Although I have not come out to endorse any of the Republican candidates for president, it is no secret that I love Ron Paul.  I gladly buy into most of what he is selling, and when I hear him or read what he has said, he never fails to enlighten me or make me think about something differently than I did before.

This is not to say I agree with Ron Paul on everything he says, because I most assuredly don’t, but he has certainly changed my outlook on a few issues that I would have considered unshakable ten years ago.

I have no doubt that Ron Paul is honest, sincere and a loyal patriot.  As sad as this is, I cannot say that with any degree of certainty about any of the other Republican  presidential candidates.  Not a single one, and it goes without saying that I can’t say that about the present (when he’s not on vacation) occupant of the White House.

The Establishment hates Ron Paul, because his election would put a crimp in their tax-payer-funded, gravy-train lifestyles.  To define “The Establishment” properly, one has to include Congresspeople of both parties, lobbyists, defense contractors, green energy frauds, judges, White House reporters, Congressional staffers, lawyers and various other bureaucrats and administrators.  All of Washington, D.C., in other words.

Ron Paul enjoys an impressive following.  His supporters are tireless, loyal, typically well-informed and, in some cases, they are Ron Paul’s biggest obstacle in 2012.

Before I go any further, I want to make a clear and distinct separation between what I see as two very different, but equally faithful, types of Ron Paul supporters.  There are the mostly normal folks, and then there are the “Paulbots.”

The Urban Dictionary describes “Paulbots” as, “Someone suffering from an obnoxious personality disorder which causes them to endlessly scan online discussions for mentions of Ron Paul and then descend on those discussions with hostile invective and over the top praise for Dr. Paul, accompanied with various rude behavior including shouting down disagreement and accusing anyone who disagrees with them of being a fascist.”

These people make up a very small percentage of Paul’s base, but, due to their over-the-top ways and the very pro-Establishment media, they are the only ones who ever get any national attention.

These Paulbots are grownup versions of that mouth-breathing kid in school (who always had a stuffed-up nose and smelled vaguely of pee) that knew everything about everything and you tried like heck to avoid.  These are the conspiracy people; the ones who believe 9-11 was an inside job, the ones who preach endlessly about the Illuminati, Bilderberg and FEMA camps.

They are Legion, and they are annoying.  You can’t reason with them, exchange ideas with them, or even escape them.  Their purpose seems to be to bash people over the head with their version of the truth so hard that the victim is left brain-damaged and believing what the Paulbot is saying.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you are a Paulbot (ask your friends, neighbors or co-workers, trust me, they will tell you), then you need to shut up and sit down.  You are doing much more harm than good.  You are driving people away from Ron Paul and reenforcing the media-driven stereotype that Ron Paul supporters are kooks.  You are doing the work of the Establishment.

I am going to go extreme here for example’s sake … let’s assume that 9-11 was indeed an inside job, a position that Ron Paul does not support, and you are one of the Truther Paulbots (there are many Paulbot species).  The average American is zoned-out in front of some sitcom, shoveling fast-food down their throats and worrying about the new Nike’s coming out.  They are not prepared to swallow what you are trying to get them to believe, and they darn sure aren’t going to listen to you if you call them fascists when they doubt or question your claims.

I use that example because that happened to me.  On another person’s Web site, I was engaged in a discussion about Dr. Paul, and how I love the man and find him honest, but how his honesty does not mean I believe in all that he stands for.  The discussion was friendly and informative until two Paulbots got involved.  They engaged, and when I didn’t immediately bend to their will, I was part of the conspiracy, a “Faux News” zombie and a moron.

If they only knew …

Hey, I am not above calling people names, I rather enjoy doing it actually.  I will freely, and gleefully, write an article stating that Barack Hussein Obama is a traitor, Nancy Pelosi is a criminal and liberals are idiots.  I do it all the time, my Facebook page is a liberal’s nightmare.  However, if someone is actually talking to me about a subject, I will not resort to name-calling as a way to win the debate, or to sway that person’s opinion.  That never quite works, unless you are on the playground, of course.

Thankfully a couple of other Ron Paul supporters were there to redirect and take control of the discussion again.  Eventually the Paulbots got bored at taking shots and wandered off to disrupt another comment section.  I liked how the calm discussion was resurrected, but the thing I didn’t like was that the sane Ron Paul supporters didn’t engage the nut jobs directly and tell them to shut up.  That is why I am writing this little article.  Yes, Ron Paul has a problem, but it is a problem that can be fixed.

You have to ease people into changing their beliefs.  Think about it.  You are going to have to start slow, get them to dip their toe in the water to test it out before they jump in.  Take one concept and explain it, explain the implications of it, explain what it means, explain how it is different from other views.  You Paulbots are trying to change the world’s collective mind in one fell swoop, when, in fact, you are going to have to eat away at misconceptions slowly, steadily and sanely.

Ron Paul supporters, the majority of you that are patriotic and blessedly rational, I know it is hard to be shepherds of discussions, but you are going to have to actively do that.  You are going to have to gently guide the sheep of the United States away from big government liberals, especially the ones who wrap themselves in the Republican party and pretend to be conservatives.  When your rabid Paulbot wolves descend on the sheep, you are going to have to turn from gentle shepherd into fierce sheepdog, and drive those people, yes, your fellow Ron Paul supporters, away from the people who are just waking up to Ron Paul and what he really believes in; individual liberty, the Constitution and limited government.

Start now.  Get out there and wake people up to reality, especially yourselves.