Who is Ron Paul?

I must admit the “Google Ron Paul” was a great idea for their campaign slogan. The term is active in our culture right now, and evokes an active command.

To understand Ron Paul’s stances on the issues you need to research the history of the issues. Especially the IRS and the Federal Reserve and when, how and why they came into existence. Make sure you read the constitution and understand the true and full meaning of it. Take a list of the founding fathers and research old books that were written about these men. Get their perspective and then use that perspective to follow the constitution and interpret history for yourself without the influence of the mainstream media. Than I think you will see the plan that Ron Paul has for this country.

Ron Paul is an honest politician. He wants to end the war, reduce the size of government, and restore individual liberties. All of these statements are made evident in his consistent voting record.

Dr. Paul has stated repeatedly that he would not dissolve these organizations overnight. He has repeatedly stated that to dissolve these agencies, he would need the approval of congress and the American people. He has repeatedly stated that any dissolution of any agency would require an orderly transition plan to avoid creating problems. To claim Ron Paul would dissolve these agencies :within weeks of taking office” is a strawman argument, plain and simple.

As far as Ron Paul being the favorite candidate of Neo-Nazi/White Supremacist groups - I can’t and don’t want to speak for these people, but their support seems to be based on a misunderstanding of his principals and ideals. Paul supports cutting off aid to Israel (not just Israel, but all foreign aid) and ending the war against Iraq (which arguably benefits Israel quite a bit). I imagine that this is a pretty popular position with anti-Semites, but for an entirely different reason than with Dr. Paul.

I mean this in jest Joe but if you take your political cues from one other journalist I would have to say your credibility is shot.

Like I said it was meant in good fun.

I think if you really want to know there are some great YouTube clips of Ron Paul or if you want something less propaganda-ish you can google “Ron Paul on sanctions” or “Ron Paul on foreign aid”. The first link you will get on both searches are to pieces written by Paul himself. Both pieces are short and to the point.

The great thing about Ron Paul’s platform is that everything fits together. The ideas seem so ambitious at first but the more I read the more I began to think “this really makes a heck of a lot of sense”

But I am still not sold on the income tax thing. I mean I understand that it is possible but highly unlikely… however at the very least he should be able to point us in the right direction.

Anyway,
Thanks for putting up with my posts. Take it easy.

Ron Paul is the equivalent of Dennis Kucinich in the democrat race: a political goofball who yells loudly and no one takes seriously except a vocal fringe support group and the other side when they point and mock.

Also Joe you may want to be wary. The Paulettes as they are known are famous for organizing online raids on message boards and blogs where they flood and spam the board to death. The Sean Hannity message board has been attacked repeatedly over the last few months.

I am a career Naval officer who has been politically neutral for my entire life, but voting for Ron Paul is about voting for America and our Constitution, which I took an oath to preserve. Ron Paul receives more contributions from the military than any other candidate, Republican or Democrat. He says a lot of things that make a lot of sense, especially about foreign policy and also monetary policy–about which other candidates understand relatively little.

Barry Goldwater Jr., the former congressman and son of the founder of modern conservatism, endorsed Ron Paul this week. If you call yourself a conservative, you should think about it too. Google Ron Paul.

Joe, and everyone, here is the Ron Paul campaign’s response to the unfair Mona Charen article, from Paul’s communications director:

To the Editor
I read Mona Charen’s column on Friday and I had to clear a few things up. Outside of the name-calling (“kook,” as I’m sure you remember, was the attack word of choice used by critics of Barry Goldwater), Charen was way off base.

1. Dr. Paul’s commitment to principle is second to none, so to attack him, Charen twists the understanding of what a presidential pardon really is. A pardon is a constitutional check by the executive branch on the judiciary to protect against cruel or unusual punishment. When considering a pardon, a president examines extenuating circumstances to decide whether a punishment for a conviction under the law was unjust. Scooter Libby was convicted of a crime; that is not the issue here. Dr. Paul is not sympathetic to issuing him a pardon because he finds Libby an unsympathetic character. There is nothing inconsistent here. President Bush, who has issued the fewest pardons of any president since World War II, hasn’t pardoned Libby either, by the way.

