During the War for Independence fought by the thirteen original colonies of these United States of America, a hero rose from the ranks of the populace by the name of John Paul Jones. I believe most Americans have heard of this gentleman, but without going into too much detail he was a captain in the newly formed navy of the United States and it is claimed that at one point in a battle being fought off foreign shores against a supposedly superior British force he was offered a chance to surrender by an over confident English commander. It is reported that this offer was made at a time when the outcome of the battle was still uncertain and that Capt. John Paul Jones made the reply, “I have not yet begun to fight.” His ship and others went on to win that battle, though his own ship was lost.
During Ron Paul’s candidacy, there have been many who have discounted him. The mainstream media has never given him his due. Early on they did their best to ignore him, and they continue to try to ignore him (but that is getting harder with each passing day and each victorious milestone his campaign achieves.) They have constantly claimed him as a lower tier candidate with no chance of winning. They have written off his supporters as “Internet supporters” as if they weren’t real people, but only existed in the cyber world. They called him names, and called his supporters names, some even going as far as to label his supporters as crazy. There have been battles of words fought in the blogosphere between Ron Paul’s supporters and his detractors in which the insults fly heavily between the two factions. All this has served as mere distraction as they to try to sink his candidacy. Those who would rather have one of the authoritarians on the Republican ticket become the next great Decider, those who wish to abdicate their personal responsibility so that the government can take care of them, have oft times offered Ron Paul and his supporters the chance to surrender before battle was even truly engaged. Well, my friends and fellow Ron Paul supporters, my answer to them is the same resounding answer that echoes across the waves of time; We have not yet begun to fight.
On November 5th, 2007, Ron Paul supporters gave their candidate 4.2 million dollars. This was huge. Despite this, there were some that tried to minimize its impact. One such person was Kevin Drum. Mr. Drum, apparently some well respected political blogger and supported by CBS news, resorted to the juvenile tactic of name calling in order to try to convince people that Ron Paul is still insignificant. The blog I’m referring to can be found here.
The title itself, Ron Paul, Fruitcake, should immediately tell the reader that the article will contain nothing of any real value in terms of civil discourse into issues facing this nation today. It starts out by stating that Ron Paul raised a “buttload” of money, a term I would expect to hear from my thirteen year old son. Then he goes onto say that it really doesn’t change a thing and “everyone” knows it. Hmm, I wish something so meaningless as raising 4.2 million could happen in my life. And everyone knows it. I’m part of everyone and I didn’t know that. Thanks for clarifying that for me, Kevin. He then goes on to ask if “we can stop pretending to be political infants.” Well, Kevin, that might happen when you stop pretending that raising 4.2 million dollars in one day is insignificant and doesn’t change a thing. He then states that Ron Paul’s positions are extreme, uncompromising and meaningless. Is obedience and loyalty to the constitution meaningless? Are freedom and liberty so extreme? If they are, then these United States of America is no longer the bastion of opportunity and hope that caused so many to flock to its shores in the past. But, to him, we hard working blue collar workers who support Ron Paul and are struggling to get by in this world are merely pretending that these principles have meaning. Sadly, perhaps he’s right about that. But there is at least one man working in congress for whom these principles do have meaning, and that man is Ron Paul. Mr. Drum then manages to insinuate that only technophiles are using the Internet as a political tool and that they are mostly libertarians. So, you remember that all you everyday Joes that are happening onto this Internet on a daily basis.
Mr. Drum continues his diatribe by suggesting that Ron Paul doesn’t know what he’s talking about when it comes to economics. I saw him interviewed tonight on Kudlow & Company on CNBC. Three of the four panel members, including Mr. Steve Forbes, and Mr. Kudlow himself agreed with much of what Ron Paul had to say. Hmm, perhaps the Mr. Drum, a political analyst, doesn’t know as much about economics as he thought he did. My mother, a certified financial planner, called me after watching the interview to let me know how well Dr. Paul had done in the interview and to tell me she had an much improved opinion of Dr. Paul. She told me that he wasn’t as radical as she thought he would be. Mr. Drum finishes his article by asking a simple question; “Seriously, folks. Can we all please grow up?” Ron Paul supporters believe in personal responsibility and self reliance. We wish to have the power to make our own decisions. We don’t want the government taking care of us. We don’t need the nanny state. We have grown up, Mr. Drum sir, it is you who seems to be suffering from terminal adolescence.
There have been other bloggers trying to minimize Ron Paul and the mainstream media still seems to be having a tough time acknowledging Ron Paul’s significance. Fox News immediately comes to mind as one media outlet still trying to pretend he doesn’t exist. The polls they cite are still somehow slanted against Ron. Yet these things matter little. We know the support is there. The most important factor of the events of November 5th is the number of people that gave. I doubt that Hillary Clinton in her wildest dreams would expect 37,000 people to donate to her campaign in a single day. I doubt any Republican candidate could get one tenth of that number to donate in a single day. Their message just isn’t powerful enough. The common man is tired of the status quo and he’s certainly not going to donate to someone who wants to keep the same old, same old. We of the middle class finally have an honest politician who is on our side and willing to lead us in a revolution to restore power to the people, and we will rally behind him. We have not yet begun to fight.
Ron Paul’s message is getting heard. Everyday, more and more people come across Ron Paul’s message and find they agree with it. Everyday new people donate to his campaign, people who have never donated to a political campaign in their lives. Everyday new people lose their apathy and discover that fighting for their freedom is worthwhile. People want smaller, less intrusive government. They want personal responsibility and self reliance. They want to see the constitution honored. They want to once again live in the America they and our forefathers dreamed of. Ron Paul embodies this spirit. Ron Paul’s supporters are working tirelessly, volunteering their time and efforts, to make sure as many people as possible see or hear this message regardless of the efforts of those who would try to misinform, misrepresent or otherwise try to sully Ron Paul’s candidacy. There is still much that needs to be done to carry this battle to victory. We have not yet begun to fight.
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