I introduced a libertarian from Texas to Ron Paul....

[goRPaul]

Yes, that is exactly what happened.

I overheard him talking about politics with another Marine, and it was less than two seconds before I sensed that he had caught the liberty bug. This excited me, so I interrupted his conversation (the other dude was only half listening) and asked if he was a Ron Paul supporter. He said he had heard about him but didn't know much about him. We talked for a good fifteen minutes and I learned that he was from Texas, he had no shame calling himself a libertarian, he was a big Glenn Beck fan and that his dad was a Bill O'Reilly fan.

I had to hide my disbelief that a self-described libertarian from Texas didn't know anything about Ron Paul. I told him he had to check him out and he said he would. He told me that I should look up Bowe Bergdahl (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowe_Bergdahl) because no one in the media bothered to report about the only American POW from the Afghanistan war.

I haven't met up with him since our conversation, but we had good rapport and since I looked up the guy he told me about, I'm pretty sure he looked up Ron Paul. Still, in 2013, why did I have to be the one to tell him about RP?

[Warlord]

Not many people actually pay attention to politics, any politics so it's not surprising to this Warlord. His libertarianism probably comes from being skeptical of government and catching Beck every now and then. This is good in itself as the neocons have lost their monopoly on radio thanks to Beck/Alex Jones and increasingly Savage though they all sound better with a Democrat in the White House they can't penetrate popular culture and infect the minds of the senseless like they could even just a decade ago.

Though even Beck would be calling for a massive war should something go off... no doubt believing whatever the administration said and picking a country out on a map.

See 9/11. Even on RPF people still think bin Laden was "responsible" for the attack but it was hijackers (likely assets of intelligence services) who died in the attack and met their maker. Yet that didn't stop the US government making an allegation, demanding the Taliban hand him over and when being asked to see the evidence launching a massive war and 13 year occupation costing around 1 trillion dollars.

Proportionate? Not really. But that's what happens when people get whipped up.

[Warlord]

By the way if you listen to Mark Levin's latest broadcast he was playing patriotic and nationalist music non-stop for an hour.

Pretty unbelievable propaganda designed to instill a fervant sense of patriotism which is then tied to his militaristic positions.

Bush said it best: "You're either with us or you're with the terrorists". Levin is the kind of propagandist who when Bush said that 10 years ago would have been right there making sure his listeners heard the message but also providing some kind of faux-intellectualism behind it no doubt reminding them of "all" the attacks carried out by these terrorist groups which have killed only thousands over 30 years.

More people die on the road each year than that yet the terrorist "threat" is used to steal your liberty and build a massive police state and stuff the Pentagon and weapons manufacturers full of cash via your taxes and the insane money printing of the Federal Reserve which hurt the senior citizens and the poor the most and the propagandists like Mark Levin provide essential cover for the regime to carry out this despicable heist.

[kathy88]

I'm sure there will be more of these Glen Beck "Libertarians" popping up all over.

[Neil Desmond]

By the way if you listen to Mark Levin's latest broadcast he was playing patriotic and nationalist music non-stop for an hour.
That probably had something to do with Monday (tomorrow) being Memorial Day, here in the US.

[Warlord]

That probably had something to do with Monday (tomorrow) being Memorial Day, here in the US.

Yes and because it's a Friday and he can't be bothered to prepare a script.

[chudrockz]

By the way if you listen to Mark Levin's latest broadcast he was playing patriotic and nationalist music non-stop for an hour.

Pretty unbelievable propaganda designed to instill a fervant sense of patriotism which is then tied to his militaristic positions.

Bush said it best: "You're either with us or you're with the terrorists". Levin is the kind of propagandist who when Bush said that 10 years ago would have been right there making sure his listeners heard the message but also providing some kind of faux-intellectualism behind it no doubt reminding them of "all" the attacks carried out by these terrorist groups which have killed only thousands over 30 years.

More people die on the road each year than that yet the terrorist "threat" is used to steal your liberty and build a massive police state and stuff the Pentagon and weapons manufacturers full of cash via your taxes and the insane money printing of the Federal Reserve which hurt the senior citizens and the poor the most and the propagandists like Mark Levin provide essential cover for the regime to carry out this despicable heist.

