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I have heard it said that to be a leader one just needs to know which way the parade is heading and get in front of it. From now on, it appears that to be a leader in the Republican Party in Montana, one will have to have a vision of liberty, because that is the way the parade is going.

At the May 8 Flathead County Republican Central Committee meeting, members selected 22 delegates who are expected to support Ron Paul for president and only three who might support someone other than Paul.

I know this troubles the tried and true who have shepherded the party for many years. They honestly believe that the party can only win with John McCain as the standard-bearer and that the freedom of the world depends upon the United States having a Republican president.

While they know McCain has some flaws, they do not believe that Ron Paul is a viable candidate. Therefore they are willing to accept McCain, the lesser of the evils, rather than Paul, who is not evil.

Some recognized flaws of McCain include: McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform that guts the First Amendment; McCain’s “F” rating on the Second Amendment; his membership in the Gang of Fourteen that stalled conservative candidates to the U.S. Supreme Court; his involvement in political corruption as a member of the Keating Five; his attempt to give amnesty to 20 million illegal aliens; his environmental stance and his flip-flops on Roe v. Wade.

I believe most of those who have studied it understand inflation caused by Keynesian economics to be an insidious and regressive form of taxation. It steals from our most destitute and pillages the retirement accounts of our eldest. It forces all of us to be dependent on the government for our sustenance.

Yet many regard Ron Paul’s candidacy as not viable because, if given a chance, he would support a hard currency to restrain inflation. One method Paul might take to avoid the calamity which is on the horizon would be to request Congress to close down or put more controls on the Federal Reserve Bank. This could be comparable to Andrew Jackson’s ending the charter of the Second Bank of the United States in 1836. Another method Paul advocates is merely repealing the present law, which prohibits consenting traders from valuing their agreements on the price of gold.

Whichever method Congress might take under Ron Paul’s leadership, it could not be worse than our present blind rush towards the coming financial abyss. Paul seems to be the only presidential candidate who is aware of the catastrophe we are headed towards and is willing to take steps to avoid it.

I hope the tried and true in the Republican Party get in front of Ron Paul’s parade towards liberty.

Jerry O’Neil is a senator in the Montana Legislature. He lives in Columbia Falls.

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