherishes liberty to consider joining the Free State Project (http://www.freestateproject.org). No matter the outcome of this election, the FSP's goal will remain the same: liberty in our lifetime.

[Esor]

But, I also advocate thinking bigger. I urge everyone who cherishes liberty to consider joining the Free State Project (http://www.freestateproject.org). No matter the outcome of this election, the FSP's goal will remain the same: liberty in our lifetime.

Thinking bigger? I already am thinking bigger! Thank you for the link, I've read through the FSP site and plan on joining it and supporting it as well. What I want to ultimately see is more of a coalition of communities. There are so many different communities, political parties, and groups that support the very ideas and messages that we support. I think it would be wonderful to see everyone focus their support and effort.
I want to see a massive website, one that:
-Outlines local events for your city and state to get involved in.
-List of running officials in your city and state
-Organization of different political parties, whether Democrat, Republican, third party or minor party.
-Forums for open debate among issues around the world.
-News updates.
-Video archives.
-List of meet-up groups and affiliates.
-And tons more!

The Free State Project is a great example of what I'm talking about.
Another, better example, would be the Independent Media Center. The IMC is a blanket organization for independent news coverage. Anyone can volunteer and write articles, make videos, etc. Last year I volunteered to cover a local war protest and although there were hundreds there to protest, I was the only news coverage it recieved. My filming is currently in two videos that are distrubuted on their website. Now the IMC is organized like this:
-One central IMC "blanket"
-One IMC HQ for (nearly) every country
-One IMC for (nearly) every state/province in the USA and abroad
-One IMC for every city...
They are all independently run and organized on a grassroots level much like the Ron Paul Revolution.

Now right now our movement has a blanket (or figure-head) of Ron Paul. We are able to rally and organize because of his campaign. We will need a blanket or figure-head to organize behind once his campaign is finished, however.

(BTW, if anyone is interested here is some information and links to the Independent Media Center)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Media_Center

Global IMC: http://www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml
USA IMC: http://indymedia.us/en/index.shtml

On either of those pages you can scroll down and on the left-hand side of the screen there is are links to every other IMC site.

[Bradley in DC]

Welcome to the movement. We're going to win the DC primary at least! :)

[Esor]

Everyone is so welcoming here, it is nice.