Perspectives: What the GOP fears most about Ron Paul

OPINION – Hezbollah. The Mexican cartels. Kim Jong Un.

How curious that among all the terrorists, drug lords, and oppressive bogeymen in the world, none generate the kind of tangible panic in the GOP that a principled 77-year-old congressman from Texas has sparked.

The Republican National Committee has long resented Congressman Ron Paul for his unswerving devotion to the principles of liberty and limited government. Who could blame them? Congressman Paul has consistently refused to play by the Machiavellian playbook favored by most Washington D.C. politicians.

For nearly three decades, his votes and leadership have been based upon whether a specific policy is “right” or “wrong” rather than “useful” or “not useful.” This means that his core values are not purely political, but are foundational principles that extend beyond the false constructs of party lines.

It also means that the carefully veiled hypocrisy of political pragmatists within his party is easier to spot when contrasted and compared with his ideals and his actions.

This is particularly true when considering Paul’s opposition to the War Party’s insistence on endless foreign entanglements that have nothing to do with protecting the actual security or freedom of Americans.

Machiavelli himself explained why this is so, “A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example.”

The Republican Party prefers to abide by another of Machiavelli’s observations, “Politics have no relation to morals.”

This may explain why Republican leadership has gone to such great lengths to retroactively change their rules for the purpose of removing duly-elected Paul delegates before the Republican National Convention. As Justin Raimondo noted: “In Maine, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Oregon, Oklahoma, and elsewhere, the party bosses have disenfranchised Paul voters — closing down party caucuses, rejecting as delegates anyone under 50, and calling the cops when all else failed.”

It’s also why the Texas congressman was offered a speaking slot at the convention only upon the conditions that he would fully endorse their nominee and have his remarks censored – sorry – vetted by the RNC.

For a party that claims to be the party of freedom and limited government, Republican leadership is as authoritarian about potential dissent as North Korea’s Dear Leader.

Daniel Webster wisely summed up such partisan motivations when he said, “Good intentions will always be pleaded for any assumption of power. The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.”

Republican hardliners are loudly insisting that all is well and the changes to their rules had to be made to prevent mischief at the convention. What remains to be seen is whether those voters with whom Paul’s message of liberty has resonated will reluctantly fall back into line and vote for the GOP nominee.

Republican leaders are desperate to maintain an illusion of unity in the face of a clearly growing schism within the party.

What they don’t realize is that the GOP may have played the part of the sociopathic drunk who habitually abuses his wife and then tells her “You made me do this” one too many times. The long list of broken promises, the insistence that “this time it’ll be different” sounds all too familiar. Even the fear-mongering slogans that would insult a fourth grader’s intelligence may not be enough to blind informed voters.

The Republican Party may well have shot itself in the foot with its latest efforts to strong-arm or purge independent-minded voters from its ranks. Principled voters who for too long have been taken for granted are catching on to the party’s insatiable lust for power. Their support can and will be taken elsewhere when the breaking point is reached.

What the GOP establishment fails to recognize is that Ron Paul is not the singular leader of the liberty movement. Though he has been an icon during the past two election cycles, the millions of independent thinkers for whom liberty remains a top priority will not fade away at his retirement.

This is what the party fears most about Ron Paul; he is not alone.

How will Republican leadership explain the growing lack of party fealty when its smears and machinations can no longer be focused upon a single individual who still values right over wrong?

Bryan Hyde is a news commentator and co-host of the Perspectives morning show on Fox News 1450 AM 93.1 FM. The opinions stated in this article are his and not representative of St. George News.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @youcancallmebry

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2012, all rights reserved.

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11 Comments

  • c4lcncpls August 27, 2012 at 5:41 pm

    Excellent article Bryan. You have really nailed it down.

    I for one will be changing from Republican To Independent very soon.

    Never again will I be a Republican. I value my integrity above all else.

