"Don't hurt people and don't take their stuff" - Matt Kibbe

1/8/12

An Open Letter to Dr. Ron Paul

Dear Dr. Paul,

I am a supporter and I have done all that I possibly can to promote your candidacy on my website and in personal discussions with friends. I've done that despite breaking my own goal of making the site about concepts and ideas rather than politics or people. I think it's that important because I think it may be too late if the country gets even one more term of Obama/Bush governance. And I want my freedom back.

Having said that, what the heck are your advisers doing to earn their money? Last night, the incompetents at ABC news finally gave you an opening that you should have made for yourself long ago. They asked you the ONE question in last night's debate that, if answered correctly and passionately, could ignite your campaign like no other single thing.

They asked you (I paraphrase) about how you could envision something different for the country if you were elected.  About what might happen to us if we elect you to the White House. It was the equivalent of teeing up a political golf ball for you.  AND YOU WHIFFED!

The time for telling the country what is wrong and what caused the problems is over. Not everyone "gets" it, but most of them never will, no matter how many times you repeat it. So it's time to change lanes, hit the accelerator and work on the "vision thing." Not your vision, but theirs.

Not the vision that your supporters have in their imagination. They "get" it. They have formulated it from what you say at the rallies and on the college campuses. You are preaching to the choir with them. It's the vision of the non-political types you need to inspire, those who don't have the time or the inclination to follow politics or economics because they are caught up in the struggle to live their everyday lives. They escape into sports or entertainment when they need a break from that. They need something to focus on in this election.

I didn't major in business or marketing in college.  In fact I didn't even go, but I know the difference between a feature and a benefit. You have been talking about features.  It's time to close the deal by emphasizing benefits. People buy cars or houses because they can envision themselves in them and "feel" how their life will improve if they sign on the dotted line.

People want to know how their lives will be better, or at least how they can expect them to be better after a few years of a Paul presidency.

Will they be more free? How can you say it so they can see themselves "out from under?"
Will they be more likely to get a job? They need to see themselves working again because of your policies.
Will they have a more predictable life?
Will they be able to plan again instead of merely survive the recession? Make them believe it because it's true, but not just because you say it.
Will the value of their houses begin to slowly rise again? Why?
Will they be safer from terrorists because you are president? Why?
They think Obama is an appeaser, you need to tell them the difference between his approach and yours and allow them to envision why they will be safer with your approach.
Will their crushing health-care expenses begin to get better? Tell them how and why. Convince them to envision why they will have better lives with your approach, not just why the current system or Obama-care is unacceptable.

These things seem obvious to me, but if they are to your advisers, it's not apparent, and I've seen every debate. I'm not a political consultant and this advice is free. But unlike most free things, it's worth something. At least I think so. So get the people you pay to polish up the concept and prepare you for tonight's debate. Or kick them out and do it yourself.

Your campaign needs to learn from two very different, but successful candidates. Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan. They both sold hope. And the people were buying.

Now Obama sells resentment. And the "hope product" the people bought is being returned to the store. You need to sell them a product that actually delivers what his failed to.

You have been scolding the people for a long time, and they deserved it. But the "Dutch Uncle" message is old now, they need an inspirational pep talk now. It's past time to give it.

Tonight is the time to start.  It may be too late already, but you'll never get too far past your current support level with the old game plan. If it's too late for your candidacy, it's probably too late for the country. That is why I'm risking being so presumptuous as to tell a future President what to do.

Start now.  There isn't a moment to waste. The ball is on the tee and it's begging to be hit right down the fairway.

God bless you for your efforts no matter whether you take my advice or not.

Yours for liberty,
Grant Davies
American citizen

PS ---   Pick your son Rand as your VP. Do it soon. People want continuity when they sign on to a vision. They have their antenna up for what they perceive as cynical choices for geographic electoral advantage. You are 76, they want to know that they will still be free if you cannot continue. So pick Rand. It's bold and it will work. (He's going to be President someday anyway, might as well get him started now.)

