Ron Paul, Superstar
What do you think of Ron Paul?
Google Ron Paul.
These are just two of the many things that you see or hear as you go about your life. They are kamikaze ads of sorts, intended to get into the mainstream consciousness without the usual madison avenue bullshit.
Depending on your point of view, they are working.
The Paul campaign raised 6 million dollars this past weekend, in one day. Now, the demographics of the contributing base are not known, but I would put down a fiver that large HMO's and multi-national corporations, labor unions and PAC's are not among them.
So, what do you think of Ron Paul?
If we lived in a vacuum, his ideas would be great. Hell, they aren't too damn bad where we are now. But as much as they resonate with the average guy, they are missing something, at least in my small mind. And that is an idea of how to move from where we are, to where Dr. Paul would like us to be, without destroying one, two or maybe three generations in the process, economically and socially, and without starting a class war while he is doing it.
As popular as his ideas are with some people, (we can define those as people who believe they stand to gain something by them), there must be a group of people who would stand to lose something by the adoption of his platform, and they represent first political and social inertia, and second outright resistance. In the first example, we might call them the Congress and the entrenched bureaucracy. To a certain extent, inertia in these matters is a good thing. How quickly that would turn into defense of the status quo is anyone's guess. Ten-fifteen minutes anyway...
Ron Paul is not a surgeon, wielding a scalpel, he is a soldier, with a cannon, laying siege at the gates, (and I do not use that analogy in a disrespectful way). I believe, at this point anyway, that his character is of sufficient quality that he could be a good leader, a molder of opinion, but I am not sure that the country would survive his methods as President. As much as I like the idea of a Ron Paul world, with a little thought on how a transition to such a place might go, I can see that it is the middle class that will be chopped up, chewed up and left for dead by the side of the road throughout the process, win or lose. The wealthier class will stand to lose some advantage, but by and large, will come out still standing. The poor stand to lose little here. I really don't see when or where the redistribution of equality will begin. As it is in Orwell's "Animal Farm", those of means today will still be 'more equal' in a Ron Paul world. There is a real potential that the only real change will be in the destratification of what I will call the screwed scale. There will be just two levels on this scale of relative fairness. Screwed and Not Screwed. And I don't see a lot of potential for movement from the Screwed to the Not Screwed during the supposed transition period, or possibly afterwards.
Ron Paul does not provide any vision for how we can move towards any of these goals in such a way that most lives are not too terribly disrupted. He does not acknowledge that we simply cannot stop playing by the rules that have taken many many years to be set in concrete without very severe consequences. This is his political downfall, he is an idealist rather than a pragmatist, he paints a picture that has abroad appeal, but, leaves out the part about the pain of getting there, and how many, if not most of us, won't make it.
Don't get me wrong. I am not anti-Ron Paul. I see him as being more in the mold of a Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. or Jimmy Carter than a Robert Kennedy or FDR. He inspires, and moves people to see possibilities, but may not be the man to implement them on a broad scale. No matter who is elected next year, they would do well to listen to what Dr Paul is saying this year, and to hire the guy as a legislative ombudsmen and as a political spokesman. This is a guy who has the credibility to push a few unpopular but necessary initiatives, and to get something in return.
This is a man that can generate influence, and then turn it into momentum, which is populist power. If given the opportunity and recognition to do that, it really might be the year of Ron Paul.
stay focused.
Google Ron Paul.
These are just two of the many things that you see or hear as you go about your life. They are kamikaze ads of sorts, intended to get into the mainstream consciousness without the usual madison avenue bullshit.
Depending on your point of view, they are working.
The Paul campaign raised 6 million dollars this past weekend, in one day. Now, the demographics of the contributing base are not known, but I would put down a fiver that large HMO's and multi-national corporations, labor unions and PAC's are not among them.
So, what do you think of Ron Paul?
If we lived in a vacuum, his ideas would be great. Hell, they aren't too damn bad where we are now. But as much as they resonate with the average guy, they are missing something, at least in my small mind. And that is an idea of how to move from where we are, to where Dr. Paul would like us to be, without destroying one, two or maybe three generations in the process, economically and socially, and without starting a class war while he is doing it.
As popular as his ideas are with some people, (we can define those as people who believe they stand to gain something by them), there must be a group of people who would stand to lose something by the adoption of his platform, and they represent first political and social inertia, and second outright resistance. In the first example, we might call them the Congress and the entrenched bureaucracy. To a certain extent, inertia in these matters is a good thing. How quickly that would turn into defense of the status quo is anyone's guess. Ten-fifteen minutes anyway...
Ron Paul is not a surgeon, wielding a scalpel, he is a soldier, with a cannon, laying siege at the gates, (and I do not use that analogy in a disrespectful way). I believe, at this point anyway, that his character is of sufficient quality that he could be a good leader, a molder of opinion, but I am not sure that the country would survive his methods as President. As much as I like the idea of a Ron Paul world, with a little thought on how a transition to such a place might go, I can see that it is the middle class that will be chopped up, chewed up and left for dead by the side of the road throughout the process, win or lose. The wealthier class will stand to lose some advantage, but by and large, will come out still standing. The poor stand to lose little here. I really don't see when or where the redistribution of equality will begin. As it is in Orwell's "Animal Farm", those of means today will still be 'more equal' in a Ron Paul world. There is a real potential that the only real change will be in the destratification of what I will call the screwed scale. There will be just two levels on this scale of relative fairness. Screwed and Not Screwed. And I don't see a lot of potential for movement from the Screwed to the Not Screwed during the supposed transition period, or possibly afterwards.
Ron Paul does not provide any vision for how we can move towards any of these goals in such a way that most lives are not too terribly disrupted. He does not acknowledge that we simply cannot stop playing by the rules that have taken many many years to be set in concrete without very severe consequences. This is his political downfall, he is an idealist rather than a pragmatist, he paints a picture that has abroad appeal, but, leaves out the part about the pain of getting there, and how many, if not most of us, won't make it.
Don't get me wrong. I am not anti-Ron Paul. I see him as being more in the mold of a Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. or Jimmy Carter than a Robert Kennedy or FDR. He inspires, and moves people to see possibilities, but may not be the man to implement them on a broad scale. No matter who is elected next year, they would do well to listen to what Dr Paul is saying this year, and to hire the guy as a legislative ombudsmen and as a political spokesman. This is a guy who has the credibility to push a few unpopular but necessary initiatives, and to get something in return.
This is a man that can generate influence, and then turn it into momentum, which is populist power. If given the opportunity and recognition to do that, it really might be the year of Ron Paul.
stay focused.
posted by eccentric recluse at 4:26 PM
6 Comments:
Excellent post. I've been questioning a Paul presidency (albeit for different reasons) lately, and I was coming to the same conclusion you did.
thanks Woozie. I always knew that you were above average....
Wednesday update:
In an atypical non sequitur response to a question about ads and fundraising, Mr Paul, apparently referencing an ad featuring Mr Huckabee, noted that when facism arrived on our shores, it would be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross. Goes to show you that even a populist can get worn out by all the bullsh*t.
ER
Class war?? Eeeek! You said the magic scary words!
Happy Holly Days. Hope you and yours are doing well.
Merry Christmas ER
BIG HUGS!!
Thanks LeeLee, (notice the caps)!
back at ya! you too Anne!
and I would like to say that the prospect of a class war beats (possibly) a no-class war...
E_R
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