I disagree fervently. Those things are important, but at the end of the day if a government wants to take away your liberties it won't matter how many activists you have. The only way to keep government honest is to keep honest people in government. The only way to do that is to have them run.
You're putting the cart before the horse. When the US invaded Iraq, what was the plan? Invade Iraq, take out Saddam, then figure out what to do next. No, they were supposed to figure out what they wanted to replace Saddam with first, before the attack began. First you decide on an alternative or at the very least develop the groundwork for that alternative to the government program, and only then do you work to actually sever the program.
First you develop an at least slightly tested alternative to the US Dollar, then you end the Fed. While Paul can point to the past where programs have worked, it makes much more sense for him to be able to something that works better immediately and in the present. By first developing the alternatives, it is an easy sell once in office.
First establish viable charity programs, then end socialist welfare programs. After the alternatives are created, then political office becomes important, but only afterwards. Thats why I'm saying that creating the alternatives is more important than running for office.
I don't consider the number of activists to even be relevant, and I don't even call myself an activist or "have" any activists. Whats relevant to me is what government programs have realistic alternatives that are provable to be ready for action *when* the government collapses.
When the Nashua Telegraph visited the 2012 Liberty Forum, what did the reporter find interest in? The weapons table and the alternative currency table for the most part. People like alternatives they can see and feel before they get on board with the cause.
Ron Paul is getting more people on board for liberty and doing more than anybody else because he is an office holder, but I think at the big picture level the more important roles are people like Bernard Von Nothaus, founder of the Liberty Dollar, who lay the groundwork for our everyday lives in the future. After the US collapses, that will be when friendly people in office is one of the most important things because all the necessary prep work to prove the solutions to be implemented should by done and in working order by that point. All the liberty candidates will have to do is point a finger and say, "Hey, this stupid socialist government fails just as predicted, and these alternative over here that you can see, touch, feel, and EAT, are PROVEN to work, so lets go to what we know works now and immediately instead of living in Failville for the rest of our lives". Its a lot more powerful than simply saying "Social Security should be privatized now that it has gone bankrupt and libertarian ideas will work great."
