Principles before Party, always.
Today, July 7th, is the
second anniversary of the launching of Blue Republican. This non-partisan organization emerged from
its founding to be a driving force in winning multiple county primaries and caucuses
for Ron Paul. How did they do this? Quite easily: they reached out to voters on
the left of the spectrum, moving them with Ron Paul’s message of peace,
tolerance, and the beauty that’s possible in a libertarian society. These voters were willing to register
Republican to vote for Ron Paul.
Rarely has one man ever inspired people
to completely cross the political spectrum, motivated by exciting new
ideas. Nonetheless, this is what Ron
Paul accomplished. Even in its infancy,
the Blue Republican organization played a valuable part in the 2012 campaign
cycle. Unfortunately, Dr. Paul didn’t
win the Republican nomination, but he did succeed in permanently injecting pillars
of libertarianism into the Republican Party and in changing the course of the
national dialogue.
Among the people advocating for the
changes urged by Ron Paul—lower taxes, integrity of civil liberties, an end to government-corporate
cronyism, and a humble foreign policy—was one tireless activist, Robin
Koerner. A writer by trade, his work
featured in the Huffington Post, Koerner exemplifies the American Dream in
progress. Born and raised in the United
Kingdom, Koerner is currently a legal resident living in Seattle. He’s not a U.S. citizen and cannot yet vote,
but he’s sure as hell displayed more patriotism than your average
born-in-the-USA John Doe.
Most of us are American patriots by
circumstance; we were born in this country, were taught the Pledge of
Allegiance and the obligatory patriotic songs in elementary school, and grew up
learning to love America. It’s the
immigrant who redefines patriotism, as the immigrant consciously chooses to
come to this country, to live here, and learns to love America and its ways. Most of us are Americans by luck; Koerner is
an American by choice and by action.
Furthermore, Koerner doesn’t consign himself to the typical behavior of
the American voter: watching MSNBC or Fox News to be told by demagogues what to
think, deciding which candidate looks better on TV, and then voting. Koerner, while himself unable to vote,
remains involved and gets out the vote. When I’m not mercilessly teasing this limey with
Revolutionary War jokes, it’s an honor to work with Robin Koerner in Blue
Republican.
Today, Blue Republican is experiencing a
renaissance. New chapters are forming
nationwide, including my native California.
California will perhaps be among the most vital states in this
organization. We realize California is a
solid blue state, but this could be turned to our advantage in the 2014 midterm
elections and especially the 2016 presidential election. We would love to bring as many Blue State
voters into our organization as possible.
They’d be joining the Republican Party, but would identify chiefly with
the libertarian faction and not the voter-fraud warlords in the RNC.
California has many independents, moderate
Democrats, and disillusioned liberals unhappy with the Democrat Party. For example, let’s take the gay community (all
of whom are most welcome into the GOP
and the liberty movement through Blue Republican). For decades, the Democrat Party has had a
solid majority in both houses of the state legislature. If they truly gave a damn about the gay
community, gay marriage would have been fully legalized in California years
ago.
Let’s also approach the War on
Drugs. Most Blue Republicans stalwartly
believe that marijuana should be legalized on a state-by-state basis per the 10th
Amendment. We believe no one should be
jailed for having marijuana, much less giving a puff to a friend (this is
legally considered to be “distribution”), and that other drugs should be
decriminalized and regulated just like alcohol.
Most Democrats profess to believe this too. However, if the Democrats truly gave a damn
about the many blacks, Hispanics, and working-class whites rotting away in
prison for drug offenses, they would have fully legalized marijuana—like Washington
and Colorado—and decriminalized other drugs.
Yet to this day, two consenting adults are told they can’t be fully
married (even though it was none of the government’s business in the first
place), and our economically disadvantaged brothers and sisters continue to be
sentenced to prison for drugs.
To add insult to injury, the Democrat
Party tells these victims not to blame the party in power, but to blame the “backward
hicks” from the other party that isn’t in power in California.
On the national level, the Obama
Administration continues the Afghanistan War and the War on Drugs. Even Democrat idol Hillary Clinton still
stands by her decision to support the invasion of Iraq, supports continuing the
Afghanistan War, supported intervention in Libya, and today supports
intervening on behalf of the Syrian rebels (despite their ranks being rampant
with jihadists).
Many Americans on the left of the
spectrum see this, and they are so incredibly frustrated at knowing they’ve
been strung along by their party. They’re
willing to give the libertarian faction of the GOP a try. They’re willing to join us in supporting
candidates who are against unconstitutional war, against crony capitalism and
corporate bailouts, against the Orwellian NSA spying on law-abiding citizens,
and against sending people to prison for marijuana.
Many are willing to join us for one year
in 2014 to see what we can accomplish together.
Many more will be willing to join us in 2016. Everyone reading this is also invited to join
us, to become one of us. Be a Blue
Republican for one year and see what we’re able to accomplish when we stand united.
* * *
For more information on Blue Republican, visit www.BlueRepublican.org
To connect with the national organization, visit the Blue Republican Facebook page
Connect with Blue Republican in California at www.facebook.com/BlueRepublicanCalifornia
Also, follow us on Twitter @Blue_Rep_CA
Help us celebrate BR's 2nd birthday by getting at least 2 friends to Like the national fan page and the California fan page!
No comments:
Post a Comment