Posted on 02/20/2007 8:59:49 AM PST by OrthodoxPresbyterian
Ron Paul, the Real Republican?
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
By Radley Balko
When you read about a vote in Congress that goes something like 412-1, odds are pretty good that the sole "nay" came from Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. He so consistently votes against widely popular bills, in fact, that the Washington Post recently gave him the moniker "Congressman 'No.'"
Paul isn't a reflexive contrarian--he doesn't oppose just to oppose. Rather, he has a core set of principles that guide him. They happen to be the same principles envisioned by the framers of the U.S. Constitution: limited government, federalism, free trade and commerce -- with a premium on peace.
When most members of Congress see a bill for the first time, they immediately judge the bill on its merits, or if you're more cynical, they determine what the political interests that support them will think of it, or how it might benefit their constituents.
For Paul, the vast majority of bills don't get that far. He first asks, "Does the Constitution authorize Congress to pass this law?" Most of the time, the answer to that question is "no." And so Paul votes accordingly.
This hasn't won him many friends in Congress, or, for that matter, his own party. It hasn't won him influential committee assignments or powerful chairmanships, either. Those are generally handed out to the party animals who vote as they're told. An incorruptible man of principle in a corrupt body almost utterly devoid of principle, Paul is often a caucus of one.
Paul recently announced his intentions to run for president in 2008. For the few of us who still care about limited government, individual rights, and a sensible foreign policy, Paul's candidacy is terrific news....Continue reading
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
"that the alleged "good guys" are the Allies of the Iraqi Communists!! Egads..."
That's about as fair and meaningfull as saying your alleged good guy (Ron Paul) is aligned with Hillary Clinton.
If the Republicans were in a formal electoral alliance with the Democrats, then that would be exactly the case.
On the other hand, if things got so bad that the Republicans were in a formal electoral alliance with the Communists (as one of the least evil of the other Parties)... well, at that point I'd say things had gone pretty South of Heaven!
for later consumption
I already get pinged pretty good. It's not necessaary. I'm here all the time anyway. See tagline)...:-)
I'm absolutely not anti-Bush but "peacekeeping" much better describes our current activities in Iraq than "war fighting". Our Administration is being hypocritical and disingenuous in this regard. We are spending lives and unbelievable amounts of treasure "nation building" and there is no rhetorical way around it. We are not operating in our self-interest and we are doing what we did in Somalia and Haiti on a much larger (read worse) scale. Hence the erosion in our public support.
I was with you until here. Iraq surrendered to us in Kuwait. They violated the terms of the surrender repeated times and in repeated ways. We had the moral authority to invade and we have the moral authority to occupy. Even if we didn't, where is what we did, prohibited in the Constitution? If you say that Congress should have declared war instead of the President, I might agree with that point.
Okey doke. :-)
That's not very charitable. We are all double-minded and like the rest of us and all Presidents, the President suffers from ignorance, inconsistency and plenty of bad advice.
I don't think he is a conscientious socialist any more than someone who sends their kids to public school. And I don't think he is a deliberate deceiver even though he does not always tell the whole truth, probably under the guise of marketing or political discretion. His problem is he is so guileless and inarticulate that he often comes across as smarmy, idiotic or both which is especially offensive B.S. to liberals who insist upon having a monopoly on B.S.
Our first loyalty should be to God no matter what, recognizing that He is loyal to his people, preserving the rarely obvious remnant wheat even amongst the many many evil tares. Israel and the United States both need God's protection, without it we are useless to each other. There is ample evidence to suspect that both countries are on a collision course with God's wrath. I believe, maybe contrary to Ron, that we should support Israel, but I think we'd better focus on surrendering to God.
Good sarcasm has to be WITTY to be effective. Take heart, you are half way there, though.
I admire your equanimity
Thanks!!
Thank you for just insulting Ron Paul and all other Vietnam Combat Field Surgeons (Ron Paul's prior Medical work before going into private practice). Ron Paul's obstetrics work may seem "easy" to you. Would you like to now trash him for keeping our troops guts from spilling all over the ground in Vietnam?
Nice. Very cute of you.
nor am I impressed by halfwit attempts at snarking....., especially when they are stupid and have no idea of the medical history of the man and what he has done for the country.
The relevant issue here is whether Paul's Doctorate is relevant. It isn't. Medical degrees do not involve high-level thinking. That's why "M.D." stands for "Mediocre Doctor". I'd prefer that it stand for "Prescription-writing machine" to be wholly accurate.
But I do appreciate that you are trying to construct a Kerry-like shield of criticism around Ron Paul. Certainly, He of the Endless Bloviating and Continuous Press Releases wouldn't stand up to scrutiny, so he needs his minions to keep him from withstanding criticism.
Just consider one fact. Ron Paul considers resolutions to be pointless. He votes against them repeadedly on "principle," even innocuous ones he claims to agree with. But now, he votes for one. For someone who claims to be rigidly tied to libertarian principle, he sure does change with the wind, don't he?
"The idea that someone might pay a fine in the process of becoming illegal is just too difficult a concept to get into the blocks of wood substituting for heads around these parts"
I just read an article by Ron Paul in which he decries the above and calls it Amnesty.
Please add me to your Ron Paul ping list please
Long time lurker here. Can you add me to the Ron Paul ping list please?
I'd be delighted. Thanks for your interest.
Great on domestic and economic policy. I could not vote for him as President of the United States. Keep him in Congress.
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