Comments on Resigning for Ron Paul
I hope Ron Paul gets the nomination. What the Dems need to win is to run against a psyco libertarian who will privatize every single part of governement for large corporate interests. 'cause privatization has worked SO WELL!! (Blackwater comes to mind)
Paul will get less than 10% in New Hampshire, and more likely less than five. He has a motivated, but small group of tech types who are good at creating the appearance of success without its substance.
The problem with Paul is that his ideas a re crazy and stupid and once people, real people, hear them they ignore him. Spambots and nerds notwithstanding. He has been in almost every debate, run his silly Youtube ads, and put up a bunch of signs, yet is still below 5% in any scientific national poll and below 10% in NH where he has been actively campaigning see here. When looking at that remember that the error on responses garnering a small number of responses tends to be in the upward direction.
Hell the fact that every Paultard talks like a freaking cult member should be enough of a clue that his support is rising just as fast as the church of scientology.
This will backfire. The Deaniacs tried this in Iowa in 2004 and did nothing more than turn off caucus-goers to a good candidate with a good message. No one wants to listen to a 28-year-old "outsider" telling them how to vote/think.
So, there's an opening at Google?
@2,
Just to add to that: Paul only applies to libertarian Republicans who are a tiny minority of their so-called big tent. Religious nutcases and anti-tax hypocrites (who love their corporate/agricultural welfare) make up most of the party.
NDD, your sarcasm is misplaced. The root cause of the Blackwater issue is the fact that the government (a very PUBLIC entity) allowed the President to wage an undeclared War in Iraq (the Democrats you support, like the apparatchik you are, mostly voted to cede their authority to declare war to the President; something the founders warned them never to do). Blackwater wouldn't be over there if it wasn't for the government not following the Constitution.
It's no wonder our country is going bankrupt. Democrats and Republicans are equally moronic.
Support Dr Paul: the only candidate who was consistently against the War, and who will reduce the intrusive role that government is playing in our lives:
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/
"..and who will reduce the intrusive role that government is playing in our lives..."
...unless you're a pregnant woman.
Yes, stopping that pesky government from doing anything about the men in white hoods burning crosses on your lawn.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/11/the-smearing-of.html
As an active, online Ron Paul supporter who likes to seek out debate with his detractors, I can’t tell you how many times I and others like me have encountered the "He’s a closet Nazi/Racist/Fascist" nonsense. I have literally lost track of how many times I’ve sighed at yet another blatant attempt at character assassination—all stemming from the same worn out issue surrounding his newsletter in the 80’s; an issue which has been thoroughly explained/debunked ... and yet this drivel persists. Obviously, many on the Right and Left feel threatened by him and his burgeoning popularity, and they’re grasping for some potential crack in his armor, something that will stain the entire perception of him and his motivations because, for a lot of people out there, Ron Paul is almost too good to be true. Its almost as if people want to believe he’s a closet racist or neo-Nazi ... It would humanize him. The existence of someone like Ron Paul, agree or disagree with him, essentially serves to remind us of how compromised and debased the vast majority of our representatives are ... and that reflects on us, doesn't it?
When people see a man who says he is the champion of freedom unabashedly accepting money from groups who one would not associate with such a message, they think “something smells” and look for a “there” there. I think this is due to our loss of consciousness of what non-politically correct notions of liberty really amount to, but it remains a detriment to his accessibility and trustworthiness. Through generations of political whoremongering, we’ve become accustomed to the idea of politicians as panderers and implements-for-hire, and many of us don’t know how to asses a candidacy that doesn’t fit that mold. We don’t know how to interpret a man who said, standing before an Arab-American political consortium at which he was invited to speak, “Someone asked me if I had prepared a special speech to address this organization, and I said no, it’s the same speech I give everywhere.” And it was.
To answer the constant slurs directed at Ron Paul, I give an example of why “guilt by association” is a fallacy (which is sadly no longer self-evident).
Ron Paul supports dismantling the Fed (in theory) because he believes fiat currency is bad monetary policy, and inflationary central banking is destructive to the long term sustainability of the middle class and economic prosperity. White supremacists want to dismantle the Fed because they believe international banking institutions are controlled by a secretive cabal of Zionist Jews who want to control the world, and being anti-Semitic, they think this is a terrible development. A rational mind can clearly see why Ron Paul would garner the support of white supremacists and neo-Nazis for reasons wholly unrelated to what Ron Paul actually stands for. It is a simple case of conspiracy-minded “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. This holds true for virtually any “fringe” group expressing discomforting support for Ron Paul (9/11 Truthers, neo-Confederates etc) the common ground all of these disparate groups, along with a great many “normal” Americans, share with Ron Paul is “Anti-Establishmentarianism”. The Establishmentarians don’t know what to make of this abrupt groundswell, and so they predictably lash out with smears designed to keep Ron Paul and his ideas/philosophy at the margins of the national discourse.
