Colleen O'Connor: Ron Paul's Brutal Honesty

Yippee. Another Republican primary debate on Saturday.

Watch. 6 p.m. on ABC.

Honestly, these debates are fascinating politics because they combine theater (both comedy and tragedy); farce (from unlikely sources); and—for those patient enough to watch more than a dozen of them—real moments of clarity.

The world of politics is murky.

Rarely can the truth be seen and even less often is it told.

Politicians prefer bromides and babble to bare-knuckle fights. And almost never do they want candor—unless it is the Jerry Springer nonsense that grabs a headline.

One Republican candidate for president, however, has been trumpeting his own clarion call to truth, i.e., Ron Paul.

As other Republicans rise and fall in their “flavor of the month” contest, Paul likes to see himself as the “flavor of the decade.”

He adheres to that old maxim: “The truth will come out.”

Watching Paul expounding on his truth, versus the “truthiness” or outright nonsense spouted by most candidates, is actually compelling.

His rumpled countenance, his halting delivery, and his sometimes sputtering voice, cause many listeners to strain for the punch line—and, as with the press, miss the real point. Paul is the most authentic man on the stage.

Perhaps the least polished of all the Republican presidential candidates, Paul exudes what the others lack—massive amounts of genuine passion for his cause: limited government, balanced budgets and “constitutionalism.”

Here are some samples of Paul’s increasingly mainstream beliefs:

“The United States is broke.”

“Israel can defend itself.” 

“We need to get out of Afghanistan and Iraq and Pakistan.”

“We need to stop getting into these wars of choice.”

“Eliminate the Federal Reserve.”

“Fire Ben Bernanke.”

“Stop bailing out the banks."

“We have already lost the war on drugs and wasted trillions of dollars.”

In addition, Paul vows to cut $1 trillion from the federal budget the first year in office and to eliminate five Cabinet posts.

All of his views are available on his tech-chic website: RonPaul2012.com

Granted some of Paul’s other pronouncements seem a bit flaky.

But, in a world that is crumbling faster than the frosting on an old birthday cake, everything looks flaky.

Nonetheless, Paul’s campaign is more sophisticated than it looks, and more competitive than most news outlets give credit for.

His fundraising “money-bombs” (a term originally applied to the Paul campaign’s innovative Internet one-day fundraising tool in 2007) are impressive. Millions of dollars in small contributions amassed in a single 24-hour period.

His phone-bank operation (“phone from home”), training individuals to call from their own phones on behalf of Paul in Iowa, New Hampshire, etc., is actually run out of a Chinatown office in New York City, according to ABCNews.go.com.

His grass-roots volunteers, numbering 20,000 in Iowa, portend a potential upset in the first caucus test next month.

Currently, the Paul team has abandoned the "big crowd” photo ops in favor of small home-style gatherings. Their concentration is not on newspaper endorsements, or the national media, but niche groups like home schoolers and farmers—those voters, like Paul himself, who are often overlooked.

And for college students, “A Christmas Campaigning with Ron Paul” rings all the right bells for the Republican base.

While the current flavor of the month, Newt Gingrich, is basking in his ascendancy, and courting Donald Trump and Herman Cain (while simultaneously fighting Nancy Pelosi), the Paul campaign is unleashing new TV ads and volunteers across Iowa.

It is a mistake to underestimate the Paul campaign. His “truths” may be brutal, and his appearance crumpled, but his campaign is tech-savvy, passionate, cash-rich, and happy to tramp through the snow for its faiths.

Paramount among them, the belief that American voters can handle the truth—however toxic it might be in the political arena.

Watch the debates. Watch Paul, and decide for yourself if he is a contender or just another “flavor of the month.”