Dear XXX,
Can you imagine how establishment Republicans will react when they watch a sea of Ron Paul supporters gather in Tampa in just a few weeks?
Perhaps you won’t have to imagine, since you’re going to be there. Or maybe you’d just like to show your support for Ron Paul and his delegates wherever you are.
The campaign store has added a special new t-shirt in anticipation of Dr. Paul’s upcoming Tampa rally – to guarantee his supporters stand out – and I wanted to make sure you saw it.
Whether or not you’ll be able to make it to the Tampa rally, this t-shirt has a LOUD-AND-CLEAR message worth sending all over the country.
Our R3VOLUTION is not over. In fact, it’s just beginning.
And I believe the Republican National Convention in Tampa – where Ron Paul delegates can have an enormous impact - will prove that.
XXX, it’s because of good folks like you that the Liberty Movement is set to lead the Republican Party in the very near future.
You and I are Ron Paul’s legacy.
And this is the movement that is finally going to restore respect for free markets, sound money, individual liberty, and a constitutional foreign policy in America.
For Liberty,
John Tate
Campaign Manager
You are going to cry or choke or both when you see the T-shirt:
RepubliCAN? How is this not a dumb attempt at co-opting the entire Ron Paul Movement and make it nothing but a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Republican establishment?
Looks to me like there will be a big market in Tampa for real creative T-shirt makers, who point out that Romney is against liberty in every way possible. Jesse Benton and John Tate seem to be stuck on trying to figure out how to make such T-shirts.
“ I’m actually gonna — I’m not familiar precisely with exactly what I said, but I stand by what I said, whatever it was. I’ll go back and take a look at what was said there. ”--Mitt Romney
I don't think this shirt is particularly nefarious or offensive. When approaching people who we aren't familiar, my brother and I refer to ourselves as "Ron Paul Republicans".
ReplyDeleteI think this shirt is just tapping into that sort of association. Don't get me wrong, I prefer the Rothbardian society. But given where we are at this point in history, I think this is a good enough definition of general political affiliation as a means to approach others who are not familiar with freedom.
People used to refer to the "Taft Republicans", "Kennedy Democrats", etc. This is just another in a long line of subgroups and political leanings. And honestly, we are the future of the party. They just don't know it yet.
"People used to refer to the "Taft Republicans", "Kennedy Democrats", etc."
DeleteExcellent point. BTW, where are the Taft Republicans and the Kennedy Democrats these days.
The movement has been co-opted. You just don't know it yet.
Agreed. The Liberty Movement is the future of the party. I can attest to this at the local precinct level. The GOP establishment is not fighting us; it is terrified of us because it knows we are the future.
DeleteI respect anarcho-capitalists, but I cannot accept all of their conclusions.
Should be "REPUBLICAN'T - Without Ron Paul, You old guys can't win"
ReplyDeleteI love the RepubliCAN'T message, Heath. How does this work for you....
DeleteRepubliCAN'T - Don't Get Suckered Again
or for those who still vote:
RepubliCAN'T - Vote Libertarian
I just vomited when I read this. Are we sure there is not a new New World we can escape to? I haven't given Campaign for Liberty a dime in well over three years. They were constantly asking for money, and I became quite suspicious that it was lining the pockets of people like John Tate. I'm not a libertarian moocher, I know that events cost money. I'm more than willing to pay to attend. I simply think that working in the system has reached its limit. Audit the Fed will not pass the Senate. It will be forgotten if the public doesn't make life a living hell for politicians.
ReplyDeleteWe don't need political organizations to act, we need to act. There is plenty of free information on the internet if zombies want to learn and do something. I'm saddened by what has become of Ron Paul's campaign. Ron Paul still has plenty of credit with me, though. He worked hard all his life, and accomplished things no one else has. "Sadly", it is up to regular people now. People who watch professional sports as a means to an end.
That t-shirt is pathetic.
