Posted on 03/15/2008 9:13:01 AM PDT by pissant
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), he of the quixotic GOP presidential campaign and unique policy positions, is never one to be shy about his opinions. Take the case of fallen New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D), whose political career fell apart this week after his liaisons with high-priced call girls became public. Spitzer resigned his office effective Monday.
Most politicians from both sides of the aisle publicly (at least) offered condolences for Spitzer and his poor family, including his three daughters, but didn't — of course — defend Spitzer's atrocious behavior.
But for Paul, Spitzer's downfall at the hands of a Justice Dept. investigation shows government at its worst. Yes, Spitzer climbed to power on the backs of political enemies he destroyed, making him not a swell guy, but he didn't deserve what happened to him. The FBI should have never been allowed to listen in to his phone call in the first place, according to the Texas Republican.
Here's the statement Paul made on the House floor last night. It's worth reading, at least for the enlightenment it gives into Paul's view of the world, which basically comes down to who controls the money:
"Madam Speaker, it has been said that 'he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword.' And in the case of Eliot Spitzer, this couldn't be more true. In his case it's the political sword, as his enemies rejoice in his downfall. Most people, it seems, believe he got exactly what he deserved.
"The illegal tools of the state brought Spitzer down, but think of all the harm done by Spitzer in using the same tools against so many other innocent people. He practiced what could be termed 'economic McCarthyism,' using illegitimate government power to build his political career on the ruined lives of others.
"No matter how morally justified his comeuppance may be, his downfall demonstrates the worst of our society. The possibility of uncovering personal moral wrongdoing is never a justification for the government to spy on our every move and to participate in sting operations.
"For government to entice a citizen to break a law with a sting operation — that is, engaging in activities that a private citizen is prohibited by law from doing — is unconscionable and should clearly be illegal.
"Though Spitzer used the same tools to destroy individuals charged with economic crimes that ended up being used against him, gloating over his downfall should not divert our attention from the fact that the government spying on American citizens is unworthy of a country claiming respect for liberty and the Fourth Amendment.
"Two wrongs do not make a right. Two wrongs make it doubly wrong.
"Sacrifice of our personal privacy has been ongoing for decades but has rapidly accelerated since 9/11. Before 9/11, the unstated goal of collecting revenue was the real reason for the erosion of our financial privacy. When 19 suicidal maniacs attacked us on 9/11, our country became convinced that further sacrifice of personal and financial privacy was required for our security.
"The driving force behind this ongoing sacrifice of our privacy has been fear and the emotional effect of war rhetoric — war on drugs, war against terrorism and the war against Third World nations in the Middle East who are claimed to be the equivalent to Hitler and Nazi Germany.
"But the real reason for all this surveillance is to build the power of the state. It arises from a virulent dislike of free people running their own lives and spending their own money. Statists always demand control of the people and their money.
"Recently we've been told that this increase in the already intolerable invasion of our privacy was justified because the purpose was to apprehend terrorists. We were told that the massive amounts of information being collected on Americans would only be used to root out terrorists. But as we can see today, this monitoring of private activities can also be used for political reasons. We should always be concerned when the government accumulates information on innocent citizens.
"Spitzer was brought down because he legally withdrew cash from a bank — not because he committed a crime. This should prompt us to reassess and hopefully reverse this trend of pervasive government intrusion in our private lives.
"We need no more Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act! No more Violent Radicalization & Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Acts! No more torture! No more Military Commissions Act! No more secret prisons and extraordinary rendition! No more abuse of habeas corpus! No more Patriot Acts!
"What we need is more government transparency and more privacy for the individual!"
Breaking the laws you make and swear to uphold is big.
whadda’ fool
I always thought there was a mossad connection there myself.
Indeed. I’d argue that 70% of the federal gov’t needs to go away altogether.
Who is Ron Paul?
I agree.
“Ron Paul (R-Texas), he of the quixotic GOP presidential campaign and unique policy positions, is never one to be shy about his opinions.” One problem with Paul’s opinion is that he has no idea what the facts of the case are. Therefore, at this point, his opinion is worthless.
He certainly does, and he (Cong. Paul) makes a valid point there. Should banks be required to report to Big Brother every transaction over x dollars that any customer participates in? Where in the Constitution does Congress have the power to compel such snooping by private entities over private citizens?
I don't think it would have mattered. Bill and Hill were already working for them. On the issue of Spitzer, he enthusiastically used all of the tools that were used against him when he was Attorney General, and had no problem with them when he was on the other side of the courtroom. What's the old saying? A liberal is a conservative that's just been arrested?
Part of the glee with which the downfall of Spitzer was greeted was because he so enthusiastically prosecuted prostitution rings. It's hard to feel sympathy for someone when they're caught in their own trap.
Do we really want to be like most countries?
It seems the more we become like most countries socially, the more we are becoming like them overall.
Yes, but two Wrights do make an airplane.
Call me stupid, but I can't seem to figure that out.
I didn't assert it was an "amoral" position, you did. The assertion was that it wasn't "that bad". An amoral position would deny "good" or "bad" as having any relevance at all. Beyond there, there's the flawed tacit assertion that any "amoral" argument is inherently immoral by simply failing to address morality. Think you can figure that out?
Ron Paul has NO moral boundaries. He favors LEGALIZED prostitution. Ron Paul NEVER gets the facts right. It was unusual BANK TRANSFERS that alerted the BANK to investigate what was going on. Again, the Spitball was breaking laws. Ron Paul is an anarchist.
Imho, they should be routinely polygraphed, just like certain other government employees.
One thing that Ron Paul doesn’t address....you can do anything you want....as long as you are willing to take the responsibility for what you do and the big thing.......don’t get caught. People have been doing this since the begining of time....big surprise huh? We play dumb, go about our business and pretend it doesn’t happen. People we look up to say this type of behavior is wrong.....but.....we find out later that they are doing the same thing they talk against. WOW....what a surprise.
Somebody wanted Spitzer to go down....and go down he did.
You have to make the distinction between the capital-L Libertarians and Ron Paulistas — and the small-l libertarians and conservatives that have some libertarian leanings.
I fall into the latter category. Think more along the lines of Larry Elder, not Ron Paul — and certainly not Shane Cory.
You are correct on both counts: Spitzer was not entrapped (though he may have been wiretapped illegally - I don’t know the specifics), and repealing this Orwellian law is a great idea.
(snicker)
I have some libertarian leanings myself, but so far I have been able to keep my brains from falling out........
I don't doubt that. I have always thought that our enemies as well as our friends who wanted to have leverage over us, would exploit the blatantly exposed weakness of Slick Willie when he was president.
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