I view Ron Paul and his supporters as a movement and a cause as much as a conventional campaign, in the same way I view Occupy Wall Street as a movement and a cause that originated far outside the conventional political system. For many months I have given a lot of thought to whether an alliance can be formed between authentic conservative populists and authentic progressive populists, and here is my thought today:

I listen carefully and respectfully to what Ron Paul says, and what Occupy Wall Street says. There are two levels of analysis. On the matter of the role of government, there will never be agreement. On the matter of private-sector solutions, there are profound and powerful opportunities for agreement.

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Ron Paul and Occupy Wall Street agree that what is called capitalism is, in many cases, not capitalism but cronyism in which special interests game the system to accumulate wealth in ways that involve special access to government monies and favoritism and not creating products that consumers want to buy.

If there were a way to build a de facto consumer alliance between Ron Paul supporters and Occupy Wall Street supporters based purely on private-sector initiatives that make profit by putting customers first, it would change the world.

Today there is a powerful revolt against banks that charge fees that customers reject. Setting aside our respective views of what government should do, or not do, about which we will never agree, we can agree on some powerful private-sector approaches with the enormous leverage of the Ron Paul supporters and the Occupy Wall Street supporters.

On the matters I raise here, involving private-sector solutions that serve customers first, both Ron Paul supporters and Occupy Wall Street supporters make an honest effort to give a fair deal to the 99 percent.

My own thinking is far more specific and advanced than what I write here. My purpose today is to raise the thought of beginning a new kind of alliance, on certain matters of shared interest, between authentic conservative populists and authentic liberal populists.

The truth is, as most Ron Paul supporters and most Occupy Wall Street supporters would agree, far too often the fix is in against us.

The most powerful answer to crony capitalism is customer capitalism. The most powerful weapon for change is a unity between conservative populists and liberal populists.

While we will never agree on the role of government, the most powerful revolution waiting to be tapped is to join forces in support of those in the private sector who stand with the 99 percent, giving individuals real choices in the private market in support of companies that believe that the customer is always right.

I welcome specific ideas, and will soon offer some more of my own.