Train Wreck #2: The Duplicitous Ron Paul "Professionals"

For four years the disparate elements outlined in Train Wreck#1, though shrinking (as noted therein), held together waiting for a Washington State Ron Paul Campaign. Before the Republican National Convention in 2008, in fact, even before the close of the Washington State Convention, leaders of the 2008 grassroots campaign began preparing to win in 2012,  but we couldn’t overcome the national “Professionals” or their local proxies.

For four years the national “Professionals”  would create, then control The “Compromise for Liberty.” Then the 2012 presidential “Campaign” not only ignored the organization necessary for a successful Paul campaign, but actively prevented it, by  instead laboring to turn Paul’s supporters into a cash cow. That this was, to them, more important than a Paul victory is no longer debatable. I will tell that story. It is, in fact, still unfolding to the ultimate detriment of the movement spawned by Paul.

In Nebraska for instance,  a state Paul could and should have taken, his supporters were led like lambs to the slaughter. While using the opportunities in Nebraska for fund-raising, the “Professionals” abandoned the grassroots, abandoned the process and Ron Paul declined an opportunity to address the convention. Days before the Nebraska GOP Convention, Paul announced his virtual surrender of the nomination in a national email and his State Delegates did not even turn out. Who could blame them?

And what Romney representative, in their right mind, would seriously offer anything of substance in National Convention negotiations to secure the formal surrender of such a force, already delivered in transparent declarations, in advance,  to the Romney column by their own national “leaders”? Paul’s interests were purchased very cheaply.

The Official Paul representatives in Washington State, with the notable and heroic (though outnumbered) exception of Alex Rion, began with incompetence in 2008, and proceeded to obstruction of the movement in 2009 and 2010 and 2011.

Those same forces, even while obstructing good and sincere national staffers that were here, on a revolving door basis, finally descended in the end to full and active capitulation in 2012, doing more damage than any external force possibly could have. At the 2012 Washington State Republican Convention Paul leadership was  literally taking their instructions from and  for the Romney team.

I did not and do not know the degree to which Ron Paul,  himself, set this course. It has been alleged that he never intended to win the Presidency but wanted, instead, the things that could come from the appearance of a real Presidential campaign: money, the ascendency of his son, a pulpit from which to preach his ideas, etc. Such an act would be a scam perpetrated on his followers, many of whom sacrificed deeply ~ and specifically ~ to make him President. The campaign, moreover, frequently told supporters, “We’re in it to win it.”
They were not. But I do not believe Paul was personally part of any scam.

But did he not know the damage his “Professionals” were doing (and still doing today) by preventing organizing within the Republican Party, by opposing the actions necessary to win the nomination? I believe the evidence is that he did not. But if he did not, his recent actions stabbing Paul Festival in the back make  it clear that he and the grassroots movement have both been betrayed by those who inserted themselves between Paul and his supporters for their own gain.

The organizers of Paul Festival, like the organizers of NWFreedomFest, made significant financial commitments, did the extensive work to give Ron Paul a massive audience in a major venue, without charge to the campaign  and could not get the national campaign to even respond to their constant requests for Ron Paul’s appearance. Then, with all their commitments made, The Paul Campaign not only snubbed their event, but scheduled a competing one (at the expense of other Paul supporters when they had a better venue for FREE) that could not possibly have the same impact, and publicized it. Putting Paul, at his own expense, into worse venues than what was available for free from grassroots organizers turned out to be  a campaign theme of the national “Professionals.”

Here is an open letter from “P.A.U.L. Festival” organizer, Tacy Diaz, to the chief culprit, National Campaign “Professional” Jesse Benton:

Dear Jesse Benton,

My name is Tracy Diaz. I am one of the organizers of “P.A.U.L. Festival”. I, along with thousands of other grassroots supporters, champion the cause of liberty. There is a great divide in our movement, and I have spent the better part of the last few months trying to bridge that divide.

All of us who organized the festival did. And while we took beatings from all sides, we still forged ahead knowing that this event was very important- it needed to be the springboard for the message to move forward.

