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Hoppin' onto (and off)
the Ron Paul bandwagon
I am hoppin' onto the Ron Paul bandwagon. He wants to do away with the Federal Reserve and tie our currency back to precious metals. I did some guz-intas like ole Jethro Bodine could do and found that if we were still operating under the Gold Standard, the purchasing power of one dollar would now be right below $19. Seems like someone missed the boat that the bankers took for joy ride....
Do me a favor, read his platform... www.ronpaul2008.com
Luvs yas
FOMAD
Father Of Matthew And Daniel
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I like Ron Paul as much as I like most libertarians -- which is to say, I like him ... to a point. But he's a lousy choice for President.
He ran for President on the Libertarian ticket twenty years ago, and now he's running as a libertarian in Republican's clothing. He's been in Congress since Methuselah was in diapers, and he was a libertarian hero even way back when I was a libertarian (many years ago).
So I don't really need his platform -- I've read dozens of his articles, and I know that he's opposed to the ongoing nonsensical wars, and the spying, the torture, and numerous other ghastly American habits. He might be the only announced candidate who has a
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smidgen of that spirit of 1776 that got America off to its bloody start. I'll grant him all that, and add that Ron Paul seems to be a man of principle.
Problem is, his principles are wrong. He's a freakin' libertarian, and I hope you understand what that means. Among many other things, it means:
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• Food or housing for people who don't have money? Public education? Public libraries? Public highways? The libertarian response is usually, "None of that's in the Constitution, so screw it. End it."
• Pure drinking water, food-handling rules for restaurants, regulations against dumping toxic waste -- libertarians often ask, "By what right is the government involved in such things?"
• Safety standards for cars? Most libertarians think that should be up to Ford and General Motors. Which is, of course, absurd -- trusting your life to corporations that fought against equipping cars with shatter-proof windshields, seat belts, and air bags -- always preferring to save a few dollars rather than save your life.
• Medicare, Social Security? Sheer folly, to libertarians. "People should take care of themselves," they say. What's usually un-said but always understood is, And if they can't, so what?
• Federally funded rescue after natural disasters? For libertarians the general answer is "No, on principal, because they didn't have federally-funded rescue programs when George Washington was President."
• Hang around long enough, and libertarians will tell you, "Fire departments and police departments should be privatized." That means, if you haven't paid your "premium" or your "fire bill", then your house gets no protection and it can burn to the ground while firefighters roast marshmallows in the flames.
• On and on and on ... And that's just a quick list, off the top of my head. |
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I cordially disagree with such conscience-free, cold-hearted "principles." All of the above, in my opinion, is the proper purview of government, falling under "promote the general welfare," as in:| |
"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. ..." | |
I'm not willing to give up public education, public libraries, public highways, or anything else I've mentioned above, in exchange for abolishing the Federal Reserve, or returning to the gold standard.
I spent several years listening to such libertarian idealism, often believing it in bits and pieces, but I stopped being a libertarian when I saw the big picture. The big picture of these libertarian ideals is, if you don't have money you can go to hell. And Ron Paul is definitely a "big picture" libertarian.
If he had his way, he would eagerly roll back just about everything that's changed about American government since 1776. But a lot of those changes have been enormous improvements, things you and I and a few hundred million other Americans wouldn't want to roll back -- so Ron Paul is not a fit President for the 20th or 21st Century U. S. of A.
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Helen & Harry
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P.S. I'm sorry, but I don't know who Jethro Bodine is, except the hick kid on The Beverly Hillbillies ...
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Ron Paul might be the only announced candidate who has a smidgen of that spirit of 1776 that got America off to its bloody start.
I'll grant him all that, and add that Ron Paul seems to be a man of principle.
Problem is, his principles are wrong.
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