Ron Paul - A Real Republican ? ? ?

[anabolicrhino]

MIENFOKS: RON PAUL - REBUFFS CNN HATCHET JOB !

Only by the definition of the word!

 

[rafter]

Love that piece.

 

[Squeaks4ver]

He is a libertarian. It is hard to pick up this distinction in these debates. Libertarians and Republicans have seeming similarities in their desires to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. But it would be a mistake to think that the differences are only quantitative. They are also qualitative. It is not simply that Paul would cut more excess than, say, Jeff Flake. It is that Paul, as a libertarian, has a very different view of what excess is. This is what Michael Barone writes in The Almanac of American Politics:

Frequently, his insistence on limited government made Paul the House's lonely dissenter against bills to require states to report on their progress in improving student achievement, to award Congressional Gold Medals to Rosa Parks and Pope John Paul II, to pass the Patriot Act after September 11...He was the only Republican to vote "present" on the resolution expressing support for the military forces at the start of the war with Iraq. He supports virtually no role for the U.S. government overseas...
Now, granted, Paul does overlap with the GOP and not with libertarians on several salient issues border control and abortion being two major examples. But the man has a fundamentally different view of what the United States government should and should not do. I imagine that, had Paul been in the Senate when Jefferson presented the Louisiana Purchase to it, he would have heartily declared, "Nay! Where in our Constitution does it grant the federal government the authority to purchase land?"

Oddly enough, he appears as a moderate in the National Journal's ratings of House members. His liberal-conservative ratings in 2004 for economic, social and foreign policy were 47-53, 46-54 and 80-20, respectively. He seems to be a moderate, but that is actually an illusion created by NJ's two-dimensional measure. Paul is operating on a third dimension. His politics do not fit into our two-dimensional scheme of liberal/conservative. He is a libertarian.

Again, he's counted as a "Republican" only because the Republican caucus in the House is risk averse and is satisfied to keep him provided that he caucuses with them. His only reliable vote is the first vote of the session. He does not really belong at a Republican debate.

 

[zbtboy]

While I disagree with his stance on protecting South from North Korea I agree that we do need to step back a bit. I also very much agreed with what he said at the end about why should he be left out while only those running with millions of dollars from special interest groups remain.

The bottom line is that the discussions that people are having as a result of Paul is good for the country and I hope he stays in it all the way to the primary.

 

[anabolicrhino]

I imagine that, had Paul been in the Senate when Jefferson presented the Louisiana Purchase to it, he would have heartily declared, "Nay! Where in our Constitution does it grant the federal government the authority to purchase land?"

Well ,hopefully Jefferson could have got him to swing over. Although he wasn't in the Senate then and he's not in the Senate now. He's in the House of Representatives!

He seems to be a moderate, but that is actually an illusion created by NJ's two-dimensional measure. Paul is operating on a third dimension. His politics do not fit into our two-dimensional scheme of liberal/conservative. He is a libertarian.

Who wouldn't want a president from the third dimension!
He should put that in his campaign!