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View Full Version : Ron Paul Legacy Could Trigger a Libertarian Takeover in the 2014 Midterm Elections




tangent4ronpaul
11-12-2012, 05:36 AM
http://www.policymic.com/articles/18917/ron-paul-legacy-could-trigger-a-libertarian-takeover-in-the-2014-midterm-elections



At the close of this election cycle, it is evident that the Liberty Movement is still finding its way.

When prominent libertarian icon Ron Paul failed to clinch the 2012 Republican nomination, many supporters weren’t sure where to throw their support for the general election. Some held their noses and voted for Romney. Others obstinately wrote-in Dr. Paul. A significant amount of them backed the Libertarian Party’s nominee, former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson.

Those who came to embrace Johnson had one goal in mind for this election: to secure 5% of the vote, and thus break the duopoly long enjoyed by Democrats and Republicans.

Capturing this much of the electorate would have fractured our current system by granting third party candidates equal access to federal funding and ballots for the next election cycle. And, it would have possibly put the Libertarian party on the trajectory toward polling at 15%, which would have allowed future Libertarian candidates to appear in the presidential debates.

Sadly, Johnson only claimed 1% of the vote. Furthermore, Ron Paul will not be attempting to win over the Republican Party again, as he is vacating his House seat this January.

Given this turnover in leadership, and the apparent futility of penetrating the two party system, does the Liberty Movement still have traction in modern politics?

Yes, it does. And not only does it have traction, it is actually gaining momentum.

The untold story in this election is the quiet infiltration of a small, new liberty caucus in Congress. These newly elected officials, all Republican and all backed by Young Americans for Liberty PAC, are just the beginning of what could possibly turn into a stealthy libertarian takeover of the Republican Party – and the federal government.

This electoral success illuminates the path for libertarians going forward. The most pragmatic route for libertarians is not found in abandoning the two party system or setting their sights on the highest office in the country. The best course of action is to slowly take over the most receptive party available – the Republican Party – from the bottom up and use it to steadily take over all levels of government.

Yes, doing so will undoubtedly be difficult. I experienced the difficulties firsthand when I served as a Ron Paul delegate at the Louisiana State Convention, where many of us were blocked out of proceedings and even assaulted and arrested. But it is important to note that in spite of these difficulties, or perhaps even because of them, we have gained ground.

It is very true that the country will unlikely be receptive to a libertarian Republican nominee for president in 2016, but the political climate will be ripe for a wave of libertarians in the 2014 midterm elections.

Indeed – as Tuesday’s election results showed – it already is.

Peace&Freedom
11-12-2012, 07:51 AM
Without going all the way back into the "reform the GOP" debate raging on this forum for months, It should be restated that the alternative approach should continue, of growing the movement's infrastructure mostly independent of either establishment major party, and get more liberty candidates into office by running them primarily in primaries where there are open seat situations, be they in Democratic or Republican districts. Working within one party only leaves half of these opportunities on the table, thus slowing down our progress in attaining elected office by 50%.

The two-party system is designed to serve and reinforce the establishment, period. Neither major party will ever be "receptive" to being taken over by the grassroots, because both are controlled from the top by the power elite special interests (Big Biz, Big Oil, Big Banks, the MIC, foreign lobbyists) whose entire purpose in controlling them is EXACTLY to marginalize, or co-opt and neuter alternative movements. If it can't absorb and thus neutralize a grassroots group (e.g., the Tea Party), it seeks to disintegrate it (e.g., Occupy). Once co-opted, the movement's main agenda is always and forever compromised and subordinated to the task of electing more party hacks, simply because they have the right label, then voting for more spending, borrowing and empire when whipped, as per the demands of the special interests.

The major reason why the GOP took note of the Pauls is that they have developed a national power base infrastructure that is independent of the party (Ron/Rand have their own mass mailing list, loyal grassroots network, money bomb process, lobbying arm, and unified agenda). Their success is far more consistent with the independent growth model, than the save-GOP model. If the grassroots integrates its efforts along those independent, no-compromise lines and focuses on get-into-office primary situations where a vacant seat makes the outlook for success likely, we could be more quickly on our way to occupying seats with Ron Paul Republicans and Ron Paul Democrats.

philipped
10-07-2013, 09:49 PM
bump. I have a feeling we will see a boost in percentages for Libertarian candidates all across the nation.

Tod
10-07-2013, 10:14 PM
We need to do our level best to ensure that Amash not only keeps his seat, but keeps it by a wider margin.

idiom
10-08-2013, 03:23 AM
Pretty good argument for winding up the LP right now and putting that effort into the Ron Paul Party, the quiet cancer of common sense taking root in the majors.

philipped
10-08-2013, 06:45 AM
An article like this solidifies why I believe in voting for libertarian-Republican and Libertarians. If we have libertarian-Republicans in the Senate & House we can get a lot of more stuff done, and remove a lot of things. Then on a state level we can work to seeing radical change with how the LP is received in elections by getting their name out and having them reach over 5% or 10% or however much is needed to gain official party status. I believe that should be the goal of the LP on state level in 2014, and 2016.

philipped
10-08-2013, 06:47 AM
My previous post also agrees with changing the landscape of politics in 2 different ways by modernizing the Republican party, and building up the Libertarian party, who can hate on that? lol

ronpaulfollower999
10-08-2013, 09:38 AM
The LP should be smart and not run candidates against guys like Amash. It will show where their intentions truly lie.

Mr.NoSmile
10-08-2013, 09:45 AM
Wishful thinking, but has to actually play out in our favor with a stronger rhetoric, message and ground game. If Brian Ellis challenging Justin Amash is an indication of anything, it's that the old guard will pull out the stops to keep that from happening.

anaconda
10-08-2013, 03:14 PM
The MSM is now talking about the backlash against the Tea Party, because people blame them for the shut down.

ThePenguinLibertarian
10-08-2013, 09:20 PM
The MSM is now talking about the backlash against the Tea Party, because people blame them for the shut down.
well, they did nothing. Maybe a 217 billion dollar cut.. but thats nothing, just a little above the Ryan budget.