Ron Paul: Highways claim more than 9/11 killed

Baltimore Sun ^ | 9/22/07 | Rick Pearson

[LdSentinal]

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul contends that the federal government has overreacted by limiting personal freedom in the wake of terrorist attacks six years ago, noting more people die on U.S. highways in less than a month’s time compared to the number who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

“We have been told that we have to give up our freedoms in order to be safe because terrorism is such a horrible event,” Paul said today to more than 1,000 supporters who attended a rally at a downtown Chicago hotel ballroom.

“A lot fewer lives died on 9/11 than they do in less than a month on our highways, but once again, who owns the highways? Do we own the highways? No. It’s a government institution you know. …We need to put all this in perspective.”

More than 2,970 people were reported dead in the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Federal highway traffic statistics show an average of 3,509 people a month were killed on the nation’s highways in 2001.

[JTN]

The list might want to see this one. In comment #48 I posted an excerpt from an article comparing the threat from terrorism to those of other remote threats.

[Iwo Jima]

Is there anyone running against him in the Republican primary? When is the deadline to declare candidacy?

Or are you advocating the election of a Democrat from that conservative Republican district?

[deport]

According to my brother in south Houston in Ron Paul’s district, the people are hearing his words and watching his actions and the republican voters there have a nice surprise for Ron Paul.

---

Did your brother have any indication of who maybe the candidate to maybe knock Paul off during the Primary on Mar. 5? I hope they can get a candidate that the district can coalesce behind and finalize the term limits Paul once espoused but somehow forgot about.

[Republican Wildcat]

Yes, bring all of your little friends here to try to justify this latest outrageous, stupid remark by Paul, just like his remarks that Iran is no threat and they are just “misunderstood”, etc., and we should listen to the IAEA because Iran is doing everything it is supposed to do, etc.

[Republican Wildcat]

According to my brother in south Houston in Ron Paul’s district, the people are hearing his words and watching his actions and the republican voters there have a nice surprise for Ron Paul. They are going to send his sorry arse packing from Congress after he loses the POTUS race.

The only thing you would have to do is run ads with video of him in his own words - nothing else.

[Nervous Tick]

>> For all the attention it evokes, terrorism actually causes rather little damage

yawn

Yet another left wing meme, spewed forth by yet another dope-smoking moonbat Ron Paul supporter.

[BRK]

Technically, he is correct. But I don’t know of one “Freedom” I have given up, or been asked to give up since 9/11. There has been no crackdown on Speech, Arms, Religion, the Press, Assembly, Association, Double Jeopardy, Speedy trial or any other of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. Not a single one. Maybe a tiny bit of Privacy, but not so that I have even noticed it. If they get out of hand, then they need be smacked with is easy to do through the legislature and the courts.
Ron Paul is NOT an evil man. He is a very principled liberterian with a LEW ROCKWELL streak. I think we’ll do better with his followers with convincing rhetoric and reason instead of name calling and rolling our eyes like the left does. Challenge his ideas directly for the best result.

[Iwo Jima]

He's already been asked that. The obvious answer, with which I entirely agree, is that the federal government is a greater potential threat to our freedom than Islamic terrorism, Which while a threat to us, Islamic terrorism cannot compare to the loss of liberty that can occur at the hands of a tyrannical, all powerful government.

Terrorists are a serious problem, and one which we must be ever vigilant to fight against. But it is not our worst problem or threat.

Our founding fathers recognized that the greatest threat to our freedom and the very existence of our Republic would come from our own government. Do you disagree?

[DugwayDuke]

“Well put. And I do think he fears the Fed Gov worse. This means he’d accept a certain number of American deaths as a “collateral damage” trade off for the maintenance of civil liberties. I wonder if he’s thought about how high that number would be before he’d draw some sort of line.”

It’s not just this statement that would lead you to that conclusion. I believe Ron Paul has said (roughly) that while he doesn’t believe the federal government was behind 9/11, the federal government is not above exploiting it to gain power.

[Iwo Jima]

Here is a comment from the article posted:

Thanks for covering the rally. I was there and we had a capacity crowd from Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan who are strong supporters of Ron Paul because of his integrity and honesty.

I have to admit though, I don't remember him saying that about road accidents. I do know he pointed out that we bombed Iraq's bridges, are now paying for them to be rebuilt, while our own bridges are crumbling.

People on this thread are making a mountain out of a molehill.

[italianquaker]

I am torn, is he a traitor, idiot or a mental case. I am starting to believe a little of all 3.

[Sherman Logan]

You're about as likely to be killed by a lightning strike as by a terrorist attack.

There are about 75 lightning deaths in America each year. That means that in 2001 you had about one chance in 4,000,000 of dying from a lightning strike.

That compares to a one in 100,000 chance of dying in the 9/11 attacks, or a 40 times greater chance than dying from a lightning strike.

You need to work on your math skills.

[DugwayDuke]

“He’s already been asked that. The obvious answer, with which I entirely agree, is that the federal government is a greater potential threat to our freedom than Islamic terrorism, Which while a threat to us, Islamic terrorism cannot compare to the loss of liberty that can occur at the hands of a tyrannical, all powerful government.”

I would agree with you and Ron Paul that the federal government is the greater threat when you provide clear and compelling evidence that the federal government is crashing airplanes into public buildings killing thousands of American Citizens.

But thanks for your candid response. I suspect that the majority of the corps of Ron Paul supporters agree with you.

[Iwo Jima]

the only supporters of him are the conservative versions of the truther nutjobs on the liberal side.

That is wishful thinking on your part, and quite erroneous.

I talked to my son Friday (Texas A & M chemical engineering student), who is a straight arrow and good all around guy.

He said that he had some free time and so was going to join the on-campus Ron Paul group. I asked if Ron Paul had much support on campus, and he said that he thought that he did, although other Republican candidates may have more.

In case you don't know, Texas Aggies are not truther nutjobs. But if it keeps you from thinking to assume that, then I can't atop you.

[television is just wrong]

lucky for us, only around 2500, est. died. and yes there are a lot of deaths on our roads.

[Navy Patriot]

Seems I'm gettin' a little sore at Ron.

I don't like the type of stats he uses to try and make his points. X many Americans killed in highway traffic accidents. Yeah, and almost all of them unintentional.

That makes a difference in how you look for and treat those that cause the deaths, and those that intend to.

[editor-surveyor]

If Ron is trying to prove that his ineptitude at foreign policy disqualifies him to run for president, he is succeeding.

[massfreeper]

Yeah, you’re right. We should just sit back and relax until the Islamofascists have figured out how to turn New York City into a mushroom cloud. Until then, it’s not worth worrying about.

[RussP]

The terrorists killed “only” 3,000 people on 9/11 because that’s all they were able to kill. As several others on this thread have pointed out, their goal was to kill some 50,000 people in the twin towers, not to mention hundreds more in the Pentagon and whatever their target was in DC.

And their larger goal is to kill every American who does not join their religion. When they get nukes, the calculations will change dramatically.

[Allegra]

The harder this klown tries to prove his relevancy and viability as a public servant, the more he displays the exact opposite.

And the harder his supporters try to explain "what he really meant..." when he drops these Paulbombs.

Which he does just about every time he opens his mouth.