Liberty’s Most Controversial Ron Paul Supporter

Meet Patrick Eisenhart, a 30-year military retiree who is an original Ron Paul supporter dating back to 2007.  He got involved, like many active duty personnel, because Ron Paul has been the only candidate who spoke out against the military occupation of 125 foreign countries and foreign aid our country cannot afford. 2008 was a rocky year that saw little gain within the Republican Party, but it sparked a movement that silently grew and matured. From 2007 on, Eisenhart has been an active member of the Ron Paul movement and was elected by the Maine Republican Party as the only Ron Paul delegate to the 2008 national Republican convention in Minneapolis. When things didn’t work out in the end and Ron Paul was a minority at the State Convention, he remained active in the movement and was elected as a delegate to State Convention again in 2012. Twice he was asked by the Ron Paul campaign to be Ron Paul’s spokesman, giving speeches for the Congressman before the Kennebec and Cumberland County caucuses after Tagg and Mitt Romney gave their presentations.

Where Eisenhart becomes a controversial individual is his consistent criticism of Defense of Liberty PAC, which is led by former Ron Paul regional director Eric Brakey. A budget hawk that spends his time looking over campaign finance reports, he finds a series of inconsistencies.

Eisenhart’s record of support for Ron Paul and the liberty movement speaks for itself, but the Defense of Liberty PAC (DOLPAC) organized this past year by three individuals from North Carolina, Ohio, and Maryland one of whom has labeled Mr. Eisenhart as an “Enemy of Liberty.” He is an “enemy of liberty” because he started questioning how these individuals could meet in a backroom and select themselves and others to the national Republican convention rather than have regional elections among the 200 Ron Paul volunteers who indicated a desire to go.

Eisenhart also questions why DOLPAC only gave 15% of donations to liberty candidates running for office and 48% to O’Neill, Brakey, Boyer, and another former Ron Paul national staffer. Among the questions also, is why DOLPAC refused to consult it’s membership before making endorsements. Among those endorsements was John Jones, who is the roommate of Executive Director David Boyer. Interestingly enough, David Jones is also Chairman Eric Brakey’s pick for Maine Republican Party chairman in December, when Charlie Webster will likely be removed.

For a long time, it has appeared he stood alone in publicly sounding the alarm on what he felt is wrong within the movement. But as the only National Delegate from Maine supporting Ron Paul in 2008, he knows what it’s like to stand alone and remain firm on principle.

Founder and President at Tidewater Strategies Reilly O’Neill responded to concerns about his new organization by making note of a $24,000 per year contract he has with Defense of Liberty PAC. O’Neill is also a former regional director with the Ron Paul presidential campaign. Why is more money being spent on consultancy work than on candidates? This is a question asked by Eisenhart and others.

Patrick Eisenhart is a proven leader in Maine who has stood strong advancing
the cause of liberty and better governance.  With the election behind us, he now serves as a member of the Kennebec County Republican Executive Committee, where he is working with both Romney and Ron Paul supporters to develop a Republican platform based on common values for our country and to recruit candidates who believe in being honest, accountable, courageous, transparent, and selfless governance.

He has been involved in advancing the cause of liberty since the very early days in 2007 and still remains involved helping like-minded candidates for local and state offices. Some would like to label him as a complainer who wastes time attacking individuals, labeling as the champion of ad hominem attacks. This is a dishonest label, however. Eisenhart is concerned about the future of the liberty movement, which he has helped advance since it sparked in 2007. In a movement for liberty, where he voices his right to free speech, he has become a controversial figure for attempting to expose things that concern him and making attempts to rally people around him to correct them. Who can fault a man for doing the right thing?

EDIT (10.24.12 3:38pm):  Defense of Liberty PAC Executive Director and former Ron Paul  campaign regional coordinator David Boyer correctly noted that David Jones did not donate the office space to the Maine campaign. Because of this error on my part, it has been removed. Mr. Jones actually pays $600 per month through Jones Building and Development for the DOLPAC office space. For purposes of full disclosure, it should be noted that Jones also sits on the DOLPAC Board of Advisors and is chairman Eric Brakey’s candidate for State Republican chair in December to replace Charlie Webster.

Chris Dixon

About Chris Dixon

Chris Dixon is a libertarian-leaning writer and managing editor for The Liberty Conservative. In addition to his political writing, he also covers baseball for Cleat Geeks and enjoys writing on a number of other topics ranging on Medium.