Ron Paul
Klaus Hergescheimer
Posts: 332MI6 Agent
Have you guys been following his Presidential campaign? This guy is really starting to take off, and I couldn't be happier.
For those of you who don't know him or are overseas, Ron Paul is a candidate for the Republican Nomination for the 2008 Presidential Election. He is a House Representative from Texas. He's a libertarian who supports a massive reduction in the size of government, both on economic issues and in personal/cultural issues. However, he has gotten most of his notariety for his anti-Iraq War stance. He voted against the 2002 Authorization, and he's consistently voted against funding of the war. (Although it's not technically a "war" now; more like an occupation of a country with an intense sectarian conflict that could spill over into civil war at any moment. But I digress) Recently, he's made headlines for comments he made in a Republican debate, in which he (rightly) blamed US foreign policy for inciting hatred toward the US in the Middle East that led to the 9/11 attacks. (And he's backed up by the 9/11 Commission and the former head of the UBL task force in the CIA) This led to a tiff between he and Rudy Giuliani, who accused him of saying that the US "invited" the attack on 9/11 (which is nowhere near what he said, but was nonetheless a spin that was well-received by the audience). Paul refused to let up, and the day after the debate, he held a press conference in which he gave Rudy some "reading assignments" to prepare for the next debate. (Judging by Rudy's performance in the last debate, he hasn't done it yet. He would be well-served to.)
His campaign was generating some buzz before, but it has really skyrocketed since this debate, as he is winning all of the online polls on debate performance and is gaining massive popularity on websites such as You Tube, Eventful, MySpace, and Facebook. (Usually either first or second in total number of visitors, requests, friends, members, etc. of ALL of the candidates, Republican or Democratic) His campaign has raised about $5 million since the South Carolina debate, which is remarkable since he only raised $500,000 in the first quarter, and it will make him able to put up an organization in every major state.
I'm totally on board with this guy. His emphasis on small government involvement in the economy, a non-interventionist foreign policy, and the protection of civil liberties is heavenly to my ears. He's got the most fiscally responsible voting record in the House, voting against scores of spending bills, and he places a significant emphasis on the Constitution, which seems to be increasingly overlooked and ignored. He has earned the nickname "Dr. No" (if you guys needed an incentive to support him, why not throw in a Bond relation?
) for the fact that he is a medical doctor (an OBGYN) and votes "NO" on the vast majority of bills. What I'm particularly proud of, as an aspiring economist, is the fact that he is discussing monetary policy, which is an area that truly needs to be addressed and an area in which about 99.9% of politicians truly do not have a clue.
Here are a couple of websites for you guys to check him out:
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Ron_Paul
http://www.ronpaullibrary.org/
The last page is a really good one to visit. It contains a collection of writings of his over the years on a number of issues in which he advocates limited government, free markets, and Constitutional issues. He is a terrific writer and a top notch intellectual, so I would recommend those readings even if you don't support him.
For those of you who don't know him or are overseas, Ron Paul is a candidate for the Republican Nomination for the 2008 Presidential Election. He is a House Representative from Texas. He's a libertarian who supports a massive reduction in the size of government, both on economic issues and in personal/cultural issues. However, he has gotten most of his notariety for his anti-Iraq War stance. He voted against the 2002 Authorization, and he's consistently voted against funding of the war. (Although it's not technically a "war" now; more like an occupation of a country with an intense sectarian conflict that could spill over into civil war at any moment. But I digress) Recently, he's made headlines for comments he made in a Republican debate, in which he (rightly) blamed US foreign policy for inciting hatred toward the US in the Middle East that led to the 9/11 attacks. (And he's backed up by the 9/11 Commission and the former head of the UBL task force in the CIA) This led to a tiff between he and Rudy Giuliani, who accused him of saying that the US "invited" the attack on 9/11 (which is nowhere near what he said, but was nonetheless a spin that was well-received by the audience). Paul refused to let up, and the day after the debate, he held a press conference in which he gave Rudy some "reading assignments" to prepare for the next debate. (Judging by Rudy's performance in the last debate, he hasn't done it yet. He would be well-served to.)
His campaign was generating some buzz before, but it has really skyrocketed since this debate, as he is winning all of the online polls on debate performance and is gaining massive popularity on websites such as You Tube, Eventful, MySpace, and Facebook. (Usually either first or second in total number of visitors, requests, friends, members, etc. of ALL of the candidates, Republican or Democratic) His campaign has raised about $5 million since the South Carolina debate, which is remarkable since he only raised $500,000 in the first quarter, and it will make him able to put up an organization in every major state.
I'm totally on board with this guy. His emphasis on small government involvement in the economy, a non-interventionist foreign policy, and the protection of civil liberties is heavenly to my ears. He's got the most fiscally responsible voting record in the House, voting against scores of spending bills, and he places a significant emphasis on the Constitution, which seems to be increasingly overlooked and ignored. He has earned the nickname "Dr. No" (if you guys needed an incentive to support him, why not throw in a Bond relation?
) for the fact that he is a medical doctor (an OBGYN) and votes "NO" on the vast majority of bills. What I'm particularly proud of, as an aspiring economist, is the fact that he is discussing monetary policy, which is an area that truly needs to be addressed and an area in which about 99.9% of politicians truly do not have a clue.Here are a couple of websites for you guys to check him out:
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Ron_Paul
http://www.ronpaullibrary.org/
The last page is a really good one to visit. It contains a collection of writings of his over the years on a number of issues in which he advocates limited government, free markets, and Constitutional issues. He is a terrific writer and a top notch intellectual, so I would recommend those readings even if you don't support him.
Comments
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I am not sure what polls you are reading but from the ones that I have seen it doesn't look like the guy has a chance. I don't think there is any way he will get the Republican nomination.
I'm talking about the polls after debates, in which he is shown as the clear winner of debates.
I'm talking about the fact that he is either first or second in total support on all of the online websites measuring such support.
I'm talking about the $5 million his campaign has raised since the South Carolina debate.
His campaign is JUST NOW starting to surge, and the support is clear. He's starting to appeal to people in both parties, as well. Right now, national polls don't mean anything: it's the primary/caucus state polls that matter. The buzz on the internet hasn't translated into poll numbers just yet because, historically speaking, there is a lag in the translation of the buzz into poll numbers when we're talking about underdog candidates. Dean didn't start taking leads in Democratic polls until the fall of 2003: it was in the summer of 2003 that he really started getting buzz and hitting his stride. Paul's campaign so far is pretty much mirroring Dean's in 2004: large internet buzz, large internet donations that are only increasing, getting lots of support from anti-war voters. I just hope Paul's campaign doesn't go the way of Dean's, with idiocy on the part of the candidate torching his campaign. (As was the case in 2003/2004 with Dean)