Since some people have already left comments telling me why Ron Paul is their choice for President of the Unites States I think I will give at least one post for those who are Ron Paul supporters to explain why.
I want to know what parts of his platform pursued you and if there is any thing about him that causes you to have reservations. Is he your candidate because he reflects your values or do you see him as the strongest in a weak field?
Also, what does one make of these newsletters printed under his name that contain racist and homophobic language? Should we believe he didn’t check the content before release or that he used to hold these positions but he has changed? Why should we trust a politician to be telling the truth about this matter?
Anyways, enough of my questions! Why are you voting for Ron Paul?
the archives near Emmaus 
I’m voting for Ron Paul so here are my thoughts. Regarding the newsletters, he stated that he was working as a physician and he did not read these comments which he alleges were written by someone else that went out under his name. He said he made a mistake and accepted responsibility. Should we believe him? Welll no one really knows the truth but him. We have to make a personal decision on whether we believe him or not on that issue. I look at someone’s past history and behaviors. Has anything else he’s ever said or done come across as racist? Not from what I’ve seen. In addition to this, the people he supposedly is racist against happen to comprise a large majority of his supporters! If they don’t think he is a racist then that says something to me. But at the end of the day, it’s a personal decision every individual must make to believe him or not to believe him. I worry more about Mitt Romney being a liar than Ron Paul. Romney seems to tell a different story on every day of the week. I also think that Ron Paul may be one of the only politicians who can’t be ‘bought’. For years he has been laughed at by most politicans but if you watch speeches he has made in previous years, he accurately predicted most of what has happened to us. Maybe I love an underdog but the way the other politicians and the media mock him, ignore him, and laugh at him makes me like him more because in spite of all that he just keeps fighting for what he believes in. It takes a lot of personal resolve to do that. Do I agree with everything he says? No but when lined up against the other choices, he’s much closer to what I believe in than anyone else. I will add that I tend not to get involved in politics. The fact that I’m even this interested is because Ron Paul seems to be authentic. He’s attracting a lot of people like myself who typically avoid politics. I think that might say something. Not sure what!
A better question, Mr. LePort, is, “What are you voting for Barack Obama?”
Actually, Mr. Alexander, as the proprietor of this blog the question asked is the one on the table for discussion. If you choose to respect those terms and you are voting for Ron Paul I’d welcome hearing your reasoning. Otherwise, use your own blog to address those who intend to vote for Obama.
I am voting for Ron Paul because he believes in not getting ourselves in unnecessary wars like the Constitution says and a humble foreign policy. RP is the only candidate that supports this. Also, I have studied the Federal Reserve immensely and am against it. I think FDR’s policies and the Federal Reserve Act of 1915 were some of the worst things in our nation’s history. RP is the only one who is against the Fed, a private corporation, which can create money out of thin air (hence creating inflation which destroys the value of your money, eventually hurting the middle class). Both Republicans and Democrats are for the Fed because it helps finance wars and buys government debt/lends the government money (we don’t have) to fund social programs. This is irresponsible and immoral.
Although, RP was the editor of this magazine he said he did not find out about them until 10 years after they were written. Although I am disappointed with the letters, voting for a candidate based on “guilt by association” is pretty ridiculous. I condemn people who condemn Obama for his connection to Jeremiah Wright and I condemn those against RP because of a letter he DID NOT write.
Before someone discredits RP, I highly recommend studying fractional reserve banking, the Federal Reserve, inflation, and history (specifically the Weimar Republic and Rome). Anyways, thanks for posting Brian.
*Another thing worth mentioning is that these are just two of the many ideas on his platform I subscribe to. These two are really important to me though.
Oh my gosh, where to start.
I’ll just say this, not getting into unnecessary wars, like one with Iran (and pretty much everything found here: http://www.ronpaul2012.com/the-issues/)
Ron Paul 2012!
What are our goals as a country?
Our country is incredibly polarized right now. Barack Obama was elected with fanfare, high hopes, and a massive “mandate” by the people, incurring a relatively large majority of the popular and electoral votes. I believed him. What has he helped accomplished? Very little.
He has brought the United States into more conflict, not brought the troops home, not closed Guantanamo Bay (that bastion of Civil Liberties) or stopped military tribunals, and managed to somehow make an already-broken healthcare system worse off. He has great intentions, but our political system is broken. I did not and will not vote for Obama, but I will easily concede his amazing ability to reach across party lines and keep above the political fray. Despite the constant stream of Fox News conspiracies about his ‘Islamofascist’ Ideals, Barack Obama stands relatively unscathed after four years. I say all this to say, that if ANYONE could unite the country and bring us together to accomplish socialistic goals (welfare reform, healthcare reform, reform in education) it was Barack Obama. My suspicions are that he’ll have four more years to attempt to do so. He’ll fail again. Our country is far too polarized and Congress is largely filled with overpaid actors and corporate puppets who will stifle his efforts for TV time and campaign funds.
In contrast, Ron Paul will not try to unite anyone. His goals are to put the power and money back into the hands and pockets of the people. How? Limited taxes, limited government, destruction of bureaucracy, withdrawal from our Neo-Conservative, quagmires in Af-Pak-Iraq, and restoring power to the statehouses, allowing for many more Americans to vote with their feet.
