A Tale of Two “Pauls” in Tampa

Hoping to see Ron Paul in Tampa?

Don’t get your hopes up.

The cantankerous leader of the GOP’s libertarian wing isn’t on the RNC speaker schedule (though his son Rand is slated to talk), and his grassroots campaign’s somewhat controversial “We are the Future” rally at the 10,441 person capacity Sun Dome arena is reportedly sold out. Back room wrangling continues to resolve Paul delegate disputes and, in so doing, likely prevent a pro-Paul demonstration on the convention floor.

Selling out a 10k+ capacity stadium sounds impressive, Save Jerseyans. And it is impressive! But as has always been the case with the Ron Paul “revolution,” his adherents constitute a significant but proportionately very small percentage of the Republican base. Just very, very loud! Even in a deeply red state like South Carolina – famous for its independent streak – Paul couldn’t do any better than 13% of the vote in this year’s GOP primary.

The big question on my mind going forward: which “Paul” will see his vision dominate the Republican Party heading into the 2032 convention?

Ron Paul just turned 77 on Monday; he is not seeking reelection to the House of Representatives. At the same time, there is little doubt in my mind that he struck a cord with many members of my generation who are much better ideologically categorized as “libertarians” than conservatives (classical liberals on economic issues but socially left-leaning and anti-war). Whether this represents the normal youthful disposition to rebellion (i.e. the anti-war position is nothing new on college campuses!) or a window into the GOP’s future is as yet unknown.

Will someone be there to take the torch from a fading Dr. Paul? Or will his movement fail to survive without his force of personality to propel it?

It’s not like there won’t be competition for young hearts and minds.

The other “Paul” – Paul Ryan – is a more traditional Reagan-esque conservative, particularly since Ryan is much more comfortable than Dr. Paul with the projection of American power abroad. Ryan is not anti-government so much as a vocal proponent of constraining the federal leviathan to its constitutional boundaries. Unsurprisingly, this Paul is also drawing large crowds around the country and yes, according to early indicators, rallying a larger-than-normal percentage of young folks to his cause.

So which Paul do I think/hope/want to see be the ideological godfather of the Republican Party of tomorrow? Regular Save Jersey readers know where my preference lies. For now, sitting here heading into the 2012 Convention, I’m just happy to see our side (the “Right”) gaining momentum in the battle for young minds for the first time in at least 30 years. I’d much rather see the dominant battle on cable shows of 2032 be between libertarian Paulbots and conservative Ryanists; hopefully, the youth of that point in the not-so distant future will have discarded “progressivism” in the ash heap of history where it justly belongs!

 

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8404 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.

1 Comment

  1. the idea of paul ryan being the face of conservatism makes me ill. He is just another big government bush era retread.

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