Now that I've dispensed with my eerie-ness of the day, on to more pressing matters. Having spent a good three hours watching the returns from the New Hampshire primaries tonight, I have some...thoughts on each of the candidates. (WARNING: it's politics time. I tend to piss people off when I get onto this subject, so just be advised)
Many of you (assuming anybody actually reads this damned thing) know that I am a supporter of Congressman Ron Paul for the Republican nomination. Certain people (supporters of a number of different candidates), trying to exert some type of political superiority, have asked me, "Don't you know he's not going to win?" Thank you, James Carville. Yes, I know Ron Paul is not going to win. So do you. Hell, so does HE. I do not honestly believe that Ron Paul thinks that he has a legitimate chance to win the nomination. My question, though, is...does that matter? Think about this: the TWO most productive days in terms of fundraising by any candidate in the history of the American Presidential race have not been in support of Hillary Clinton or John McCain, Mike Huckabee or even Barack Obama, whos support amongst college students and younger people is almost unprecedented. No, those massive fundraisers have supported Ron Paul, a so-called 'fringe' candidate. Furthermore, over 80% of those donations were given in denominations of $100 or less. This shows that it is not big Washington PACs funding Congressman Paul's run, but rather the people. When Paul appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, all you had to do was listen to the audience's response to understand that at least half of them were Paul supporters. Every time CNN or Fox or MSNBC holds segments on the election and the various primaries and caucuses, there are Ron Paul signs floating in the background.
What's the appeal of this relatively obscure Texas Congressman (originally from Green Tree, PA) that inspires such enthusiasm? For me, at least, it's his straight-talking Constitutionalism: he is a conservative in the true sense of the word. (I will hit on this point later on) And it's true: he's not going to win the Republican nomination, let alone the White House. But it doesn't matter. The Ron Paul Revolution, powered by nothing but enthusiasm and the common man, is not going to fade away anytime soon.
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I can imagine that there's also a desire to be subversive. At least, that's partly what encouraged me to vote for Biden (before he dropped out, gr!). Whatever your reasons for supporting Ron Paul, you have to admit that there's a small punk voice in your head gloating, "Screw the media darlings! I'm throwing my vote away on purpose for someone who deserves it!"
... Or is that just me? =)
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