Ron Paul weathers a personal loss, his troops gather Saturday in D.C.

The Ron Paul revolution marches on this weekend, literally, but the latest manifestation of the movement no doubt will be tinged with sadness for the erstwhile presidential candidate due to the death of one of his top aides.

Kent Snyder, 49, who worked for Paul's 1988 White House campaign (when he ran as a Libertarian) and chaired his surprisingly fiesty bid for the 2008 Republican nomination, died in late June of viral pneumonia in a Virginia hospital.

An obituary in today's Washington Post noted that without Snyder, the Paul phenomenon might never have occurred -- the Kansas native and martial arts enthusiast helped presuade the Texas congressman to enter the fray last year.

At a website soliciting donations to pay for Snyder's extensive medical bills (he was not insured), Paul says in a prominently displayed statement:

Kent poured every ounce of his being into our fight for Freedom. He will always hold a place in my heart and in the hearts of my family. ... Without Kent Snyder, the fight for liberty would not be where it is today. We all owe him a great debt.

Paul is scheduled to speak at a rally of his adherents that follows a Saturday morning march in downtown Washington. As spelled out on the revolutionmarch.com website, the aim of the event is to express support for "restoring constitutional government as the founding fathers set forth."

For some in attendance, the gathering will be a prelude to the much-publicized get-together Paul plans at the University of Minnesota on Sept. 2 -- not too far away from where the GOP will be convening the second day of its national convention.

That rally -- and other efforts by Paul and his crew during the convention week -- will be tracked by the media for clues about the potential long-range influence of his backers within his party. But evidence of such clout already has surfaced in some states -- perhaps most vividly in Idaho.

When the state GOP met last month, its head did his best to hang onto his job. As reported by the Idaho Statesman, Kirk Sullivan handed out Rice Krispies treats as part of his wooing of party activists. But he got bounced anyway. Replacing him was Norm Semanko who, the paper wrote, "was pushed to victory largely by an eclectic group consisting of supporters of [Paul] and social conservatives who want to shift the party to the right."

Paul and his forces also grabbed attention recently when they teamed with liberal groups to raise money to express their opposition to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that cleared Congress this week.

-- Don Frederick

Photo credit: Nick Wass / AP

Comments

[Parke]

Holy cow.. no snide remarks? Mr. Malcolm, what a pleasant surprise!

[Jack D]

Kent poured every ounce of his being into our fight for Freedom and the average American won't give one ounce. The citizens of this country have, for the most part become an ignorant parasite on a dieing host.

[AKK]

Don Frederick wrote this one. Thank you for the well written post, Mr. Frederick.

[TruthisTreason]

Ron Paul soldier reporting for duty in D.C., been here all week!

[ST]

Snyder might be alive today if Ron Paul had provided health insurance to his employees!

But, I guess Snyder wanted the freedom to get sick and die, leaving his family with $400,000 in medical bills. The kind of freedom worth fighting for, all right.

[Jose]

It was unexpected that Paul's campaign would have grown that large and rich. Snyder was in over his head. But, for what Snyder lacked in political savvy, he made up for in heart and goodwill.

[LC]

Hey ST,

Hopefully when you pass away there is someone waiting with a pathetic low blow to your dead body in addition to living family members left behind. Regardless of whether you agree with someone's philosophies or not, there is NO justification for mocking a dead man. Karma is a real pain sometimes though. Perhaps you will learn that the hard way.

[Martin]

This a good post, sad that Kent passed away. Hopefully we have smart and freedom loving people like him in the future. Thank you for this.

[ron paul all the way!]

I stand with you RP. WW3 is on the serious verge of occuring if we attack innocent Iran. I sure as fukkk wont go to war for a bunch of chickenhawk criminals. Let those idiots drive the tanks if they want to, we'd all in the world be a lot better off without them.

[Dan Alba]

Dear Mr. Malcolm, Mr. Frederick, and all other direct and indirect members of the media cartel known as The Associated Press,

This is a concerned citizen's supplication, with kind regards.

-- The Los Angeles Times is owned by Tribune Co., whose president and CEO is Sam Zell. As of April 14, 2008, Zell sits on The Associated Press' board of directors, where the Tribune Co. has been a staple for many years.

-- Rupert Murdoch, president and CEO of News Corp., which owns Fox News, is also on the Board.

-- Also on the AP BoD are the Washington Times, which is owned by Sun Myung Moon (a psycho religious-nut version of Rupert Murdoch). Moon also owns UPI.

-- The AP BoD are doing their very best to conceal the domestic and international war crimes committed by the U.S.-Israeli mafia.

-- Read the Nüremberg principles. Google: "Alfred Rosenberg, Julius Streicher, Joseph Goebbels." It can and WILL happen in our time. Justice will be served.

-- The AP BoD — for its lies, omissions, and general dehumanization of the populations being aggressed upon by the USA and Israel — will be charged for crimes against humanity, convicted, and sent to the dungeons and gallows at The Hague.

This is a prediction — not a threat: If Iran is invaded, strategically bombed, or nuked by said global cartel, there will be a new precedent set in these United States of America: one whereby the people, out of desperatie necessity, finally make an example out of the criminals in media and government for their roles in destroying our Republic, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER (preferably, the legal way).

The gallows are calling; do you hear them?

Get out while you can.

Denounce your paymasters.

Start telling the truth. Start mentioning the U.N. Charter, the 1981 Algiers Accords, the Geneva Conventions Protocols, the Nüremberg Principles, etc., and their ABSOLUTE RELEVANCE to the illicit actions of the U.S. and Israeli governments.

