A Speech for the RNC Supporting a Ron Paul Candidacy

This article was originally published on Sept. 5th at americanchronicle.com

Some time ago, in the spring of 2008, I was contacted by someone involved with Ron Paul´s candidacy and asked to write a speech to be given at the RNC. It was to be a speech designed to entice the undecided delegates into casting their votes for Ron Paul to run for the office of President of the United States as the Republican candidate. Apparently this person had read some of my pro Ron Paul articles and felt I was perhaps talented enough to write a persuasive speech. I wrote a couple iterations of this speech, but this is the final version I came up with. I felt some of my readers would appreciate this story as we reflect on what might have been. At the same time, the basic principles of this speech remain forever true, and as time progresses and the DNC, RNC and the Rally for the Republic fade into memory, we can only hope that more people discover the message of freedom and that eventually citizens raise their voices and demand restoration of our freedoms in such numbers that they can no longer be ignored.

The Speech

"Friends, fellow Republicans, good citizens of this nation, I stand before you tonight humbled by your enthusiasm, but worried about our direction. An unpopular war rages on with no end in sight. Government has become far too large, intrusive and inefficient. The monetary policy has become too cumbersome. The burden of debt, with its massive interest and hidden inflation, is too heavy for the citizens of this nation to carry. The citizenry is breaking under its weight. The economy seems to be held together by toothpicks and bubblegum. These are problems that are going to take lots of work from many people to fix, and yet to listen to those who would lead this country one would think these problems didn´t exist. One would think that there was plenty of money, plenty of treasure, and not enough government to spend it. Those who ask to lead this nation seem to have no respect for the citizenry, believing the people can´t understand debt and would rather dig themselves deeper into it. They offer more illegal wars of aggression we need not involve ourselves in, more promises of entitlements without clear explanations as to how to pay for them, and no clear indication that laws violating human rights will ever be repealed. There is only one man, Ron Paul, who has addressed these issues with clear thinking during his campaign. He is the only candidate offering real change.

The American people can sense there´s something amiss here. They know there´s something wrong with the country and they´re willing to grasp at straws to try to fix it. They see a cult of personality in the Democrat´s candidate and they pin their hopes on him. They grow weary of war, inflation and uncertainty. They would place their faith in one who promises change but lacks the understanding and the will to affect it. In order to win we must offer the people genuine change. We must deliver to the people a candidate that has stood firm in his convictions for decades, one whose credentials are impeccable, one whose morality is unimpeachable, one that has proven himself to be a man of peace, a champion of the constitution and an advocate for freedom. We must deliver a candidate who will be able to deliver change. One who delivers a message of hope, not fear, one who will carry this country with pride, not shame, one who has faith in the people, not disdain for them, one who believes the people should rely on themselves, not on government. This party, this country, this world needs a man of principle standing as president of these United States of America right now. We need a man of honesty and integrity sitting at the helm as the head of state. Look deep into your hearts and you will know this to be true. There is only one man here tonight that fits that description. This country needs Ron Paul as president.

I could here use some quotes from our founders or great thinkers, quotes about the virtues of freedom and liberty, about the innate justice, opportunity and prosperity found in practicing such philosophies. I could quote these great figures from history that we all know and admire. But they lived in different times. They fought, died and lived for freedom. They were shining examples that showed us the way. This is our time. The time to reclaim our freedom is now.

Allow me to examine freedom from a modern point of view. Freedom is a concept we often speak about, but rarely define. It is the concept our nation was founded upon and yet today it means so many different things to so many different people. We hear the word used so often in so many divergent political points of view that we often times don´t realize when it´s being misused. Freedom is not something that is granted to us by government, freedom is an inalienable condition inherent in us by the mere fact that we are human. The government either respects that condition, or it does not. The founders of this great nation had great respect for this part of the human condition and therefore created a document called the Constitution guaranteeing the citizens of the original colonies that these freedoms would not be infringed upon should they decide to join the republic that would later be known as the United States of America. They limited the power of the three branches of government so that there would be three distinct and equal checks and balances set up in the hopes that a tyrannical state would not evolve and one branch would not usurp the others for control. We were warned that we must remain vigilant to keep our leaders from abusing our liberties. We have not been so vigilant lately. Sadly, our current government, our current administration, no longer respects the freedoms granted to us by nature. Even more sadly, those who ask us permission to lead would do nothing to restore the proper respect that government should show. This angers the people of a free nation, as well it should. They know that they have lost something important, something dear to them, and they seek to restore it, but if they are not given the choice they need, than how are they to choose? The lesser of two evils will simply no longer suffice. Ron Paul has a demonstrated history of supporting people´s freedoms. Present this to the American people and he will win in a landslide as they come to the understanding that he is the change they seek.

