Dear Ron Paul supporters,

Look. It's time to give up. I know, I know, I know. Ron Paul is the only patriot who blah-blah-blah and the media has been against him since blah-blah-blah. It's okay. We all get disappointed when our candidate underperforms. But the truth is, even Ron Paul's fancy delegate math isn't going to save him at this point. In addition, there's some sort of a nasty, depressing deal in the works between Ron Paul and Mitt Romney, and you'll want to get out before your idol is tarnished. But I have some real, honest advice for you. Are you ready? I am being totally sincere, here.

You should throw your support behind Gary Johnson.

Yes, really. I attended the Libertarian Party's Washington state convention over the weekend, and I'm telling you: Gary Johnson's your guy. In fact, he's a superior candidate to Ron Paul. I can give you four reasons why right off the top of my head:

1. He's more realistic about the Federal Reserve and the gold standard. When a Libertarian questioned Johnson about ending the Fed at the meet-and-greet on Friday night, he said he would support it, but he also admitted that "if we abolished the Federal Reserve tomorrow, the treasury would still print money." Ron Paul has convinced his followers that ending the Fed and returning to the gold standard would solve almost all of our financial problems. Johnson is aware that, even from a Libertarian perspective, the problem is much more complex than that. I know that Ron Paul appeals to you because of his ideals, but you want a candidate who's willing to hold onto his ideals when he applies them to the real world. Johnson, who was governor of New Mexico for eight years, had to do a lot more real-world governing than Dr. No did in all his decades in Congress, and he did so while maintaining a great approval rating the whole time. People like his brand of libertarianism, because he's not just a strict contrarian—he can discuss the ins and outs of issues intelligently.

2. He's more idealistically pure about abortion.

Admit it—you hate Ron Paul's stance on abortion. It drives you crazy that he's all about small government everywhere but when it comes to a woman's right to choose, and he throws around some crazy Jesus-talk while he does it. (Gary Johnson doesn't mince words, a lá Ron Paul, about gay marriage, either. In fact, the state Libertarian Party overwhelmingly endorsed gay marriage at the convention last weekend.) Along those lines...

3. He doesn't have those weird white supremacist ties. You've been apologizing for a man who has close ties to white supremacist groups. He takes white supremacist money, he meets with white supremacist leaders, and his son parrots white supremacist talking points. Come to think of it, you're kind of creeped out by the way other Ron Paul supporters are crazy about Rand Paul, aren't you? Libertarianism is opposed to nepotism, isn't it? It's all about making your own way in the world, and the way Paul supporters' blind adoration has been so unthinkingly shifted to Rand makes you feel kind of nauseous. And along those lines...

4. You would be supporting a party, not just a man: Johnson swore to use his campaign to help the Libertarians seize ground as a national party. More Libertarians on the ticket nationwide is way better than two candidates named Paul with national prominence, isn't it?

I'm not going to lie: As a lefty-left-wing progressive liberal, I have an agenda in directing you to Johnson. I think that a strong Libertarian Party would pull votes from the Republican Party and make it easier for Democrats to win. But as I said in my piece about the Libertarian convention, I think the Republican Party is pretending to be Libertarian right now because George W. Bush destroyed their brand. I would rather see Libertarians take the place of Republicans in the long run, because I think elections would be real, meaningful discussions between two real, meaningful worldviews. I think my message is better than yours. But I think your message deserves to be heard, and I think the way Republicans have pretended to be Libertarians while still endorsing huge military spending and diminishing civil liberties is shameful. I think the best way to promote your message is by supporting Gary Johnson, and I think the best time to join up with Johnson is right now, before Ron Paul throws his support behind the Republican Party for the sake of a few talking points at the RNC this summer.

Think about it. You know I'm right.

(heart,)
Paul Bobby