The Knife in Ron Paul's Back

I spent several hours walking my precinct on Monday, then went to my precinct meeting yesterday. The sense I got from my street canvassing, even among some registered voters, is that there isn't much difference between Democrats and Republicans. And I've preached that long and hard for quite a few years.

Ron Paul's unavoidable problem is that he has to run as a Republican or else he has NO ACCESS to the system. The Republicrats run the show, along with their handlers in the media. The media provides 'viability' or 'electability' by covering a campaign, and the Major Parties then choose from amongst the media's anointed to provide the voters with a well-managed choice.

The knife is the Republican's well-established history of duplicity, treachery, and betrayal. The patron saint of the 21st century Republican establishment is that icon of Conservatism: Ronald Reagan. But it was Reagan who laid the foundation for almost all of our problems. He didn't deliver on his promise for smaller and less-intrusive government, he had huge budget deficits, and he handed off to George Bush I who was a CIA operative and began all the entangling alliances, etc. in the middle east. He also disgusted us with Republican big government and greased the skids for 8 years of the Clintonistas. Two years into the Clinton regime, the voters (maybe) voted for change, and the "Contract With America" came forth. Gingrich and Armey were going to provide leadership for a batch of conservative freshman Congressmen who were going to pare down government - "bind them down by the chains of the Constitution, where they can do no mischief" as Jefferson said.

Instead, Gingrich and his buddies did all within their power to derail the clear will of the People and give us even BIGGER government.

Bush the Second ran on a platform of a humble foreign policy, no nation-building, lower taxes, responsible "Christian" government. This led to more Republican betrayal, as we all now know.

The best thing is that the Republicans don't like Ron Paul. He is obviously not one of them. I only hope he can demonstrate that the betrayal came from the NeoCons who have hijacked the party, and that this stranglehold on the body politic by the warmongers and the banksters can be broken. Whether they can be permanently put into a cage is another question, as the American voting public seems incapable of eternal vigilance. But it does awaken from its slumber from time to time, and we can only pray that this is one of those times.