The equations are simple: Cut defense spending and reinvest in education and public works.
And of course, eliminate the Federal Reserve (which is basically a MASSIVE, PRIVATE credit card) from whom we borrow, and as a result, eliminate the interest that we owe. Can you imagine the INTEREST on the National Debt? No you can’t. It’s astronomical. And as a country, we are only making the minimum payment, interest-only if you will. And I do mean “WE”. The day in 1913 when we decided to create this massive credit card (the Fed) and the day that we started paying income taxes are one and the same. Read your history.
[“A great industrial nation is controlled by it’s system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the world–no longer a government of free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of small groups of dominant men.” — President Woodrow Wilson, regarding the Federal Reserve and income tax legislation, 1913]
We are taxed at approximately 25% of our income, meaning that ALL of us work to pay the interest on loans to the Federal Reserve for four months out of the year. I like libraries, roads, schools, bridges, healthcare, and education among other things. I do not like being enslaved to a massive, private corporation (yes, it’s PRIVATE, do your homework) for four months out of the year.
It sucks.
And until 1913 with the controversially ratified 16th Amendment, it was illegal.
[“Representatives and direct Taxes shall be APPORTIONED among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers.” US Constitution, Article I, section 2).
In other words, a direct, unapportioned tax (i.e. tax on income) was illegal.
Ron Paul will follow Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, and standing against this Leviathan that has arrested, stifled and strangled us at our financial and political roots. That is, he’ll eliminate the privately-owned, Federal Reserve and it’s hold on our country, just like Democrat, Andrew Jackson did in 1833.
In summary, Ron Paul will attempt to return power to the states and eliminate much of the federal bureaucracy. He’ll push for less involvement in policing the world, and as commander-in-chief of military operations he’ll have power to execute this immediately. Instead, defense funds will be reinvested into our infrastructure at home. And of course, he’ll cut our national credit card.
I will vote for him, but he doesn’t have nearly enough funds to make the nomination. Obama will beat Romney, and our current beleaguered commander-in-chief will leave a legacy of impotence a midst a graveyard of good intentions.
I am not voting for Ron Paul. While he does, indeed, question American Imperial ambitions, these virtuous results spring from a fetid cesspool of ideas nurtured in the green house built by the John Birch Society. Four years ago, when many on the left were pointing to Paul’s positions on Iraq and Afghanistan, it took almost no time at all to dig up many threads connecting Paul with the Birchers. From his weird economic ideas to his white supremacy and homo-hatred to his desire to end pretty much any regulation of economic activity, one can find links and nods toward the Birchers. I recently described Paul in this way: I met a man once, a street person, who I decided to take to a local diner and buy a cup of coffee and a hot meal. We sat and talked. He was friendly, affable, laughed at my jokes, and made some good ones himself. As he chatted about his life, he mentioned many times missing his family. He had spoken eloquently of overcoming his addictions, and I figured he had lost them due to those issues. Instead he states quite plainly that they had been taken by space aliens, who held them hostage. He had been given an implant, and tasked with spying out the planet for potential invasion. He was glad for the coffee, because he thought the implant was in a tooth he had tried to remove but couldn’t, and thought the acid in the coffee would dissolve it.
Does this mean I think Ron Paul is crazy? Clinically, no. Politically and socially, though – oh, yeah.
If anybody believes that someone could collect money for a newsletter published in his name for years and not know the content, I have a bridge in Weehawken I’d like to sell them. What did he do when he found out? Did he demand an investigation into who slandered his good name? Did he out the dastardly perpetrator? Did he do anything consistent with the actions of a man wronged?
Nope. Because he agrees with all of it.
The fact is that federalism is the position of bigots because it would allow individual states to set up havens where bigoted laws would flourish.
Now I’m not accusing every Paul supporter of being a bigot. Many have other issues, such as isolationism and economics. But that is what you get when you vote for the man. In any event, he has no chance of winning the primary so it doesn’t much matter.
New Paul newsletters unearthed:
“Once again, contempt for African Americans and warnings of a “race war” are central themes in the most recently released materials. One issue warned “every honest American should be armed” to prepare for the coming violence.
“Today, gangs of young blacks bust into a bank lobby firing rounds at the ceiling,” one issue read, continuing: “We don’t think a child of 13 should be held as responsible as a man of 23. That’s true for most people, but black males age 13 who have been raised on the streets and who have joined criminal gangs are as big, strong, tough, scary and culpable as any adult, and should be treated as such.”
……
Gays and especially AIDS victims were frequent targets, with a boatload of junk science cited to back up its hateful claims. Newsletters claimed the federal government was lying about how AIDS was transmitted and suggested it could be passed on through sneezes, breathing, or even contact with mail or delivery packages. An advertised book purported to tell the “the true and horrifying story of the witch-lesbo-feminists who are running America.”
Then there are the usual conspiracy theories: FEMA camps set up to intern Americans, suspicion that Bill and Hillary Clinton murdered their friend Vince Foster, secret societies running the world, etc.”
