When Republicans had one of their debates in Florida, moderator Brian Williams asked Congressman Ron Paul whether he would endorse Newt Gingrich in the event that the former Speaker of the House won his party\u2019s nomination.\u00a0 Indicating that, at the very least, he wouldn\u2019t rule out the possibility altogether, Paul was more than a bit gracious.\u00a0 Nowadays, Gingrich speaks somewhat sensibly on economic matters, Paul implied, but his foreign policy vision leaves much to be desired.<\/p>\n
I confess, I wished that the good doctor would not have been so accommodating.<\/p>\n
I would have loved to have heard Paul say something along the following lines:<\/p>\n
\u201cBrian, you yourself just acknowledged that, unlike Governor Romney, Senator Santorum, and Speaker Gingrich, I <\/em>not only have a solid and ever growing base of grassroots supporters, but a base composed in no small measure of youthful voters whose passion and commitment is unsurpassed.\u00a0 There has been no other candidate in this race from the outset\u2014for that matter, no other politician in all of Washington D.C.\u2014who has succeeded in energizing citizens from across the political spectrum and every walk of life as I have managed to do.\u00a0 Republicans, Democrats, and Independents; conservatives, liberals, libertarians, and moderates; college students, Wall Street \u2018occupiers,\u2019 and active military personnel; Hollywood actors, like Vince Vaughn, and 22 year CIA veteran and one-time head of the Osama bin Laden unit Michael Scheuer;\u00a0 Christians, Jews, and atheists; blacks, Hispanics, and whites;\u00a0 my supporters hail from all across the land.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPolls show that in a head-to-head match up with President Obama, I do as well as Mitt Romney and significantly better than Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.\u00a0 In fact, these same polls show that I do better than all of the candidates<\/em>\u2014including President Obama\u2014among those voters without whom no general election can be won: independents.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe question that should be asked is this: Would Newt or, for that matter, any other candidate, endorse me <\/em>should I <\/em>get the nomination?\u201d<\/p>\n Paul could continue:<\/p>\n \u201cNot too long ago, if I am not mistaken, Newt told Wolf Blitzer that he would not <\/em>vote for me over Barack Obama.\u00a0 This in and of itself raises a thicket of questions:<\/p>\n \u201cWhat in the world would possess a self-declared \u2018conservative,\u2019 a self-avowed proponent of \u2018limited government,\u2019 to, in effect, even if not necessarily by intention, side with a presidential candidate who he himself has described as a \u2018socialist\u2019 and \u2018Saul Alinsky radical\u2019 over a constitutionalist like myself?!<\/p>\n \u201cIf Newt would really prefer Obama over me, doesn\u2019t this suggest that for all of his rhetoric, Newt\u2019s thinking is more akin to that of the President\u2019s than to my own?\u00a0 And if this<\/em> is so, doesn\u2019t this mean that while it may be possible to distinguish his philosophy of governing from that of Obama\u2019s, the distinction in question is one without a difference?<\/p>\n \u201cHow could any<\/em> champion of liberty and the constitutional government that makes it possible endorse anyone <\/em>who thinks as Obama thinks?<\/p>\n \u201cIf Newt has since revised the thoughts that he expressed to Wolf Blitzer, I would be interested in knowing, Newt, what has changed?\u201d<\/p>\n If no moderator or interviewer will ask Gingrich or any of the other candidates whether they would support Ron Paul in the event that he should receive his party\u2019s nomination, perhaps Paul should ask the question himself during one of these debates.\u00a0 This would be an effective strategy for a couple of reasons.<\/p>\n First, the question of whether Paul will either run on a third party ticket or endorse the Republican nominee presupposes and reinforces the notion that he is not a serious candidate.\u00a0 In turning the question around on his opponents, he beats this anti-Paul prejudice back.<\/p>\n Second, in turning this question back upon his opponents, Paul reminds them, the media, and voters everywhere that this race isn\u2019t even close to being finished.<\/p>\n Third, this provides Paul the opportunity to test his opponents\u2019 sincerity.\u00a0 We have been told that if Paul abandons the GOP for a third party, he will be responsible for insuring a second term for Obama\u2014something that, under no circumstances, can the country afford.\u00a0 Hence, it would be worst than irresponsible\u2014it would be reckless\u2014for Paul not to endorse the Republican nominee\u2014regardless of who he is.\u00a0 In forcing this question upon Santorum, Gingrich, and Romney, Paul forces them to reveal whether or not they plan on living by this same line of reasoning if and when they find themselves having to choose between Paul and Obama.\u00a0<\/p>\n Paul is a man on a mission.\u00a0 He is obsessed, not with winning his party\u2019s nomination, much less the presidency, but with seeing to it that more and more Americans hear his message of liberty.\u00a0 Paul really <\/em>does want to save the country.\u00a0 Yet he is under no delusions that either he or any other person can do so within four or even eight years.\u00a0 The salvation of the country, he knows, lies in renewing the spirit of liberty within the breasts of every American.<\/p>\n He is a wise and honest man.\u00a0 I just hope that during his campaign to restore America to her constitutional roots, he manages to find some room for the forgoing questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jack Kerwick, Ph.D.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When Republicans had one of their debates in Florida, moderator Brian Williams asked Congressman Ron Paul whether he would endorse Newt Gingrich in the event that the former Speaker of the House won his party\u2019s nomination.\u00a0 Indicating that, at the very least, he wouldn\u2019t rule out the possibility altogether, Paul was more than a bit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":399,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n