2. If Charen paid much attention to the campaign, she would know that Dr. Paul never utters the word “isolationist” except to explain why he is not one. He believes in the foreign policy of the founders: peace, commerce, and open friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none. When he references Nixon and Eisenhower, he is clearly talking about past successful Republican campaign strategies, not what they did in office. Eisenhower campaigned to end the Korean War, Nixon to get us out of Vietnam. Dr. Paul argues that the GOP can only win in 2008 with a candidate who will bring hope troops form Iraq. Last I checked, many National Review readers cared a thing or two about Republicans winning elections.

3. Ron Paul is dead serious and very sober about what it will take to reform things like our oppressive tax system. Clearly, a Paul administration cannot end the IRS on January 29, 2009. Ending the income tax, a goal all real conservatives should share, would take major cooperation with the Congress. But, with honest communication and a lot of hard work, Dr. Paul knows that we can end the end the income tax over the course of just a few years. Over half of federal government revenue presently comes from sources other than the income tax. The United States could end the IRS and still fund the same level of big government we had less than ten years ago. There is nothing “unserious” about that.

4. Dr. Paul is a modest man with a sparkling record and unimpeachable personal integrity. I understand why you need to attack him by linking him to less-than-savory individuals (there is simply nothing else to use), but it is just not going to work. Some of your charges are silly. Dr. Paul’s “Texas Straight Talk Column,” for example, is public record and anyone, from the American Free Press to Cat Fancy, has the right to reprint it.

Yes, Ron appears on the Alex Jones radio program. But you know who else talks to Alex Jones? People like Judge Anthony Napolitano. Guess who hosts Alex Jones? FOX’s John Gibson and National Public Radio. Dr. Paul has said time and again that he does not believe 9/11 was an inside job. He does, however, think we should always question authority. When, by the way, were conservatives supposed to become trusting of big government?

Dr. Paul stands for freedom, peace, prosperity, and the protection of inalienable individual rights. He knows that liberty is the antidote for racism, anti-Semitism, and other small minded ideologies. Dr. Paul has focused all of his energy on winning the presidency so he can cut the size of government and protect the freedom of every American. Neither he nor his staff is going to waste time screening donors. If a handful of individuals with views anathema to Dr. Paul’s send in checks, then they have wasted their money. I cannot profess to understand the motivations of Don Black as neither Dr. Paul nor I know who he is, but a simple Google search shows that his $500 contribution has netted him at least 88 news hits, including Charen’s column. Perhaps a better explanation for his “contribution” is not support for Ron, but the attention he knew he would receive.

Mona, I can not expect everyone to support Dr. Paul, especially those who have sunk so much of their own credibility into supporting the Iraq war. In fact, Dr. Paul welcomes open and spirited discussions, and even legitimate criticism. But, I had to get a few things off my chest.

Jesse Benton
Communications Director
Ron Paul 2008 PCC
Arlington, Va.

I was going to write a big long disposition on Dr. Paul’s views, but it would be redundant. There is so much good info already out on the web about his viewpoints.

I will say this. The only people that a column like Mona’s will phase are the people that are not already familiar with Dr. Paul’s stances. Unfortunately that is a lot of people and I think that is why there is a pretty strong push in the mainstream media right now to dis-inform people about him. He is gaining popularity at an unprecedented rate and it isn’t because he is cool or slick (actually he is kind of plain and humble) or has massive amounts of money and media attention. The true reason is that people are figuring out what he actually stands for and it resonates very deeply. He is very intelligent and clear thinking about our government, where we are, where we came from, and where we are heading.

I don’t think he is perfect and there are a couple things that I disagree with him about. However, unlike any canidate for any office ever in my life, I think this guy is on the level.

I remember something else about Ron Paul now. I’ve heard he does not accept corporate campaign donations, which is a huge principle to carry. It’s huge in terms of knowing how much easy money you are forfeiting, and it’s huge in terms of not selling yourself out to corporations (like every other candidate). Maybe that’s why we are seeing smear tactics like Mona Charen’s?

