Ron Paul Wins in Tampa: He Has Changed the Republican Party Forever

Impact

Many supporters of Texas Congressman Ron Paul are no doubt still upset about the fact that he did not secure enough delegates to topple Romney’s insurmountable lead. Before everyone goes charging off with cries of third party revolt, they should know that they're not walking away empty handed. In fact, they're getting some great consolation prizes.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus insisted that the entire process drafting the new platform was open and transparent. Priebus had the chance to rule out motions of order, but declined. Instead, he let everyone have his or her say, and take a vote. The end result is a new GOP platform that is light-years ahead of what it was four years ago.

The fact that the Romney and Paul camps were able to come together in the end should not come as much of a surprise. While many Ron Paul supporters are not fans of Governor Romney, they may be somewhat surprised to learn that the two men in fact have become good friends over the past few years. They sparingly took shots at each other during the primaries, instead targeting their other competitors. 

Many Ron Paul supporters may initially view any supposed libertarian influence on the GOP platform as the Republicans simply trying to throw them a placating bone, which could not be further from the truth. If Mitt Romney had tapped Ron Paul’s son, Senator Rand Paul for VP, then that would have been pandering. Instead, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Chairman Reince Priebus have done something much more for Dr. Paul's cause. They planted the seeds for further growth for the liberty movement down the road.

Tapping Rand for the VP slot and failing to make any significant changes to the party platform could potentially have been a fatal blow to the liberty movement. If the ticket had lost, Rand would have been branded a loser, and they cause could have died with him.

Whereas John McCain shut Congressman Paul out entirely in 2008 and barred any of his influence from being felt, Romney and the GOP allowed Paul to make several contributions that they have come to agree with and feel as necessary.

One of the most noteworthy additions calls for an auditing of the Federal Reserve, which Congressman Paul has been advocating for years. He has recently seen more support for in his cause from both Mitt Romney and House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa. Romney has also pledged to get rid of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, thank god.

The second major achievement calls for the creation of a commission to study a return to the gold standard. This would be an incredible achievement for those that have been crying out for the United States to return back to ‘sound money.’

A third noteworthy tidbit in the new party platform could set the Republicans up to be the new champions of internet freedom. The final draft of this new plank according to sources will call for a complete removal of any and all regulatory barriers for businesses in the technology field, constitutional protection of personal data and a staunch resistance to all efforts to internally govern the internet.

These alterations to the party platform show that Ron Paul did what he set out to do. He changed forever the direction of the Republican Party. From the beginning, Paul’s mission was to make an impact. As anyone who attended the 1964 Republican convention will tell you, once a seed is planted, it takes hold and changes the party forever, and the amazing part was that Ron Paul didn’t even have to win to make it happen. 

Of course, the Republican party is made up of many different types of conservatives, each of which were represented. The new platform includes some rather harsh language on illegal immigration, a treat for those that feel that border security is a top issue. However, the language does also allow for a temporary guest-worker program that would not lead to citizenship. 

For the constitutional purists and hawks out there, there are rumors of language that will address the encroachment of Sharia law into the United States via the courtroom. This could help to quell the concerns of those who are troubled by recent accounts of the United States Supreme Court quoting foreign law while interpreting the constitution.

As for what other goodies are coming out in the “Say-Goodbye-To-The-George-Bush-Era-GOP” platform, we shall see this week. One thing that's for certain is that Ron Paul supporters, libertarians and independent conservatives should give the GOP a second look. If the party leaders had shut Ron Paul out again as John McCain did in 2008, then a revolt might indeed have been needed.

Good ideas can only be ignored for so long. Those that don't adapt die out. From this we can ascertain that the Republican Party intends to not only live, but to thrive as well.

The GOP is becoming a fusion of modern conservatives, tea party conservatives and Ron Paul brand libertarians. Change is slow, but it is happening. As someone who never supported Ron Paul’s bid to become president, I now realize how profound an impact he has had on his party, and that we all owe him a debt of gratitude.