Paul Gears Up Commercials in Vermont and Washington
After achieving a kickass 14% of the primary vote, you'd think it would be time for Ron Paul (in the words of one of my friends to a cover band back in 1995) "to pack up his shit and go home early."
But no. Apparently, he's just getting started. I have to admit, living in Indiana and not watching TV that often, I haven't been exposed to any ads I can remember.
I see a lot of younger people really excited about Paul. I know that they dig that he wants to get the U.S. out of the wars, and for some reason, they're really interested in seeing him straighten out the Fed. I find their cheerleading sort of short-sighted, though. Wasn't it just in 2008 that we all thought one guy would become the President and make all these sweeping changes? How's that working out for us?
It was as if there was a dramatic shift, then when the 2010 elections came around, all the people that came out in 2008 just stayed at home. Was it just ADD? Was it complete lack of understanding that changes would take time?
If, by some chance miracle, Paul does become the G.O.P. nominee, then wins the Presidential election, how much support will he have from the people in the House and Senate? Even the G.O.P. doesn't like him. I don't understand that, either, really. Unless the G.O.P. has completely bought into listening to the right wing extremists (which, apparently, I must be out of touch with, since I don't want to believe that most Republicans are in line with the War on Women.
When I approach Paul supporters on the social issues, I keep getting veered back into the fiscal responsibility side. Most of these people are independently supported folks, who work for themselves. I don't understand why they are against healthcare for everyone.
I haven't taken the time to really look into what Ron Paul is for - mostly because I think he tows the Republican party line, is pro-life, doesn't seem to support gay marriage (even though I thought that's what Libertarians were all about - keeping government out of our lives). It would almost seem that he's a moderate, and that's what the Republicans would want, yet they shun him.
So I wonder why he's still in it, and what he can hope to gain at this point. Also, if anyone can explain the passion around this old dude, I'd be interested, since it's kind of fascinating to me. Maybe I'm just 43 and have lived through enough to know that this guy is not going to make a difference if elected. Is it just that the youngsters don't understand this?