Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign is telling all of his Republican rivals - save Mitt Romney - to drop out of the race.

Jesse Benton, Paul's campaign chairman, delivered the plea in the following press release, essentially arguing that Paul is the only viable anti-Romney and anti-Obama candidate.

I doubt any of Paul's GOP rivlas will actually heed Benton's call, but he does make some good points.

Paul is clearly the second-place candidate in the 2012 GOP nomination race, having secured the second most in votes so far. He is also the only candidate besides Romney who has a credible national strategy and enough campaign funds to carry it out.

Perhaps most importantly, polls consistently show that he and Romney are the only candidates who can beat President Barack Obama; other Republican candidates, like Perry and Gingrich, would get crushed.

Ron Paul is clearly the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney as the campaign goes forward. We urge Ron Paul's opponents who have been unsuccessfully trying to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney to unite by getting out of the race and uniting behind Paul's candidacy, wrote Benton.

The truth, however, is that the Republican Party establishment (and the candidates it backs) does not actually care about being conservative. Instead, it is more concerned about keeping the two-party status quo.

Given the choice between Paul and Democratic President Obama, many would actually choose Obama.

Rich political donors are well-known for giving money to both parties.

In 2008, individuals associated Goldman Sachs were the second biggest donor to Obama's campaign and fifth biggest donor to McCain's campaign while those associated with JPMorgan Chase were the sixth biggest donor to Obama's campaign and second biggest donor to McCain's campaign.

The primary concern of these donors is not liberal versus conservative; it is keeping the two-party establishment.

The two political parties themselves put on a show of disagreement and give voters the illusion of choice.

However, the Republican and Democratic Party are largely one and the same - the party of the establishment - on important issues likes foreign policy, civil liberties, government spending, the Federal Reserve and the War on Drugs policy.

The two parties also each pander to various groups - Republicans to evangelicals and Democrats to ethnic minorities - to keep the public pacified.

However, they often neglect the most pressing issues facing these groups. The Democrats, for example, have done very little to end the War on Drugs policy, which is a modern-day version of the Jim Crow laws that keeps minorities disenfranchised and relegates them to inferior education and job opportunities.

Many Americans belonging to such groups are beginning to wake up to this fact and support third-party (or third-party leaning) candidates like Ron Paul.

Converting these people to his camp is likely Paul's best chance of securing the Republican nomination.

Even though Republican establishment candidates like Gingrich and Rick Santorum will not voluntarily drop out of the race, they are losing support among voters and may soon be forced to quit.

Once they do, evangelicals, which make up nearly half of Republican primary voters, could overwhelming choose Paul over Romney in their two-man race, if Paul plays his cards right.

Evangelicals are generally pro-life, anti-big government and wary of the Federal Reserve. Paul's political positions fit the bill.

Perhaps more importantly, evangelicals are hesitant to back Romney because of his Mormon faith.

If Paul indeed overwhelmingly carries the evangelical vote, it is entirely conceivable that he can beat Romney for the Republican nomination in 2012.

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