Your first problem is "listening to Mark Levin for an hour." I can't stand to listen to that fascist S.O.B. for five minutes without being in serious danger of breaking whatever is within arms length.

[Warlord]

Your first problem is "listening to Mark Levin for an hour." I can't stand to listen to that fascist S.O.B. for five minutes without being in serious danger of breaking whatever is within arms length.

Warlord is well used to listening to the lowest form of propaganda. The BBC have been running a Pashto service for decades.

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

Your first problem is "listening to Mark Levin for an hour." I can't stand to listen to that fascist S.O.B. for five minutes without being in serious danger of breaking whatever is within arms length.


I now fully understand why my father used to scream "bullshit" at the TV throughout my youth.

[XTreat]

I was a Neal Bortz libertarian for years (decade??) before I discovered RP.

[FrankRep]

I'm sure there will be more of these Glen Beck "Libertarians" popping up all over.

The term "libertarian" is pretty broad by the way and leads to much infighting.

[Warlord]

Beck is a "libertarian" of convenience while the GOP are out of office.

He'll be right there calling for another massive war, free speech restrictions and 4th/5th amendment desecration when the next FBI/CIA recruit blows something up.

And he'll also act genuinely perplexed as to how this could happen after 14 years of liberating Iraq and Afghanistan and bringing the wonders of Democracy to their ungrateful lands.

This when he knows damn well that continued occupation and perpetual war angers Muslims and provides the motivation for a response.

[sailingaway]

Yes, that is exactly what happened.

I overheard him talking about politics with another Marine, and it was less than two seconds before I sensed that he had caught the liberty bug. This excited me, so I interrupted his conversation (the other dude was only half listening) and asked if he was a Ron Paul supporter. He said he had heard about him but didn't know much about him. We talked for a good fifteen minutes and I learned that he was from Texas, he had no shame calling himself a libertarian, he was a big Glenn Beck fan and that his dad was a Bill O'Reilly fan.

I had to hide my disbelief that a self-described libertarian from Texas didn't know anything about Ron Paul. I told him he had to check him out and he said he would. He told me that I should look up Bowe Bergdahl (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowe_Bergdahl) because no one in the media bothered to report about the only American POW from the Afghanistan war.

I haven't met up with him since our conversation, but we had good rapport and since I looked up the guy he told me about, I'm pretty sure he looked up Ron Paul. Still, in 2013, why did I have to be the one to tell him about RP?

Because we need to get more active spreading Ron's message imho.

[Jackie Moon]

Ok, I'll admit it. I used to watch Beck starting back in '07. Over time I thought of myself as more and more "libertarian" but I didn't know about Ron until 2011.

I don't watch him anymore but I'm not sure if I'd even be here if it hadn't been for him. That's what got me away from left-right, red vs. blue thinking. I didn't know about Ron in '08 because after waking up I was turned off by McCain and the rest and didn't even bother paying attention.

During the years in between I started watching the Judge and Stossel, reading and watching videos on Friedman and Hayek, studying free markets and the founders, and actually reading the Constitution.

In 2011 at the start of the primary season I saw Romney, Gingrich, Bachmann and the rest and got discouraged. I knew they weren't what I was looking for. I was almost ready to give up again until somehow they made a mistake and let Ron talk more than 60 seconds during a debate.

It wasn't much but it was enough to say "whoa, who's this guy!?". Then after looking him up on YouTube I was amazed that I had been searching for Ron Paul for years before I even knew he existed.

So, while I don't watch Beck anymore personally, I'm not ready to dismiss him or his audience. I know first hand that there are many of them who are not far from fully being with us. Maybe all they know about Ron is what they've heard from others. Maybe they just haven't been able to admit to themselves that they were wrong.

Maybe they are only starting to be "libertarian" but they aren't all the way there yet. For a lot of people it's a journey of "I agree with this, but not that"... until they let it simmer in their brain for awhile and they gradually accept more of the message over time.

Or like with this Marine and myself they are already there but they don't pay attention to politics because they feel like there's nobody that represents them.


Because we need to get more active spreading Ron's message imho.

Yes, that's why I will continue to sport my Ron Paul gear and talk about him to anyone that I think is receptive. There are still millions of people to reach that are already open to the message but didn't pay attention during the primaries. And I will welcome them without judging their past whether they were Beck fans, neo-cons, or Obama voters.

