This week I’m attending a training class in Santa Clara, California. It’s my first trip out here, and in addition to the training class, I’m getting a chance to spend some time with coworkers I had not previously met. There are some people here who have worked hard to help me complete some projects, and it’s been good to put faces with the names in emails and voices on the conference calls.
Last night I had dinner with one of the guys who has been a really big help to me the last few months. Our conversation quickly turned to politics – not because I’m some crazy nut job pushing my political beliefs on anyone who will listen (though there have been times…) but because of the Ron Paul “Revolution” sticker plastered across the back of his car.
We shared the stories of our political awakenings, and I really enjoyed hearing how he came to a point where he became active in politics. My story started with me blindly voting for all Republicans, no matter who they were. His story began with him voting for Democrats, no matter who they were. My family is full of conservatives; his is full of liberals. We started our journey in two very different places, but there was a point where the stories started to come together.
We both had a friend challenge us to do some research on Ron Paul. We both have started to see political issues as “more freedom” or “less freedom” instead of “conservative” and “liberal.” We both want more local control and less of our federal government, and in the end, we both became supporters of the Good Doctor.
I’ve heard the concerns from my Republican friends that the Independent and Democrat Ron Paul voters (like this coworker) are crossing over in the primary election to mess up the nomination for the GOP and guarantee an Obama re-election. But the truth is that people like this coworker of mine are coming out to vote for Ron Paul because they’re sick of the Democrats like Obama who sell hope and change yet deliver more of the status quo. They’ve found a candidate who excites them, and they’re enthusiastically supporting him even though he’s not a part of their usual party of preference.
No other GOP candidate excites the voters like this coworker. The reason why is simple: they’re all pretty much the same big government candidate we already have in the White House. Sure there are some minor differences, but when you look at their policies as offering either more or less freedom, the similarities are uncanny: less freedom, more government, and more spending. They’re all very much like Obama, just with an “R” behind their name.
Ron Paul could be the greatest thing to happen to the GOP in the last few decades – if we’ll let him. Republicans will support him because they always support the nominee. Independents and many Democrats will support him because his message of freedom resonates with them.
In the end, Ron Paul is the only real chance we have at beating Obama in November. People are starting to see this; hopefully they realize it before it’s too late.
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