I must admit that I am extremely dismayed at the constant fawning over Ron Paul here on a progressive political discussion site. I have always thought that progressives have great difficulty in prioritizing their efforts, and the fact that we are talking about who is the best Republican candidate seems to prove that point.
If half this much effort had been put in here in discussing and supporting Dennis “Could Finish” Kucinich, or trying to draft Al Gore in the New Hampshire primaries, we might actually be making some headway as progressives. Instead, we are floundering in endless and fruitless discussions about whether a libertarian corporatist Republican would put business interests above the interests of citizens. Of course he would, that is the definition of a libertarian Republican. Get the government out of the way so that corporations can do their thing.
After what the Republican Congress and Bush administration have put us through over those fateful six years, for progressives to spend 1 nanosecond discussing the virtues of Ron Paul is ludicrous. Do you really want more corporatist Republicans running our country? Republicans that despise the concept of a public commons and a public good?
I think a little re-ordering of progressive priorities is in order here. If we are talking about Ron Paul, then we are not supporting Dennis Kucinich, John Edwards, or trying to draft Al Gore to run. In other words, we are doing nothing to promote the most progressive candidates on the Democratic side. Priorities? Maybe it's time to think about progressive priorities a little more carefully before it's too late to do something about who the nominee is.
Progressives…. Prioritize or lose. Focus on the goal, and don’t let the media, or the Republicans, distract you from that goal.
Happy Holidays, and Peace on Earth.
