WARNING!! Politics...

THE SPOILER

“To those that saw no difference between the Republicans and the Democrats in the last election - Do you see a difference, now?”

I posted this comment on a “Facebook” political page, after the health care vote, and noted that I upset some of the proponents for Ron Paul. I did, however, get a hearty, “Amen!” from one person on my behalf. I’m glad I posted this comment though; it gave me a chance to see if the third party supporters and others are still advocating for Congressman Paul.

Whether I should post my thoughts here or not has been another thing. I don’t want to offend anyone. I’ve been debating for some time whether to post what I wrote (below)…. I know we all have political differences and that is a good thing. But this is something that sits pretty heavy on my heart….sooooo, isn’t that what America is all about? That is, the freedom to express our feelings and hopefully encourage discussion. I guess if it causes just one person to think about some things, it wouldn’t be so bad. Or, maybe some one can clarify for me some things that so terribly worry me about Ron Paul.

Yesterday it was announced that early polling for the next Presidential election shows Ron Paul just one point behind the Republican fore-runner. That concerns me once again; this recent information is what helped me make my final decision to post this.

Below are my thoughts....

It is a beautiful day filled with clear blue skies and sunshine, and I am going to write about Ron Paul!! It has been on my mind for some time - like two years now - so I am going to finally put my thoughts on paper. It’s probably something I shouldn’t write about because I don’t want to offend anyone, but I just feel it is so important that we, as a nation, think about some things in regard to third party politics.

For over a year before the last election, I heard over and over that the two main party candidates were just the same. I heard how there is absolutely no difference between the two parties. I found this complaint came mostly from Ron Paul supporters, even though he is a Republican. I think almost a year and ½ into the new administration we are clearly seeing that thought isn't quite accurate. Take a look at the health care vote. Every single Republican voted against it, almost every Democrat voted for it. That is without argument a distinct difference.

We have seen in the past the division caused by third party candidates and I think the effects of this is something we clearly need to consider. Some advocated in the last election, to not vote at all…now, that’s scary. We actually had Christian leaders telling Christians to not bother to vote in the last election, because no candidate was worthy. That, as well as the division of the conservatives, had to have a huge impact in our last election.

Throughout the general election last year I heard over and over, the phrase: “I am tired of voting for the lesser of two evils.” This sounds very noble indeed, but the truth of the matter is, we are talking about men and women of the human race! The Bible says the heart is desperately wicked. In short, all men (and women) are evil. So if that is the case, how then can we say that two candidates are wicked, but there remains one that is not and is therefore the only clear candidate to be our choice for President; we can’t. The third candidate that was running has issues of his own that are clearly not any better than the other two choices. Each candidate has his flaws. I understand that we want to vote for the person that aligns most closely with what we believe, but I do believe we have to use common sense as well. If a candidate, for whom we wish to cast our ballot, has no chance whatsoever to win, then we must admit…we are indeed, throwing our vote away. That wasn’t a popular thing to say during the last election, and the response was always that this particular candidate was some how more “righteous” and that this fact justified the off-party vote. I think I can show you why that belief was simply not true and why that situation had better not happen again.

I heard over and over how Ron Paul was the only candidate with any integrity. I just didn’t get it and I still don’t. Please someone tell me, where is the integrity in someone who will claim to be one thing, Independent, Constitutionalist, Libertarian, or whatever, but then will run on the Republican ticket, because he knows that is the only way he can win a seat as representative in the state in which he lives? Where is the integrity, when someone runs as a Republican in the Presidential primaries, but then refuses to bow out, when he looses the nomination and will not get behind the winning candidate to support the candidate of his “own party” in his run for President? Where is the integrity, when a man who holds a seat as a Republican will not only not support the Republican candidate, but also holds his political convention at the exact same time and date as the candidate who actually won the nomination for President on the Republican ticket? I understand Mr. Paul can run as a third party candidate, but he holds a Republican office and is getting paid for it! To me, those actions show no integrity or depth of character. Before election, Mr. Paul finally rather quietly offered his withdrawal from the race and recommended his followers vote for the independent candidate rather than get behind the one of his own party affiliation. Does that show integrity? I don’t think so.

