Former Paul Staffer on the Campaign + Tom Woods’ Take on Jesse Benton

Whew.  I know that I promised an economics-oriented article, but there is so much talk and analysis swirling about the Paul campaign and Rand’s endorsement of Romney that I feel like I owe it at least one more post.  There is a lot of information floating around and coming out about the Paul campaign – not Paul himself – and how things have potentially not been right with the campaign, perhaps from the get-go.  I really hope that that scenario does not turn out to be the case, but man…!

Adam Kokesh has had a really interesting interview with former Paul staffer Penny Freeman, and it is somewhat revealing – and emotional.  She has not participated directly in this campaign, as she felt Ron Paul was not really in it to win it, so to speak.  She also gives some additional credence to the notion that there has been an “iron curtain” around Paul, imposed by Jesse Benton.  It’s not a secret to anyone in the know that Adam Kokesh and Jesse Benton don’t have any love lost for each other, but Freeman does bring up some interesting points, and they are points that I have heard mentioned before.  This is a long interview, but it’s really informative and interesting, and anyone really interested in what or who has been involved in the campaign ought to see it.  This lady seems very articulate and genuine.

Adam Kokesh Interviews Former Paul Staffer Penny Freeman

In a nutshell, the word on the street is that Jesse Benton has been heavily influenced by a guy named Trygve Olson.  (That name just gets me every time I type it.)  Olson has been known for his career as, essentially, a guy who comes in and co-opts political movements.  And he was sent by Mitch McConnell to the Rand Paul campaign back in 2010.  I can’t believe this escaped my conspiracy radar, but here it is.  Benton ran Rand’s Senate campaign, and apparently has been taking cues from Olson all throughout this election season.  Not brilliant.  Tom Woods, a notable chap in the liberty movement, to be certain, has also come out and said that people in the Paul campaign rebuked his advice early on, at which point Woods threw up his hands and said to heck with it, then.

It is truly unfortunate if the campaign really wasn’t in it to win it.  That would be incredibly disheartening for long-time Paul fans, myself included, but perhaps more importantly, if Ron Paul himself actually knew what was going on and has made himself richer for all of this… It would be seriously disillusioning for a lot of people.  I really hope and pray that this is not the case.  Nonetheless, if it proves to be true in any way, it will be a hard-learned lesson to the liberty movement, but a good one: No one is infallible, even the best of men and the greatest leaders.  We must be our own leaders.

While I must admit that I have my worries about the movement fracturing, I do think that the true followers of liberty will find their feet – probably quicker than most believe.  This has always been a grassroots movement, and it will remain one.  Perhaps the outcome of this will be to create change on a local level.  Get involved.  Do your own education.  National campaigns are hard to control.  It’s far easier to influence things on a smaller level, but the change that comes from them is no less important.

I will say that I really hope that Ron has been as insulated from all of this as some would claim.  I really do.  I hope that Kokesh is right about Jesse Benton & Co. basically preventing anyone from the “old school” from influencing him.  That said, after all of this, I’m feeling slightly less charitable, shall we say, and I’m more willing to believe the worst.  So with that in mind, I’m going to maintain a healthy sense of skepticism on all fronts.

I’m going to reiterate though, that I really hope that none of you will lose faith in the message and the movement.  We are strong, and the message is the right one at the right time.  As I said, we are all only human.  We are flawed.  The message isn’t.  It would do all of us good to remember that, even when it seems the chips are down.  And I probably shouldn’t do this, but if any of you are convention delegates, well… Give’em hell.  Behave yourselves, my hindquarters!  Some gal whose name escapes me once said that well-behaved women seldom make history.  I think the same could generally be claimed for most folks.  So forget the official line.  Stand up for what you believe in.

Here’s some additional info I’ve been scrounging up about Trygve Olson.  

“BBC News Reports on IRI Program in Belarus” 

Stanford Report on Trygve Olson (circa 2006)

“Belarus Dissidents Get Foreign Help” – BBC

“Can Ron Paul Be Tamed?” – Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com