You know who is? The supporters of Ron Paul themselves.
There is quiet revolution occurring in Republican Party county committees throughout the country. The Ron Paul Republicans are organizing and infiltrating the party apparatus, and while it is not so obvious, there are some signs that they might be succeeding.
In as little as 10 years, we might see a wholly different Republican Party. One that is closer to its purported platform of truly limited government, humble foreign policy, and respect for civil liberties.
Unless, of course, they are co-opted by war-hawks and scream for the continuation of the futile war on terror. If that is the case, I rather see the Ron Paul Revolution be soundly defeated now to make way for the rise of a legitimate peace movement.
Here is Andrew Sullivan’s take on Ron Paul and the Republican future.
The problem, of course, is that the Party keeps evolving, and never stays the same. What you’re saying about the future of the GOP is indeed true—in much the way that the same was true in 1964, post Goldwater. The Goldwater folks were well organized, and got involved, and over the course of the next 16 years, became the dominant force in the Party—nearly helping Ronald Reagan to steal the nomination from President Ford in 1976, and helping him to win the nomination in 1980. But even so, time marches on, and things and people change, and the young idealists of the early 60s became the new right conservatives of the 80s, and the entrenched “senior establishment” of the GOP today. There’s no doubt that the Paul supporters will play an important role in the Party over the next decade, but the real question is how much THEY’LL change as they find themselves in positions of leadership in the Party, with new responsibilities.
Therein lies the challenge of Ron Paul Republicans when they take their turn as the entrenched establishment in the Republican Party. How much compromise are they willing to tolerate in order to gain more power within the establishment? Will they follow Paul’s example and steadfastly refuse capitulation in their principles. As I have mentioned before in my warning for the Occupy Wall Street movement:
Significant progress cannot be made by a protest movement if it is rendered ineffectual by becoming a mere arm of the establishment: an arm subject to its control and whims.
It would do much disservice to Paul’s ideas if in the future the Ron Paul Revolution becomes the Ron Paul Establishment.