Unlike the other candidates, Ron Paul does not need to sell himself to the masses. He need not go out touting the voters to get support. On the contrary, his supporters found him. He needs no fancy makeover artists or image specialists preening him. The message of freedom and liberty needs no marketing. There is no need to con the voters into believing it. Its truth is self evident. And as these campaigns have progressed, it has become obvious that Ron Paul is the only candidate to support this message, and he has done so with strength and determination and the backing of the common man. Present him as the Republican candidate, let him debate the socialist policies of the Democratic candidate, and we will see an understanding light the minds of the American people as has not been done since the days of Andrew Jackson.

The American people must be given their due. They know taxes are evil. They understand that their money is being stolen. They realize the economy is in shambles. They understand more than many give them credit for. As a political party, we need to respect the people of this great country. We need to understand their hatred of war and their desire for peace, and we need to respect that. We need to understand that they will reject a policy of war, of any taxes, whether called a fair tax or an income tax, and entitlements which promise a false hope that can never be delivered. Ron Paul will show the people their proper respect, and they will respond by showing respect for him. He will allow them to take responsibility for their own lives and shrink the government to assure a smooth transition back to a country worthy of the dreams of not only our founding fathers, but of all current Americans and their progeny for generations to come.

Honesty, integrity and principle, these are words that are laughed at when used to describe a politician. However, this is not true when these words are used to describe Ron Paul. Dr. Paul´s reputation on capital hill is exemplary. His fellow congressmen and the lobbyists that court them know of Ron Paul´s honesty and strict adherence to the Constitution, and they shun him for it. It is a lonely job to stand up for the citizens of this fine nation if you are their representative and attempt to actually represent their interests and honor the oath of office that every elected federal official must take. That is the type of leader this nation needs, that is the type of leader this nation thirsts for, and it is this kind of leadership, honest leadership, principled leadership, which can root out the corruption and return this government of the people, by the people and for the people back to the people. Ron Paul´s candidacy has been termed by some as a revolution, with the word love highlighted. This second American Revolution that has chosen him as its symbol is not a revolution of violence and hatred, but a peaceful revolution of love instead of force. It´s an understanding that freedom holds within it the power to transform this entire planet into a world where human interactions work on a voluntary basis and no one is more equal than their neighbor. It is the realization that the Constitution was written to protect the common man from an unencumbered, unreasonable power that is known as The State. It is the knowledge that this idea is not something that can be thwarted by simply ignoring the words as they are written, but that the concept itself lives on regardless of whether or not The State suggests otherwise. It is these simple concepts that we must move forward, these precepts on which our country, our culture, our society was based on. To lose these concepts means to lose what it is to be American. The people of this nation know this intrinsically, and it is for this reason they will vote for Ron Paul. It is for this reason Ron Paul will win if he is presented before the American people as the Republican candidate, for freedom is a powerful message, and truth is the most powerful ally."

I still plan on writing in my vote for Ron Paul, for I refuse to vote for either of these two major party candidates who I find despicable. Both McCain and Obama will do nothing to shrink government. It will continue to grow like a cancer upon mankind until it metastasizes and kills its host. I refuse to be a part of a system that continues to infringe upon the rights of my fellow human beings. I refuse to voluntarily take part in a system that continues to steal from me and my neighbors. It seems America has been given a choice between communism or fascism, and I will not vote for either one. I desire only my freedom, and I pray that enough people come to realize they are no longer truly free and begin to do something about it before it´s too late.