CTV.ca on the Ron Paul Revolution
While it seems to be working for Barack Obama, the revolution that long-shot Republican candidate Ron Paul is offering may be just a little too much, well, change for the average American.
Still, the 72-year-old congressman from Texas, who ran for president as a Libertarian in 1988, has managed to raise record amounts of money online.
He also has — arguably — the most vocal and dedicated supporters.
“He’s getting fervent national support from a lot of people who really like his ideas or like the novelty of his ideas,” Renan Levine, a professor of U.S. politics at the University of Toronto, told CTV.ca.
“Sometimes it’s not just what he’s saying but the fact that what he’s saying is quite different than what everyone else is saying.”
As an advocate for a very strict, limited federal government, Paul has somehow managed to get people excited by talking about the constitution.
Seriously.
On “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, the night before the New Hampshire primary, Paul drew cheers and applause from the audience not for being funny, not for taking shots at George Bush, but for saying this:
“The American people… want real change… To me that means the only significant change we ought to have is get enough people in Washington that read the constitution, obey the constitution, do only the things that we’re allowed to do.”
Brian Doherty, a senior editor at Reason magazine, told CTV.ca that there are two main components to Paul’s popularity.
The big one is that Paul is the only Republican candidate that’s against the war in Iraq, said Doherty — who recently wrote about Paul’s following for the Libertarian monthly magazine.
“There are a lot of people who generally want the government to leave them alone so they’re not really comfortable with the Democratic party,” he said.
“But (they’re) also against the war, so they need an anti-war guy who isn’t also a nationalized health care guy, a ‘let’s raise taxes’ guy.”
The second thread, says Doherty, is that Paul has consistently promoted the same ideals for more than 30 years.
“One of the main complaints Americans have about politicians is that they’re sleazy… they flip-flop, they pander, they’ll say anything to get elected,” he said.
“Ron Paul is totally the opposite of that, he says things that no one really wants to hear, or that you wouldn’t think anyone wants to hear.
“He’s been saying them consistently for decades and a lot of his fans are like, ‘We believe this guy.’”
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080108/ron_paul_080108/20080108?hub=TopStories
8 months ago