What did the Ron Paul Revolution mean?

The “Ron Paul Revolution” was a phrase coined in the summer of 2007 after some fired up grassroots supporters became excited about the Ron Paul campaign for president. Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul had a scuffle in the May 15, 2007 FOX News Republican debate, causing a stir among those watching. That a candidate who espoused liberty was being noticed by the Republican establishment was astounding to those of us who were long time supporters of Ron Paul.

Those who knew of Dr. Paul for a time before the presidential race, though, were not large enough in number to propel the campaign. If I had to speak for most of the original Ron Paul supporters, I would say that the majority of us were quite disappointed with the state of liberty in the country. People were ignorant to the most important issues facing us and the United States was in a slow downward spiral with an economic bust about to happen, possibly the worst since 1929.

Rudy Giuliani can be considered the savior of American liberty in one way. Were it not for his attack on Ron Paul’s foreign policy ideas, the many restless Republicans and Democrats who were looking for something different from the status quo of American statism might never have noticed the congressman from Texas.

So, what did the Ron Paul Revolution mean? It showed the rejection of big government by a large number of people in the country. It was not a large enough number to get Ron Paul the Republican nomination by any means, but it was hundreds of thousands of voters who are willing to be active in politics and make a difference. The vast majority of the people in this country are politically apathetic–half do not even bother to vote. Most of those who do vote, from my observations, only do so because the news is covering the elections, reminding people to go vote. The Ron Paul Revolutionaries are not apathetic any longer. Some were, some voted but did not get too involved in politics, others have been fighting almost without hope. But things are different now.

The most important part of this ideological battle is simply that: it’s ideological. The big government era of baby boomer politicians are dying off, their big government successors are seen as the “new politics” of Barack Obama.

As Ron Paul’s popularity among political figures weaned thanks to the media blackout, we have seen Obama rise to the top. Andrew Sullivan, Justin Raimondo, and even the editors at GQ magazine have all admitted their man crush on Obama. These people are fooling themselves if they think Obama truly represents something different. Most of Obama’s followers are clueless as to why they like Obama–he just has an appealing personality. You want to like Obama. His policies are unknown to many of his supporters. To tell you the truth, most of his plans for the future appear to be the big government ideas of Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy. Perhaps their pre-baby boomer era has reincarnated in the form of Barack Hussein Obama.

The problem with Obama is his battle is not ideological. It is simply change for the sake of change. His policies are not here to educate, they are to gain votes. Ron Paul has shown something different.

Education is the most important result of the Ron Paul Revolution. Education in freedom, liberty, and economics. Ron Paul has spoke on subjects that have been downplayed by those who are given favors by the state: the gold standard, noninterventionism, and true small government. In his words and his speeches you hear the same rhetoric that the Founding Fathers spoke in the late 18th century. Learned men who believed in freedom were largely informed on economic policy thanks to the classical economists. The Founders believed in liberty and in freedom, in overthrowing the tyrannical monarchy of King George. John F. Kennedy might reincarnate in Barack Obama, but Thomas Jefferson has reincarnated in Ron Paul.

Now that large numbers of people have been woke up to the ideological revolution, their education in economics and liberty will be vital in informing the majority of the population that does not know these things. Most people look at you odd when you mention the gold standard, yet a hundred years ago the idea of going off the gold standard was a plan in the minds of elites who wanted to be able to grow government without any checks or balances. Ron Paul has brought this back to the forefront. Spendthrift governments will continue to inflate to spend exorbitant amounts of money since taxation cannot fulfill their desires to spend without public opposition. With Ron Paul’s message, we are seeing education on and issue that has been talked about less and less for many years. As Ludwig von Mises said,

The return to gold does not depend on the fulfillment of some material condition. It is an ideological problem. It presupposes only one thing: the abandonment of the illusion that increasing the quantity of money creates prosperity.

The Ron Paul Revolution has brought about a mass education to the public on the gold standard, the corruption of the banking industry, and the power elite in government that uses the state’s monopoly on power (and money creation) to further erode our freedoms, largely for their benefit.

But there are other things that the Revolution has done. We have begun to see people educated on why foreign policy should be noninterventionist. Some people have joined the antiwar bandwagon, but would turn on a dime to accept intervention in Darfur. Ron Paul has begun to show that any time we intervene things will get messed up. His antigovernment message has been teaching free market economics on the domestic side, but also that foreign intervention into other nations will mess things up as well. No government will “make things better” anywhere. Only society can do that.

Government cannot make matters better anytime, anywhere. It can only make them worse.

The ideology that Ron Paul has helped to bring to the forefront is one of true freedom in all areas of life. The word that best describes someone like Ron Paul is “liberal” as it was used in the 19th century before socialists hijacked the word. The belief that private property in the means of production and equal rights for all citizens are liberal ideas. These ideas contrast starkly with the policies of McCain, Clinton, and Obama, who all believe that the answer to problems is not less government, but more! The state is an evil that must be kept at bay at all times. With a revival of 19th century liberalism, Ron Paul has helped to bring this to the forefront of beliefs of his followers. Less government is the path to a liberal, orderly society that increases wealth and becomes more prosperous.

But enough with his policies. Ron Paul is not the leader of this movement, though he is the vehicle by which antigovernment sentiment has grown. Americans are slowly but surely beginning to reject government. The popularity of Obama among people who look at policies shows this, but these must be educated that they are fooling themselves into believing Obama will keep the government off their back. Only the classic liberal approach to limited government and a capitalist economic with no government intervention (or favors for corporations) will bring about true prosperity and freedom.

The movement will continue to grow. Ron Paul’s most recent announcement implies that he is turning his presidential campaign into a way to educate people more than he already has. Other staunch defenders of the market have picked up their pace in educating the public: The Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, and the incredible database of information that runs through Lew Rockwell’s website. Others are also beginning to educate people who didn’t care about politics, economics, or that realized their freedoms were being eroded by the growing federal government. Several “Ron Paul Republicans” have vied for office; the most important one by Murray Sabrin for the US Senate seat in New Jersey. A single Senate seat with a man who would vote like Ron Paul in the House of Representatives would often be a tie breaker. As the movement grows, perhaps we will see more “Ron Paul Republicans” in future Senate and House races.

The Ron Paul Revolution is nothing new–it is a return to the ideas that made Western society free. Freedom, liberty, laissez-faire, free trade, peace–all are required for a free society where people can live their lives in harmony. It is only by fighting the slow growing tyranny of the American state that we will be able to return to what this country was founded on. The principles espoused by the Founding Fathers were great ones–the ones our elite overlords in government have to pay tribute to to keep the populace from figuring out they have been tricked over the years. America has went downhill in a bubble. Too often we hear the reference of the frog in boiling water, but that analogy is true. The appearance of prosperity and freedom has given most Americans a false sense of security. But some knew better, and have found comfort in Ron Paul and his message.

To end, I would like to remind us all of a quote from the beginning.

THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.

-Thomas Paine