Have I said anything about ideological purity? No, I didn't.
There's a difference between "Let's vote for a slightly different guy because he's more electable" and "Let's vote for a completely different guy." Practicality has limits, too. Limits beyond which it is not really even that practical.
Do you think Andrew Sullivan supporting Obama in the general after endorsing Paul in the primary was smart?
How about these people?
Andrew Sullivan long ago lost any credibility. Dude is a fickle as the the Texas weather in springtime, with the exception of gay marriage. On gay marriage he will use any argument at hand, even if it contradicts the argument he made the day before.
AS thinks he & his are the only "true conservatives." Thing is, AS also thinks taking buck-nekkid pictures of your HIV+ self and then trolling for anonymous sex on the internet is hunky-dory.
Tell me again why anyone would take AS seriously as anything other than an hysteric freakjob with the gift of clear prose (if not logic)?
From your hot air link:
Here’s a clip from last month of America’s Greatest Patriot acknowledging the overlap between his supporters/cult followers and Obama’s even while he derides Obama as an agent of the status quo, particularly with regard to keeping troops in Afghanistan. Or, as I like to call it, the war Ron Paul forgot he voted for.
That's ^^^ funny right there.
As to the meat of the link, the general thesis seems to be, "political exam poor means to determine libertarian personal philosophy."
One last note: That clip of RP was one of his better snippets. He kept it reasonable, avoided going into the details of his goldbuggery, & made a clear & simple argument that most folks could understand. His supporters pick up on the dog whistle terms, but others do not.
If he could have kept that tone & level of detail on his more radical propositions, he would have made a much better candidate.
FTR, I doubt many successful revolutionaries laid it all out before they got their hands on the levers of power. In the real world, you gotta flack he most popular bits of your agenda and downplay the less popular parts.