The other thing I hear is that Ron Paul raised an insane amount in 24 hours, like $2.2 million on the 5th of November (did they intend a coincidence with the V for Vendetta revolutionary theme?) All the money was raised online, right?

I guess a third thing I recall now is that Ron Paul is third in campaign fundraising among Republicans? Maybe fourth, given the other big names? If this is accurate, that is big milestone given that he is not taking corporate donations.

I must say that the above post makes alot of good points. It is refreshing to hear a politician refer to the Constitution for answers, instead of rubes like Mitt Romney who said he would ask lawyers what authority he had to deal with terror suspects. Anytime we have to involve lawyers and lobbyists watch out. I also do give Paul credit for bringing out the truly conservative principles espoused by the old Republican party. I am going to give him a serious look.

ugh.. where to begin?

First I guess is that I can’t believe no one has dared to hit up Joe Vandal on his repulsive comment about ‘I am not going to “…research old books…” ‘

While not a book, The Constitution is but one of these “old” documents written by what are today disparagingly called ‘the dead white males’. The arrogant notion that todays generation knows it all and has no need to look back to our fore bearers is part of what has gotten us into this mess.

Next was ‘guest’ and his (?) comments about Dr Paul being a loon or crackpot or such. Yes, he is much like Dennis Kuccinich in a lot of ways, they both represent what their parties are supposed to and aren’t scared of that fact. I like a lot of what Kuccinich has to say, though I despise his program on legalising illegal immigrants. Dr Paul isn’t quite tough enough on the LEGAL immigrants but he at least knows that something must be done on this, is that not obvious to us here in SE Idaho? Surely you jest!

Supporting the robber barons of the illegal PRIVATELY operated organisation of the Federal Reserve and their henchmen of the IRS is not only un-Constitutional but appalling. Hard to imagine someone would criticise him for his want to shut down those organisations when we take home less of our paychecks each year.

Dr Paul wants to end our military occupation of the rest of the world. HOORAY! Finally someone who gets that you can’t force your views on the rest of the world and expect them to happily go along with it.

As for the Conspiracy theorists slur, this is but a buzzword many use to discredit anything of importance anyone has to say by simply calling them a ‘conspiracy theorist’. How lame. Argue the facts and validity of your view, and show me why such theories are wrong - don’t be like Mitt Romney and just keep saying “No! It’s all conspiracy theories” and thus attempt to shut them up. Or like Dubya Bush who in typical neo-con fashion just simply says ‘we shouldn’t tolerate conspiracy theories’. Excuse me mr Bush but that is the lamest approach to things I have ever heard. Another attempt just to discredit someone at face value and not have to look at any of their ideas and see if they are accurate. Just typical Big Brother styled “2+2=5 Trust me!” It is becomming ever so popular with some to just trust everything the stateists say and never question any of it.. ‘And none dare call it conspiracy’

To summarize this one at any rate, here is a great excerpt from Dr Paul himself on the

Tenacity of Power -
from FREEDOM UNDER SIEGE

Today’s simmering economic, social, and political problems will eventually boil over. The contest will eventually be clear to everyone. Big government advocates will spare no abuse, no
resources, no cost, no tricks, no force in order to maintain the status quo of state power.

Statism itself will be at stake and those in power will feel threatened. They will easily win unless the determination of we who love freedom is superior to the desires of those in charge to cling to their power.

Everyone has a role to play. The segment of society that is philosophically committed to big government will be tenacious in their endeavors as they see themselves in a death struggle.

The many who are complacent about conditions around them will be the
largest group and will be the bellwether of the apparent success of the two major factions. Some of these will go with the winners, some will go with the most vocal leaders, and some will go with the group they think will best provide for what they see is in their best interest in the nature of security. Complete complacency is an act in itself in that it is the absence of action that will permit one or the other faction to win.

The masses are important, but never
lead, and they need only to be convinced and guided.

Friends of freedom must quickly assemble and plan strategy. Everyone has a vital interest in the outcome. Broad agreements are crucial; arguing minute details of solutions to difficult problems can undermine the movement and become purely negative. Perfection by man in the struggle for freedom is not achievable. Denial of personality
differences and legitimate differences of opinion are a mistake. Refusing to agree on generalized and precise principles guarantees failure.

