Lucian Perkins | The Washington Post | Getty Images
Ron Paul supporters holler during the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida.
Paul’s devotees — the so-named Paulites — are now erratically strewn across the political spectrum of the 2016 election, at once attaching themselves to Trump’s populism, Ted Cruz’s conservatism and even Sanders’ socialism. Still many others who found their political voice in the utterances of Paul, a white-haired obstetrician-turned-congressman, are trying to find a place to land.
“For people who got frustrated after 2012 and [have] now left the liberty movement and activism altogether, you have to keep in mind: this is a long game,” said Norm Singleton, a longtime Paul staffer who now runs Campaign for Liberty, the ex-congressman’s grassroots nonprofit. “Dr. Paul was speaking out for liberty going back as far as 1971.”
For those seeking guidance on this presidential race, the octogenarian has provided scant direction. In numerous op-eds and cable news appearances, Paul has largely expressed just how displeased he is with the current offerings, chastising Cruz for being “owned by Goldman Sachs” and Trump for having “zero” solutions to offer. (Paul declined to speak to CNBC.com for this story, citing a busy schedule this week.)
Paul’s friends have learned better than trying to persuade him to pick the lesser of evils. Block recounts his tireless but fruitless efforts trying to persuade Paul to jump aboard the Trump Train.
“I keep saying, suppose I have a gun to your head, who would you pick? And I still don’t get an answer out of him,” Block said. “He hates them all, but that’s not good enough.”
The current state of the Paul coalition ratifies a general truism about political movements, particularly insurgent ones: They tend to go adrift without a charismatic leader at the helm. It also suggests something specific about the Paul coalition that surprised the 2012 race: its support had much more to do with Paul’s outsiderism, than his libertarianism.
The post Where are the Ron 'Paulite' libertarians in 2016? appeared first on First Financial News.