I have to disagree with your post. Ron Paul ran as a republican and thinks that is the best route to spead his ideals. It looks like just another attempt(corny perhaps) to spread Ron Paul's message at the GOP convention rather than an attempt to coopt the Ron Paul movement.
ReplyDeleteNope,
DeleteRP made it VERY clear that he was a Republican out of necessity. The current G.O.P. (except for the kids out in the grassroots) is antithetical to anything and EVERYTHING that Ron Paul stands for.
The real message for RP Republicans should be "I'm a Ron Paul Republican because everyone ignores the Libertarian Party".
RP being a republican out of necessity sounds a lot like what I said "...best rout to spread his ideals." This strategy of his has worked and opened the minds of many republicans and non-republicans alike. And as bad as the GOP are, the libertarian party isn't doing a whole lot better. Look who they have nominated for president in the recent past. I do hate to see RP's name being used with the republican banner, I would prefer to see it associated with ideals rather than parties, but politics is all about parties and that is what has given RP a platform. Instead of being parinoid about the GOP coopting the ron paul movement or worrying about party names we need to continue to spread libertarian ideals throughout the GOP.
DeleteOh man...
ReplyDeleteThat is one terrible shirt. Republicans have done everything possible to squash the Paulians, and the campaign is putting the name on a shirt ?!?!
We're slowly watching radicalism melt away...both with Rand, who I keep reading is going to 'inherit' the Ron Paulians, and then campaign garbage like this.
Ron Paul has been a product since the end of the 2008 campaign. It's sad, but that's what happens when you compromise principles to achieve some greater end.
ReplyDeleteMore money for Benton, Tate and the rest of the consultants. They live fat off the devoted. Ron Paul (knowingly or not) enables this.
Rest in peace liberty. Next on the ticket... RP to endorse Romney?
ReplyDeleteAnCap and proud. The only state is no state.
Suckers.......
ReplyDeleteOnce again the headline isn't justified by the actual content of the article. It's a T-shirt for the REPUBLICAN convention. It isn't promoting a new slogan for the movement. It's a warning and a promise to all the other delegates to the convention. We are the future, and we will be back. Get used to it.
ReplyDeleteI like it. It's really "in your face." The Ron Paul people in Tampa will go home where they will take their place as precinct captains, ward leaders and even county and state chairmen, and they will keep moving up the ladder. It's called the "grass roots" and it's growing.
Well said!!
DeleteAs Mr. Creosote might say, "Get me a bucket."
ReplyDeleteI think that some people are so far out of touch with reality, it's very distressing to watch. The Paulians - that is, the REAL Paulians - need to realize the truth that the Republican Party is not your friend.
This is just sad.
“ I’m actually gonna — I’m not familiar precisely with exactly what I said, but I stand by what I said, whatever it was. I’ll go back and take a look at what was said there. ”--Mitt Romney
ReplyDeleteSomehow you have the feeling that God is watching all this, shaking his head, and thinking: You know, I shoulda quit with the monkey. Cute, smart, able to take care of itself, no war, hatred, greed - good work - that.
Big mistake with the upgrade to man. The system is buggy - keeps crashing - and it has some kind of malevolent virus that infects everything it comes in contact with. And this co-creator thing just isn't workin' out, self determination's a bust, and as for intelligence - sheesh.
Damn, guess I'm gonna have to reformat, write a new operating system, and start from scratch...
LOL - CUTE!!
DeleteYes, please Creator. Give us Human 2.0, complete with an anti stupid virus!
DeleteYou give us too much credit. Monkey's throw their poo and sometimes war on each other pretty violently. Usually by ripping each other apart and eating what's left. Sounds pretty similar to most of our society to me.
DeleteFor all we know we weren't the "upgrade", we just happened to make it out of the jungle because our brains were larger...but the root manifestations of monkey behavior are all still there in the background guiding us despite our 'intelligence'.
