In my previous post I tried to imagine where Ron Paul's campaign is going, given its unwavering quest for delegates with seemingly little regard for the popular vote. The best conclusion I could reach is that Paul is angling for Treasury Secretary.
For the record, I don't really believe Ron Paul is angling for anything from Romney. He may actually believe that this delegate strategy is his only chance. So also for the record, if the present strategy gives Ron Paul a plurality of delegates, I will admit my error and apologize for doubting his campaign. I do hope that the campaign will be courageous enough to admit they were wrong should Paul finish second or worse in delegate totals (rather than spin all things Paul successful).
In this post I want to begin to imagine where we might go from here. But first where is here?
We are headed for an impassable dilemma. Assuming Ron Paul stays in the race until the convention, he will not be able to get his name on the ballots of more than 7 states. If he decides to get his name on the ballots of all 50 states, he will lose any opportunity of getting anything from the GOP because most states require all the paper work for an independent on the ballot be done before the convention in late August.
To me it seems evident that he should be making preparations right now to get on the ballot in every state. By May if he has not turned the campaign around, he should drop out and announce his coalition candidacy with Dennis Kucinich. Sadly, I don't see this happening. However, I would support a write-in campaign even though a write-in campaign almost guarantees a lopsided loss.
A long shot for switching to a coalition strategy while Paul remains in the GOP contest is to look to the Libertarian, Green and Justice parties to see if they would be willing to form a coalition candidacy for the general election. Gary Johnson/Jill Stein might not have the most name recognition but with possible endorsements from Rocky Anderson, Ron Paul, Ralph Nader, Dennis Kucinich, etc. this combo might actually get in the debates and set the ground work for a bigger run in 2016.
Another possibility is to get Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich or some such combination on the Americans Elect ballot. It may or may not be worth pursuing this path. AE may be an astroturf organization and if it puts some sort of "moderate" ticket together we'll know its true feathers.
I see no way around looking forward to 2016. There is much work to be done and this work begins with identifying progressives and libertarians who are willing to support a coalition candidacy. Ron Paul's long term strategy has been to take over the Republican party and make it the libertarian party. That may happen but it will probably take another generation or more. There are young neo-cons who want just as much to keep the imperial party for themselves.
What would be most helpful is to look for and identify both libertarian and progressive candidates to run for House and Senate seats. Libertarians should target blue dog districts and states while progressives target neo-con districts and states. Progressive and libertarian voters should switch parties where needed and we should avoid trying to nominate a libertarian and a progressive in the same district.
Obviously this needs to be coordinated and probably means that Green Party and Libertarian Party members need to face reality and see that they are not going to win outside of the two party structure but if they cooperate with libertarian Republicans and progressive Democrats, they stand a better chance of getting their agendas on the floor of congress. Open and tactical infiltration of both major parties is the only way to overthrow the establishment.
This congressional strategy should begin right now and be as geared up as possible for the 2014 election. Midterm elections offer the best chance at getting coalition candidates elected. We must support only candidates who pledge to work with a coalition of libertarians and progressives. We must also be willing to support the right kind of hybrid candidate.
A transitional coalition platform needs to be developed. This platform should have three basic elements:
1.) big reductions in the empire building and maintenance budget,
2.) increased revenue through tax reform that is simple, progressive and consumption oriented, and
3.) distribution of savings and new revenues, half for debt reduction and half for block grants to states.
Anyone on board?
For the record, I don't really believe Ron Paul is angling for anything from Romney. He may actually believe that this delegate strategy is his only chance. So also for the record, if the present strategy gives Ron Paul a plurality of delegates, I will admit my error and apologize for doubting his campaign. I do hope that the campaign will be courageous enough to admit they were wrong should Paul finish second or worse in delegate totals (rather than spin all things Paul successful).
In this post I want to begin to imagine where we might go from here. But first where is here?
We are headed for an impassable dilemma. Assuming Ron Paul stays in the race until the convention, he will not be able to get his name on the ballots of more than 7 states. If he decides to get his name on the ballots of all 50 states, he will lose any opportunity of getting anything from the GOP because most states require all the paper work for an independent on the ballot be done before the convention in late August.
To me it seems evident that he should be making preparations right now to get on the ballot in every state. By May if he has not turned the campaign around, he should drop out and announce his coalition candidacy with Dennis Kucinich. Sadly, I don't see this happening. However, I would support a write-in campaign even though a write-in campaign almost guarantees a lopsided loss.
A long shot for switching to a coalition strategy while Paul remains in the GOP contest is to look to the Libertarian, Green and Justice parties to see if they would be willing to form a coalition candidacy for the general election. Gary Johnson/Jill Stein might not have the most name recognition but with possible endorsements from Rocky Anderson, Ron Paul, Ralph Nader, Dennis Kucinich, etc. this combo might actually get in the debates and set the ground work for a bigger run in 2016.
Another possibility is to get Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich or some such combination on the Americans Elect ballot. It may or may not be worth pursuing this path. AE may be an astroturf organization and if it puts some sort of "moderate" ticket together we'll know its true feathers.
I see no way around looking forward to 2016. There is much work to be done and this work begins with identifying progressives and libertarians who are willing to support a coalition candidacy. Ron Paul's long term strategy has been to take over the Republican party and make it the libertarian party. That may happen but it will probably take another generation or more. There are young neo-cons who want just as much to keep the imperial party for themselves.
What would be most helpful is to look for and identify both libertarian and progressive candidates to run for House and Senate seats. Libertarians should target blue dog districts and states while progressives target neo-con districts and states. Progressive and libertarian voters should switch parties where needed and we should avoid trying to nominate a libertarian and a progressive in the same district.
Obviously this needs to be coordinated and probably means that Green Party and Libertarian Party members need to face reality and see that they are not going to win outside of the two party structure but if they cooperate with libertarian Republicans and progressive Democrats, they stand a better chance of getting their agendas on the floor of congress. Open and tactical infiltration of both major parties is the only way to overthrow the establishment.
This congressional strategy should begin right now and be as geared up as possible for the 2014 election. Midterm elections offer the best chance at getting coalition candidates elected. We must support only candidates who pledge to work with a coalition of libertarians and progressives. We must also be willing to support the right kind of hybrid candidate.
A transitional coalition platform needs to be developed. This platform should have three basic elements:
1.) big reductions in the empire building and maintenance budget,
2.) increased revenue through tax reform that is simple, progressive and consumption oriented, and
3.) distribution of savings and new revenues, half for debt reduction and half for block grants to states.
Anyone on board?
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