Lee Stranahan over at HuffPo has an interesting pitch for the Republican party and the disciples of Ron Paul, and it got me thinking.While I don't believe in many of Mr. Paul's ideas, his brand is much better for the nation as a whole than the seething madness we witnessed at the Republican National Convention this year. I'm tired of debating with crazies. You can't get anywhere in a conversation with these guys. A person consumed by an ideology can never step back and look at a decision objectively. It's never about what's best for the country or the world, because they believe that no matter how crazy something seems at the moment, the future will all work out because their God/Limbaugh/Friedman said it would.
As long as we have religious nuts like Palin, neocons like Bush, and war hawks like Rudy controlling half of our political discourse, this country is going to teeter on the brink of disaster. GET THEM OUT. Let's have a opposition party based on what's best for the COUNTRY AND THE WORLD, rather than what best fits a set of ideological principles. While I'll probably never vote for a Paul-like candidate, at least I could have a conversation with my Republican friends that was rooted in reason.Okay, Paul wants to dissolve the federal government as we know it, he worships the small government gods, he doesn't really have much of an environmental plan, and on and on. Yes, I know these things.
So, maybe we should take this idea a step further. I propose a brand new, post-Rovian Republican party. Take those Ron Paul folks and give them a new type of candidate--one in Paul's mold, but a little less radical.
Ron Paul started with the idea that we need to end the War in Iraq, now. His appeal was rooted in a very liberal idea: peace. This new Republican candidate needs to seize on this and realize what Ron Paul did--the United States is a center-LEFT country.
I've been contending for years that a Republican with a true environmental policy would be embraced by many on the right. Social Justice doesn't necessarily have to be reserved for
bleeding-heart liberals, either. Why can't a Republican believe in small government and care about poverty and equality? Why can't a Republican embrace family values and the constitutional truth that ALL people have the right to marry and pursue happiness, regardless of sexual orientation? Can't we lower taxes and promote ethical treatment of workers at the same time? Don't you think it's smarter to promote peace and hope, rather than bombs and fear? Maybe this new wave of Ron Paul Republicans would respond to a positive and honest campaign. You never know. This is a new age. Let's think outside of the box people. What do you have to lose?The greatest lesson we can take from Ron Paul and Barack Obama is that there is a new nation of young voters out there craving a more responsible type of politics. While I would love to watch a slow, pathetic, bloody, and complete collapse of the Republican party, I fear that when the dust settles, we might be dealing with the 21st century version of Insoc. So let's get creative people.
I'm not a Republican, but I would like to see some major changes in our political system. This takes more than simply electing the right guy at the right time. The pendulum will inevitably swing back to the other side. It always does. I would just like that other side to be less crazy. That's all.
