Lawson for Congress

The Republican National Convention concluded in St. Paul this week. While I wasn’t a participant in the RNC, I did receive an invitation to attend and help out at the Campaign for Liberty’s Rally for the Republic in neighboring Minneapolis. This rally was funded by Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty, an organization that grew out of Dr. Paul’s grassroots Presidential campaign.

I had an excellent time serving as M.C. for the Ron Paul Nation Celebration, a four hour outdoor concert and rally on Monday night…

Aimee Allen

Rockie Lynne

… and had a great time talking with supporters, donors, and conservative luminaries from across the country at Tuesday’s Rally.

I credit Dr. Paul and his principled stands on economics, foreign policy, civil liberties, and Constitutional government for cutting through my decade of personal cynicism. Grassroots organizing for his Presidential campaign inspired and grew into our Congressional campaign in North Carolina’s 4th District, and it is exciting  to see a groundswell of thoughtful Americans who are deeply concerned about our future.

I must admit, though, I was initially skeptical of the Campaign for Liberty’s plan to host a rally in Minneapolis. I’ve been so focused on my district Congressional campaign that the idea of spending significant money on a two-day party across the river from the GOP seemed a bit frivolous — especially since money is so precious for grassroots campaigns.

But having seen how these two events played out, I stand corrected. The rationale for holding the Rally for the Republic was based upon the RNC’s unwillingness to admit that there are deep divisions within the party and its base, and its unwillingness to embrace Ron Paul and his diverse group of supporters.

I had a number of friends and fellow Ron Paul supporters who attended as alternate delegates, and experienced firsthand the surveillance of “Black Hat” McCain operatives, as reported in the Washington Times.

One friend in particular was followed by a “Red Hat” each time he arrived or left the floor. Frankly, that’s both pathetic and disturbing. It’s pathetic that party leadership is so punch-drunk with power that they mimic Communist China in suppressing dissent. How can we claim to be a free country, when the very essence of political expression is censored through a totalitarian party filter?

It’s disturbing, and vaguely fascist, because the GOP convention is an inherently public event. Based upon the fact that the GOP and Democratic conventions are largely funded by the U.S. taxpayer — the two “major parties” received $17 million from the FEC for their media extravaganzas — these nominating spectacles are literally public property. Financially speaking, there is no justification for the convention floor being off limits to anyone.

Don’t misunderstand me — I’ve been a Republican my entire life. But when the party of fiscal responsibility and limited government accepts $17 million of corporate welfare funded by American taxpayers, we’ve got to cry foul. If we Republicans want to treat our event like private property, we need to pay our own way.

So given the many reasons to dislike the Democratic and Republican establishments’ publicly-funded made-for-TV media spectaculars, the Rally for the Republic was a stark and refreshing contrast. Not only was it completely funded by grassroots donations, but the passion and level of dialog for the challenges facing our country far exceeded the partisan rhetoric and scripted platitudes brought forth from Denver and St. Paul.

What did McCain and Obama have to say about $57 trillion in unfunded entitlement liabilities, a foreign policy of pre-emptive war and isolation, declining civil liberties, a federal government that ignores its Constitutional role, or a year-long credit crisis that is crippling our economy and benefiting sophisticated investors while Americans lose their jobs and homes? Crickets.

Interestingly, the GOP’s downsizing the Monday convention worked to the Rally’s advantage. I had a number of media interviews with folks who were originally attending the GOP convention, and confided that they were both surprised and impressed with the turnout, passion, and enthusiasm at Rally. As an outreach event, it was an unqualified success:

As I said in several interviews, the most important result of the Campaign for Liberty’s launch has nothing to do with Dr. Paul’s presidential campaign, nor any one individual office or issue. Instead, the most important result will be when 12,000 passionate individuals committed to Constitutional government that serves the people instead of corporate interests go back to their communities to get, and stay, active.

Based upon demographics alone, the Republican party cannot survive without broadening its ranks. The GOP may have won the battle to host a convention with a united facade. But it will lose the war for long-term relevance if it does not confront the serious issues facing our nation, and engage in open, honest, and thoughtful dialog with the millions of concerned Americans who are tired of politics as usual.

Please help us end politics as usual in North Carolina’s 4th District. Make a donation today!

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 6th, 2008 at 12:38 pm and is filed under Ron Paul, campaign, good government. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.