Trojan Donkeys Gallop for Ron Paul

A Brit wants to lead former Obama fans over to the Republicans in the hope that Ron Paul can succeed where President Obama failed.

Ironically, a donkey — the symbol of the Democratic Party — is chosen to serve as the symbol for America’s values conservatives. At least that’s the hope of a growing number of Democrats who want to see Ron Paul, the godfather of libertarianism, nominated by the Republicans to oppose Obama next year. Should that happen, they intend to support Paul in the general election.

The start of the latest about-face in the race for the presidency came from The Huffington Post, a source not normally associated with conservatism. Robin Koerner, a British citizen living in Seattle, posted an article there as he often does, most of which receive little feedback. That is, until Koerner, a news blogger by trade, published an article on July 7 that could well alter the course of the Republican campaign. At least to some extent.

Paul, the Messenger of Peace

Koerner wrote, “If You Love Peace, Become a ‘Blue Republican’ (Just for a Year).” Decoded, that means anyone who considers himself a Democrat but is disappointed by Obama’s performance should don the red Republican cloak — at least until election day — and help Ron Paul, the perennial outlaw, win the Republican nomination.

Koerner is certain Obama will be voted out of office next year if Paul runs. The president on whom an entire generation was counting has generally failed to deliver on his election promises and has thus forfeited his halo. He neither ended the wars as promised, nor has he restored the civil rights taken away by the Bush administration. In addition, Obama has emerged as hostile to markets, as shown by his support for big businesses, providing them bailouts in the wake of the financial meltdown.

“Obama has not delivered. … In these respects, they wanted Obama to be the anti-Bush. Obama has largely extended Bush’s policies,” Koerner told der Standard. Koerner thinks if a Republican wins the White House then the best choice would be Ron Paul: “So a principled Democrat should support Paul to get done what they wanted Obama to do.”

Via the Internet, Koerner — who is himself ineligible to vote in the “land of unlimited opportunities” — explains how to go about doing this to a rapidly growing fan base. And above all, what a change of political party can accomplish. The “Blue Republicans” have almost 7,500 fans on Facebook, but Koerner says the target group is actually much larger. It is comprised of every American who has had enough of America’s military ventures and of a government they feel is too involved in the private lives of citizens.

Obama, the Failure

Koerner says, “Ron Paul has a record like no other American politician. He has 30 years of absolutely consistent votes and interviews. Ron Paul’s entire political philosophy is based on a libertarian conception of non-aggression.” Koerner is certain that if Paul becomes president, he would end the wars immediately.

Many of Paul’s supporters think that can only become reality with the support of progressive Democrats and a grassroots movement. In that regard, the two most significant fringe phenomena in recent history — the fundamentalist tea party movement and the anti-capitalist occupy movement — have a few things in common: a deep mistrust of government, a contempt for wars waged in foreign countries and an emphasis on individual liberties and freedoms.

“Americans feel at some level that Left AND Right have BOTH gotten us to our current political and economic crisis,” Koerner said, and then continued, “But the word “libertarian“ has a bad branding problem. I certainly did hope that by suggesting a re-brand, I could give many people permission to break out of their current political box (e.g. Democrat) and identify with one that suits them better.”

In states such as California, New York and Florida where primary elections take place, the Blue Republicans will find making progress fairly difficult. The established candidates are too strongly entrenched there. But in a caucus system where voting takes place precinct by precinct as in Iowa, their prospects improve.

Koerner says, “Currently, the media are pretending Ron Paul is not for real. A success in Iowa may change that overnight. Once the media start doing him more justice, the game changes for the better. And I think a win or strong second in Iowa is a real possibility. If Paul wins 20,000 more votes in Iowa than he did in 2008, the boost to his campaign will be huge. Let’s say half of them might be Blue Republicans (people newly registering Republican specifically to vote for Ron Paul). That means we can start to change the USA with 10,000 Blue Republicans in Iowa.”

That’s how the blue donkey wearing the red cloak may prove to be a Trojan Ron Paul for the Republicans.