But of course Paul had no idea that any of these revolting ideas were in the newsletters published in his name. I’ve been publishing articles for decades and that has never happened to me, I guess I’m just lucky.
Bondboy, did you read the original question, or is this just your chance to hijack this post for your own agenda?
I am voting for Ron Paul primarily for foreign policy reasons, which do have domestic consequences. I am not a pacifist. I respect Gandhi, but I’m not so altruistically strong. I am, however, against boondoggles. I think on a visceral level that is why I am so against America’s forays abroad in the name of all that is great and good. The waste is staggering. This isn’t a manichean man-boy’s naive horror with an imperfect world. I get it, bad things will happen as we muddle through. And that’s why I am not ready to pour billions more into an occupation to prevent post-withdraw violence in Afghanistan. Indeed, I sometimes think that the claims against R. Paul’s supporters by “serious centrists” are projections. These “serious people” are the ones always wringing their hands over what will happen without the US safety umbrella.
I’m not an internationalist because I am not a universalist,I reject universalism as dangerous. Under the cover of noble intentions many a venal sin is committed. I am not a moral relativist; I am a moral henotheist. The American Republic (god) is mightier and more worthy of worship than the others, but I don’t care if the others get worshiped.
My rejection of universalism is is probably due to my general lack of religion (I’m a preacher’s kid; feel free to psycho-analyze; I won’t even disagree with most conclusions). But even if I remained religious, I’d still be inclined towards Paul. American Exceptional triumphalism of the Bush and Obama speeches isn’t reflective of the general pessimism found in the Bible. Christ might have said render under to Caesar, but he never said anything about the need to bring stability to the imperial border zones and improve the lives of the Dacians or the condition of the slaves in the Iberian mines.
Wars always come home, we see this in the increasing militarization of our law enforcement, the development of a military caste intent on keeping its prerogatives (I’m for universal obligatory service; the Roman Republic became a plutocratic empire around the same time it ceased being a citizen-soldier state), our debt load, and the expansion of our government. We are losing our specific, defined, historic rights in the name of a nebulous notion of world-wide freedom and democracy, which has been proven to be a fool’s errand. We are told the Iraqis are now free to pursue their own future, a future that looks like an increasingly repressively religious republic ruled over by a strongman (Mailiki) who has to pander to an outright bigot (al-Sadr).
Sounds like I’m a committed Paul devotee. Well, I’m not. There is much that I disagree with Paul on, but those areas where he and I differ, primarily domestic, I don’t see him being able to accomplish much of what he wants. While I believe in a social safety net, I don’t agree with the system as is. We let kids and young people so uninsured, whilst thousands are spent on having people in their nineties linger on for a few more months. It’s gerontocracy gone insane. I don’t agree with euthanasia (but I also consider it a bogeyman for evangelicals), but I’m not ready to hit the streets to keep folks like Terry Schiavo around. I don’t have too much of a problem with affirmative action, although it isn’t in my interest. But it’s no longer about helping just the descendants of former slaves. Thousands of 3rd world peasants can get in on that action; people who we owe nothing to. If they want redress for injustices let them look to Lisbon, Madrid, London, Paris, Brussels or the Arab countries. Did I mention I was against immigration? Not because I fear a loss of American culture, folks (provided they are citizens) can Mayan it up for generations as far as I’m concerned, I simply don’t think it is wise to bring in large numbers of unskilled people in a de-industrialized nation. We already have excess population as it is, although our leaders will never admit it. You can’t have a social safety net, or living wages for your working class and invite the world, the old-school socialists and even Caesar Chavez realized that. I’ve been to the 3rd world, I’ve seen societies with a glut of labor. I don’t want to live in fear of restless poor. I like being able to take nightly walks or runs. I don’t want to live in walled in compounds, no matter how internally luxurious. Might I suggest watching the movie “Fast Food Nation” with the director’s comments on, it gives one perfect example of a profession, meat-packing, that has been destroyed by immigration. The Chamber of Commerce, pro-growth, pro-immigration folks, in my opinion, are the heirs of the 19th-century Slaveocracy; sacrifice everything for cheap labor now. I don’t blame the immigrants, they are victims, perhaps the most victimized.
Sorry for the long rant, in short, I think R. Paul would go a long way to shacking up a rotten system of spoils system entitlements without creating a Randian dystopic nightmare.
On your other question, the letters. I don’t care whether he wrote them or not; it really isn’t that important. Black people have been suffering for decades, during the political terms of people who said all the right things. Same goes for the uninsured. While it does one’s heart good to know so many centrists are concerned about racism and the uninsured (as of 2011-ish), still doesn’t change the fact that these people have done nothing about the system as it has existed for 40 years, and making things worse for black people: open borders, off-shoring, NAFTA, and supporting a medical-insurance industry that has made health care all but unaffordable for many of the working poor.
Politicians might not have written nasty-themed letters, but they have still done the bidding of Wall Street, the multinationals and the Pentagon, all of whose policies have hurt poor black, brown and white people.
Here is why I am no longer a Republican:
http://thankyoujesusforthesepoptarts.com/2012/01/19/why-i-am-no-longer-a-republican/