IF Ron Paul Loses, Here Is Why
If Ron Paul loses the nomination, there will be only one reason for it.
He will have lost because he failed to explain the fallacy of "They'll Follow Us Home!" (TFUH)
"TFUH" is a complete non-sequitur if you really think about it. The reason why it has taken hold among the Republican base is nothing other than fear.
That fear is understandable in an emotional sort of way, but it is entirely misplaced. Here is why.
If terrorists can follow us home after we leave Iraq, what is there to keep them from coming here now??
Think about it.
We have virtually unprotected borders. The federal government is doing whatever it can to keep it that way. How does staying in Iraq and exposing our troops as cannon-fodder to suicide terrorists and roadside bombers keep the terrorists from smuggling a dirty bomb into the country now?
What's more, once a proponent of TFUH recognizes that, how can this already bad situation possibly get worse by having our troops here to protect us from harm, rather than leaving them "over there" where they cannot really protect us and where they themselves are unnecessarily exposed to harm?
There is no law of asymmetric combat that forces terrorists who hate us to engage our troops in Iraq, only, and not come here to hurt us at home.
In Iraq,they face an almost exclusively heavily armed and protected contingent of trained US combat troops. Attacking our heavily armed troops in Iraq is most definitely not "easier" than attacking our largely unprepared and unprotected civilian population over here.
Traveling the distance is not an obstacle. A false identity (which they are expert at obtaining) and a few bucks is all it takes.
With Mexican paramilitary troops running escorts for large-scale drug smugglers deep into our territory, staring down our local law enforcement and dropping mega-loads of drugs in the US (and with US attorneys called "Johnny Sutton" giving known drug dealers immunity to testify against duty-bound border patrol agents who take their jobs seriously), what do you think is it that keeps terrorists from hurting us even if others do fight our troops in Iraq?
Conversely, how does giving them a chance to kill and injure our troops in Iraq improve our security here at home?
Even if we do tighten our border security here, but still retain a military presence in Iraq, how does that advance our cause? Are we really "punishing" them for hating us, for having attacked us that way?
We are not killing existing terrorists in Iraq. There were very few there, if any at all, before we came. Now there are tends of thousands. Have we gained anything by this "strategy"? If so, what?
Defenders of the current policy might be tempted to argue that, no, terrorists can't come here now because our Department of Homeland Security is doing such a great job spying on our own citizens.
If that is true, then what do we gain by obliging them and coming to them? And more importantly, what can we possibly lose by leaving Iraq and bringing our troops home?? If they already can't attack us here, then they can't attack us here regardless of whether our troops are here or there.
"TFUH" is so intellectually bankrupt as an "argument" that it is not even an argument at all. It is simply a pushbutton for a fear reaction. As usual, once the fear sets in, it prevents clear thinking.
The key is that, one you think clearly, the fear goes away.
Make this clear to neocon-leaning Republicans, and you will have them on our side in no time.
Then, who will stop Ron Paul at the primaries? The party elites? Not without their base, they won't. With no base to support them and their shenanigans, the nomination is Ron's, hands down!
PLEASE pass this on. All Ron needs to do is to bring this out in a radio or TV commercial in Iowa and New Hampshire, and he will blow Huckabee right back to Arkansas, and the other guys to wherever they came from.
THIS IS THE ONLY ISSUE THAT KEEPS MOST REPUBLICANS FROM SUPPORTING RON.
Just watch Ron's interview on Glenn Beck. Glenn sounded like a rabid "anti-Paul" before this show on CNN today. Ron completely disarmed him - because he is just so real and because he believes in what he says 100 percent and knows how to support his belief.
If you have a direct connection to Ron and this makes sense to you, please bring it to his attention.
I thank you for your help.
All the Best, and "Go Ron, Go!"
Alex Wallenwein