Thing is, it’s not working, this is taking on a life of its own, and it’s an incredible political adventure in the making. Sometimes I feel like I’m fighting with a modern William Wallace against the forces of tyranny. It’s exhilarating, and addictive. When Ron Paul is eventually defeated, (or killed, if he gets too close), this thing he tapped into will continue on. We’re already talking about the future. People are being inspired on a massive scale. Young adults I’ve encountered are already floating ideas of running for local or state office as Ron Paul Republicans. Children of the 80’s are living “Goldwater Redux”. This should be a positive development for anyone who calls themselves conservative. Nevertheless, it isn’t—we get more hostility from Neocons than from the Left. When can we all admit these people were never conservatives to begin with, just carpet-baggers from LBJ’s Guns and Butter Brigade? I really think its time to hang these neo- Jacobins and Christian Theocrats out to dry, and pick up the mantle of the American Experiment. No one else seems to be using it.
The big problem with paultards and other fringe cultists is that they compare the reality of the current system with the utopia of the promised one.
To analogize it would be like comparing your current partner to your idea of an ideal partner. This is a good way to wind up dumped or supporting RonPaul.
Are their problems with the current governmental system, of course. Does it fail, often. But that doesn't mean it should be discarded, no more then one would ump their partner because they snore and sometimes don't clean the house. People are not perfect and neither is government.
The chaos and problems associated with lack of central government are almost to numerous to name. Hell while the government might not be doing enough to deal with product safety, the solution is not to have them do nothing. We only have to go back a hundred years or so to a much more federalist and libertarian time to see the joys of such a system.
People want government to have an active role in their lives and the country. They want product safety, health care, minimum wages, environmental protections, national security, etc, etc, etc. The angst and anger present to day is not in response to big government, but to bad, the solution to which is not no government, but good government.
@5,
And when I wrote "applies," I of course meant "appeals." Urgh.
George,
Good luck to you man. Besides, I always thought the republicans deserved their own LaRouchies.
I hope he becomes the Nader of the Rightwing. If he eventually runsas an independent it woulf be fantastic.
The problem with Democrats (and Republicans) like Giffy is that they substitute ad hominem for rationale debate. They also demonstrate a very shaky understanding of US history when they point to the 19th century and claim how terrible it was in the US (giving no comparative context with other countries).
They rail against inequality, but do not raise a peep with the Federal Reserve debases the currency, harming mostly the poor and the middle class.
They claim they are for peace, but they vote to authorize War.
They claim they are for product safety, but never mention the people who die because the FDA denies them life-saving treatments.
The political left is especially good at coating the message of tyranny in a thin coating of saccharine idealism. The political right instead lathers on a thick paste of false patriotism.
Take a bite of either apple and you cannot help but taste the tyranny.
The problem with Democrats (and Republicans) like Giffy is that they substitute ad hominem for rationale debate.Welcome to the internet, I hope you enjoy your stay.
They also demonstrate a very shaky understanding of US history when they point to the 19th century and claim how terrible it was in the US (giving no comparative context with other countries).Most countries at the time were caught up in what we now term libertarianism during that time. The result in some was communism as the poor got shafted. The result in others, like ours, was a recognition of the need for central authority.
All I ask is for libertarians to point to one modern country where their ideas have worked for any great period of time. The end result is always stratification, collapse of infrastructure, and often violent revolution.
They rail against inequality, but do not raise a peep with the Federal Reserve debases the currency, harming mostly the poor and the middle class.Currency is tricky, you have to have some degree of inflation to make lending and borrowing money are a reasonable proposition. You also can't let your money get to valuable or it hurts your exports. The fact is, it's complex.
Also while I may disagree at times with fed policy it is almost always better then no policy. I'll take somewhat corrupt cops over no cops anyday, though I might work for better ones.
They claim they are for peace, but they vote to authorize War.I opposed this war all along, but I'm not a pacifist. War is sometimes necessary and I want us to have a strong military.
They claim they are for product safety, but never mention the people who die because the FDA denies them life-saving treatments.
one balance though there is a net gain of safety. Again look at the crap that has been sold in the past that is no illegal. under libertarianism we would all have to know what in products (no law saying they have to tell you) and what it all does. I would prefer to delegate that one.
The political left is especially good at coating the message of tyranny in a thin coating of saccharine idealism. The political right instead lathers on a thick paste of false patriotism.Hyperbole is fun, but in the end meaningless.
Take a bite of either apple and you cannot help but taste the tyranny.Again with he hyperbole. Though I'll take a little tyranny over anarchy any day of the week. Hell just ask yourself, would you prefer to live in a county like Sweden with a very central and strong government or Somalia.(thats hyperbole too)
That being said, laws do not equal tyranny, no more then not begin able to bludgeon your neighbor with a hatchet equals oppression.
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