Ron Paul who?

I’ve sat on the December 11th email from the LNC, wondering just what to think and I think I’ve come to the conclusion that it is going to be a while before we will be taken seriously as a political force. As long as Libertarians continue to chase fringe Republican candidates that don’t have a chance of securing the Republican nomination and ask them to run on the Libertarian ticket, that statement will remain true.

I think it is very hard to be taken seriously when the best we can come with are Republican cast offs. Ron Paul may have identified himself as a Libertarian 4 years ago, but it is clear that he wants to be identified as a Republican now. It is clear to me that he has resigned himself to the two party system, and is doing his best to work within that system.

That’s fine if he thinks that will work for him, but when that fails why should we then turn around and ask him to seek the Libertarian nomination in Denver in May? I understand Mr. Corey’s message in this email. That Libertarians that support Mr. Paul should encourage Republicans to vote for him in their primary without leaving the party, and that using LNC resources to help that effort can only help us, but…

I think it is very important that we spend this cycle seeking ballot access for our local candidates and attempt to make the changes necessary to allow easier third party access to ballots and get a more permanent place for Libertarians on the ballots all across this country.

I also think we should be focusing on finding a candidate for 2012 that can be the name and face of what it is that Libertarians stand for. What we need is a lightning rod. Someone who can go on CNN and make the liberals nod and agree with him on issues where they agree with our message and then get on FOX and let the Republicans do the same where our ideologies allign.

The thing is, I don’t see that person out there.

I have to admit that I briefly toyed with an idea when Lieberman’s endorsed McCain, that a McCain\Lieberman ticket would make a great lightning rod to get the party on the map, but isn’t that really just doing the one thing I said we shouldn’t do? (Chase Fringe mainstream candidates). Besides, it's right out of “My Fellow Americans” and wouldn’t that just smack as a setup? And neither of these guys are really all that Libertarian..

So I’m stuck asking myself, what would I do? And the only answer I can come with is that we recruit. We find a someone that embodies most everything we are as Libertarians and put our money behind him or her. It is probably a little late for 2008 (considering this election cycle pretty much started when the last one ended), but done right, I think we would a force to reckon with in 2012.

So the question becomes who? And I don’t have an answer for that. Maybe you have an idea or two. Let me know.