It is possible for some who claim kinship to the freedom movement to
inadvertently serve the statists by undermining the important work
on which we can agree. Agreeing on the libertarian principal of
nonaggression is worthwhile.

Demanding that everyone agree on every single cent in the defense
budget is nonproductive. Human beings are imperfect, and no one
person or collective wisdom of anybody or body of persons can
produce perfect solutions. Intellectual collectivism should not
replace a single person’s individuality to think for himself
and defend freedom while agreeing on broad principles.

Once one is committed and has chosen a side, the obligation to act
is clear. Efforts must be educational, political, organizational,
and financial. Each of us can use one or all of these tools to
promote the cause of freedom.

Clearly the fundamental flaw of the twentieth century has been our
loss of love for freedom and self-reliance while accepting the use
of government to promote special interest in the name of individual
rights. This low regard for the principles of freedom has promoted
the political economic crisis in which we find ourselves. A
precise plan is crucial to our survival and mandates. and self-reliance while accepting the use of government to promote special interest in the name of individual rights. This low regard for the principles of freedom has promoted the political economic crisis in which we find ourselves. A precise plan is crucial to our survival and mandates that all of us join in this historic
opportunity to restate the principles of freedom.

-

When was the last time your heard a politician say things like that? WOW!
If we only had a million less politicians and but a few more ‘Paul-iticians’. If only we had a few more Citizens and a few million less slaves.

I’m liking most of what I’m learning about Ron Paul since this article published, and via online snippets rather than ye duste olde bookes. 8^)

I’m happened into a history of the CIA, and holy cow I never realized how inept the CIA agency really has proven itself. They have had very few successes, too many huge public bungles, and the CIA’s cost and gestapo-secrecy seem to be more of a drag than helping America. The CIA’s bungles have seriously damaged America in the past 50 years, and even their few successes have later soured (Afghanistan, for example).

I can understand why Ron Paul would want to eliminate the CIA at least.

As I understand it, Ron Paul would also seek to overturn both the Patriot Act and Roe vs. Wade, an interesting mixed bag of personal rights issues.

Of course, Ron Paul deserves a fair shake. I think he says a lot of good things. I sided with Paul when I wrote in the name of Ronald Reagan in the 1976 presidential election, since he didn’t win the nomination from sitting president Ford.

But I want a candidate who has a chance at effecting real change. My politics changed, in 1980 I voted for the Independent candidate because I was hoping for real change…I basically threw away my vote.

One of my kids voted for Nader as a third party candidate, and she basically threw her vote away, too.

Our idealism and our hopes and dreams cause us to cling to the possibilities of these non-mainstream candidates…but they don’t create enough of a coalition to obtain the necessary votes to do any good.

We end up frustrated at the system, not knowing how to make real change, short of revolution, which is not something the vast majority of United States citizens will tolerate.

By the way, I WANT to pay taxes, because I want to have services that government pays for, such as police, schools, roadways, parks, etc. So I am for modifying the tax code (the 17% flat amount sounds good to me) but not for eliminating the IRS.

I’m new to this site, but a friend told me that this is one of the few news outlets in SE Idaho where people truly want to openly discuss the large problems of our day. So here goes my first post.

I am a Ron Paul convert. My story on why I support him is probably completely different than others, but that is what is so amazing about him and his message–I now find myself uniting with all these “different” people based on some basic principles that guide all of Dr. Paul’s decisions.

I found him after learning more about our National Debt ($9-$75 Trillion depending on how it is accounted for–check out our U.S. Comptroller David Walker’s web site for more info - http://www.gao.gov). Others find him for completely different reasons (immigration, healthcare, gun rights, abortion, defense, IRS, Federal Reserve, and the list goes on). What is amazing is that no matter what “hot button” has awakened you to the fact that something is not right in our country, you will find that Dr. Paul has probably already thought through a possible solution based on some enduring principles that he lives by. And even better you can look at his 30+ year record to see that his stance in relation to these principles is consistent (vs. just taking his word for it “this time”). I didn’t think this kind of politician existed any more.

