Five Things Ron Paul Wants

Or so says the Christian Science Monitor. They pretty much get these right, but I would by no means limit our efforts to just these five things:

1. Ron Paul wants to change the soul of the GOP

Paul’s most ambitious goal is to influence the Republican Party as a whole, making it more amenable to his libertarian principles…

“He’s gotten a lot of attention working through the two-party system and he’s gotten a lot of people involved,” said his son, Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky, in a Fox News interview earlier this month. “I mean, the chairman of Iowa now was Ron Paul’s campaign chairman. The chairman of Nevada was a Ron Paul campaign person. We’ve won several states and are influencing the party and becoming the Republican Party.”

2. Paul wants an orderly show of force on the floor

Paul’s forces won’t be inconsiderable… Campaign strategist Jesse Benton estimates that the Texas libertarian will end up with “several hundred” delegates pledged to him, and several hundred more stealth supporters who are bound to vote for Mr. Romney or a withdrawn candidate on the first ballot… But Paul campaign officials insist they do not want to cause any kind of disturbance in Tampa. There’s no discussion of getting Paul supporters who are bound to vote for Romney to abstain from casting ballots in the first round, for instance.

“Decorum” will be the name of the game, Mr. Benton said in a recent conference call with supporters. That makes sense when considered in the context of the campaign’s long-term, makeover-of-the-party goal.

“We’re going to respectfully show that our supporters are here, and we’re the wave of the future,” said Benton.

3. Paul wants to irritate Ben Bernanke

The Federal Reserve has long been one of Paul’s favorite targets… Paul wants a platform plank on Fed transparency, according to his campaign. He has said that if elected president he would work for comprehensive audit legislation, so presumably that is what he’s talking about – a push to get the Fed to open up its books.

4. Paul wants to prohibit indefinite detention

In the wake of congressional passage of an authorization to use military force against Al Qaeda and its allies in 2001, the White House asserted that it had the authority to seize suspected terrorists and hold them indefinitely without trial. That position was codified into law with the passage of the Defense Authorization Act in 2011…

Paul has long wanted to chip away even more at indefinite detention, seeing it as an overreach of executive power that’s unconstitutional.

“If we don’t change this, believe me, this country is in serious trouble,” he said earlier this month at a press conference of lawmakers who are pushing to end indefinite detention authority.

Paul would like to the Republican Party platform to reflect this position. That’s what he said in May when he issued a statement that he would no longer campaign in states that had not yet held primary votes…

5. Paul wants the internet to remain wild and free

In keeping with his libertarian philosophy, Paul has long opposed any government regulation of the Internet, however well-intentioned…

“Internet freedom” is the third issue Paul’s supporters have said they’d like to see become a plank in the 2012 GOP platform…

CSM concludes:

Paul’s real endgame… is not platform planks, but gradually gaining control over as many party organizations as possible…

“The real goal was to seize control of party apparatuses in states that rely on caucuses. With that in hand, Paul’s organization can direct party funds and operations to recruit and support candidates that follow Paul’s platform, and in that way exert some influence on the national Republican Party as well, potentially for years to come”

Read more at Ron Paul-Restore America Now