What’s the objective? That is – what are we trying to win?
I propose the objective is to shift the path of the human race irreversibly toward freedom. That means many things . But let’s keep it short and borrow a phrase from someone who knows about freedom – Ron Paul. The objective is “peace, liberty and prosperity”. That’s winning. That’s winning no matter who is in the White House, no matter who controls Congress. Winning is winning over hearts and minds to the idea that humans are better off when they are free – all humans – all the time. There’s an old bumper sticker. – If the people lead, the leaders will follow. You can’t expect electoral change until you have cultural change. That cultural change has been building quietly for some time. Ron Paul has been the natural focal point for that movement and while we haven’t won the war yet – we’ve been quietly winning battles for at least 5 or 6 years. If you haven’t been paying attention Ron Paul has been winning a lot of battles lately that haven’t been so quiet. He’s been winning because he has been saying things that people know – deep in their hearts- to be true.
Fast forward to the 2012 presidential debates. Imagine Barack Obama in the middle, Ron Paul on one side, Gary Johnson on the other and about 60 million people in their living rooms .
What do you think is about to happen?
I don’t know about you but that’s what I am hoping (and working and donating money) for. Don’t give me that crap about Ron Paul can’t win. I don’t care about can’t – I care about how? Freedom is too big to fail – right?
Just to humor some of the nay-sayers out there let’s allow for a second the off chance that Ron Paul will not win the Republican nomination. Let’s imagine the 2012 presidential debates with Barack Obama, Gary Johnson and – (wait for it) Mitt Romney? Who do you think is the weak link in THAT debate?
If not Ron Paul who do YOU want defending freedom against Barack Obama in front of 60 million people.
I still like the Johnson, Obama, Paul scenario but the outcome is the same either way. It’s just a matter of degree.
That debate will not be about the finer points of deep libertarian philosophy. It won’t be about minarchism vs. anarchism. It won’t be about whether to take matching funds. It won’t be about whether the Fed or the Treasury will print money out of thin air. Those debates are for the hard core that always vote Libertarian- let’s call them “the 1/2 of 1 percent”. The 2012 presidential debate will be about the other 99.5% of Americans. It will be about how the rest of the American people feel – deep in in their hearts – about the men who are talking to them from that stage and how they feel about what those men are saying. It will be about whether the American people should – deep in their hearts- trust the Government more than they trust freedom, that is – more than they trust themselves, their families and their neighbors.
I’ve seen Gary Johnson debate 3 or 4 times now. Standing opposite Barack Obama, Gary Johnson will make sense to everyone who isn’t dependent on a government check and a lot of people who are. He will strike a chord in people’s hearts because despite what the political class want you to think , people really do believe in freedom and they really do know -deep in their hearts – that it’s the way forward for the human race. It’s just that they have had it drummed into their heads since birth that they need a nanny (well – all those other people do) or the world will fly apart. But a free world will not fly apart – quite the opposite. Gary Johnson is just the guy to explain to 60 million people in his calm, experienced way that as he says “good government is easy”. He knows – he did it in New Mexico as Governor for two terms. He can do it again as President. It will make sense to them when he says “peace is cheaper” and when he tells them that – deep in their hearts – they really ARE libertarian.
The voters are going to like Gary Johnson. I’ve seen it already. Regular people are telling me they like this guy. He is changing their minds about freedom. And when the people begin to change their minds about freedom elections begin to change, laws begin to change, the way we deal with each other begins to change. And – funny thing – once people change their minds about freedom they don’t go back.
This is how we win.
So when someone tells you Gary Johnson can’t win – tell them he is already winning. Tell them you won’t waste your life voting for the lesser of two evils. Tell them your life is worth more than that? Tell them you are going to vote for the real win. The one where freedom – and the whole human race – wins.