The Four Horsemen of the Liberty Movement (Going Forward)

[mz10]

After watching the rally today, I think the question of who will be the leaders of our movement going forward has been answered. The speeches we heard earlier made it abundantly clear. It is imperative that, with Dr. Paul retiring, we get behind these men and recognize them as the recipients of the proverbial torch. The Four Horsemen of the Liberty Movement.

Senator Rand Paul



It's time to get past the petty disputes and recognize that this man has a very legitimate chance at being our next president, and see how incredible of a step forward that would be for us. The footholds he has made, the political strength he has gained while still carrying forward the message of liberty is quite frankly amazing, and he continues to prove himself a worthy successor to his legendary father.

Congressman Justin Amash



He represents the youth of the movement, being the second-youngest member of Congress, and will be the foremost member of the liberty wing of the House of Representatives upon Dr. Paul's retirement. His record is virtually unblemished, his openness and transparency admirable, and like Dr. Paul, he has shown a courageous willingness to speak truth to power. He truly is a rising star.

State Sen. Tom Davis



This is, bar none, our top priority for 2014. Getting Tom Davis elected over Lindsey Graham is imperative, assuming he does choose to run. He is easily the best orator in the movement, and his fiery defense of the principles of liberty will be very effective in spreading the message to the masses. Tom is only a state senator now, but anyone with a pair of eyes can see that he is on his way up.

Thomas Massie



Although he did not speak at the rally, and although he is not a nationally elected official yet, he is a virtual shoo-in for November, and he is the embodiment of the ideal liberty candidate. He becomes a particularly important player if/when Rand runs in 2016, since he could be his successor in the Senate. For the time being though, he will be Amash's partner in crime in the House and a leading figure in the Liberty Wing of the party.

 

[economics102]

I think that's about right.

It's important not to forget, though, that we can't succeed solely on the backs of liberty candidates. A crucial component is going to be the conservative, quasi-libertarian allies, people like Mike Lee, Jim DeMint, etc. Strategically, we need more of them too, and in theory they are easier to elect.

We need Washington to be a tug of war between conservatives and libertarians instead of authoritarian corporatist Republicans and authoritarian corporatist Democrats.

 

[Bastiat's The Law]

We have a good farm team coming up. Don't forget about Bentivolio, Chris Hightower, and Glen "Gunny" Bradley.

 

[Bastiat's The Law]

I think that's about right.

It's important not to forget, though, that we can't succeed solely on the backs of liberty candidates. A crucial component is going to be the conservative, quasi-libertarian allies, people like Mike Lee, Jim DeMint, etc. Strategically, we need more of them too, and in theory they are easier to elect.

We need Washington to be a tug of war between conservatives and libertarians instead of authoritarian corporatist Republicans and authoritarian corporatist Democrats.

Definitely need to build coalitions and working in areas of agreement instead of pulling knives and going at each other. Especially, with people like Mike Lee who agrees with us on 95% of the issues and Demint who agrees with 70%

 

[July]

Definitely need to build coalitions and working in areas of agreement instead of pulling knives and going at each other. Especially, with people like Mike Lee who agrees with us on 95% of the issues and Demint who agrees with 70%

Mike Lee and Jim DeMint are going to be at LPAC this year.

 

[July]

After watching the rally today, I think the question of who will be the leaders of our movement going forward has been answered. The speeches we heard earlier made it abundantly clear. It is imperative that, with Dr. Paul retiring, we get behind these men and recognize them as the recipients of the proverbial torch.

They chose good clips of Rand for the tribute video, that was shown right before Carol and the Paul family came out. I think that was meant to remind us of who Rand is and the positive things he has done so far, in response to some of the recent controversy.

 

[Sematary]

They chose good clips of Rand for the tribute video, that was shown right before Carol and the Paul family came out. I think that was meant to remind us of who Rand is and the positive things he has done so far, in response to some of the recent controversy.

All you have to do is watch him in action in the Senate to know where his beliefs are. I was angry about the endorsement but I will support him in 2016 if that opportunity arises.

 

[Bastiat's The Law]

All you have to do is watch him in action in the Senate to know where his beliefs are. I was angry about the endorsement but I will support him in 2016 if that opportunity arises.

