A Revolution Beyond Ron Paul: The Road to Paulville

While they may not be matched in numbers, the amount of passion Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul’s supporters enjoy is second to none. When it became clear weeks ago that Sen. John McCain had all but wrapped up the party’s nomination, Paul supporters nationwide were undeterred. Locally, when former Pres. Bill Clinton stumped in Kalispell this week for his wife on the Democratic side, Paul supporters were there making noise too. And now, for some backers of the Texas Congressman with a Libertarian bent, all roads lead to Paulville.

The goal, as outlined on Paulville.org, is “to establish gated communities containing 100 percent Ron Paul supporters and or people who live by the ideals of freedom and liberty.” The group has already bought 50 acres in West Texas. It plans to form a co-op, have people buys shares in the community and allow those living there to vote on such essentials as utilities. However, for those who don’t believe those are essential, they can live off the grid for free.

To actually homestead this property from scratch will take some work, and the group warns this community is “not for the faint of heart.” Still, I have no doubt that the organizers will sell out the 50 1-acre plots in short order. And, in due time, they will homestead other plots of land across the country. Expect a Montana Paulville. After all, Ron Paul garnered as much support here as he did anywhere else.

The concept of creating all these Paul-inspired neighborhoods has drawn mixed reviews and The Atlantic’s Andrew Sullivan pointed out that living next to people who agree with you all the time could get old. Even Ron Paul is cool to the idea, telling Politico he wouldn’t move there and “I don’t think that’s the solution.”

Maybe not, but that won’t stop the project. And that fact may just be further evidence that the Ron Paul revolution has increasingly less to do with Ron Paul.