It needed to be a place where great minds could come together and motivate, and continue our work, even after it became obvious to us that Ron Paul would not be the Republican nominee for President. So, that is what we did.

We assembled a “who’s who” of the liberty movement- musical acts, speakers, vendors. You name someone, they were most likely there. Well, everyone that is, except those you got your hands on. And interestingly enough, it appears even some you did get your hands on.

Jesse Benton, it seems you have done everything in your power to try to get this celebration to fail! And I can only wonder why? After some thought, I have my answer.You see Jesse, while you were busy using your father-in-laws presidential run to further your career, those of us you refer to as “fringe” were donating to pay your salary.

While you ostracized us and pushed us aside, the “fringe” out here were organizing sign waves, and GOTV education campaigns. The same way we did it in 2008. The same way we did it before we had your “help”. On our OWN.

While you were busy working to make sure you had a nice big house to live in, we were sacrificing our paychecks to travel to rally’s and speeches, and make super brochures and run for local office— all of our hopes hanging on the chance that we could have liberty in the White House and save our country.

All of our hopes hanging on the chance that Ron Paul could be president. We didn’t do this so we would have a job after November, we did it so that we could have our FUTURE. We didn’t do it so we could position ourselves for our next campaign, we did it so that our children could grow up in a free America.

You must know the platform by now, right?I brushed a lot that I have heard about you aside, but this is just a blatant smack in our collective faces. A light bulb went off recently, and now it has gotten brighter. YOU SIR are the reason for the divide.

You, and your “Republican” strategy, and the turning up of your nose at people who don’t look the way you want them to, and question the government at every turn. YOU are the reason.

You see, while you continue to play your party politics, and compromise OUR ideals over and over and over again to suit YOU, WE won’t compromise a THING. We are done compromising. We are done playing the game. We are not going anywhere, and you can NOT stop us.

If anything, you have at least now unwittingly proven your true colors. The message of liberty will live on, the two party paradigm can, and will, come to an end, and we will succeed. We will be stronger than ever now.

We are FIERCE, there are many of us, and we don’t need you and your stuffy suit, and nasty attitude. We will happily wear our t-shirts, and sandals, and continue the work the needs to be continued.

We aren’t doing it for you or your career Mr. Benton, we are doing it to save our country.We will not be disappointed, for you have just made our job easier and shown us exactly what type of a person you are and what your goal has been the entire time.

You have just tarred and feathered yourself sir, and I am glad you did it. It just makes us that much more credible, because we have been saying it all along. We are not the “fringe” Mr. Benton.

We are the many, and the strong, with liberty in our hearts, and our country to save. We are the “Ragamuffins” Mr. Benton, and we are NEVER going to “go away”. I stand with the “Ragamuffins”. For we are the REAL grassroots.

Sincerely,

Tracy Diaz

Paul Was

I believe that retiring statesman Ron Paul was, first and foremost, an economic expert, truly unique among Congressional peers, who at repeated political sacrifice, refused to violate the Constitution for any purpose. He understood in great detail the essential dependence of our prosperity on Constitutional government and also the degree to which we have departed Constitutional governance. It is that Constitutional framework that would protect our legitimate liberty and that liberty that is the wellspring of our prosperity. A President with Ron Paul’s convictions and commitments, that could unite America’s disparate political elements around Constitutional liberty, could restore America now.

Paul Wasn’t

I do not believe that Ron Paul had or has any idea how to lead or organize a grassroots movement such as the one that ~ simply because of who he is ~ grew up around his Presidential candidacy. He has been dependent on others to do that, chose compromising “leaders” with experience in other venues, and has been betrayed by them.

I do not know which is worse, the Republican Establishment that engaged in systematic slander, parliamentary cheating, constant rules violations and illegal acts to give us consecutive counterfeits John McCain and Mitt Romney as Republican nominees, OR the little cabal of national “Professionals” who recognized the Ron Paul movement as a profit-making opportunity and were willing to sacrifice the chance at a Paul nomination for their own pocketbooks and careers.

But, Lord willing, we will tell the story.

Also see: Insider Sabotage: Did Jesse Benton Sabotage the Ron Paul Festival and 2012 Campaign as a Whole?

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