Jesse Benton and Mitch McConnell Learned the Wrong Lesson

Jesse Benton, most recently Ron Paul’s campaign manager and recently resigned from Campaign for Liberty, has joined Mitch McConnell in McConnell’s bid for re-election in Kentucky.  According to the senator:

“Jesse is literally the best in the business at building and organizing conservative grassroots movements, and I’m thrilled he’s chosen to return to Kentucky to lead my campaign.”

Mitch will learn that the success of Ron Paul’s campaign had nothing to do with the campaign manager and everything to do with the messenger and the message.  The grassroots movement behind Ron Paul was not “built” or “organized” by Benton.  It was “built” and “organized” by an idea – by hope. 

It’s a very early move for an election two years away in a likely safe seat, a sign of how seriously McConnell takes the possibility of a tea party challenge. It’s also a bit curious given recent history.

Yes.  This certainly an “early move”, given the just ended republican party convention and Benton’s very recent C4L departure.  Almost like this has been in the works for a while.

Benton is going to work to help fend off a "tea party challenge"?  That's rich, really rich.  I remember shortly after the formation of what was referred to as "The Tea Party," having its roots in a Ron Paul money bomb, there were concerns of the movement being co-opted - remember Sarah Palin and the like?

It turns out the co-opting of the Tea Party was all done from within - first Rand, and now Jesse.  Et tu, Brute?

There will be further digital yelling and screaming about this event, along the same lines as when Rand Paul announced his endorsement of Romney.  However it should not come as a surprise.

Ron Paul is virtually unique in American political history.  There are few if any other politicians who have remained as consistent to the message of freedom, liberty, and the Constitution as he has while in office.  No one should be terribly surprised that others who have ridden on his coattails into the political arena are not occupying Dr. Paul’s same end of the political bell curve.  Virtually no one else in or associated with politics is on that end of the curve.

Politics draws a certain type of person.  It was Ron Paul who was the anomaly.  Not Rand, and certainly not Jesse.  The good news is this will be one more nail in the coffin of those who see hope in national politics.

The sooner this hope dies, the sooner the institutions supported by this hope will die.