Ron Paul's Potential Legacy

Ron Paul is an unlikely savior of the American political system. To hear the mainstream press tell it, he's a kooky libertarian who represents a fringe minority. To hear his supporters tell it, he is a symbol of liberty who would lead us into a libertarian utopia and promised land and represents what most people really feel deep down. Something in the middle is likely closer to the truth.

Yet this OBGYN-Congressman-Presidential Candidate has the potential to leave an important legacy. At 72, the Texas Congressman is unlikely to make another run for the presidency. He was a long-shot this time. But he did something important: he forced a debate. Ridiculed by war-mongers like Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani for "not understanding" the threat of Islamic terror, he remained firm: America's global military empire is causing more harm than good. On economics, he blasted the socialistic tendencies of some in the Republican Party and especially the overt marxism of Obama and Hillary on the Democrat side.

Yet his legacy will not be defined by what he did in the 2008 campaign, but what he does after. He is likely to win re-election to his seat in the U.S. House. But whether or not he does, he now has the ability to become the Grandfather of the Liberty movement. By transitioning his massive network of loyal supporters and donors into an organization rallied around the Liberty cause, and by moreover making it non-partisan, he can oversee the creation of a concerted effort and leadership to advance the libertarian agenda. There are many card-carrying members of the ACLU who will join on civil liberties issues. There are many NRA members, Club For Growth supporters, and others on the right who will join based on economic issues and gun rights issues.

My hope is that the movement he has helped catalyze does not die with his Presidential prospects. America needs to recognize that it lives under the most extensive bureaucracy in the history of mankind, one that has more involvement in its citizens daily lives than under the Roman Empire. Privacy rights are not just eroding, but quickly evaporating. Property rights and economic rights are being trampled on by Congress, the States, and the thousands of municipal governments that meddle in even the most menial affairs of the public.

This all has adverse implication for prosperity and happiness in the long-term. Ron Paul can, and should, see to it that the small flame he kindled with his candidacy turns into a burning fire that engulfs the ever increasingly oppressive government we live under in the United States.

We probably don't have much time left, but Ron Paul's candidacy, in spite of its "failure" in the traditional sense, gives me hope.