11 comments:

malter said...

Well said, Grant. I didn't see the debate last night, but I always wish Paul would better explain the benefits of his ideas.

Angie said...

Grant, keep an eye on the CSPAN 2012 event page. They aired a Ron Paul Town Hall today, but they haven't uploaded it yet. His speech was good, but nothing you haven't heard before. But the post speech Q&A was good...

I wish that Paul had the glibness of Fred Thompson or the charisma of Herman Cain. We'd be unstoppable.

Grant Davies said...

Thanks, I'll keep my eyes open for it.

As to the candidate thing, Good candidates don't usually make good Presidents. And some of the best Presidents of the past probably would have fallen flat in this modern age of communication.

Thanks for reading.

Grant Davies said...

Angela, I just visited your blog. Nice site. It's in my favorites now.

Lista said...

My Problem is that I Get Republicanism, but I do not Get Libertarianism. I have Read the Link that you Once Recommended to me and yet I still have Problems with a few of their Ideas. From the Looks of your Comments, it appears sort of that you are the One who is Preaching to the Choir.

Unfortunately, for a Guy like Ron Paul to Win the Election, he would need a few Not so Conservative Voters to Vote for him and that is the Real Challenge. The Majority, that is 50%, is actually a rather Big Number and I'm Afraid that you guys have a really long way to go.

Unfortunately, it is going to Take me Quite awhile before I'm going to be able to Tell you Fully what is Actually Wrong in my Mind that Prevents me from Embracing your Ideology. All I can do is express a little of it at a Time.

For Starters, I don't see how a World without Safety Nets that Minimize Risks Makes for a World that is "Safer" and "More Predictable"; two words that you Used in your List of Questions in the Above Post.

I would not Describe Freedom as something that is Safe. Actually, it is Safer to Remain in a Cage. I'm not Saying that this is Preferable. I'm just saying that Safety is not the Adjective that first comes to Mind when I Think of Totally Unregulated Freedom.

Quite apart from the Risks that are involved in being an Entrepreneur, a lot of the Regulations that Libertarians are Opposed to are related to Safety. It is not Uncommon to hear a Libertarian say that it is not really Necessary to Remove all Risks from our World and I would Agree with that, yet is it really Necessary to Remove all of the Regulations that Relate to Safety.

Yeh. I Know, this Post is about Ron Paul and I'm not sure what his exact Stand is on these Issues, yet he Admires the Libertarian Philosophy and I am Skeptical of said Philosophy. If he wants my Trust, he may have to explain why his Ideas are not as Extreme as I think they are. I'm not even a Liberal and yet Ron Paul is going to Need the Support of even a Few of the Liberals if he wants to Win the General Election and this is why so many People say that there is simply no way that he can Win.

I Keep Coming back to your Blog because I Find you to be a Rational Person and this Post is also Insightful, like so many of your others.

Your suggestion of Talking about Positives, rather then about the Negatives, and about Attempting to Reach the Non-Political Types is Excellent. Yes. Amen! Amen! Too Often we (That is Conservatives of all Types) Talk Over their Heads. So many of them don't have any Clue at all how the Economy Works.

Yes, Hope is exactly what we all want and an Inspirational Pep Talk is not at all a bad idea. I don't Know, Grant, if all of your Ideas are Correct, but you are Definitely Insightful. Sorry that I'm not an easy Sale, but I'm Afraid that that's just how it is.

Grant Davies said...

Lista,
It may seem like a small point but, I'm not here to "sell" libertarian-ism. I'm here to present the concepts and let people make up their own minds.

In the nomenclature of Christianity, I'ts my intention to spread the gospel, not proselytize.

It's a distinction with a difference.

Lista said...

I just Read through my Comment again to see if I said anything about you trying to "Sell" Libertarian-ism and I Guess I did in my Very Last Sentence, but you are right that this is a Small Point, for it was not the Main Point that I was Making. It just so Happens that I Learn from Dialogue and if I can not "Persuade" you to engage in such Dialogue with me, then my Journey to Learn will be Harder and more Lonely.

