Ron’s book and candidacy is important for another reason: his supporters — many new to political action — are joining GOP clubs and RECs across the country in large numbers. This is certain to color the party and the new book gives the expanded libertarian faction of the GOP a shared program. Hence, it will be a very infuential book.
For those who react so negatively to Paul’s non-interventionist message, I would point out that Paul’s purity is unlikely to translate into policy, something that rarely if ever happens in politics. On the contrary, his purity inspires activists who — at best — can achieve partial victory. That is, the Paul brigades offer in reality not a principled non-interventionism, but a more restrained foreign policy — something that is appealing to a far wider group of people, maybe even most Republicans.
A GOP with a message of individual liberty, lower taxes, less government and a more restrained foreign policy is a winner. This watered down Paulism is sure to transform the party to some extent. Time will tell how much.
