The Highest Form of Flattery

Here's a nice bit of confirmation that Ron Paul is making appropriate waves in the Republican Primary. The head of the Michigan GOP is moving to not invite him to the next debate. Considering that Ron Paul came in first in the early text-messaging polls - ahead (but only barely) of Mitt Romney and (much more convincingly) Rudi Giuliani, this amounts to banning him. And indeed, the chair is making no secret of that:

"I think he would have felt much more comfortable on the stage with the Democrats in what he said last night. And I think that he is a distraction in the Republican primary and he does not represent the base and he does not represent the party," Anuzis said during an RNC state leadership meeting.

Well, well. If that's the kind of reaction Paul's comments provoke, and if it shoots him to the top of the viewer's polls (on Fox, no less) besides, I'd say he's doing the country a great service - by reminding the GOP leadership that their base is a lot more libertarian-minded than its managers. The neocons are NOT the party (thank God!).

One commenter on Samizdata some time ago suggested that 2008 would be the year of another Reagan Revolution. I agree - simply because (a) I have a hunch that the Republicans will win but at the same time (b) none of the odds-on favorites are worth a damn, and everyone knows it. The Democrats are all complete jokes - I just can't see the American People voting in an Obama or a(nother) Clinton. So a dark horse Republican candidate seems likely - and I expect one of fairly Libertarian stripe. 2008 could be a great year for the country after all.

The one problem with Ron Paul is that he just doesn't seem presidential to me. He doesn't have Reagan's easy confidence; he's too whiny and defensive. But his ideas are spot-on, and he's definitely got my vote if he gets the nomination. For now, though, it's fun to watch him shaking up the neocon monopoly a bit. That's a thing that sorely needed doing, so hats off to Paul for grabbing the bull by the horns (and especially for showing that fascist Giuliani the door...).