The Truth Shall Set the GOP Free

Congressman Ron Paul’s spirited exchange with Rudy Giuliani has been the hot topic of the second GOP presidential debate aired from Tuesday night. In case you missed it, Paul suggested that one of the numerous reasons that the United States was attacked on September 11, 2001 was because of America’s seemingly endless intervention into the affairs of other nations.

Giuliani took exception to this particular statement, and in an angry huff, demanded to respond the Paul’s assertion. What followed was that the man dubbed as “America’s Mayor” referred to himself as something to the tune of a “9-11 survivor,” and acted as if Paul had committed an act of treason by suggesting that American policies need to be reevaluated.  Giuliani also intimated that Congressman Paul lacks patriotism, and should retract his statement. Paul did not, and instead went on the attack to suggest that Giuliani try reading the 9-11 Commission Report, Paul’s source for his comments.

Not at any point did Paul suggest that America was to blame for 9-11, but rather suggested that our policies may have helped contribute to said attack, but don’t try explaining this to “America’s Mayor.”

The reaction to Ron Paul’s truth-telling has been incredible. He went on to tie Mitt Romney to win the Fox News “text message” poll and finished second on the Foxnews.com tamper-proof online poll following the debate. The response? Befuddled pundit Laura Ingraham said the next day on Hannity and Colmes that Paul’s victory must have been a result of “liberal Democrats” voting for him in droves.

Even more ludicrous was the Associated Press report on Thursday noting that Michigan GOP Chair and obvious junior high civics class drop out Saul Anuzis said that he “will circulate a petition among RNC members to ban Paul from more debates.” The reason? According to Anuzis, Paul is a “distraction in the Republican primary and he does not represent the base and he does not represent the party.”

This exchange on Tuesday and the post-debate Paul bashing further illustrated why Republicans ought to nominate Congressman Ron Paul for President of the United States.

Ron Paul ought to be the Republican nominee for the sole reason that he speaks the truth. Ron Paul speaks the truth about the need to withdraw from the United Nations to save American sovereignty. He speaks the truth about returning to the states the power originally granted to them. He daringly suggested in Tuesday’s debate that we finally carry out Ronald Reagan’s dream to close down the U.S. Department of Education. He also noted that the Department of Homeland Security was an ill-conceived bureaucratic boondoggle from day one, which attempted to organize a messy bureaucracy with a thicker layer of the same.

Nominating Ron Paul would mean nominating a candidate who will speak the truth, who will rely on the Constitution rather than focus groups, who will put American interests ahead of those of the so-called “world community.” He will defend the borders, send home the illegals, and respect the rule of law. Most importantly, I am convinced that President Ron Paul will not betray the trust of the public.

While this Republican field has some impressive candidates such as Congressman Tancredo, Governor Tommy Thompson, Governor Huckabee, Congressman Hunter, and Governor Romney, none of them appear to be willing to truly address the growing threat of corporate and public welfare in America. None of them seem to understand Paul’s basic point that we must acknowledge that the role of the government is to defend liberty for Americans rather than serving as the world’s policeman.

Freedom activists around the country also understand the need to nominate Ron Paul. Russ Diamond, the organizer and founder of the wildly successful PA Clean Sweep Project that sought to activate, recruit, and train candidates to challenge entrenched incumbents in Pennsylvania last year has also endorsed Paul for these very reasons.

“For two years we have been convincing citizens in Pennsylvania to get back to the basics of our state Constitution. Thankfully, Ron Paul is doing the same thing at the federal level,” says Diamond. “From the enthusiastic response I’ve seen so far, his limited government, no nonsense constitutional approach is calling Americans home like a modern day Liberty Bell.”

I hope that the Saul Anuzis within the Republican Party fail miserably in their efforts to ban Ron Paul, the voice of reason in this party, from participating in future debates. If Anuzis is successful, the losers will be the voters who will be denied the opportunity to hear the most articulate candidate who best represents the conservative, small government, pro-freedom message. Ron Paul deserves not castigation, but instead nomination, as our future and our freedom depend upon it.

Nathan Shrader is a Republican Committeeman in Pennsylvania, where he will work to spread the Ron Paul message to his fellow Republicans. He can be reached at nathanrshrader@yahoo.com.

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