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Posted on 07/22/2007 10:30:04 AM PDT by George W. Bush
Paul the apostate
Jul 19th 2007 | LAKE JACKSON, TEXAS
From The Economist print editionIs this would-be president brave or crazy?
RON PAUL, a libertarian Republican congressman from Texas, likes to say what he thinks. And among the things he thinks is that the census is a violation of privacy. He has opted out of the congressional pension programme. He claims never to have voted for a tax increase, or for an unbalanced budget, or for a congressional pay rise and never to have gone on a congressional junket. He wants to return to the gold standard. Most notably, he strongly opposes the Iraq war and has from the beginning.
Mr Paul is running for president. And according to the latest report from the Federal Election Commission, he is in better financial shape than John McCain, once the front-runner. Mr Paul raised $2.4m in the second quarter of the year, has roughly that much on hand, and has no debts. Mr McCain raised far more money but spent it just as fast, ending the quarter with $3.2m on hand but with $1.8m in debt.
Mr Paul represents Lake Jackson, a pretty coastal city that looks like an advertisement for planned community life. On a recent summer evening, children splashed in a fountain next to the bustling public library, and a family of four cycled single-file down That Way drive. In some ways, Mr Paul is an odd choice to represent the area. Although the Gulf coast is vulnerable to flooding, for example, he wants the Federal Emergency Management Agency not to interfere. But he has deep roots in the area. For a time he was the only obstetrician in Brazoria County and he has delivered many local residents.
Running for president as the Libertarian Party candidate in 1988 (while still, oddly, a Republican) helped Mr Paul acquire a small cadre of devoted supporters around the country. But he was widely unknown until this May, when he enlivened a Republican debate by saying that Middle Eastern terrorists struck at the United States in part because “we've been over there; we've been bombing Iraq for ten years.” Rudy Giuliani, a former mayor of New York, promptly tore into him. The crowd cheered Mr Giuliani.
It seemed that Mr Paul would be ostracised. But since then he has been vigorously defended by libertarian internet buffs everywhere. (His supporters are diligent correspondents and, having published this article, The Economist expects to hear from them.) The singer Barry Manilow has donated to his campaign. An Indiana company is putting his face on their specie-backed Liberty Dollars. Mr Paul's spokesman said that the Liberty Dollars are nice, but supporters should keep sending regular ones.
Several months ago, Mr Paul got a consistent 1% of the Republican vote. In a Gallup poll released this week, he had tripled that. Although he had better not choose his White House curtains just yet, the Texan's presence could invigorate the Republicans. Even those who question his plans to withdraw from the UN can appreciate his candour.
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“Barry Manilow has contributed to both Obama and Clinton’s campaigns.”
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_107135750.html
Yeah, all losers should throw many dollars down that black vapid hole that is Rod Paul. :-) I love it...
Most entertainers throw all their money at liberals, I am not shocked by this news.
The fact he is Jewish and Democrats keep screwing Israel and he still finds Democrats appealing is also nothing new for some reason.
The same question has been asked of kamakaze pilots and suicide bombers. I vote crazy.
Nice elitist, condescending tone there.
Those "losers" you're referring to happen to represent a wide cross-section of voters who are disgusted with both political parties and Washington, and are sick of paying for big government socialist policies and watching our sovereignty erode.
Keep laughing at Paul, but he'll go deep in the primaries, and I bet Fred or Mitt will incorporate a couple of Paul's ideas into their policy drafts.
It worked for the present Bush Administration.
Enough 'losers' that Paul's campaign is currently third among Republicans.
Seems that those 'losers' put their money where their mouth and vote reside...of course according to you and your ilk, that can't possibly be because we're all paranoid 'Truthers' living in our parent's basement. </extreme sarcasm>
kidding aside, Paul gets almost all of his funds from individual doners of $200 or less. That's a lot of losers, enough to win a national election.
So tell me, what corporate entities are paying for Fred McRomneyani? Maybe you ought to be more concerned about that.
First the League of Nations, the Internal Revenue Service, then the Federal Reserve, then going off the gold standard, and the road has led away from the Constitution ever since. Now we have the U.N., the ACLU. I think conservative John F. Kennedy intended to put us back on the gold standard. The dollar is now worth 5 cents of what it was worth in 1950.
I can certainly appreciate Ron Paul’s concerns about these things. They are my concerns as well. They are also among the many concerns of Duncan Hunter, whom I consider the stronger candidate.
Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.Article I, section2
incredibly inane lead-in if you're posting this as an article favorable to Paul, the Constitutionalist ,since there may be no more function of government more intrinsic than the census. I'm sure you'll tell me, "well, he didn't mean that..."
The consitution requires figuring out how many people there are, in order to apportion congressional seats. The Census has endless questions about your income, # of bathrooms, etc. in order to help the government best figure out how to take your money, and to provide free markeing research to corporate America. I doubt Paul would have any problem with a census that simply asked how many people lived in your house.
Well, I will get a liberty dollar just to have one. Later, I will sprinkle it with holy water to see if it burns. That will be my test to see if Ron Paul is, as is much advertized by some posters on FR, the anti-christ.
Anyway, it’s better than a campagin button and may pawn for more if I ever fall down on my luck.
You can't seriously support both Duncan Hunter and Ron Paul... not if you know anything substantive about both men.
Foreign Policy---www.gohunter08.com20. Major foreign policy objectives and philosophy:
I believe in peace through strength. I believe in a policy that supports U.S. interests by spreading freedom within the limits of U.S. capability. I also believe in ending the one-way street on trade.
21. Advancement of human rights and religious freedom:
The greatest protection of human rights in this decade has been the overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Religious freedom is part and parcel of any free society the U.S. stands up.
22. The nation of Israel and the needed steps in the Middle East:
As House Armed Services Chairman, I recognize Israel as America’s most important ally in the Middle East region. As a result, I strongly support Israel’s right to exist and efforts to defend itself and I have consistently voted in favor of providing federal funding for Israel’s defense systems, including missile defense.
I also strongly support U.S. efforts to establish free societies in Iraq and Afghanistan.
So if you're just trying to muddy the waters, I don't think it's going to work. And if really believe that RP and DH are sympatico, you need to get educated.
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