Someone sell these for $25 at the convention. Nice profit. Nice "go to hell" (or worse) to the Republicans.
ReplyDeletehttp://mises.org/store/Murray-Rothbard-T-Shirt-Black-P217.aspx
If Dr.Paul endorses Mitt witt then every thing that man has ever said or wrote will hve been done for nothing and most all of his supporters will be devastated. the campaign for liberty has been hijacked by tate and benton. and after hearing Bruce Fien talk on Jerry Doyle show yesterday and there is no way in hell Dr.Paul will ever endorse mitt shit.
ReplyDeleteI will eat my shirt if Ron Paul ever endorses Mitt Romney. I am 98% sure that he will never do so.
DeleteThree words....Tacky NASCAR Teaparty.
ReplyDeleteI showed the t shirt to my girlfriend and her response was, "I thought he was a libertarian. I know he ran as a republican but I thought that was just because third parties don't have a chance."
ReplyDeleteMarry that girl, dude.
DeleteI may be ridiculed as an apologist, but so be it. I tend to think that this may be one last attempt to show the size and scope of the liberty movement. It's sort of a message to the Republican Establishment that this is your last chance to bring us in. The more scope/size that is visible to the establishment the bigger the message. Plus the number of establishment voters in the Republican party is shrinking as they get old and die off, so being the bigger men/women we can throw them this last life line before we completely give up on them.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to be brought in by republicans. I want republicans to become libertarians.
DeleteI refuse (and have refused for some time now) to offer any more of my FRNs to the Paul campaign. I still love the man, respect his intellect and ideas, but his campaign is a joke and all the upper-crust of which has betrayed the Paul "base" at nearly every turn.
ReplyDeleteThat "Who is Jesse Benton" document on scribd was very interesting...and I'm sure the rest of the staff is equally insalubrious.
The rEVOLution continues. To hell with the wannabe-bigshots and sellouts.
"Who is Jesse Benton" document on scribd
DeleteVery interesting read!
To hell with the Republicans. I've spent the last 34 years as a registered republican and I'm fed up. Without Ron Paul, I hope they lose this election (it won't matter) and I hope it destroys the pack of despicable liars. Ron Paul is the last man I will vote for.
ReplyDeleteMore like Republicunts. Who would vote for Mitt Romney, the elitist jerk RINO?
ReplyDeleteScrew Tate and Benton. They're opportunists who have profited from Ron's message and the man himself. I actually delete campaign emails now before reading them. I wish I'd opened this one b/c the shirt is worth the laugh.
ReplyDeleteHe's not co-opting Paulians for the Republicans, he's co-opting Republicans for the Paulians.
ReplyDeleteA better convention t-shirt for Ron Paul supporters:
ReplyDeleteI'm for Ron Paul because I'm UN-conventional!
Hero worship produces blindness.
ReplyDeleteWhen something is being marketed heavily, ask yourself why. Who's doing it, what's in it for the seller, and what's in it for you?
Commodifying ideas turns them into slogans.
If you want a t-shirt saying "hope," "change," "revolution", stick with this. T-shirts are cute. Get a V for Vendetta mask while you're at it...
If you want the real thing, stop playing kids' games..like "follow the leader" and "Simon sez."
Like they say on a current TV show: "And for that reason, I'M OUT!"
ReplyDeleteSell out much? Really vile. I don't know if I have ever before been as grievously disappointed in my life, as I am by your fleecing of supporters. Seriously, this is beyond disgusting. We did not take part in this Revolution to tacitly endorse Romney, in hopes of lining Benton's pockets & securing a political future for Rand. Shame on you Dr. Paul.
ReplyDeleteGary Johnson 2012.
Gary Johnson 2012? you might have had a point up to that moment.
DeleteAny reasonable constitution would forbid the naming of parties on ballots. And "states" or "localities" that name parties, by the same token, would be forbidden from being seated in the national legislature.
ReplyDeleteIf that broke up the country, so much the better.