Confessions of a Ron Paul Supporter - by Paul Kemp It's been a hard realization to accept that the American population will not ever "get" what Ron Paul is saying. For most Americans, it's just not the message they want to hear. Aside from the many egregious examples of how our choice of candidates is distorted and directed by the mainstream media, there have been as many instances of the new, supposedly hip, and free media ladling out innuendo, lies, and guilt-by-association to dissuade voters from a serious consideration of the issues Dr. Paul champions. That's fine. I've come to accept the fact that America gets the politicians they deserve. Admittedly, Dr. Paul's campaign would have been wise to limit the number of fronts they were battling on: taking on issues like proposals to end the IRS, go back to a gold standard, and ending the expensive and ineffective drug war are too much for the public to grasp at once. They need it simple and bite-sized. Playing to the policy wonks is well and good, but these issues go right over the heads of the average voter, which is who you need to win an election. It would have been better to focus on do-able actions with more interest to the average voter, such as ending our occupation of Iraq, securing our borders, and getting our government back to a balanced budget, resulting in visible benefits for our citizens. The long laundry list of issues was too much for the average voter to take seriously. This was a major strategic mistake. Whether it is even possible to get a candidate of the people past the Diebold vote-rigging programs and other impediments to representative government is doubtful. The History Channel's invetigation of "The Men Who Killed Kennedy" is an eye-opener, watch it on YouTube to see the lengths the military-industrial complex and others will go to, to maintain their lock on power. I should have known better. Fresh out of jail for draft resistance, I voted for McGovern, the peace candidate of 1972, who campaigned to end the Vietnam fiasco. He lost and the country overwhelmingly elected Richard Nixon for a second term! At the time, I couldn't believe that my fellow Americans could be so stupid. Now, I believe it. I voted for Ron Paul in 1988 when he ran as a Libertarian. Again, rational solutions to our problems were rejected. He received one-half of one percent of the vote for president. At least he received a lot more attention this time around. In the face of snarky comments from numerous media talking heads(and Eddie Munster look-alikes), he presented himself very well. The guy is, in my opinion, a prince and a gentleman. The problem is, barring a miracle, he won't win the nomination and I sense we don't have much time to save what's left of this constitutional republic if we don't start now. We need to accept that #1) The American people are not in control of our government and have not been for a long time; #2) The mainstream voter will not awake from his or her jingoistic dreams of world hegemony until our dollar and our economy are destroyed by the corruption and wild spending habits of our politicians, who really don't represent us anyway. When this country finds itself unable to afford the comforts Americans have become accustomed to, such as their homes and gas for their cars, it is more likely that we will embrace a total dictatorship rather than a Ron Paul-like leader. We are already in what is essentially a dictatorship in all but name. The president does what he wants, ignores the laws of the land which he swore to uphold, and is obviously serving an agenda that is only beneficial to his multinational corporate backers (KBR, Lockheed-Martin, and Blackwater come to mind) and special interests (AIPAC). Congress, for the most part, is subservient to similar interests and doesn't have the courage or the principle to impeach the president or make any substantive changes. Electing a Democrat is not going to slow the Neocon agenda. You think Hillary will roll back all the damage that has been done? Internment camps have been built for dissident US citizens; laws have been passed allowing the executive branch a wide range of emergency powers which hint at controlling an unruly civilian population. You or I could be branded an enemy combatant and never seen again. (If you doubt what I am saying, read Antiwar.com - anything by Justin Raimondo, especially about the suppression of the Sibel Edmonds testimony. Read Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, on our march to becoming a Banana Republic. Read "Nemesis" by Chalmers Johnson. Oh, but I forgot, most Americans don't read anymore. And "most Americans" is who we need to convert.) Look at the stories of how the bandits on Wall Street have made off with billions of dollars in year-end bonuses, while ensnaring our - and even the world's - economy in what promises to be a Depression, not merely a recession. Look at the hard facts: the dollar is crashing, the stock market is living on borrowed time, gold is close to $1000 an ounce, oil hit $110/barrel the other day, the country is $60 Trillion in debt and the Federal Reserve is busily bailing out the big banks so the whole house of cards doesn't implode. But most Americans are more interested in the latest episode of American Idol or Dancing With the Stars! Congress would rather investigate steroid use in Major League Baseball, than consider impeaching the war criminals we have in the White House - and the American public is all right with that. No sense of outrage here. It's impossible to be outraged when one is asleep, I suppose. No, we were foolish to think that America would recognize Ron Paul for the great statesman that he is. Even the antiwar crowd would prefer a more palatable socialist, big government supporter like Obama than a fiery radical like Ron Paul. Most Americans want something a little more familiar in their search for "change." And we want our big government perks - after all, what percentage of us work or are dependent on free-spending government programs for our living? A third of us? From the college professor to the Headstart teacher, from the farmer planting corn for the ethanol boondoggle to the grant-funded research scientist to the city councils who fight for keeping their local military base open - too many of us are dependent on the continuation of Big Government, so it won't end until it comes crashing down around us, bankrupt. And, of course, Ron Paul's offer to end Social Security didn't go over too well when he mentioned it in the debate in Florida, the retirement state. God bless those who did grasp the message, though. The Iraq War veterans who have been out in the real world to see the havoc we are wreaking on innocent people and their nations - they know what is at stake! But it is the comfortable ones, the Homer Simpsons of this country who, with remote in hand, decide what the nation will tolerate. Just keep the bread and circuses coming and you've got their vote! We are sunk and it will soon be evident how badly we have been screwed by this bunch of white-collar criminals. But then, it will be too late. It will definitely be too late when al-Qaeda puts together their first nuke, with the help of technology purchased from our friends in Pakistan. It will definitely be too late when Bush launches an airstrike on Iran to help McCain get elected. Admiral Fallon, who recently resigned as head of Centcom, was reported to be the only military leader deadset against Bush and Cheney's insane plan to start a third war. We won't have long to wait to find out... It is nearly too late now, but we at least gave it a good effort with Congressman Paul in the point position. It was exciting to be a part of a movement that could have changed the USA for the good, if only the silent majority would have listened and voted with us. If only we had honest elections. If only! For a peek into a post-Ron Paul America, visit my new blog at http://defending-your-retirement.blogspot.com/. And you know what? I'm still going to vote for Ron Paul, if I have to write him in, just to make a statement. Lovers of freedom just never learn. ----------------------------------------------------- http://www.populistamerica.com/confessions_of_a_ron_paul_supporter
Great article! Thanks for posting. May the sheeple wake up for they are headed for the slaughterhouse!
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