Posted on 05/11/2011 5:19:28 AM PDT by Kaslin
The man who likely has done more than anyone to put the libertarian philosophy of freedom and small government on the political agenda probably will make another run for the presidency: U.S. Rep. Ron Paul.
Paul is always upbeat, but lately he's had more reason to be, as he sees libertarian ideas bubbling up from the grass roots.
"People outside of Washington are waking up," he told me, "and they're getting the attention of a few in Washington."
Paul has been in Congress more than 20 years, and much of that time he's played a lonely role, often being the only representative to cast "no" vote on bills to expand government.
"Twenty years ago, there weren't very many people around that would endorse these views. So ... I'm very pleased with what's happening. There are more now, but the problems are so much greater."
Because bigger government creates built-in resistance to cuts.
"Everybody has their bailiwick they want to protect: 'We know the spending is bad. But don't touch my stuff.'"
The biggest growth is in entitlements. Recently, after constituents yelled at them, Republicans backed off on their reasonable plan to try to make Medicare sustainable.
"This is one of the places where good conservatives and good libertarians have come up short. ... We get a bad rap that we lack compassion. A liberal who wants to take your money and give it to somebody else ... grab(s) the moral high ground."
At the recent Conservative Political Action Conference, Paul floated a novel idea: "Would you consider opting out of the whole system under one condition? You pay 10 percent of your income, but you take care of yourself -- don't ask the government for anything."
The CPAC crowed applauded. But liberals like MSNBC's Chris Matthews mocked him, sneering that anyone who accepted Paul's offer would have no access to federal highways, air safety, food inspection, cancer research or defense.
Paul laughs at Matthews' shallow criticism. Ever the constitutionalist, he'd like to privatize the federal highways someday, but he notes that even now they are largely financed by the gasoline tax -- essentially a user fee. As for air and food safety, he's sure the airlines and food companies have no desire to kill their customers and that careless companies would be disciplined by competition and the tort system. He claims that government stands in the way of a lot of cancer research.
In other words, it's foolish to assume that just because the government doesn't do something, that it wouldn't be done at all.
"(Matthews is) using fear," Paul said. "They all do that ... use fear to intimidate."
A member of my studio audience asked Paul about the coming vote to raise the debt ceiling.
"They're probably going to ... (but) we shouldn't raise it. We should put pressure on them. If you took away the privilege of the Federal Reserve to buy debt, this thing would all come to an end because if you couldn't print the money to pay for the Treasury bills, interest rates would go up and Congress then would be forced (to cut spending)."
But smart people say we need the Fed to keep the economy going.
"The people who benefit from big government spending love the Fed. ... The Fed is very, very detrimental. You cannot have big, runaway government -- you cannot have these deficits -- if you don't have the Fed."
We libertarians say government is too big, but one thing it is supposed to do is provide for the common defense. Paul criticizes conservatives who support an aggressive foreign policy and says much of what is called "defense" is really offense. "I don't want to cut any defense," he said.
He added: "You could cut (the military budget) in half and even (more) later on because there's nobody likely to attack us. Who's going to invade this country?"
Ever the optimist, Paul says, "We have a tremendous opportunity now because most people realize government's failing ... ."
Yet he's a realist: "I think ... our problems are going to get worse ... before we correct them."
You call yourself a “social conservative,” right? So by definition, you want GOVERNMENT to enforce YOUR version of morality on everyone. You fail to think of the unintended consequences. A lot of you were all for the so-called USA-PATRIOT act and the TSA and DHS and such like, as well. So how has it worked out, now under an Obambi regime, where the LEFT has the reins of power? You readily forgave Bush II for HIS flaws, INCLUDING that monstrous prescription drug plan, because he gave lip service to the pro-life movement, yet when someone who actually IS pro-life proposes that Federal government is NOT the right venue for you on that, you kick and scream like a teenage girl whose mother told her “No.”
No, it’s easy to read your sort. You call yourself “Christian,” yet you abrogate your duties to government. You want just “one more law” passed and everyone will fall on line or be in prison.
God is NOT about that. Read Paul’s letters to the Romans and the Galatians, for starters.
Your argument seems to be that if you can’t prove a negative it establishes the positive. This is illogical since it is logically impossible to prove a negative. In any case it is not true that there is no evidence of this practice. In his ‘Histories’ Herodotus claims that an early king of ancient pre-Classical Libya uniquely practiced the right of the first night, and no one else in history had even done it.
