posted on Jul, 29 2007 @ 04:06 PM
You raise good points xpert, but I wonder if the average voter, particularly the average voter from one of the two major parties, really knows his own
ideology well enough to know that Ron Paul isn't a Republican.
Even granted that Ron Paul is something quite distinct from a Republican, he still doesn't hate God and neither do Republicans. He still wants a
small government and so do many Republicans. He still thinks the feds should defer to the states on some issues, and so do some Republicans.
I think that gives him a bit of a leg to stand on in trying to reach more of the party.
He'll have to really bring his A game when it comes time to explain to those people why he thinks abortion has to be decided on at the state level,
because I'm sure a lot of them would prefer for him to disregard his constitutional stance and just fight like hell to stop it, but considering that
their side is losing at the federal level it's not unsellable.
As for Paul being boxed out, it's very hard to argue against that after what was done to him in Iowa. He may need to get more controversial- say and
do things that can't be ignored, or that people will talk about thinking they will be percieved negatively, forgetting that there are people out
there who will like it.
Let's face it, the media loves a good drama fest. A few Hillary Clinton jokes might be good for Paul. They'll try to make him look immature and
mean, but let's face it, Republicans hate Hillary and as long as Paul isn't too offensive, just a little mean, that kind of bad behavior may endear
him to average joes just the way that George Bush's inability to complete a sentence did in 2000.
He also might consider a little light-duty stalking of the front runners- try ambushing them at issue-centric events and confront them with a faux pas
from the debate Paul was excluded from to force debates. The liberal wing of the media will show things like that to hurt whoever he attacks.
In short, Paul had better start thinking and acting like a guerilla, or the gorillas are gong to rip him a new one. The fact that nobody is attacking
him much is a bad sign in my opinion.
Edit to add: This is naturally a primary-only strategy. Once he gains some traction in the primaries- at least enough to make himself a respectable
candidate for the next time out- it'll be time to shift gears and start talking about the war more than core Republican issues, to make a name among
moderate Democrats.
One of the big things Paul has going for him as a Republican that isn't really a Republican is a chance to impress those who vote "democrat by
default", and present a new idea of what the Republican party could be for non-Republicans who wish they had a second choice.
[edit on 29-7-2007 by The Vagabond]