Ron Paul's low polling evidence that a constitutional republic can't be maintained?

[MsDoodahs]

Most people are stupid. But most people don't vote in the primaries. All we need is a committed minority.

I've heard this before and believe it is true:

If voting worked, it would be illegal.

 

[michaelwise]

Don't flame me on this one, but let's play devil's advocate for a moment.

I try to convince people every day about Ron Paul, but I find that the reason I can't connect with them is because they lack knowledge in a few core areas:

- History
- Geography
- Economics
- Math

History: They (my target audience) don't understand the full actions of our CIA in other countries in the past. They don't know how Iran was created, and many just quote lines about how they hate Israel and how the president denies the holocaust. They seem to think this sort of hate is created in a vacuum. They don't even know what forces led to the creation of the US. On the margin, young college voters will put us over the top

Geography: 20% of Americans can't find the US on a world map, yet several of those people have an opinion on whether we should be bombing other countries. They base their entire opinion off of what is emotionally appealing to them that comes from the mainstream media. It's no surprise that the content in the news is delivered at roughly a 4th or 5th grade level on CNN or FOX News

Economics: People do not understand how the free market works. They really believe when the government creates a program, it's "free" because the costs aren't up front. They think other "greedy" people who deserve to be ripped off are the ones who will be forced to pay. They think this is okay, but don't realize that the people who pay are them.

Math: They don't understand that all of the objectives and policing of the world costs money. If the cause is noble, they believe the money will just appear and that we should do it. They have no concrete representation of finance in their minds.

Now, given the above -- I can't sell people on Ron Paul's positions within 5-10 minutes because they have to have some pre-equisite knowledge to see why there is so much sense in Ron Paul.

At the same time, this begs the question: Can a place like the US ever maintain adherence to the constitution if the voting masses simply lack the education to understand its logic? My experience so far: it is much easier to convert college graduates to Ron Paul's position than it is people who never went to college. The further down the education spectrum I go, the more difficult it is to shake people off of what the MSM told them.

Can we really push RP without coming up with some dumbed down tag-lines that maybe rhyme or can be chanted? Perhaps Ron Paul has to be dumbed down to the point where his face is on concert t-shirts and popularized like Che Guevara or Malcolm X. I'm being serious.

You can't sell RP without people being educated or emotionally-favorable to him in some way.

On the margin, young college voters will put us over the top.

 

[rodent]

..

 

[Alabama Supporter]

Ron Paul is going to have to appeal to the masses in some way. Sooner or later he is going to really need to define his platform on a few issues. Right now he is all over the map, and I don't think it registers with the average joe.

 

[lucius]

...If voting worked, it would be illegal.

Well put!

 

[wgadget]

Alabama supporter, methinks you support Romney.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Total dollars, total percentage - name it:

* The Top 1% of taxpayers pay 29% of all taxes.
* The Top 5% of taxpayers pay 50% of all taxes.

http://www.sugisorensen.com/taxes/index.html

Well, that's the percentage...

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." - Mark Twain

Most tax evasion schemes depend on money not being counted as "income". Thus statistics based on "official income" are not accurate.

Once again, the people at the top can complain, and the people at the bottom can complain, but it's usually the honest people in the middle who really get screwed...

It will never be fair, so abolish the income tax!

 

[max]

I'm totally not surprised that you would hold this opinion.

The proof is in the pudding. Just look at what our government has become.

 

[Alabama Supporter]

Alabama supporter, methinks you support Romney.

Nope. The OP is absolutely correct. Do you realize that recent polls show 40% of the public thinks Saddam had to do with 9/11

I am not as optimistic that the sheeple will just "get it"

 

[bygone]

 

[jmunjr]

The wealthy own 80% of everything, therefore they should be paying 80% of everything.

That sounds very socialist ... It would sound better (though still not entirely reasonable) to have written "they should account for 80% of the SPENDING"...

With few exceptions, I don't think people should be forced to pay for other people's stuff..