A Scoop of Ron Paul, Please
by Susan Westfall
I've always been a great lover of ice cream. It's almost as
American as apple pie, upon which a scoop of vanilla is often added for
true perfection. We've all chanted that old childhood ditty "I
scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" And seriously, who
hasn't waited for or chased an ice cream truck down the street at some
point in their lives? Then came Baskin-Robbins. Ice cream lovers
everywhere rejoiced at the advent of their 31 flavors. Not only that,
they also introduced rotating flavors of the month! This innovative
marketing concept undoubtedly contributed to BRs becoming the world-wide
franchise it is today. That being said – and my appreciation of ice cream
and creative ideas having been expounded upon – I would like to suggest
that the GOP stop trying to emulate BR's success by introducing a new
flavor of candidate every month. In politics it's not really innovative,
as much as it is mind-numbing – and nauseatingly ridiculous.
What (you might ask if you were Rip Van Winkle) is the goal of applying
such a marketing strategy to the political realm? Apparently at some
level of the established leadership structure, there still resides the
idea that candidate kryptonite will be discovered in time to fortify the
ranks against impending disaster. Somewhere, in some nook or cranny yet
to be peeked into, lurks a miraculous nominee able to leap the immovable
wall of Ron Paul in a single tent-saving bound.
While the search continues, we are bombarded by the press with this
month's top contender – the name keeps changing as rapidly as the media
polls do – Mitt Romney. At the upcoming CNN New Hampshire debate on June
13th, Mr. Romney will assume the
center stage position, thereby demonstrating (hopefully) his
superiority as a candidate to all viewers not intelligent enough to
divine this fact from his steel-bending responses and laser-like stares.
I expect the morning of June 14th will prove these hopes
sorely dashed. Mr. Romney's rhetorical ammunition to this point has
proved of only two casts: well worn status-quo pebbles unable to
penetrate previously abused eardrums; and shiny, new rocks of
constitutional sagacity chipped from the afore mentioned immovable wall.
The latter will sound good, but Mr. Luther – um...Mr. Romney – does not
have a supportive enough voting record to withstand even the most cursory
of glances by those wishing to verify his sincerity. I wonder if Mr.
Romney is given to premonitions, seeing as
he
has decided to skip the Iowa straw poll.
Next? Ms. Palin and Ms. Bachman ––––––– "On you marks!" Surely,
one of the two females in the revolving carousel of flavors will be given
their moment in the sun as well. According to Slate,
it won't be Ms. Palin
however, so Ms. Bachman better suit up.
In the meantime let's move on to other candidates already in the display
case. First, Mr. Gingrich whom it would seem is in for some difficulties
– if not already on his way out – since on Thursday his "campaign
manager Rob Johnson and...[the] entire senior staff, including [the]
strategists in early primary election states," resigned en-masse.
Good luck with that is all I can say.
Next, there's Mr. Pawlenty who, in essence,
threw
himself under the bus by acknowledging that "Mitt is going to be
the front-runner." I'm sure his campaign staffers were – after their
initial shock – reinvigorated to hear him add, "but those early
polls usually don't predict the final outcome." Then, there is Mr.
Santorum whose demise – once it's admitted to – will eventually be laid
at the door of Google. Two cases of either blowback or collateral damage
it would seem.
As for Mr. Cain, the
New York Times felt moved to state that "candidates with
electoral resumes as thin as Mr. Cain’s have very poor track
records." This despite early polling results for him being more
impressive than even those achieved by "Mr. Jackson in 1988, Mr.
Buchanan in 1996 and Mrs. Dole in 2000." Numbers even the Times
apparently found remarkable, especially considering all three of these
candidates were achieving name recognition percentages of 80, while Mr.
Cain's recognition factor "barely exceed[ed] 30 percent." One
just has to wonder, albeit tongue in cheek of course, if the poll
respondents included employees of the Federal Reserve and Godfather's
pizza.
All this without even mentioning Gary Johnson – the candidate banned from
the New Hampshire debate for "low poll numbers" despite his
having participated in the recent South Carolina debate. Sadly for him
and for the so-called "democratic process," he seems to have
been allotted the position of replacement "fringe candidate of the
year"
Lest you be heaving a sigh of relief at the moment – don't bother – as
there are additional flavors presently in preparation for the voters'
edification. Possible favorites with previous mass appeal that might
rotate in and out are: Rudy Giuliani; Rick Perry; Jon Huntsman; Jeb Bush;
and any other possibility that can be dredged up from the depths of some
ancient rolodex.
This distasteful state of affairs is likely to continue for some time. At
least until the GOP concedes that times have changed. This is not the
2008 election cycle. There is no enchanting new flavor to be found in
their stale freezer of ideas. The economy is in a shambles, the country
is bankrupt, the failed foreign policy of war and empire is an expense
that can no longer be afforded – and the people know it. The
tea-parties, which included participants from all areas of the
political spectrum, were evidence of the great awakening that began in
2007 and continues to grow apace with the crisis. The formerly clueless
televised
mainstream media is now recognizing the fact that there is only one
candidate with real solutions to America's problems and the
prospect of even challenging Obama. The quiet little country doctor
and Congressman from Texas's 14th District.
Ron Paul has been offering the tried and true taste of liberty to the
American people for decades, and has a record just as long to back it up.
The time has come for his distinctive, unique brand of flavoring. It's
finally in high demand and it's value isn't going anywhere
but straight up. Consequently, it's time for the Grand Old Party to
accept with grace the presence of Ron Paul and invite his supporters
gladly into their "big tent" for the win in 2012.
http://lewrockwell.com/orig12/westfall3.1.1.html
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