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The Revolution: A Manifesto,
by Ron Paul


(Click for Amazon book review)

BOOK REVIEW by OnTheIssues.org:

This book is as close as Ron Paul's 2008 campaign gets to a campaign book. It was published in April 2008, amid Ron Paul's presidential primary campaign, and the title refers to the "Ron Paul Revolution" using the term that his supporters coined.

This book outlines Rep. Paul's general stances on the issues, both political and policy. Paul's policies are more libertarian than conservative -- he opposes all government intervention, including the Iraq War. Paul clarifies here how he's often anti-Republican -- bashing the GOP "Contract with America" as well as Bush's signing statements. But he is a Republican -- pro-life and anti-foreign aid.

The title term "Revolution" refers to the grassroots campaign's self-described "Ron Paul Revolution." Their most substantive claim to a revolution is in how Paul's grassroots supporters -- independent of the formal campaign -- organized a pair of fundraising events in late 2007 that set fundraising records. The first event, on Nov. 5, a historic date known as Guy Fawkes Day, raised $4.2 million; the second event, on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, broke that record again.

The events were organized primarily on the internet, and while the campaign was aware of the "money bombs," the campaign itself did not organize the events. Howard Dean supporters will recognize that the techniques they pioneered in 2004 were used to great effect by Ron Paul supporters. While the Deanies in 2004 had to contend with defining FEC 527 laws and independent grassroots fundraising, the Paulistas in 2008 knew all the rules in advance. Both campaigns will presumably be used as models for future grassroots fundraising.

Paul has several more detailed books for those interested in a deeper dive into libertarian policy. The three that we've excerpted are Paul's book on foreign policy, A Foreign Policy of Freedom; on economics, Gold, Peace, and Prosperity; and on Constitutional issues, Freedom Under Siege. Those three books were written well before the presidential campaign, but have been more recently updated in some parts.

-- Jesse Gordon, jesse@OnTheIssues.org, November 2008