logo

Bernie Sanders will Steal the Ron Paulers - Here's Why

image
Author: Chad Peace
Created: 08 May, 2015
Updated: 21 November, 2022
3 min read

Remember those old days when Ron Paul came out of nowhere to raise over $4 million online in a single day ... twice?

Well that was 8 years ago. Before the development of Instagram. When Twitter was still a little tweet. And when "online donations" was a foreign concept to most political consultants.

And although political consultants and commentators seem to now understand the power of the Internet, they haven't quite grasped just WHY Ron Paul was so effective online.

Contrary to popular belief, Ron Paul's first presidential campaign (the one that raised a lot more money than his campaign in 2012), was not very tech savvy.

Huhhh? You might say.

In reality, it was Ron Paul's supporters who were the tech titans of the day. From Trevor Lyman, who worked on money bombs and raised enough to fly a blimp over stadiums, to Anthony Astolfi, who built the very first "Students for Ron Paul" website, to Michael Nystrom to Eric Nordstrom... these names never traveled to the big screen TV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG2PUZoukfA

This video, created by eLiberty, was one of the first videos to popularize Ron Paul on YouTube.

And on that new video sharing platform called "YouTube," eLIB3RTY jabbed at emotions while Aimee Allen belted out popular songs for the R3volution.

IVP Existence Banner

So what does this have to do with anything?

By 2012, Ron Paul went from being an extreme dark horse in the race for president to a viable candidate. And contrary to popular opinion again, he came relatively close to winning the nomination because he simply played the Republican delegate game better than anyone else -- until the GOP establishment kept changing the rules on the perilous Paulites.

Now, in 2016, his son, Rand Paul (who was "drafted" to run for Senate by his father's supporters), has more and more become a real part of mainstream politics. As a consequence, he has been more calculating and has less of an authentic anti-establishment ruse to the political passers-by.

So what's that got to do with Ron Paulers and Bernie Sanders?

The thing that political consultants, journalists, and logic don't seem to grasp is that Ron Paul did not have a fervent following because a bunch of young, tech-savvy folks believe lock-step in his libertarian philosophy. The fact of the matter is that most of them LOVED two things about Ron Paul: his authenticity and his anti-establishment appeal. He appeared to be the only candidate on the slate willing to run for the nation's highest office without bowing down to the rules of today's political game.

 

 

IVP Existence Banner

Sure, there's a lot of die-hard libertarians in the Paul camp. And there's a lot of conspiracy-loving, Alex Jones-reading R3volutionaries who will follow you through the comment sections of the Internet. But there are a hell of a lot more people, especially young folks, who just want someone who stands for serious change.

They followed the hope of Barack Obama, and nothing changed. They are refusing to register with either political party, because nothing changes. And they are recognizing that politics is not really about the players like Rand Paul or Barack Obama ... it's about the game they are willing to play.

So in an era when more Americans identify as both socialist and libertarian, what are we to take from this? It's not that they believe in the ideology -- they believe in the alternate opportunity.

Bernie Sanders, an independent who joined the Democratic Party only to run for president, appears to be the only candidate today that will run for president without playing the game.

Photo Credit: Peter Yang

Latest articles

votes
Wyoming Purges Nearly 30% of Its Voters from Registration Rolls
It is not uncommon for a state to clean out its voter rolls every couple of years -- especially to r...
27 March, 2024
-
1 min read
ballot box
The Next Big Win in Better Election Reform Could Come Where Voters Least Expect
Idaho isn't a state that gets much attention when people talk about politics in the US. However, this could change in 2024 if Idahoans for Open Primaries and their allies are successful with their proposed initiative....
21 March, 2024
-
3 min read
Courts
Why Do We Accept Partisanship in Judicial Elections?
The AP headline reads, "Ohio primary: Open seat on state supreme court could flip partisan control." This immediately should raise a red flag for voters, and not because of who may benefit but over a question too often ignored....
19 March, 2024
-
9 min read
Nick Troiano
Virtual Discussion: The Primary Solution with Unite America's Nick Troiano
In the latest virtual discussion from Open Primaries, the group's president, John Opdycke, sat down ...
19 March, 2024
-
1 min read
Sinema
Sinema's Exit Could Be Bad News for Democrats -- Here's Why
To many, the 2024 presidential primary has been like the movie Titanic - overly long and ending in a disaster we all saw coming from the start. After months of campaigning and five televised primary debates, Americans are now faced with a rematch between two candidates polling shows a majority of them didn’t want....
19 March, 2024
-
7 min read