YouTuber XOmniverse says that it’s counterproductive to support libertarian-bent politicians, even going so far as to call Ron Paul’s campaign irrelevant, because resources could be better spent educating voters.

This video was made in November 2007, so he doesn’t have the benefit of the hindsight today to see just what kind of education the Ron Paul campaign provided nationwide with grassroots support organizations popping up like weeds in the Democrats’ and Republicans’ own backyard.

Now, he is right that education is the key to reversing course from the politics of theft to a politics of peace. However, it was Ron Paul’s media exposure that did a great deal to expose libertarian ideas to the masses. That media publicity would not have been available had he not been running for president. The new faces and networks that popped up are going to be terrific assets for political change.

“Ron Paul is not a cause; he is an effect,” XOmniverse says. “If you’re focusing all your efforts to supporting Ron Paul rather than spreading the message of liberty, basically you are trying to contribute to the effect, rather than try to contribute to the cause.” He likens this to moving a car forward by pushing it rather than starting the engine. “The ideas of liberty are the engine that push change.”

This is a just a strawman tactic. The truth is, we can educate and politic. With education as the engine and politics as the driver, we can reach any destination we set our course.

• "Idle Tea Party Politics"
• "Even Jonah Goldberg Gets Why Electoral Libertarianism Fails"
• "We Are All Anarchists Now"
• "Melting(pot) Rallies in Dallas"
• "Liberty, the Nanny State Battle to Draw in Haltom City"