To Proselytize, within Christianity, means to "Persuade" those who are already Christians to Change Churches, so I guess what you mean is that you are not Here to "Persuade" already Conservative Republicans to Change to Libertarianism, yet your Statement, "If it's too late for your candidacy, it's probably too late for the country.", Implies that you don't Think that any other Republican Candidate, other then Ron Paul, is Conservative enough to Increase our Level of Freedom.

If the Stakes are Really that High, Grant, then to Not Try and "Sell" what you Believe to be Very Crucial to our Freedoms in this Country would be Foolish. I don't know how People ever got the Idea that to Try and "Persuade" is some sort of a Horrible Vice. What do you Think Politics is anyway? Isn't this Very Post an Attempt to Tell Ron Paul how to "Sell" his Candidacy for the Presidential Nomination?

Or would you Prefer that both he and you just Continue to Preach to the Choir, rather then Trying to "Sell" anything to those who do not already Agree.

Grant Davies said...

The open letter to Ron Paul was about his selling his candidacy, not the purpose of my blog.

The stakes are high in the election because 4 more years will cement socialized or fascist medicine in the country.

And since there are already almost half the people here receiving government benefits we are close to going over that mark. At 51%, it's game over.

4 more years without starting MEANINGFUL cuts in the debt will probably make monetizing the debt inevitable. Crash of the currency, game over. And there are more reasons, but that aforementioned is enough.

And NO, there are NO OTHER candidates who have shown the slightest inclination or reason to believe that any fundamental changes will be made. Merely tinkering around the edges of the problems is no longer an option.

I'm not optimistic.

Lista said...

Even Romney has Promised to Repeal Obama Care. Ron Paul does not have a very good Chance at Winning the General Election. Since the Stakes are Very High, as you have also stated, this is a Really Big Deal and it is more Important then Ever to Nominate someone who is Electable.

The California Election is not until June. I will look into Ron Paul since he is doing so Well in the Primaries. Our Tea Party is Pushing him too, yet so far, I do not Share your Belief that there are no other Candidates that are going to make Cuts.

Grant Davies said...

I said "socialized or fascist" for a reason. I hesitate to mention that because I do not have time to define fascist in this context for you right now in case you don't understand what I mean.

I disagree about elect-ability and the prospect of others making the cuts. Baseline cuts are not cuts.

Lista said...

Well, I've been Thinking about what you have said and Actually Feeling a Little Stressed about it. I hope that you are Wrong about your "Game Over" Suggestions. I am rather Hoping that it is an Over Reaction and the Reason Why is because I am not Optimistic at all about Ron Paul's Chances at Winning the General Election.

You see, it is all about Increasing the Chances for the Prevention of Socialism and to me Nominating Ron Paul would Increase the Chances of Obama Winning the Election and that would be a Disaster. "Game Over" would come at an Alarmingly Fast Rate. I'm not Willing to Take that Gamble.

I guess that I have more Faith in Main Stream Republicans then you do.

One Piece of Hope that you might Think about is that there have been People who have Over Thrown their Socialized, as well as Communist Countries, so the Game is Never Really Over.

Yes, Fascist is more of a Concern Relating to Republicans and Socialized is a Concern Relating to Democrats. I do get what you are saying.

It is Good that Ron Paul is Doing well in the Primaries. I rather doubt that he will win, yet his Popularity sends a Message that will be Beneficial in relation to putting pressure on who ever is Elected. A Republican President will be more Responsive to that Message then Obama will be. Obama Must be Defeated because he could really care less about the Concerns of Conservatives.

I'm not going to try and Convince you or your Followers to not Vote for Ron Paul because I believe that his Popularity sends a very Important Positive Message to Washington. This Message Includes Limiting our Military Involvement and not Over doing it and also Making Cuts that are Deeper then the Politicians will ever actually do without Pressure from Folks like you. So more Power to you in your Efforts to Push these two Ideas.