In the meantime we got Tom Davis gunning for Lindsey Graham...that warms my heart

 

[Shane Harris]

In the meantime we got Tom Davis gunning for Lindsey Graham...that warms my heart

mine too. most exciting news coming out of the rally by far

 

[deadfish]

Too bad Thomas Massie wasn't there... these four are the Liberty dream team.

 

[dancjm]

Wouldn't the Re-Founding Fathers be better?

Four Horsemen has some negative connotations.

 

[Bastiat's The Law]

Too bad Thomas Massie wasn't there... these four are the Liberty dream team.

The truly remarkable thing is that they will help other liberty candidates climb the ladder and will have a snowball effect. No one person could ever replace Ron, but a couple hundred of us in Congress could each do their part to fill those very large shoes.

 

[Bastiat's The Law]

Too bad Thomas Massie wasn't there... these four are the Liberty dream team.

That would've been great to have him speak and introduce him to the crowd and nationally tv. It will be awesome to see Massie and Bentivolio serve with Ron if they get sent to Congress early.

 

[G-Wohl]

What about two-term Governor Gary Johnson?

 

[Keith and stuff]

We have a good farm team coming up. Don't forget about Bentivolio, Chris Hightower, and Glen "Gunny" Bradley.

That is a good point. But the farm team is a ton of folks, around 40 folks at Around the Bradley or Davis level of elected office in New Hampshire alone.

 

[TheGrinch]

My only beef right now with Rand is that he keeps on wearing jeans with a suit. I don't know what it is with the Pauls and not wearing their suits properly

[/nitpick]

 

[Keith and stuff]

What about two-term Governor Gary Johnson?

He isn't elected and doesn't show any signs that he really wants to be elected to anything except an office he is most likely never going get close to being elected to. Gary Johnson is carrying on Ron's tradition of talking about liberty on a somewhat national stage, at least for the rest of this year.

 

[Bastiat's The Law]

What about two-term Governor Gary Johnson?

When he runs for Senate from New Mexico he'll get my time and money.

 

[economics102]

All you have to do is watch him in action in the Senate to know where his beliefs are. I was angry about the endorsement but I will support him in 2016 if that opportunity arises.

Yep. It makes me want to reach into my computer screen and smack people when I see all the vitriol lobbed at Rand. I felt terrible for him to hear the people at the rally booing him. And booing him in front of his family and in front of Ron and Carol, no less.

We used to say how we felt bad for Ron, having to toil in obscurity for decades, a lonely job trying to carry the torch of liberty. Now it is Rand who is the lonely one, trying to do what he thinks is best for the liberty movement while half the movement shuns him and casts him out like a black sheep.

Rand is our strongest fighter. Each of us makes our own judgement about how much politics they need to play to accomplish our agenda. It's one thing to be critical of Rand if you disagree with him on that. But to say Rand doesn't share our goals, I mean that's just unfounded and stupid.

Rand got elected in part by being willing to play ball a little bit. If someone wants to try to get elected to Senate without doing that, and they pull it off, then more power to them.

Rand is no doubt eager to build and improve upon his father's accomplishments. Rand has watched his father more closely than any of us have over the past 30 years. He has his own view of how effective or ineffective Ron's say-anything approach to politics made him, and he's trying to do what he thinks will improve upon that.

If we had known Ron Paul in years prior to 2007, we might well have said "this hard-edge approach is noble but it has gotten you nowhere for decades!" and, of course, we would have been dead wrong, a fact only made clear in hindsight. Similarly, as we now begin to build inroads into more mainstream politics, those of us clamoring for our liberty candidates to retain the hard-edged Ron Paul-style approach to politics may be dead wrong too.

There's no way to know this. But we should trust Rand, who is actually there in the belly of the beast on Capitol Hill, to take his best shot at what he thinks will work, instead of trying to pretend that we know better than he what should be done. Rand has already demonstrated in the Senate that there may well be merit to his softer approach.

And if you don't like that approach, push other candidates like Peter Schiff in CT (speaking retroactively, of course). But lay off of Rand just because he's not taking the hard-edged approach you want. As Ron Paul himself said at the rally yesterday, you need to take a soft approach to persuade people. That is likely true in Washington as well.

 

[Bastiat's The Law]

That is a good point. But the farm team is a ton of folks, around 40 folks at Around the Bradley or Davis level of elected office in New Hampshire alone.

Yeah I was being lazy didn't want to list them all. :o

It's a good problem to have though so many worthwhile liberty candidates running.