I heard over and over again about Mr. Paul’s conservative voting record, so I went on-line to take a look. I had heard he had voted to legalize marijuana and wanted to see for myself: http://www.ontheissues.org/TX/Ron_Paul_Drugs.htm Sure enough! So I asked; why is a vote for legalized marijuana and prostitution, (which was also on his record) somehow less evil than the other candidates with their agenda. In answer to my question several people told me, “It’s only because this candidate stands for freedom and wants all to be able to exercise that freedom. He’s a true Constitutionalist.” Oh really? Where is legalizing drugs in our Constitution? Do you think our great founding fathers advocated legalized prostitution and marijuana or other dangerous drugs in the name of freedom? Certainly not; they understood there are wrongs that clearly don’t fall under the banner of our right to do whatever we want.

Please, someone, tell me why a man who claimed to be the only true pro-life candidate in the election did not show up for one of the most important pro-life votes in our nation’s history: the vote in the life of Terry Schiavo. Ron Paul was suddenly absent from that vote. Was it because at the time, President Bush was so strongly advocating for Terri’s life and one of Mr. Paul’s main goals has seemed to be to bash Bush? The Terri Schiavo case was one of the most important pro-life cases in our history, and yet Mr. Paul did not show up! Why? Did it simply not line-up with his pro-freedom/anything goes stance?

Furthermore on the pro-life issue: how does one align a pro-life record (which Mr. Paul claims) with that of a vote to refuse prosecution for anyone who would take a minor across state lines to receive an abortion without parental consent? That is exactly what Ron Paul did. How is this pro-life? So please, tell me how these things allow us to see someone who is somehow better than the “lesser of two evils”. Clearly his voting record shows an evil all its own.

Mike Huckabee, who at the beginning of the campaign was the biggest threat to Ron Paul as the only born-again candidate in the 2008 Presidential election, was painted as anti- home-school when in fact his record proves he favors school alternatives such as charters and home-schooling. Gov. Huckabee has had Michael Farris from HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) on his television show twice already when his program had only been on the air less than a year. I don’t think that looks like someone who is against home-schooling. Why was Gov. Huckabee painted in this light? I heard it only from the people of the Ron Paul camp. Perhaps it was because Gov. Huckabee had the best chance of winning the nomination until his record was destroyed among conservatives. For Mr. Paul, it was better to have a less conservative Republican candidate (such as John McCain) to run against. I’m not saying Governor Huckabee is right about everything either, but I do believe he had a better chance to win than John McCain. That did not work for Ron Paul.

Clearly we see a Presidential candidate that is no more holy or less evil than any other candidate. So let’s look at exactly what got Ron Paul to the position he was in to gain such popularity among conservatives and specifically, Christian conservatives.

Aaron Russo, a liberal Hollywood producer who produced such movies as Trading Places and The Rose was the author and producer of a documentary film called Freedom to Fascism. This movie thanks the ACLU in its credits and the theme of the documentary, is the erroneous charge that because the 16th amendment was not legally ratified that somehow no one should have to pay income tax. Well doesn’t it seem that after 80 plus years this information is somewhat in vain. I would think there would be precedent laws that would take the place of any thing that could be done to change this fact. In other words, it seems like this is just too little, too late, even if it were true. Plus, this is taking a lot of people off of other issues that are extremely important at this time; issues that can and should be dealt with immediately. I have been at Tea Party Rally’s and Town Hall Meetings, where the politicians that are speaking just literally shut down when this topic is brought up. They are not listening to this. I believe because they know it is a no-where topic and there are too many other things that we should be concerned about first.