[compromise]

Great that Glenn's helping spread the message of liberty. Glenn Beck libertarians will be a fundamental part of the Rand Paul 2016 coalition.

[Rocco]

This is incredibly close to my story of coming to the liberty movement. I am another example of somebody who found libertarianism through Beck and eventually moved past him. There are a LOT of us, and the Beck audience is ripe for the picking in this regard. Just have to package the message correctly.


Ok, I'll admit it. I used to watch Beck starting back in '07. Over time I thought of myself as more and more "libertarian" but I didn't know about Ron until 2011.

I don't watch him anymore but I'm not sure if I'd even be here if it hadn't been for him. That's what got me away from left-right, red vs. blue thinking. I didn't know about Ron in '08 because after waking up I was turned off by McCain and the rest and didn't even bother paying attention.

During the years in between I started watching the Judge and Stossel, reading and watching videos on Friedman and Hayek, studying free markets and the founders, and actually reading the Constitution.

In 2011 at the start of the primary season I saw Romney, Gingrich, Bachmann and the rest and got discouraged. I knew they weren't what I was looking for. I was almost ready to give up again until somehow they made a mistake and let Ron talk more than 60 seconds during a debate.

It wasn't much but it was enough to say "whoa, who's this guy!?". Then after looking him up on YouTube I was amazed that I had been searching for Ron Paul for years before I even knew he existed.

So, while I don't watch Beck anymore personally, I'm not ready to dismiss him or his audience. I know first hand that there are many of them who are not far from fully being with us. Maybe all they know about Ron is what they've heard from others. Maybe they just haven't been able to admit to themselves that they were wrong.

Maybe they are only starting to be "libertarian" but they aren't all the way there yet. For a lot of people it's a journey of "I agree with this, but not that"... until they let it simmer in their brain for awhile and they gradually accept more of the message over time.

Or like with this Marine and myself they are already there but they don't pay attention to politics because they feel like there's nobody that represents them.



Yes, that's why I will continue to sport my Ron Paul gear and talk about him to anyone that I think is receptive. There are still millions of people to reach that are already open to the message but didn't pay attention during the primaries. And I will welcome them without judging their past whether they were Beck fans, neo-cons, or Obama voters.

[jtstellar]

there we go guys.. i'm reminded of all the tough talking crowd at dailypaul dismissing the potential influence glenn beck can have, calling him 'the devil' and attacking rand for 'cozying up' to him (does it ever get old).

really some people in this coalition appear to be hot headed with their shallow attacks and premature conclusions in their narrow world view, but they're not really good for anything else. i've predicted long ago that beck offering his platform to this coalition will help us, now you're seeing it first hand. i don't even think the naysayers are particularly true to liberty or its rhetoric, or anything else at this point.. it's like they are just stupid, that's all.

[talkingpointes]

there we go guys.. i'm reminded of all the tough talking crowd at dailypaul dismissing the potential influence glenn beck can have, calling him 'the devil' and attacking rand for 'cozying up' to him (does it ever get old).

really some people in this coalition appear to be hot headed with their shallow attacks and premature conclusions in their narrow world view, but they're not really good for anything else. i've predicted long ago that beck offering his platform to this coalition will help us, now you're seeing it first hand. i don't even think the naysayers are particularly true to liberty or its rhetoric, or anything else at this point.. it's like they are just stupid, that's all.

Ok. So he woke up 1 person but kept down 1000's. He is speaking to people that already feel that way. He isn't changing opinions. If I forced a liberal to listen to Ron Paul non-stop it wouldn't change their mind just hearing him, they have to have the want for what he is saying or desire.

[kcchiefs6465]

there we go guys.. i'm reminded of all the tough talking crowd at dailypaul dismissing the potential influence glenn beck can have, calling him 'the devil' and attacking rand for 'cozying up' to him (does it ever get old).

really some people in this coalition appear to be hot headed with their shallow attacks and premature conclusions in their narrow world view, but they're not really good for anything else. i've predicted long ago that beck offering his platform to this coalition will help us, now you're seeing it first hand. i don't even think the naysayers are particularly true to liberty or its rhetoric, or anything else at this point.. it's like they are just stupid, that's all.

http://i.imgur.com/T6AGZud.gif?1