Ron Paul has already changed America

One of the slights against Ron Paul is that he has rarely gotten any legislation through congress. While this is certainly true and may speak to the power of persuasion he has over his peers, I frankly think it speaks more to the power of persuasion that lobbyists have over his peers. (but hey, that's a whole different story)

Undeterred, Dr. Paul has been a consistent voice of dissent in congress, proudly earning the label "Dr. No". More importantly he has completely changed the political discourse in this country and it will have reverberating effects for years to come.

What are some of the things that Paul has changed?

Moneybomb - A term now regularly used to describe political fund raising events, but it was Paul's supporters who lay claim to the original Moneybomb back in '07. Nobody else comes close to his success with these types of fund raising efforts either. While most candidates struggle to reach a few hundred thousand dollars, Ron Paul regularly hits several million in donations.

End the Fed - yes it's a book, but more it's an idea. Paul questions the need for a central bank and then really questions what the central bank has been doing. His efforts to audit the Fed came to fruition (at least in part) and the results were staggering. Over 16 trillion in buddy loans from money that was created out of thin air. The ability for one organization to wield so much power over the global economy is terrifying and Ron Paul brought it to light.

Sound Money - we may be a long way from returning to the gold standard, but because of voices like Dr. Paul's we are closer to things like a balanced budget amendment.

Congressional authorization for war - Presidents Republican and Democrat alike have denigrated the War Powers Act and have been left unchecked by weak congresses. Ron Paul takes them to task on the issue.

Liberty - His belief that government's nearly sole repsonsibilty is in the protection of our liberty. Once considered a fringe movement, the idea of real freedom is (as Dr. Paul likes to say) becoming popular, don't you know!

Regardless of elections won or lost, legislation passed or not, there are few people in the history of our country who have had or will have a greater impact than Ron Paul.