I have to admit that I was a bit peeved at Ron Paul for a sleezy ad that his team did with the line in it — “no more visas for students from terrorist nations.” He was supposed to be the Liberal candidate — that is liberal, in the European sense, or the libertarian kind in the CATO sense.
But on the whole — Ron Paul’s views to end America’s Middle East crusade and his belief (for the most part) in personal liberty are ones that should keep him in Congress if not the White House.
But he’s now under attack from the Right — as anti-war Republican Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD-01) was.
A few hours ago, from my current perch in Tokyo, I was checking the Ron Paul for Congress website, and he had raised just about $325,000 this quarter — which is in a banner across his home page. Now, as I write this post, he has surged $726,68.52 as of 9:36 PM Central Time. What is going on?
Digging through my email, I found a note from Ron Paul.
This is what Paul sent, and since he mentioned the now Congressionally defeated Wayne Gilchrest of whom I was fond, I will reprint it in full here:
February 18, 2008
The DC neocons think their old dream is about to come true. They think they can defeat me in the Republican congressional primary in Texas on March 4th. And you know what? They may be right.
My opponent, who describes himself as a traditional conservative, is a dedicated servitor of all the special interests who have given us the disaster of recent years, from unconstitutional wars to a looming recession, from huge deficits to massive new welfare programs.
A Republican operative allied with the worst forces in DC recently said: “Give what you can [to Ron Paul’s opponent]. Ron Paul is running scared — using his Presidential campaign’s donors’ money to subsidize a desperate last-minute attempt to save his Congressional seat.”
That is a lie, of course. It is illegal to use presidential campaign donations in my congressional race. The congressional campaign has to stand on its own. But so far, we have raised only about a third of what a well-funded effort would need.
In my 10 terms in Congress, I have not only been able to serve my constituents, and help them, for example, negotiate federal red-tape. I have also been able to defend our principles of less spending, lower taxes, no inflation, and strict adherence to the Constitution. Some people in DC laugh at the idea that I should obey my oath of office, and ask first of any proposed legislation, is it constitutional? But I know that you share my support for the vision of the framers.
My friend Congressmen Wayne Gilchrest (R-Maryland) was just defeated in his primary election by a neocon fraud similar to the one I face. My friend Walter Jones (R-North Carolina) is under heavy pressure as well. People like our hand-picked opponents will do anything to gain and keep power. They represent everything that is wrong with DC.
If I am defeated in the upcoming congressional primary, our ideas will be held to have been defeated as well. It will be proclaimed from the rooftops in DC that such “ridiculous and outmoded notions” as the free market, sound money, personal liberty, limited government, and a pro-American foreign policy are through.
I am determined not to let this happen. All that you and I believe in is far too important to the future of our country, and to everyone and everything we love, to let the neocons dance on its grave.
Please, help me stop the lies, the distortions, the pressure groups, the special interests that benefit from DC rip-offs. There is still time to run radio and tv ads, to set up phone banks, to get out the vote. But unless you help, my reelection to Congress may be in jeopardy. Please help me return to Congress to fight for the people of my district, and for the ideas that can save our country from the path to trouble we are now on.
I hesitated to ask you, since you have already done so much. But my wife Carol said, “When you need help, you ask your best friends.” So I do ask you, to hold out your hand in support.
Please give today http://www.ronpaulforcongress.com, as generously and as quickly as you can.
Sincerely,
Ron
I think Ron Paul’s voice has become vital in our national debate and felt that more should be aware of how the Iraq War has become the sad rallying cry of the right.
I’m an Independent — and I believe that the Republicans and Democrats are both complicit in our current mess. But it does really bother me that Republicans who opposed the war are under attack from a new resurgent mania of Iraq War fantasists, and that Dems in Congress failed to pull the plug on this conflict and could have.
— Steve Clemons
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