But let’s not argue that issue one way or the other. Someone, please tell me why Aaron Russo (now deceased) who owed millions of dollars in back taxes is the one approaching this subject of illegal taxation in the first place. But the other thing really troubling with this movie is a man (Mr. Russo) who is Jewish, that brings up New Testament Scripture and prophecy. Think about it…he’s Jewish! Jews don’t believe in the New Testament. Could this be the hook Paul needed to draw the Christian in to his support because he knows how important the Christian vote is - and has always been - in winning our elections? And then at the end of Russo's movie we see the only candidate that can “save” America, the only one that is a “true Constitutionalist”- Ron Paul. Come on. A little bit of scripture and correct verbiage and Paul automatically had the support of a large part of the Christian vote. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) this percent of the vote could not win the national election for this candidate. We all want to support the Christian candidate. This one just happens to be questionable in his belief, in my opinion. Yet I heard again and again that he was the only “Christian” candidate running. Ron Paul is Episcopalian. I have yet to hear him announce his faith in Jesus. It gave me lots to wonder about. Lots of people go to church, but that doesn’t automatically make them a Christian. Just sayin’…. Definitely the support for his campaign was not enough to win, but rather just enough to divide.

Mr. Paul has since distanced himself from Russo’s movie, saying while he didn’t agree with everything in the movie, it certainly helped his campaign. Yes, that it did.

Now, let’s look at how he got the intense PR and support he received in Idaho, Vermont, Alaska, and certain other states across the union. I read that an organization was started by Paul and his supporters with a stated agenda to target just 10 states across the US, to push Ron Paul’s campaign. Why just 10? Can a previously obscure candidate win with just 10 states…and these were not the high electoral vote states. But they were the high conservative and pro home-school states. Why these states? I think I know why. It’s because these states hold people that are truly conservative and want a change in what is happening in our government. Those that home-school have a reputation of being the ones that will always get out and vote. I have heard several politicians in my own state of Idaho say that “home-schoolers” are one group they know they should listen to because they will get out and vote. These 10 targeted states offer just enough electoral votes to not necessarily win the election, but to merely prove as a spoiler to the Republican candidate. The Republican candidate, though maybe not the best choice, was obviously the one that was more conservative than the democratic candidate in the last Presidential election. Plus, by getting rid of any truly conservative candidates for the Republican Party early on, all momentum was lost that otherwise might encourage and drive complacent people to the voting booth. In the beginning there was so much apathy in the majority of the Republican Party because most were not happy with their candidate and they felt there was no one they could get behind to support. It wasn’t until John McCain announced his running mate and Sarah Palin came on board that we truly saw conservatives get excited. Personally, it gave me pause to wonder if this was Ron Paul’s intent all along. He garnered just enough support to divide the Republicans; and the early momentum needed for a candidate to win was lost.

Granted, the election was enough of a land-slide that it appeared the Ron Paul vote did not matter, anyway. Where it did matter however, was the fact that it caused many to become disillusioned with their party so they didn’t even bother to get out and vote. As I said previously, it also negated the momentum that is usually created within a party which will breed excitement early on and multiply throughout a campaign. This just didn’t happen this time, and I believe Ron Paul is the reason why.

There has always been a "spoiler" in these later Presidential elections. We all watched what happened with Ross Perot, didn’t we? There was one time in Ross Perot’s campaign however, that it looked like he actually could win! So what did he do? He dropped out of the campaign. Remember that? To the confusion of all his supporters he dropped out, only to enter back into the race when he clearly had lost all chance of winning. The only thing left that he could do was divide the Republican Party. Ross Perot showed us exactly what could happen. In Ron Paul, I believe, we merely had Ross Perot with a twist. Regardless of whether Paul’s technique was intended to divide or not, it did divide and so that is something we must watch out for in future elections.

The war and military----this is a whole other can of worms that I even more hesitate to comment. But briefly I will say; with the advocacy of the Ron Paul platform, it was the first time in my life time that I saw conservative voters become anti-war and even to some degree anti-military. It troubled me greatly when all of these things started coming to my attention. This, if anything, was the catalyst that propelled me into my research of Ron Paul. People did not seem to remember the 9-11 attacks, and I found there were some conservatives that had actually bought into the falsehood that “Bush knew!” I was seeing the belief that somehow our government was behind the 9/11 attacks. This was a lie that in the beginning was perpetrated by the liberal left, but now I was seeing fellow conservatives begin to believe this thought. I’m not saying Ron Paul was behind that theory; I am saying it grew to become a popular belief among his supporters. It seems even now, there are few that realize this is not a “normal” war we are fighting. We are not fighting against nations, but rather ideologies…and dare I say a ‘religion’? Many want to deny that there are terrorist cells throughout, not only Iran and Afghanistan, but also Europe and even our own country. And just look at the chaos in Africa! No one welcomes war, but these are facts that are very dangerous to deny.