For some reason the mainstream media want everyone to forget that Dr. Paul exists. They want people to dismiss things that he says as “weird” and continue to focus on the “status quo” and the next “status quo” candidates. They want us to think that he is “unelectable”. I’m still not completely sure why this is. However, I would challenge anyone who hears something about Dr. Paul that seems “odd” to do some additional research and see what he truly has to say about the issue.

Don’t like his stance in regards to the Iraq War because that is what the “Democrats” say? Do some research on the real reasons he’s against the war and how he actually is more focused on the real defense of our country than anyone.

Don’t think that abolishing the IRS is possible? Do some research on how it actually is possible.

Think that he must be crazy because 9/11 truth people associate with him? Do some research on what he actually says about 9/11.

And finally if you don’t think that Dr. Paul can win, then you’re probably right. However as you start to do a little research don’t be surprised that you find yourself starting to believe and hope that things can become better again, and maybe you’ll even find yourself joining in to help him actually win!

Of course one man cannot save this country, but one man can give the people of this country hope again that given the opportunity they can save it themselves.

Whatever your “hot button” is, do some research on Dr. Paul and see if you don’t find yourself starting to believe once again that there might actually still be one “statesman” still around in Washington D.C.

Go Ron Paul!

Guest_007 - Do you know of someone else that has the answers? He’s got 30 years of being ignored. Maybe people are finally figuring out that his message was possibly the right one and everyone else has been taking us the wrong direction.

When I initially heard about him I thought the same thing you did. Just do a little research.

aaaahhhhhh…..and thus the reason nobody has ever heard of this guy until just recently! I knew there had to be a legitimate reason.
Interesting!

I personally think taxes need to be paid. That’s the price of living in a free society. It helps fund our military, it pays the salaries of the leadership of this nation, and much much more. Every democratic type free society pays taxes. Some more than others, but taxes nonetheless. Could they be reduced a little bit? Sure! Should the richer of us pay more and stop getting all these tax benefits on ridiculous things? Absolutely!
Middle class America pays the majority of the taxes in this country and it’s getting to the point where there won’t be a middle class America anymore. It won’t be long until it will just be the upper class and the lower class and I think Ron Paul is the man for the job. So what if he’s seen a UFO? I’ve seen an unexplained object in the sky on a couple different occasions. It could be any number of things, it doesnt mean he believes there’s Martians out there! Just because things like this aren’t seen all the time, doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
I say give Ron Paul a chance! He certainly can’t do any worse than the current administration!!!

Getting rid of the IRS wouldn’t eliminate all taxes, it would just eliminate “unconstitutional” taxes (at least they were until Amendment 16).

I still haven’t heard any other legitimate arguments on the supposed Ron Paul Conspiracy Theories.

And I’m still waiting to hear about anyone else that has any better ideas than returning the original intent of the Constitution as Dr. Paul continues to suggest (all the other so-called good options just keep digging us into a bigger and bigger hole).

P.S. For those of you who do support Ron Paul, we do have a Meetup Group with ~50 members in the Idaho Falls/Rexburg area. Please check us out at meetup.com. We are the Ron Paul Meetup Group #431. Search for Idaho Falls Meetups or Ron Paul Meetups in the Idaho Falls area.

Also please remember the Boston Tea Party Anniversary Event this December 16 - http://www.teaparty07.com. This time around it is to protest the oppressive (and hidden) inflation tax. Don’t believe it exists - just do a little research!

Who is Ron Paul?

Ron Paul is the guest for the entire hour of Glenn Beck either tonight or tomorrow.

Glenn is uber conservative, probably more of a Huckabee/Romney fan (Glenn is LDS) but this could be interesting if you really want to check into Ron Paul.

Glenn’s show runs on CNN Headline News about 3 times each night.

Glenn Beck is also on AM560 from 2 or 3 to 6pm. I think Glenn Beck should run for President myself!

Maybe he was tired or having a bad night. (we ALL have them) Every time I’ve heard him speak he’s very well spoken and is the furthest thing from a “blithering idiot”.
You know it’s one thing to support a different candidate, but there’s no reason bash an opposing candidate and call him names. That’s just childish and really shows how little class you have.