So it seems my entry The New Revolution inspired at least one other to write an entry or two. When reading the comments to T_Time's entries, I noticed someone mentioned that one of the Presidential candidates, Ron Paul, shares views almost identical to myself and those that responded to my previous post. Well, my interest was piqued and I looked him up, only to find someone that is steadfast in his views and does, in fact, have almost the exact same thing to say as what I talked about in my other post.
Of all the issues I looked at, I think the only one that I don't agree with is that he's very much pro-life (I'm pro-choice simply because if a person is determined to have an abortion, no law is going to stop them. The least we can do, then, is provide safe ways to do so), but he has a very good reason to have the view that he does. He's an OB/GYN doctor who's delivered 4,000 babies and has never seen a reason for abortions during his practice.
Can't really argue with that. Even if I don't agree on that matter, I stil have respect for his choice and the reasons behind it.
Other than that, I watched a couple of the videos the website features. They're debates that aired on CNN and Fox News a couple months ago that had runners answer questions from the host, a panel, and the audience. He was very steadfast in what he had to say and from what I saw, did not vary from video to video on similar topics.
He's technically a Republican, but like one of the panelists said, his views are completely opposite of the rest of the Republican party.
I hope he gets the nomination, he seems to be exactly what this country needs.
Ron Paul gets written off a lot as crazy by most Republicans - but he's really more faithful to classic Republican values than a lot of the other candidates. I'm not sure how he'll apply his ideas, but you've inspired me to give him another look, haha...
He struck a cord with Gullianni in one of the debates when he voiced his views about Iraq. It would have been interesting to see those two in their own debate!
I have a bad tendency to vote for the party and not the candidate which I didn't really realize until people started pointing it out a while ago. I have heard so many positive things about Paul both from Republicans and Democrats so this serves as a reminder to me, and hopefully others, that it is important to vote for the candidate not the party they align themselves with.
Thank you for encouraging me to do more research!
`lacey
There are no beautiful surfaces without terrible depth...
I love the fact that he's principled and is well read on history. He's the first candidate who has the courage to address why terrorism exists, while the rest of the candidates try to keep the citizens in fear so as to make themselves appear as the only candidate who can keep us safe.
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It may sound far-fetched, but non-violence tends to be better and more effective than warfare. Besides, our incursions into the Middle East have not been honorable; they have been exploitive--for political control, for oil, for destabilization. Not good.
Paul's position, of Constitutional stripe, is - should war be necessary - then Congress must go through the 5-step process to declare it. Right now we have an Imperial president, who writes executive orders (unconstitutional in their own right) and then assumes a sniffy power. This is wrong and must stop. Dr. Paul will, if elected, try to get us back to when were were a nation that behaved with integrity and compassion; not to exploit the lives and resources of others.
That's one of the things that I like about him. There were several times in the debates that I watched that he asked "did Congress declare war?" Every time, too, the answer seemed to have been avoided.
I especially like the fact that he's set on returning the country's "homeland defense" policies back to what it was supposed to be -- defensive.
Another one I like is that he plans to cut government spending in order to lower taxes (go figure!). That just seems like one of those things that ends up making the other people look like complete morons for not having thought of it because of how logical of a thing it is to do.
-- quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
You said:
"He's technically a Republican, but like one of the panelists said, his views are completely opposite of the rest of the Republican party."
This is patently wrong. You apparently are not familiar with his views. His views are the BEST of any Republican and are what a real Republican should stand for -- less taxation, less government control, more privacy and preservation of civil rights, protection of life and second amendment. He is against group rights and for individual rights, and against entitlements and amnesty.
He is for winding down the war and is the ONLY candidate that will actually do it. The Democrats are all controlled by the same people as the RINO Republicans and they may say they will do it, but they won't. They all voted for it didn't they?
Ron is not however a pacifist. He will defend the country and enter a war if necessary. Make no mistake about it. He's not some anti-war liberal socialist and will not join those groups.
I never said he was a pacifist, first of all. He's explicitly against us going into Iraq, but it's because he's against the reasons we went in and saw no reason to be there, or stay there, in the first place. He's fine with going to war as long as Congress officially declares war and follows the procedure laid out in the Constitution and going to war is deemed necessary.
Second, yes, he's the epitome of what the Republican party should be. His views, however, are the opposite of every other Republican candidate that is currently running. In one of the debate videos on his website, the first statement/question directed toward him is something along the lines of "you've registered as a Republican, yet your views are the exact opposite of everyone else's. Are you sure you're not in the wrong party?" Unfortunately, what should be and what is are two totally different things.
-- quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Ah "Sorry", you're _close_. Substitute a small r in place of the big R in republican, and you will describe Dr. Paul's political stance better! In that case, you will be able to understand why he appeals to so many people across a broad spectrum, (Democrats, liberals, Progressives, Greens, etc.) who also "get it" like the rest of us "conservatives" - that it is about _republicanism_, and not about crappy Statist political parties. Cheers,
Well, it's always gratifying to run across new converts. I am a longtime Ron Paul supporter and have even created my own website to help pass the word and his campaign. I would like to point out that while I, like you, am pro choice I am still a Ron Paul supporter. Even IF I were a one issue person on this topic, the fact remains that Dr. Paul believes that this is not an issue that should be addressed at the federal level. After all, it's not Constitutionally authorized that the Federal Government should be considering such things. Therefore it should be left to the states and local jurisdictions.
By the way, if anybody's interested, my site is www.paulforronpaul.com
I wanted to comment on your disagreement with his Pro Life view. I once spoke with his western regional campaign director and he said it like this:
His does see abortion as murder, but he also believes in liberty. Therefore, he would work hard to overturn Roe V. Wade. However, if any bill came up requiring states to ban abortion, he would veto it. But, let's say something came up in his local district (i.e. the state level). Then he would vote to restrict abortion. So he wants to leave the decision up to each individual state.
I'm glad you've discovered Ron Paul and as you learn more a about him, you'll see how he just makes sense for everyone (Weather you are Gay, or pro-life, or Christian, or not, or whatever our differences are). He wants us all to solve our own problems.
(In case you're wondering, yes Pro Life is compatible with being libertarian. He sees the right to life as one of the foundations to freedom).
He's not what our country needs ... AT ALL.
x: Sammy :)
Ron Paul is exactly what this country needs. How could he not be?
Ron Paul is a true genius in politics, and even if my parents think it's a waste for me to vote for him, i'll vote anyway.
So yeah, Ron Paul for president 08.
-These will make you think-> http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/son-of-disaster
um...okay but what is it that this country needs then???
all truths are easy to understand once discovered; the point is to discover them ~galileo
Your disagreement means nothing if you don't explain why you feel that way.
-- quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Maybe he should change parties To a non demo/repub one and really flip this nation when he wins....that could be good right?
Awesome post
all truths are easy to understand once discovered; the point is to discover them ~galileo