I hear you - red to red in IL so to speak...
As much as I do like the basic libertarian view on many issues, I’m kinda with Santorum when he said “I don’t believe in *no* government”. I have to part ways with Ron Paul and others when it comes to legalizing harmful drugs, sticking our heads in the sand internationally, and other things.
I think the right combination of common-sense Libertarian and conservative principles would be unstoppable, but that’s sure not Ron Paul. Not that he has a chance against Romney anyhow.
Sadly, here in our state I’m afraid Jokin’ Joe Biden would be a step up from our present state politicians...
>I have to part ways with Ron Paul and others when it comes to legalizing harmful drugs, sticking our heads in the sand internationally, and other things.
I find the defense argument against Paul to be rather amusing: the whole point that Congress is involved in cabinet-positions is to make sure that they can be moderating influences on a President’s wacky ideas. (And let’s face it, EVERY president has had wacky ideas.)
As to ‘legalizing’ drugs; that’d be kinda hard when the current “illegalization” is itself invalid. Even by the principal of precedent, which I hate (as it is nothing less than the Judiciary playing the children’s game of Telephone with legal rights), they cannot legitimately do it: the 18th Amendment was required to prohibit a specific drug (alcohol) in a similar manner... and that amendment was repealed totally.
Furthermore, the dangers of keeping the War on Drugs (WoD) going is too great a cost financially, in human life, or legally. (I say legally because it is directly from the WoD that we get no-knock raids, pretrial confiscation/destructions, the “having a [large] sum of cash on one’s person is grounds for arrest” doctrine, and more.)
“I think the right combination of common-sense Libertarian and conservative principles would be unstoppable, but that’s sure not Ron Paul. Not that he has a chance against Romney anyhow.”
The point is not that I think he can win, but for the people in the states that haven’t had primaries yet to protest being rolled over by the ‘machine’.