Posted on 02/21/2010 3:20:54 PM PST by Michael van der Galien
Ron Paul’s straw poll “victory” at last weeks American Conservative Union’s CPAC convention was surprising. It leads one to believe conservatives retain the ability to snap defeat from the jaws of victory this coming Fall. Ann Coulter reflects the opinion of many conservatives when she claims agreement with Ron Paul on almost all issues except for foreign policy goals. Paul, who has Pat Buchanan isolationist tendencies, claims to be an economic libertarian and has many credentials, which support that claim. He is a member, for example, of the Ludwig Von Mises Institute. Von Mises and, later, F.H. Hayek, contributed greatly to the intellectual debate demonstrating the inherent weakness of national central planning as an economic organizing principle. Paul supports smaller government, balanced budgets, less entitlements, and lower taxes. He wants the private sector to drive economic growth. As far as his economic policies are concerned, what’s not to like?
It is difficult to carve an individual’s views up into his component views. They really bleed into each other. But as far as his economic policies are concerned, there are two tendencies that are objectionable: 1) his monetary views; and, 2) his ideological rigidity. This essay will deal with his monetary policies. Part 2 will discuss Paul’s ideological rigidity.
In 2002, Paul gave a speech on the floor of the House seeking to Abolish the Federal Reserve. It is unclear what “problem” this proposed “solution” was designed to fix. One can support the Federal Reserve’s continued existence and still disagree with many of its actions and policies. Conversely, one can even support its abolition but not support Paul’s alternative, which is to have our currency fixed to the price of gold and/or a “basket of commodities”. Intertwined in his House speech was also a small dose of conspiracy thinking.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsrealblog.com ...
My understanding is a bunch of college students skewed this vote so I wouldn’t put much stock in it other than it does show we have a lot of work to do on the campuses.
ping
Everybody seems to be taking this stupid poll seriously. LOL
Ron Paul would be as a hand grenade with a REALLY bad haircut.
A vote for Ross will Guarantee 4 more years of Obama !
In a year with Ronald Reagan's VP in the White House, and the very popular Bent One on the Democratic ticket, a paranoid dwarf got nineteen million votes for President, based on his warnings about out-of-control government spending.
A real politician, with a conservative agenda, who rejected both parties "business as usual", would win in a landslide.
The Ron Paul supporters were planning this as far back as April last year. Just Google it and you’ll find their tracks all over the web.
No he wouldn’t. Pat Buchanan ran on a conservative agenda and got like 0.01% of the vote. 77-year-old Paul would not fare any better.
Bunch of kids voting. Libertarianism is something that appeals to immature minds that have been educated beyond their intelligence and wisdom. Hopefully they grow out of it. Some never do.
Yup — “conservatives” WILL snatch defeat from the jaws of victory if Ron Paul becomes the Republican nominee for President in 2012 — or the acknowleged front runner in the run up to the midterms.
This will only demonstrate that many who call themselves “conservatives” are either [extreme] Libertarian posers or reactionaries — NOT principled Conservatives. We don’t need “knee-jerk” conservatism — all it does is react emotionally, and too often irrationally. And Libertarians, while great on most economic matters, invite disaster on foreign policy and national defense.
Beware Conservatives. Abandon your principles to satisfy your emotional desires and you will not only lose, you will doom the country.
My son while he was in college, Economics and Finance, was at a conference at the Von Mises institute and had dinner with one of his professors (a friend of Ron Paul)and Ron Paul.
His comment on the dinner was that Ron Paul was a really nice guy, very bright but completely nuts. He liked him but wouldn’t vote for him.
ML/NJ
It is a parasite that can never live on its own so tries to latch onto anything conservative for support.
It needs to rot alongside its other failed liberal belief systems.
I bet I’m the only one here who’s been in Ross Perot’s house, pool and gymnasium.
I was 12.
CORRECT
I consider myself a Tea Party man and support most of the things Ron Paul does. However, I see my mission not as a third party but as a force to bring the Republican party back to its roots as in the Regan Years.
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