The owner of this site is also a social conservative. Are you saying that JimRob supports for government control?
Your post is full of assumptions and no substance. You have provided no quotes to back up your assumptions.
I won't respond to you again.
http://www.whoradio.com/pages/simonconway.html?article=8557552
That will take you to where you can see for yourself the idiocy of Ron Paul on the radio that C.G.G. speaks of... with a youtube video link to the soundbite - plus, a link to the entire interview. Enjoy.
I’m not going to claim it either way. At this point, I’m going to drop it completely. I think marriage, as MARRIAGE, should be a function of family and the Church. Contracts and their enforcement are where government, state and LOCAL, are properly involved.
You like a much larger role for big government. I want the least possible. Protect and respect the equal rights of all; don’t even THINK about special “rights” for “special” people- don’t even DREAM about them; tell would-be busybodies that some folks are gonna sin and that’s just that. If no Rights violations are involved, no outside party injured, just deal with it. You can preach the Gospel to those sinners who might listen, but you may NOT USE THE FORCE OF GOVERNMENT to get them to do things YOUR way. If minors and the incompetent are not being misused; if no one is initiating force, YOU may not get GOVERNMENT to initiate force to stop someone’s behavior simply because it offends you or you consider it “sinful.”
What I said was a lie but you are not calling me a liar. Maybe you see the distinction but I don’t. Maybe you have had enough for the night and need to sleep it off. Look at it in the morning but don’t bother to post to me again, you are not the kind of Christian I am accustomed to talking to.
Where you get this idea I can't imagine. All I have been discussing here is the existence of jus prima nocte in Britain. You said it happened, I posted information disputing that. Anything else is in your head.
Actually, Jim has an attitude closer to mine on most of these things than to YOURS, as demonstrated. Mine is much more “Don’t rub your behaviors in my face and we’ll get along OK.” I may not LIKE what someone does, but all I can PROPERLY do is sit that person down and talk to them, pointing out where, in MY OPINION, they are either wrong or sinful, and WHY. I do NOT have the power to MAKE someone behave as I would wish, so I cannot consent to have GOVERNMENT do it for me. That’s the difference between you and I... YOU seem to find it OK to get laws passed. I don’t. Jim doesn’t either. Not the Jim that founded FR back in the day. And not the one who yet runs the place. There are a lot of things folks do that we find offensive. The difference between me and you is that I know, absent Christ’s return, there’s naught but example going to make any difference. Look at the drug problem for example: NO LAW has made one single dent in drug usage; all it’s done has been to fill up our prisons, making the guard unions ecstatic and drive up PRICES, CREATING the cartels and making them both wealthy and ecstatic. Then we have the corrupt cops, prosecutors, judges, defense lawyers, politicians of all stripes, and so forth. And for what? So that little jimmy won’t hurt himself, we’re willing to see him locked away for years, if not life. Explain that to me.
You can repeat a lie someone else told you and if you BELIEVE it, YOU are not the liar. If you, as with me, fail to do your due diligence, you can pass on false information in good faith. That doesn’t make YOU a liar. You are a liar ONLY if you KNOW you are passing along false information. THAT is the distinction... and it’s pretty distinct!
Perhaps so. At this point I can’t tell. But I am going to get my wife from work and chill the rest of this night. Good night to you and good wishes, as well.
You have "demonstrated" NOTHING. Nor have you quoted me in a single one of your imaginative posts. You are abrasive and fantasize statements by other posters that were never made.
I would state that you'd have to know most FReepers personally to even make that claim. Therefore your statement is nothing more than conjecture.
If you can't appreciate the pure beauty of the violin after hearing this, something's wrong with your ears.Or you can get raw with these strings. Either way, the violin is sweet yet lethal.
Do it!
Have a nice day. I am not going to play with you anymore today, thanks.
Based on responses to posts, I’d say it’s not THAT hard to tell. Not perfect.
How nice. You make all kinds of accusations and when asked repeatedly to back them up with quotes, you can’t. You leave instead. Typical.
Ask libertarians about the Louisiana Purchase and both Barbary Wars and watch their heads spin, their historical claims to libertarianism among the Founding Fathers are non-existent.
As long as its between a man and a woman. Otherwise they can have govt "civil unions" if they want.
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