Don't invite Ron Paul to your party, unless you want him to tear it apart. Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was going to pull a fast one at the DNC, and do something devious to undermine the rival whom the party picked over her. But she didn't. She endorsed Obama fully and wholeheartedly, doing her best to reunite a party torn asunder by their bitter rivalry. Would that Ron Paul had such grace. But, like a spoiled child, if he can't be the nominee, he'll take his marbles and go hold his own party somewhere else, doing his best to create a distraction from the RNC, siphon off as many votes as he can, and undermine the very party of which he claims to be a member.

Ron Paul used to call himself a Libertarian. I was a Libertarian for 30 years before switching to the Republican Party a couple of months ago. I still believe in the traditional libertarian ideals of individual freedom, individual responsibility, and limited government. The reason I switched parties is because I recognize the practical need to unite with other conservatives to focus all our efforts behind electing the most fiscally conservative candidates, in the interest of reining in the growth of big government and the proliferation of socialist economic policies. In this election, that candidate is John McCain. And I anticipate that it's going to be a very close race.

Ron Paul doesn't have a chance, never will have a chance, and the only possible effect of his little diversion will be to divide the conservative vote and help get Obama elected. Ron Paul calls himself a Republican. His political positions are far closer to McCain's than to Obama's. But Ron Paul doesn't really care who gets elected to lead our country. All he cares about is the greater glory of Ron Paul. He's nothing but a narcissist who's willing to sacrifice the best interests of his party, and his country, to his own personal ego.

This is not a first for him. The Libertarian Party used to be the strongest third party in the country. In 1980, Ed Clarke made a credible run for the presidency and drew a lot of positive attention to the party. The Libertarian Party was gaining momentum and support throughout the nation, until 1988 when Ron Paul single-handedly split the party in two.

The Libertarian Party has always stood for minimal government involvement in people's private lives. Traditionally it has had a strong pro-choice contingent. But a lot of Libertarians are also pro-life. Some Libertarians uphold the individual rights of women to make their own choices regarding their own bodies and lives. Others believe we must protect the individual rights of the unborn. But the party had never made abortion the core focus of their platform, and rightly so, because there's little any candidate can actually do about this highly emotional issue. Changing the law would require nothing less than a Constitutional amendment.

But Ron Paul decided to make it a dividing issue for the party. After being chosen as the official Libertarian candidate, he made abortion one of the top planks in his personal platform, referring to himself as a "Pro-Life Libertarian." That split the party right down the middle. The pro-choice Libertarians felt used and undermined, so they went looking for their own candidate. The candidate they found was Russell Means. Russell Means, IMHO, was simply an opportunist who saw running for president as a good way to get a national venue to highlight his own special interests. The effect was a complete split of the previously united Libertarian Party, over an issue that had never been a dividing issue before. That was, effectively, the end of the Libertarian Party as a viable third party. It never did recover.

Ron Paul must have felt a great sense of power at having been able to divide and conquer an up-and-coming political force in the nation, all by himself. Now he's looking to do the same thing to the Republican Party. It must be a real rush for Ron Paul to have such power. Too bad for the rest of the Republican Party but, who cares? At least Ron Paul will make a good showing and everybody will know how popular he is. He's pathetic.