January 18, 2008
by Paul Kemp

At the recent debate in South Carolina, Ron Paul was asked if he believes he is electable - given how out of step he is with the other Republican candidates.  His answer was brilliant, but later was cut from video footage displayed on the FOX website.  See it here 
 
The real question should be, "Are the other Republican candidates for President electable when between 57 and 63% of American voters surveyed want troops out of Iraq in one year?"  By that standard, Ron Paul is the only Republican who IS electable
 
Why is Ron Paul berated publicly for being the only Republican advocate for bringing US troops home from an unpopular and illegal war?
 
How can the "mainstream" Republicans expect to have a chance of winning when McCain is happily offering to keep troops in Iraq another one hundred years?  That may be what the hard core Republicans (all 7.1% of them!) who voted in 2006 wanted, but it's not what the nation's voters of all parties want.
 
Perhaps the GOP should lay their cards on the table with a new slogan: "War is the Health of the Economy!"  I know, I know, it's too close to the truth.
 
With disgruntled voters, Democrats, and Independents changing their registration to Republican so they can vote for Ron Paul - and young first-time voters joining the GOP, you would think the party - if it wanted to win this election - would be happy to have RP running.
 
Ron Paul is invigorating the GOP, but he is treated like a traitor to his party. 
 
All the candidates, if elected, will swear to uphold the Constitution - the basic law of the land - but in practice they won't.  They don't even speak up for the Constitution as the guide for what we should be doing before they are elected, so they're hypocrites, aren't they?
 
If you take a hard look at all the candidates of both parties who are viable, Ron Paul is the only one who will promptly end a war that we never should have started.  Furthermore, he is the only viable candidate of either party who isn't open to launching a pre-emptive strike on Iran.

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So, why is the Republican Party intent on giving the nation that which it says it doesn't want?  What kind of salesmanship is that?  That is why so many Americans have given up on voting.
 
And why are so many GOP candidates, aside from Ron Paul, willing to spend so much money to lose an election in November?
 
A possible answer: The Repubs are running against Ron Paul.  As suggested by Trevor Bothwell at LewRockwell.com, they would rather lose to any Democrat than let RP have a shot at spoiling the cozy corporate/political welfare system that's been created over the last 50 years.  There are a lot of nice perks for playing ball with corporate interests, wealthy foreign leaders, and special interest lobbyists and Ron Paul, if elected, would dismantle all that.
 
Are they so vain to be running on a platform that only 7.1% of their own party turned out to support in 2006?   Obviously, they are.
 
If the GOP strategy for winning the 2008 election was a business plan (and it arguably is), how can they expect this venture to succeed in selling an unpopular product to a declining market share?
 
I suppose the GOP feels it must field a slate of candidates - even though what they offer is a guaranteed loser - just to maintain the illusion that the USA still has two "different" parties to choose from.
 
If the GOP establishment as a whole was smart, and not simply bullheaded and self-serving, they would embrace Ron Paul's message as their only hope for winning this election.  Perhaps an outpouring of voter support will be able to persuade them that Ameicans are serious about ending the carnage and fiscal waste supported by our current government policies.
 
If the GOP wants to win the 2008 Presidential election, it needs to get behind Ron Paul.

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Paul Kemp awoke to the realities of American politics as a Conscientious Objector and war resister during the Vietnam era.  He is an entrepreneur and writer who lives in the Pacific Northwest. He welcomes feedback through his website, www.defending-your-retirement.com/

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