A new way to approach politics

I've decided that while the old adage, "all politics is local," makes a lot of sense, when it comes to the federal government, I think it's quite the opposite.

Many people know I'm not a Republican (or a Democrat), but that I voted for Texas Congressman Ron Paul (a libertarian leaning Republican) in the primaries (and then a third-party candidate when McCain became the GOP frontman).

I like Dr. Paul because he believes in the words if freedom that were written in the Constitution; words from which we have veered so far. He believes in limited government, personal responsibilty, peace and prosperity.

Although he isn't our president, I'm still glad he is in the US House of Representatives, fighting for principles of freedom on behalf of all Americans. I wish I could vote for him.

Or can I? There are no serious candidates of Dr. Paul's caliber in my congressional district, nor will I vote for a mainline Republican or Democrat without many compelling reasons.

So this leads me to my thoughts. Our representatives on Capitol Hill aren't typically consumed with how to make life better for us, their constituents. Rather, as citizens of our areas, they are required to weigh in on federal issues.

Well, I propose that we approach politics not from a geographic standpoint, but by an ideological one. I cannot technically vote for Dr. Paul (or his son, Rand, who is running for the Senate) or a host of other freedom-minded acolytes, but I can lend my financial support to their campaigns, promote them in my own social networks, lobby people in their districts and do other such things. I'm not saying I will necessarily, but it makes more sense for me to help like-minded politicians into office rather than lukewarmly sitting on the sidelines wishing I had a candidate like Ron Paul.

The point is, it's better for us to help get as many viable candidates of a similar ideology into office ad possible, than it is for us to be confined to our geographic areas.

Having more pro-freedom candidates in office is better than fewer. Freedom is a local issue. And the more people of a minority ideology that get into office, the more momentum builds, and the easier it will be to get additional candidates into office.

And who knows, perhaps a local viable congressional candidate would eventually emerge.