Posted on 12/23/2007 11:06:38 AM PST by flowerplough
- Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul on Sunday defended his efforts in Congress to bring home money to his Texas district, despite his long-held aversion to big government and congressional votes to reign in federal spending.
"I've never voted for an earmark in my life," the Texas congressman said under questioning on NBC's "Meet the Press" about reports that he has requested hundreds of millions of dollars for special projects in his home district.
"I put them in because I represent people who are asking for some of their money back," said Paul, who likened it to taking a tax credit. "I'm against the tax system, but I take all my tax credits. I want to get their money back for the people."
The 10-term congressman and longshot candidate for the Republican presidential nomination added that although he has requested special projects known as earmarks, he ultimately ends up voting against them in the House.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Because they do not care about the truth.
Not the job of the Congress. The President already has the authority.
Paul's stand on the borders is much tougher than the "front-runners." And he is more electable than Hunter is.
BTW - How's Hunter's fundraising going? :-)
The straw polls Dr. Paul has won aren't votes?
“All of Paul’s money came from individuals. Not corporate or special-interest money there Aunty like your boy Hunter.”
There ya go again. Since you’re so ‘informed’, show us.
Woopee ! Medium fish in a very little pond. Paul might win in a poll at his family reunion.
Dollars do not equal votes.
” All of Paul’s money came from individuals. Not corporate or special-interest money there Aunty like your boy Hunter.”
This was interesting to look at.
Yes, Paul’s $ is from individuals. 92.8% of Hunters is from individuals as well. Only 2.1% from pacs, so your charge of corporate or special interest money is silly. But the facts don’t matter with Paul supporters.
The breakdown was interesting.
Paul
Business 77%
Hunter
Business 54.0%
Now, who is beholden to the ‘corporate interests’?
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.asp?cid=N00006983
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.asp?id=N00005906
He can’t do arithmetic, and his knowledge on budgets and the military is almost nonexistent. He’s never done his homework on the policies, just spouts away with no regard to facts. I expected much more of him after all the praise he has been getting.
If he were to run as an independent, he’d siphon about equally from the Dhimmis and the Pubbies, I’d think, given his roughly equal support from libertarian Right and libertarian Left. So I’m not sure that it would doom the Pubbie candidate. Are there any states in which a Paulistinian third party effort could tip the state’s electoral college delegates from one side to the other?
I do not know the latter part of your question. Have not looked closely enough at it.
I will vote for the candidate who isn’t running to be the saint of Government Benevolence — the pretty face at the end of the arm handing out dollars and “keep sleeping” pills. If any of ‘em promise to shrink the FedGov, they will have my ear. If any of them profess to have learned from the mistakes of GWB vis-a-vis trying to win over Congress by being nice to them, they will have my ear.
Where are the voices for hard choices? Where is the candidate who will say to the ARM mortgage holders, “tough stuff - live up to your contract” or to the Katrina victims “what did you think would happen someday, living in a soup bowl in the path of a hurricane?” Where is the candidate who can admit that if we are sending National Guardsmen to guard nations that aren’t our own, on repeated tours of duty, that maybe we have some serious disconnect in our nation as to how important this “war” is. If the populace aint enraged enough to line up at recruiting stations and risk their blood defending the country, someone either hasn’t communicated the seriousness of the situation or doesn’t trust the American people. Or else the American people are lazy mall-haunting spoiled brats, and there really is a “military class” and the rest of us.
I’d have to look at the individual states to ascertain who he would hurt. He will get most of his votes from antiwar lefties who usually don’t vote, or may vote Democrat. That group is notorious for low turnout. The Kerry people screamed that that group lost the election for Kerry by not turnign out. The rest of his votes will come from the constitutionalist crowd, which doesn’t matter either. He gets very few votes from Republicans.
I put the odds of him running at better than 50/50. All his insiders will be after him to run, it’s a chance to make some money running his campaign. All that money he has raised has to be spent somewhere, and he is just sitting on most of it so far.
Thank you for that thoughtful response. I understand and respect your reasoning.
Personally, I’m not on anyone’s bandwagon but will follow the primaries, and remaining debates, with keen interest.
Here is the youtube of Ron Paul on meet the press, all four parts:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/017958.html
So you can see what he said about it. Personally, I think Paul is wrong on earnmarks, although I understand his explanation and position. The rest of the interview I think he was spot on. Very interesting stuff on the civil war and lincoln, sort of shocked russert I think. Paul is a free thinker, no doubt about it. Also, liked the medical industrial complex remark and facism tangent.
Any hot leads on which third (or fourth) party Paul’s gonna join, overwhelm, dominate, exploit and embarrass? Between RP and Bloomie, we might again see the election Perot-ized to the Himmary, hayna?
“The rest of his votes will come from the constitutionalist crowd, which doesn’t matter either. He gets very few votes from Republicans.”
Thanks for setting the record straight about Republicans and the constitution :-)
RP should have done a better job preparing for ol’Tim. In Paul’s defense I’d have a hard time trying to remember what I said 20 years ago and I’m not 72 years old.
I like a lot of what Paul says but I don’t think he’s necessarily the man...I personally think he doesn’t think so either.
Shouldn’t this be in breaking news? ;-)
They are up and coming professional "bong" makers of America!
This skid is a buffoon at best and a traitor at worst
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