Is it a good idea to reach out to Ron Paul supporters?

[Jason Taylor]

The Ron Paul supporters are certainly their own breed. They have many qualities that would certainly make them valuable teammates. They are unapologetically conservative, fiercely loyal and patently activist.

On the other hand, their highly idealistic nature leads many to believe that they are too inflexible to accept any platform which requires even their most lofty aspirations to be put on hold.

Where exactly do they stand on the issues? Can we find success by embracing them into our new plan for the Republican party, as many have voted for on rebuildtheparty.com?

One thing's for sure: We had better figure this whole mess out quickly, figure out just exactly who is going to be on our side in this, and start laying the foundation for success. Unfortunately, it seems like a "hot potato" issue that nobody really wants to take head-on.

I'd like to invite you to explore this topic with me. I have created the group "Committee on the Campaign for Liberty", and if you're interested in seeing exactly where they stand on the issues compared with us, please join. I believe that it is important for us to make every reasonable effort to understand these folks, and to include them in what we're doing here - if possible, to build a bridge between these obvious factions of our party. I hope that you think so too.

[FRANK RICOTTA]

I am a member of the campaighn for liberty and intend on working with both the libertarian movmentand the republican party to help shape the new republican party. I see no conflict being a republican who would like to see a more conservative message and a return to the core vlaues of the constitution. If we dont get moving the monetary policy of this goverment is going to collapse the republic and reshape america's place in the world if it is not too late already

[James]

Smugly calling Ron Paul supporters 'their own breed' and 'highly idealistic' is the worst way to unite conservatives. Paul's supporters are very diverse and encompass fiscal conservatives, some social conservatives, and foreign policy conservatives. Neo-cons by the way are also very inflexible and should be marginalized in any future GOP campaigns.

I'll admit that I began the past primary season with some wariness about Ron Paul. He talked about America being an empire in decline; some supporters believed that 911 was a conspiracy or were primarily supporting him to end the war on drugs. He wants to return to the gold standard which has been abandoned by almost all countries. He also wanted to abolish the Department of Education whereas Bush is giving it more power.

However over time, I realize that he is the closest candidate to being a fiscal, social, and foreign policy conservative. Here's a few examples.

Fiscal Conservative:
- Instead of encouraging Americans that spending, not saving, is patriotic, I heard Paul preach to Americans about the virtues of saving during one of his campaign stops and how it will help reduce our national debt and trade imbalances. Whoever thinks American can remain a top nation as a consuming nation versus a producing nation is pretty uneducated.
- He isn't just a 'Dr. No'. He submitted a very non-idealistic plan for healthcare reform in an act that has been trapped in a committee for over one year.
- The GOP used to support eliminating the Department of Education back in the 80's as Paul still does.
- A recent govt report now states what only Paul was brave enough to say before: our country is waning in influence. This is not because we aren't taking aggressive enough military action worlwide as neocons support - it is because our national debt is increasingly in the hands of foreign entities versus our own citizens.

Social Consevative:
- He does not support gay marriage but supports the rights of states to decide this issue versus a federal judge.

Foreign Policy Consevative:
- He does not support starting unprovoked wars. The policy of George W Bush's administration is far out of line with any past GOP presidents. Reagan brought down the USSR with diplomacy, yet many neocons seem to claim that anyone supporting diplomacy over military action is a pacifist.

The smug disdain and uneducated wariness that some GOP members have about Ron Paul's campaign has done more to isolate his supporters than his actual views. Let us not forget that the inflexible support for GW's foreign policies is the same mentatility that the Republican Congress held from 2000-2006.

[realityunwound]

The question seems less whether we should court Ron Paul supporters, and more about whether Ron Paul's supporters will be willing to join with us.

Personally, I think the idea of "courting" any supporters is a bad idea at this stage in the game. Good politics and conservative ideas are cross-demographic. They work as well in hispanic, african-american, and german communities as they do in Houston, TX. This isn't us vs. them (whoever "them" may be at this point). It's just us right now.

With our performance a few weeks ago, we lost the right to be exclusionary. We need to invite Ron Paul, Huckabee, and all the others to the table, hear their ideas, and figure out which ones work best for all of us.

Ron Paul has some great ideas. However, as exciting as Ron Paul's ideas were and as great as his grass roots & mobilizing networks were, he wasn't able to make the kind of impact that he wanted to. So he doesn't have all the answers. We all need each other.

The one thing I know for certain... it's time to stop pandering.Within the party and without.

Much love. Let's go.

[Luanne VW]

Based on personal experience at least one-third of C4L supporters will embrace core Republican principles but there is a large block that is set on remaking the Republican Party into their own brand of Libertarianism. These activists are working in opposition to the Republican Party and do not share the foundational values of the Republican Party. Let's welcome to all who embrace Reagan's three priorities of limited government, strong national defense, and protection for all human life.

[Artemio Temo Muniz]

Hell yesss! I have personally courted Ron Paul supporters, and they are down for the cause. The only problem is that they like me have problems with the old, outdated and narrowmindedness of some GOP'ers who do not embrace science, or use language that is divisive or shows ignorance. Also---- THE RON PAULERS are needed because they can shame the opposition on blogs, media and in public without ANY FEAR! These guys are fierce. It wasn't until JOe the Plumber or Tito The Builder and Palin that we had our version of fired up patriots. McCain was bland and non passionate, too passive aggressive.

[Bill Brown]

What we can't do is force people to choose sides and then castigate those who aren't with us. The truth is that Paul wasn't extreme on everything. He had some good ideas and certainly added to the debate. I would urge Paul supporters to be careful of a "hold no prisoners" approach. It's lonely being on an island by yourself. Much like the Ross Perot supporters found out, Paulites will realize their separation from the GOP when their candidates novelty wears off. Like Tom Bodett used to say, "We'll leave the light on for you."

[Rocky Thompson]

Why even argue this? These are Republicans and other than the Palin-ites, I failed to see any other enthusiastic movement on the right than the Ron Paul supporters. The man himself may have been a bit wishy-washy upon supporting fellow republicans, but it says a lot that a man older than McCain got such a grassroots movement on his side.

[the rider]

You should absolutely embrace Ron Paul supporters, it's suicide for the Republican Party not to. They are deeply devoted to limited government and fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately, many Republicans don't embrace them because they are critical of American foreign policy. The Republican Party needs to understand that an aggressive and expensive foreign policy is not necessarily consistent with limited government and fiscal responsibility. Could not the Republicans who hate Ron Paul supporters be considered "inflexible"???

[Ed]

Of course it is a good idea. The Ron Paul supporter is just the kind of person the GOP should be courting...young, fiscal conservative/libertarian with a distrust of politicians. The fact this question is even being asked makes me wonder whether the GOP really has any clue as to what to do next.