YAF National Board Expels Ron Paul From Advisory Board

The Washington Times ^ | Saturday, February 12, 2011 | Kerry Picket

[kristinn]

Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) , a conservative libertarian group founded in 1960 at the estate of William F. Buckley, expelled Rep. Ron Paul, Texas Republican, from their advisory board on Saturday. The organization released the following statement on Saturday afternoon:

The National Board of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF)—America's oldest conservative-libertarian activist group—has, per curium, voted to purge Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) from YAF’s National Advisory Board.

YAF’s concern with Rep. Paul stems from his delusional and disturbing alliance with the fringe Anti-War movement.

“It is a sad day in American history when a one-time conservative-libertarian stalwart has fallen more out of touch with America’s needs for national security than the current feeble and appeasing administration,” said YAF’s Senior National Director Jordan Marks.

“Who would have ever thought that we would see the day when YAF was more aligned with the Obama administration than a formerly conservative Republican congressman? Rep. Paul's refusal to support our nation’s military and national security interests border on treason, aside from his failure to uphold his oath to the United States Constitution and defend our country and citizens against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” Marks continued.

SNIP

YAF National Chairman Michael Jones issued the following statement on this issue:

SNIP “Freedom and prosperity cannot peacefully exist alongside radical Islam. It is unfortunate that Ron Paul--a member of the U.S. Congress-- does not understand this. Surely, our enemies do.”

[Prokopton]

“Not that anyone has ever heard of them anyway”

A lot of people have heard of them. I was a member in college many years ago. Never heard the term libertarian applied to them.

http://www.yaf.com/about/history/

[SaxxonWoods]

Forget the policy arguments.

Ron Paul is too old.

America is not electing an 80 year old president.

[Recovering_Democrat]

oh yeah, right...Buckley was a Big Government guy. And Reagan was a liberal.

Please.

[rmlew]

These YAF people must love our current ‘bipartisan’ foreign policy which consists of spending billions of foreign aid, providing for the defense of countless other countries by stationing our troops there, and supporting dictators such as Mubarak, the Saudis, the tunisia guy and others, who are all socialist criminal billionaires due to stealing from their own citizens.
And you must be a lazy blowhard, who prefers to prove his ignorance over doing a simple websearch.

[rmlew]

What part of this is "Big Government Conservative"?

Sharon Statement

Adopted in Conference, at Sharon, Connecticut, in conference September 10 - 13, 1960."

IN THIS TIME of moral and political crises, it is the responsibility of the youth of America to affirm certain eternal truths.

WE, as young conservatives believe:

THAT foremost among the transcendent values is the individual's use of his God-given free will, whence derives his right to be free from the restrictions of arbitrary force;

THAT liberty is indivisible, and that political freedom cannot long exist without economic freedom;

THAT the purpose of government is to protect those freedoms through the preservation of internal order, the provision of national defense, and the administration of justice;

THAT when government ventures beyond these rightful functions, it accumulates power, which tends to diminish order and liberty;

THAT the Constitution of the United States is the best arrangement yet devised for empowering government to fulfill its proper role, while restraining it from the concentration and abuse of power;

THAT the genius of the Constitution - the division of powers - is summed up in the clause that reserves primacy to the several states, or to the people in those spheres not specifically delegated to the Federal government;

THAT the market economy, allocating resources by the free play of supply and demand, is the single economic system compatible with the requirements of personal freedom and constitutional government, and that it is at the same time the most productive supplier of human needs;

THAT when government interferes with the work of the market economy, it tends to reduce the moral and physical strength of the nation, that when it takes from one to bestow on another, it diminishes the incentive of the first, the integrity of the second, and the moral autonomy of both;

THAT we will be free only so long as the national sovereignty of the United States is secure; that history shows periods of freedom are rare, and can exist only when free citizens concertedly defend their rights against all enemies…

THAT the forces of international Communism are, at present, the greatest single threat to these liberties;

THAT the United States should stress victory over, rather than coexistence with this menace; and

THAT American foreign policy must be judged by this criterion: does it serve the just interests of the United States?

[rmlew]

The same split between craven-libertarians and patriotic libertarians and conservatives occured in the 1960’s. The commie-loving libertarians left to form the Libertarian Party.

[logician2u]

I was a member in college many years ago. Never heard the term libertarian applied to them.

You may be to young, not like us old geezers who worked for Goldwater via YAF. We never heard that word, "libertarian," either, but many of us read The Freeman, which informed our economic, and to a degree, social attitudes vis a vis government laws and policy.

The official history on YAF's Web site leaves out many details (as well as some sordid activities among previous YAF leadership), no doubt for greater mass-market appeal.

The Wikipedia entry covers the major phases YAF went through since its 1960 founding fairly well, I believe.

[rmlew]

They're still calling themselves the "Young Americans for Freedom" fifty years later?
Yes we do. Stop confusing snark, especially pathetically ignorant snark, with an argument. The Young Republicans and Young Democrats are older groups. There is a cutoff age for active membership.

[SaxxonWoods]

I have fossils at my ranch that are younger than Ron Paul.

Get real.

[logician2u]

Answering your own post are you?

Ron Paul isn't running for president, as far as I can tell.

What's your point?

[logician2u]

Please tell me, what is a “craven-libertarian?” A meat-eater?

[SaxxonWoods]

My point is, he is too old to get elected president.

Hell, he’s older than McCain.

[Williams]

His winning the CPAC straw poll, after his supporters heckled Cheney as a “draft dodger” -

Told me Palin did the right thing by not attending. Gee, she just might have been smarter than all of the others in this case. (Sadly, that would include Cheney and Rumsfeld, but I guess Cheney was being loyal to Rumsfeld by attending).

[Uncle Miltie]

Good. Libertarians can be our allies, but they are not Conservatives’ base.

[Uncle Miltie]

Good. Libertarians can be our allies, but they are not Conservatives’ base.

[logician2u]

He's not running for president.

He was removed ("expelled") from YAF's Advisory Board.

Is that too difficult to comprehend? Rep. Paul was out of step with present YAF leadership, whoever that is.

I'm staying up late waiting for someone to answer my question in post 53 above. So far it's been mostly spew and no facts.

[rmlew]

Please tell me, what is a “craven-libertarian?” A meat-eater?
Those libertarians who sought to appease the USSR and Communist China and disarm America while screaming with pot-filled lungs about the welfare-warfare state.

[SaxxonWoods]

I think Ron Paul would make a great National Historian. I bet he remembers Custer’s Last Stand like it was yesterday.

[terycarl]

Have any of the people posting ever sat across the table and talked to the Congressman representing your district? I have. It was Ron Paul. I may not agree with him on all his positions but as a Congressman representing our district he came by and met with those in the district in person. More than once. And drove the car himself. When was the last time your representative talked to you DIRECTLY across the table at a restaurant.

Talking with constituants, meeting with them at a restaurant, having town hall meetings etc. etc...makes one an acceptable congressman, doesn't make him/her right...just a good representative of your district. I am in northern Indiana...used to have Chris Chocola(R)....now have Donnely(D)....lots of contact with his area residents...but votes for Obama as often as possible....and the only portion of his district that is Democrat is his home area of South Bend....he and they are pathetic

[jla]

You failed to properly answer my question. You gave no reason(s) as to why you believe YAF is 'delusional' you merely spewed out some opinionated generalities without an iota of specificity about them.

Yes, 'never mind'. (Two words, genius)