Friday, May 02, 2008

What Has the Ron Paul Movement Done for the Libertarian Party?

I have another question for discussion regarding the Ron Paul movement that needs to be out in the open.
What has the Ron Paul movement done for the Libertarian Party?
Ignoring policy implementation and other legislative activities, from a political point of view, has the Ron Paul movement been helpful to the Libertarian Party?
I offer some observations either way.

The Ron Paul movement has been good for the Libertarian Party:
(1) Libertarian ideas are being articulated on national television.
(2) The word "libertarian" was used on television for the first time in a long time.
(3) The Ron Paul movement attracted a lot of people who were apathetic and not involved in politics previously, and these people may end up becoming active Libertarians.

The Ron Paul movement has been bad for the Librtarian Party:
(1) Ron Paul constantly refused to label himeself as a libertarian, instead using the label 'traditional conservative'
(2) Some in the Libertarian Party may believe that in order to achieve a libertarian direction, we need to work within the Republican Party, as Ron did.
(3) Many who want to run for office will do so as "Ron Paul Republicans" rather than Libertarians.
(4) Some people may use Ron's words as being the official positions of the Libertarian Party.Thoughts?