How sad it is that there are those that would rather blame President Bush and our own government, rather than address the problem of radical Islamic terrorists who proudly claim credit for the destruction.  That is all I will say about that.  http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,273343,00.html

How about Ron Paul’s stance on Israel? Very frightening and disappointing; read about it here: http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/11/the_ron_paul_campaign_and_its.html

I believe this article also helps us understand his stance on the war and military and it explains pretty clearly why so many of his supporters believe the “Bush Knew” conspiracy message. Very troubling; if you read anything, please read this article. So many excused Paul’s voting record in the last election, saying, “Oh, that’s just his one skeleton that everyone complains about, but it is just because he believes so strongly in freedom.” I don’t think so; I think his voting record reveals exactly who Ron Paul is. Please read this article and I think you will see, we cannot continue to excuse the doctor. I know this article is dated, but I believe it explains much about Dr. Paul. It always troubled me that along with Christian conservatives supporting Paul, we also saw neo Nazis. I just couldn’t understand how that could be. This article brought clarity to that concern and I also began to understand how Christians then became so anti-war. They were rubbing elbows with the wrong people, and apparently this radical thinking all rubbed off onto the conservatives.

Why am I writing this so much after the fact? I am writing because the conservative movement lost the most important election of our time, largely because of the divided conservative vote, and it will happen again if we don’t band together in one unified party. We need to be aware of the politics that are taking place in our elections. We have a two party system, with checks and balances. It is intended to work best with two parties. I do not blame the people that supported Ron Paul to seek out something different than where Republicans seemed to be headed. The GOP was leaving their conservative roots and values. But if we do not get behind our Republican Party, and take it back to the conservative values that most Americans have always supported, we will never return America to where she should be. This is where the Tea Party Patriots would be wise to direct their efforts. I see so many people from the Tea Party, still advocating third party candidates and Ron Paul still has a large support with in that group. This could render the Tea Party ineffective, if they put their efforts any where but rebuilding the Republican platform.

It is clear America is still a conservative union. That became apparent, when the Republican Party gained enormous momentum when the true conservative (Sarah Palin) came on board. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late. The liberal media would have us believe otherwise. Obama won not because America has become so liberal, but because the Republicans left their platform and by hit and miss (and some deliberate antics, I believe) selected a candidate that was too moderate. Conservatives cannot win by deserting their party; they can only win by determining among themselves to take their party back and get behind it to effect the change it needs.

With the grass roots Tea Party movement taking place, this can absolutely happen if we will seek change in the Republican Party rather than trying to organize a third party. If we continue to seek a third party, we do so to the demise of America. A third party will never receive the votes needed to win an election. We need to look at it for what it really is. Ron Paul received less than 6% of the vote. No way is this percentage close enough to win an election, but definitely enough to spoil the conservative vote. Wake up America! Wake up Christian! This one is on our shoulders.

“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, then I will hear from heaven and heal their land.” 2nd Chronicles 14: 7

“If we don’t hang together, we shall surely hang.” ~Ben Franklin

It appears we really hung ourselves this last election. I did not write this to cast blame or to violate someone’s belief. But with the importance of the mid-term election in November, we are already seeing a push for third party candidates. Some are pushing for that because they have given up on the Republican Party and they truly believe this would be best. Others are hoping for third party candidates, because they know it will divide their state and give the Democrat a better chance at the win. Some Democrats have already said as much. I also am already seeing a push for Ron Paul for President, and as I said at the beginning of this article, early polling shows Congressman Paul as a fore-runner. It all concerns me greatly.

Informative Links:

http://www.ontheissues.org/TX/Ron_Paul.htm

http://www.usaelectionpolls.com/2008/articles/ron-paul-impacts-john-mccain-new-hampshire-turnout-independents-121507002.html

http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/11/the_ron_paul_campaign_and_its.html

A link to Mr. Paul’s Campaign Contributors: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaper_endorsements_in_the_United_States_presidential_primaries,_2008#Ron_Paul

9-11 Truthers Alignment
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,273343,00.html