Republicans Suddenly Realize Paulites Are Cool

After this last political campaign, you probably can't blame proponents of Ron Paul (myself being of the quasi-exuberant variety) for experiencing a little acrimonious red-headed stepchild syndrome vis-a-vis their unemployed and alcoholic Republican parents.

But, even Republicans are finding it hard to deny that the only Republican... er, intelligent, qualified, non-Alaskan Republican... that generated any Obamaesque enthusiasm this last election was that off-the-wall constitutional literalist from Texas.

Now, surprise! Barely a few short months after ranking the Ron Paul supporters just slightly above NAMBLA members, the Republicans are talking about bringing those selfsame Paulites on board the All-New GOP Express Train To Success. In fact, at the recent Meet The Candidates forum for guys running to be the leader of the Republican National Committee, all they could talk about was how Paulites are just teh awsum.

See? That's all Republicans have to do: Get all the people they just recently stultified and demonized to support them.

Good look with that. I'm sure this is only the beginning of a new public relations campaign to win back all of the people they insulted or scapegoated or declared un-American/un-Christian over the past decade.

I sure can't wait to see the campaign to convince the 42 million erstwhile illegal-immigrant job-stealing wall-requiring Che-loving terrorists... otherwise known as America's Hispanic population... that the Republican Party is the best place for their Catholic Conservative voices to be heard.

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UPDATE:

By the way, as an afterthought: Each candidate who spoke at the RNC Candidate's forum said essentially the same thing. "I disagree with everything Ron Paul believes and says, but his supporters sure are great!"

Note to these guys: Nobody supported Ron Paul because he was a good campaigner, charismatic, or even viable. They supported him because he was as close to the modern embodiment of Burkean conservative thought as could be found. Republicans aren't going to get a single Paulite/constitutionalist to join their ranks when they speak fraternal platitudes to them out of one side of their mouths, and supercilious dismissal of their classical conservative philosophy out of the other.

I personally think that nothing has actually changed: These Republican leaders just took the opportunity to toss out some smarmy niceties to disaffected portions of their party with the goal of appearing inclusive. Other than as an abstraction, they don't believe what they say.