  • Karl-Erik August 27, 2012 at 6:11 pm

    Well said bro

  • Barry Short August 27, 2012 at 6:16 pm

    Proud to say I voted for Ron Paul for president back in 1988. We’d be a lot better off today if enough others had.

    But as for this election – just remember, if you don’t approve of the kind of behavior we’re seeing out of the Republican leadership, you won’t see any change if you go to your polling place and reward them.

    Live free.

  • Peg August 27, 2012 at 7:42 pm

    Ron Paul is a good and decent man,but he just goes to far . We need less government involvement in our lives ,not no government. War, as disgusting as it is ,is indeed going to be with us until the end of time,or as long as the Hitler’s or Bin Laden’s have followers. Paul believes we should let them alone.
    I had a Sunday school teacher that believed it would always work if you turned the other cheek. Both she and Paul refuse to accept the fact that there is pure evil in this world. Ask Dan Pearl’s familly or a child who has been sexually molested or a woman that has been raped. Good people must stand up for good,
    or evil wins.However, I do agree we need to end nation building.
    Mr Paul also believes we should legalize Pot, not wear helmets or seatbelts etc.,and some other things that I prefer not to expose my children and grandchildren to the approval of by society. It sounds good to say adults have the right to do with their bodies and lives what they want but,after they destroy themselves,those that have chosen not to follow their path have the job of caring and paying for their foolish acts,and in greater numbers I might add. All children and many adults have little or no commmon sense. Some of us have to protect them and ourselves from the damage they are capable of doing.
    So I will vote for Mitt Romney or someone like him in the future. Someone who is decent and understands the imperfections of man,who will allow enough government to prevent anarchy but not enough to provide a nanny state.A tough balance for sure ,but one we need to strive to provide.

    • Brent August 28, 2012 at 5:58 am

      Peg, it sounds like you care a lot about things. You have Ron Paul a little confused though. Ron voted to go after Osama bin laden. He wants us to declare our wars and only “just wars”. As far as not wearing seat belts or helmets, Ron has never advocated for that. I think you’re missing his point of individual liberty. He would advise you to wear them but the choice is yours. We are not the governments livestock that is kept safe. we own ourselves and with freedom, we also can choose badly, but at least we can choose.

    • sam August 28, 2012 at 5:59 am

      Wow, people like you are whats wrong with our country and why we are slowly dying as a free people, to even think you know whats best for others is pure ignorance, the constitution was written to protect us from churches and people like you that would seek to control and dominate what you feel are lesser people then yourself. this isnt just about pot and war its about freedom and to deny freedom is pure evil.

    • ron August 28, 2012 at 7:27 am

      So, Peg, let’s not have a nanny state EXCEPT where you want one. How about the government banning all smoking? How about requiring us to eat low fat foods and work out at least 3 days a week? And how about confiscating all firearms? (Oh, oh, that’s a flashpoint, right?)

  • sam August 28, 2012 at 6:23 am

    There is pure evil in the world and this ladies comment proves it, evil people like her that wish to control and dictate your life are all over this country they will say its to protect you but what they really want is to control what they belive are their lessers, our constitution is in place to protect us from people and churches just like her, you need only to look to the recent past to see this, just like the whole cencership movement they said all we want to do is protect you from wicked rock bands and girly magazines but if you follow the chain of dominos what they where doing is trying to cut off our access to information itself.

  • sam August 28, 2012 at 7:23 am

    I need to apologize for how harsh those comments where I am very adiment about our personal freedoms and Constitution and just got a little worked up, I am sorry for how mean spirited I started out those comments.

  • Josh August 28, 2012 at 10:12 am

    I love to see and read articles like this one that are right along my line of thinking. I love even more to read the comments and know there are many people in this community who have the same views as I.
    Thank you Bryan Hyde for putting into words so many of our thoughts! Keep it up!

  • Blake Cozzens January 27, 2013 at 3:05 pm

    I missed this before and am just now reading it. Very well written and spot on article. Great Job Bryan!

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