Why I Like Ron Paul Supporters
I must first clarify, due to my title, that I like a certain brand of Ron Paul supporter. Dr. Paul ran a very libertarian campaign—that is, it was organized from the bottom up rather than the top down—and this attracted a very broad range of supporters who do not necessarily have any affiliation with one another. Some are disillusioned Democrats who are frustrated that their party failed to end the Iraq war after taking Congress in 2006. Some are neo-Nazis who like Paul’s support for states’ rights. Some are paranoid conspiracy theorists who believe that George W. Bush invaded Iraq to grab more power with the ultimate goal of merging the United States with Canada and Mexico at the behest of reptilian humanoids from outer space. Let me be clear: I do not like those Ron Paul supporters. The supporters I like are the intelligent, level-headed, well-organized ones who I believe have the potential to transform the Republican Party.
My first encounter with a large number of such supporters was early this summer at the Indiana Republican State Convention, where I was fortunate enough to serve as a delegate. As I was waiting to get my credentials, I was approached by a young man who had spotted me from the across the line. He had somehow mistaken me for a serviceman (most likely due to my awesome physique), and he wanted to inquire about the John McCain button I was wearing. He had just returned from Iraq himself. I told him, a little bit embarrassed, that I had never been in the military, but he was still curious about my button.
“I just don’t know how anyone can support him,” he said, shaking his head.
“Well, what are you doing here then?” I asked, although I was fairly certain I knew.
“I’m a delegate.”
“I mean, who was your candidate?”
“I support Ron Paul,” he finally said, confirming my suspicions.
“Ah,” I smiled and nodded my head, “I figured that. I know quite a few Ron Paul supporters—dedicated bunch of guys. He’s got a lot of military support too.”
But my new friend was still interested in my button. “Why do you support him?”
I gave him my usual spiel about how I was impressed by McCain’s willingness to put what he viewed was best for the country before his own political ambitions during the immigration debate, how I thought that kind of honor was something a president needs, how I thought he was the only Republican who could win in November—and I like his stance on the war too, I managed to say rather timidly at the end of my speech, then cringed a bit as I waited for the inevitable response.
“Let me tell you something,” the soldier said, beginning his inevitable response, “I’ve got two brothers in Iraq. I just returned from two tours over there. Before that, I was in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, I felt like I was doing the right thing. But Iraq was different. It’s not like the media says. People are dying every day over there. We should have never gone there, and we shouldn’t be there now. It’s not the place for our military.”
I tried briefly to explain that I saw the choice in Iraq as a choice between bad and worse. No decision for war is a good one—sometimes it just happens to be better than the alternative. But I was aware that he had just pulled the ultimate trump card, and in the end I could only put my hand on his shoulder and sincerely thank him for his service. He thanked me for listening to him, asked me to reconsider my support, and we parted ways politely.
The young soldier was from Fort Wayne, so I saw him again in my district caucus. As it turned out, there were a lot of Ron Paul supporters in Allen County, and they had organized themselves very well. I’ve been to three conventions, and the 3rd district caucus room was as full as I had ever seen it. I would estimate that forty to fifty of the 3rd district delegates were Ron Paul supporters. And they came with an agenda.
The usual process in district caucuses goes like this: A state committee, before the caucus meets, recommends candidates to serve as delegates to the Republican National Convention and candidates to serve as electors in the Electoral College should Indiana choose the Republican candidate for president in November. The district chairperson nominates those candidates for their particular district during the caucus, and the delegates at the caucus unanimously ratify the choice of the state committee.
This time, however, the Ron Paul supporters had their own slates of candidates in mind for the national convention and Electoral College, and they wanted to be heard. The 3rd district chairwoman, who no doubt heard the rumors that Ron Paul supporters were going to “sabotage” the convention, decided that if she ignored them completely, they might go away. After making the nomination for the regular, pre-chosen slate of candidates, she moved that the nominations be closed, over the shouts and cries of the Paulites. There was no clear majority when she called for the “yeas and nays,” and shouts of “division!” soon filled the room.
So we were all asked to stand in support or opposition to the motion, so we could be counted. I was the first that I could see in my Kosciusko delegation to stand in opposition to the motion to close nominations, but another man soon followed, looking at me and proclaiming, “I thought this was a democracy.” (I later found out that even Kosciusko had a Ron Paul delegate. He just didn’t hang out with the rest of us).
The vote was closer than most people expected, but those of us who opposed lost about 97-75, and the number of Ron Paul folks, who voted against everything from that point on, dwindled down as they realized that they were not going to have a say in nominations. After the voting was closed, the more competent political veteran Steve Shine replaced the frustrated and shell-shocked district chairwoman at the podium, and he was immediately faced with at barrage of questions and complaints. The Paulites read from Robert’s Rules on the proper procedures for nominations, quoted Thomas Jefferson on democracy, asked detailed questions about the process for choosing delegates to the national convention, and in general, shamed and dumbfounded the Republican establishment sitting at the head table in front of the room.
The caucus wound up running ten minutes over schedule because Steve Shine insisted that everyone get the opportunity to voice their concerns. The last delegate to speak was the soldier whom I had met earlier. He stood and told the crowd that he had just returned from Iraq, and Mr. Shine immediately started a round of applause and insisted that the young man speak from the podium. The soldier took Mr. Shine’s place, and gave a short, but impassioned speech against the war. The entire room applauded, many genuinely agreeing with him, many more honoring his service, and quite a few just happy the caucus was finally over.
Make no mistake, most of these cantankerous libertarians will not be voting for John McCain in November. But they are Republicans nonetheless. They are going to work their hearts out for Mitch Daniels and other state and local candidates. Every one of them paid a $130 fee to run as a delegate for the state convention this year, and they if they are able to keep their movement going, they will continue to do so in years to come (I, in contrast, was appointed as a delegate by the Kosciusko County Chairman, who just happens to be my dad). They understand, more than most, how grassroots democracy works. They understand that if they keep up their efforts, they will one day be the district chairmen at the podiums controlling the nominations. They will have influence over who gets to go to the national convention.
I have seen too many conservatives this election cycle throw fits about the Republican Party. They say if the party stops agreeing with them, then they’ll just divorce the party altogether. I’m a conservative, they say, not a Republican. And their solution is to sit around and think about how much more conservative they are while the Republican Party moves farther and farther away from them.
I like Ron Paul supporters because they understand that ours is a two-party system. Unless our constitution is radically changed, it will most likely remain that way. They know that the only way to get the party they want is to pick one of the two, become a part of it—then change it. They will work for the candidates with whom they can find common ground, and they will move up the ranks in Republican circles. Like my soldier friend who gave the speech before the caucus, they will work to persuade others to their cause, and they will become a larger voting block—forcing the rest of the party to pay attention and make concessions in their direction. And unless those in the party who disagree with them can match their level of organization and passion, they will become the new face of the Republican establishment.
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