Do it for the people, your family, the Republic, and our posterity.

Thank you, in advance, and peace be with you always.

[john]

We know that writing about Ron Paul attracts many hits to your article, sir. However, I appreciate it. I didn't know that RP supporters have teamed with liberals on the FISA issue...thanks for that. I've been with RP since the beginning of his campaign...I've seen it explode, it's now nice to read about how the campaign is making REAL change. Dr. Ron Paul has earned all of our respect, and should be from now on deemed as a STATESMAN. Ron Paul exhibits as one of the wisest, most decent leaders in our recent history and the LA TImes nor any other mainstream media (corrupt, evil, corporations) will ever acknowledge this.

The post by Dan Alba is excellent...Mr, Fredrick and Malcolm bore me and their articles are intellectually bankrupt...Dan, do you have a blog?

(Yet, here you are once again. Thanks for your numerous visits.)

[Erik K.]

Great guy Kent was, met him in Oahu Hawaii and he really got us excited about Ron Paul. And to the person up there who said Ron Paul should have provided medical insurance, GO FUCK YOURSELF !

[dave]

how about: many people who otherwise might describe their political convictions and background as 'liberal' - regardless of party affiliation or loyalties, could be seen to join those people ardently supporting RON PAUL's constitutional movement and message, in their opposition to the grossly unconstitutional, treasonous FISA act, yet one more serious attack on, and blow to justice, civil liberties and human rights...

[TJ]

Wish I could be there. Going to try to make the Sept 2nd event.

Just listen to the conservative talk radio. They all want to do what Paul is doing. They are just as fake conservatives as the ones in charge. We are actively trying to change the party. To bad they are so invested in the this Iraq war they can't see straight.

[Sam]

Kent Snyder made more than sufficient money to pay for his own health insurance as do millions of self-employed people in America who provide insurance for themselves and their families. He either chose not to buy insurance for himself or he was uninsurable. Either way it is misdirected to suggest that Ron Paul's campaign was somehow negligent for not providing Kent with health insurance...something he could and should have provided for himself. That said, those who have voluntarily contributed to help Kent and his family are to be commended for their kindness and compassion. We don't need the government to force us to be responsible or to care for our neighbors.

[Evan B]

Actually if you look into it was a pre-existing condition that wasn't covered by any health insurance.

[lysander]

I too wondered why the RP campaign didn't provide Kent with health insurance.

As I considered the cause of Kent's untimely death along with a bit of deductive reasoning, I concluded that he was probably uninsurable due to pre-existing heath problems. When that is the case insurance is not available.

That is only my best guess, but it appears to fit the facts.

It would be a fitting gesture if the RP campaign used some of its surplus funds to assist with Kent's unpaid medical bills.

[Duily]

Long Live the Ron Paul Revolution : D

Been a hardcore Ron Paul fan ever since I saw him in one of the first Republicans debates. It was amazing. He has educated on what is wrong with America. The Federal Reserve, Fiscal Responsibility, Interventionism, taxes, he has taught me about all of this.

<3 ron paul

[NH]

@ST who said "Snyder might be alive today if Ron Paul had provided health insurance to his employees!"

Are you some kind of idiot? Having health care does NOT preclude someone from not responding to medications from some superbug.

What has having insurance even got to do with this???

Typical liberal LOW BLOW.

[Miss Darla]

Having just read your colleague's article dated July 11th, entitled "Stop the new FISA" (http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-hedges11-2008jul11,0,1927129.story), wherein writer Chris Hedges notes the severity and the ramifications of the FISA bill's passage, I can only shake my head at the Top of the Ticket and say...we tried to tell you.

Despite the kind words offered here about Kent Snyder, I wonder how long TotT will remain smug feeling about how they've treated the Paul campaign overall, as our liberties dissipate and your very jobs become directly impacted...not to mention your everyday freedoms...

While TotT was busy deriding the Paul campaign all these months, that "longshot kook" and his supporters have been fighting to protect your Constitutional rights, and continue to do so. And, incidentally, have you noticed how spot-on Ron Paul has been about the economy all along?

Those of ANY party who truly want to retain our freedoms are over at http://www.CampaignForLiberty.com.

[xondie]

Thanks for this article. It's a nice reminder that Ron Paul's revolution is still going strong and will have long lasting effects.

[ron moss]

Few realize the artificial strength of influence of the real Antichrist system of government led by Bush, Hagee, and now McCain in the effort to bomb Iran. Talking about will not raise gas prices as much as really doing it. Protecting the Jews is their #1 objective, with your money and blood, What would Martin Luther think about them?

[Tannim]

lysander, Paul 2008 funds cannot be used for Snyder medical bills-it violates BCRA.

[Douglas in Oakland, CA]

If the Libertarian philosophy ran government for a couple of terms we could all buy a nice HMO plan for probably about $90 bucks per month, with the inevitable and untold increases in competition and efficiency.

We honor Kent Snyder and are thankful for his profound contribution. It is amazing that small-minded sneering individuals try to be opportunistic with the health insurance issue in his untimely passing.

[Douglas in Oakland, CA]

If the libertarians ran the government we could all buy a nice HMO plan for probably about $90 bucks per month with the profound increase in competition and efficiencies. It is predictable that small-minded, sneering individuals would try to suggest that this represents a need for more government involvement in health care. If we get government out and allow free markets to work we will have more choices and extremely affordable health care. People have a hard time wrapping their brains around this.

Kent Snyder was fighting for the kind of community where these things become a reality.

Thank you, Kent, for your profound contribution to Freedom.