Ron Paul & Our Apathy Problem

I’m going to need the whiners to shut the hell up and get on the Obama/Democratic bandwagon.

Tonight, Ron Paul came within a hair of winning the Iowa Caucuses.

Do you hear that, RON PAUL ALMOST WON THE IOWA FREAKING CAUCUES!

This is a man who wants to return to the gold standard, completely abolish the department of education and get rid of the Civil Rights Act. Really? Is this where we are as a country in 2011?

The answer to that question is a resounding no. No, we are not a far right, pseudo-libertarian country. Neither are we a far left, statist county. In truth, we are somewhere smack dab in the middle--a little socially liberal and a little fiscally conservative. (It’s practically a Donnie & Marie song)

So how did our centrist nation get to a point where an extremist like Ron Paul is a serious candidate for President? The answer, Democrats have gotten whimpy.

Those of us who four years ago travelled to Iowa, contributed or made calls to support our President. We were excited then, we felt like we had a real chance to change things and Obama was our man. We were successful and that inauguration weekend is one of my fondest memories.

But four years later, too many of us are turning into whiney little cynics, upset because Obama wasn’t quite as liberal as we would have liked.

Never mind that he passed healthcare reform. (It wasn’t single payers, so therefore not good enough.)

Never mind that he reformed Wall Street. (He didn’t get Elizabeth Warren the Consumer Protection appointment, so that’s a mute point.)

Never mind that he ended the war in Iraq. (Gitmo is still open, so that doesn’t matter)

Never mind that gay men and women can now serve openly in the military (he’s not publically for gay marriage, so he’s still too conservative)

Never mind that he kept the economy from dipping into the 2^nd Great Depression. (He compromised on the Bush Tax Cuts, so he doesn’t really care.)

If I had a nickel for every whiney tweet, Facebook status or blog post I saw from a Democrat, criticizing the President/Democrats for not doing enough, I could quit my job and live off the interest. Seriously people, Obama is the most liberal President since FDR; he’s done more for progressive causes in 3 years than most Presidents could in two terms. Lay off the man, he still has to win those independents and he can’t kowtow to every cause you embrace.

I feel passionately about this because some of the worst offenders are 18-25 year old college students, who went for the President last time, but have by some miracle of Satan turned to Ron Paul in 2011. (My guess is they are seduced by his promise of pot and no more war, but I could be wrong.)

So I need everyone to put on their big girl panties, realize that politics is a full contact sport, that perfect should never be the enemy of good and get behind the President/Democrats. This same logic—just BTW—could apply to supporting our Democrats here in Tennessee, who face this criticism from the same group of people with even more fervor. We’re never going to have perfect, ideologically pure leaders. Get over it, get on board and work for the best option we have; that’s democracy. If you don’t, we’ll end up with Ron Paul and a world you REALLY won’t like.