Because you insist I support Congresscritter Ron Paul for president, here is why I will never do that. I will only use information taken directly from Ron Paul’s 2008 website, mainly the “Issues” section.
Follow me below the fold….
Working Americans like lower taxes. So do I. Lower taxes benefit all of us, creating jobs and allowing us to make more decisions for ourselves about our lives.
The lower taxes cry of conservatives is crap. I don’t mind paying taxes as long as the money is well spent. In fact I don’t care if my taxes went up as long as the money was spent on our infrastructure, i.e. mass transit, universal health care, better schools, better pay for teachers, police, fire fighters, land and animal conservation, cleaner air and water, etc.
I will agree that the Federal Reserve is a corrupt organization and that we need better fiscal control of the federal budget, but how do we pay off that debt if we have less money coming in? Keep the tax rate the same for middle America while increasing it for the rich (at the very least back to pre-Bush levels) while forcing corporate America to actually pay taxes, cut the military budget, rein in pork barrel spending and balance the budget. And don’t give me the “corporations just push the tax increases on to consumers” crap. Corporations pay zero taxes because the investing class is greedy. Fuck them. Fuck Wall Street. The stock market is the enemy of middle America, not federal taxes.
In reality it’s not the tax rate that sucks, it’s the way the money is spent. And Americans don’t save money because they are consumer idiots. We all deserve to be in debt because we allow ourselves to be put in debt. We fill out the credit card application and send it in. No one forces us to.
As a side note, the website says Ron Paul suported Ronald Reagan, a man just a responsible for the insane national debt as George W. Bush.
2. American Independence and Sovereignty
So called free trade deals and world governmental organizations like the International Criminal Court (ICC), NAFTA, GATT, WTO, and CAFTA are a threat to our independence as a nation. They transfer power from our government to unelected foreign elites.
First off, I support the ICC. I think Saddam should have been tried there. The Nuremburg trials are a perfect example of an international court working just fine. And the reality is that some of our troops and politicians are war criminals who deserve nothing less then to be tried on the world stage just like Slobodan Milosevic.
As for the rest I admit I agree to a point. Personally, I am for fair trade not free trade. That said, Ron Paul’s tone smacks of America First to me. We are either part of the global community or we are not. The UN would be a great organization if it had a spine, which the US makes sure it never does develop.
Both Jefferson and Washington warned us about entangling ourselves in the affairs of other nations. Today, we have troops in 130 countries. We are spread so thin that we have too few troops defending America. And now, there are new calls for a draft of our young men and women.
We can continue to fund and fight no-win police actions around the globe, or we can refocus on securing America and bring the troops home. No war should ever be fought without a declaration of war voted upon by the Congress, as required by the Constitution.
Though I feel pretty much the same way, I find it hard to agree with someone who supported Ronald Reagan*, a person who let Americans remain prisoners in Iran so he could win an election and actively supported the suppression of freedom in Central America.
I would add that the US should be nurturing the young democracies of South and Central America, while helping African nations get up on their feet. As the greatest benefiters of the resources of the world, I do feel we have some obligations to fix the wrongs we have commited (both through our corporate greed and military adventurism). And I feel the EU countries who’s colonial misadventures came before us should be held equally, if not more, responsible.
*I keep bringing Reagan up because the website seems to make a point of mentioning Ron Paul’s support of Reagan. Anyone who worships at the alter of Saint Ronnie can go fuck themselves in my book.
4. Border Security and Immigration Reform
The talk must stop. We must secure our borders now. A nation without secure borders is no nation at all. It makes no sense to fight terrorists abroad when our own front door is left unlocked.
The whole immigration arguement is a red herring. The reason so many come here is because Americans demand cheap goods wothout supporting international human rights efforts. We have spent decades raping South and Central American resources, all the while proping up undemocratic regimes, and then we act like we have no idea why there are no good paying jobs down south. Fair trade not free trade.
If you really want to get into this more, read this and this.
5. Privacy and Personal Liberty
The biggest threat to your privacy is the government. We must drastically limit the ability of government to collect and store data regarding citizens” personal matters.
Ok, I’ll give Ron Paul a nod here for now.
6. Property Rights and Eminent Domain
We must stop special interests from violating property rights and literally driving families from their homes, farms and ranches.
Again with a nod for now, but he really needs to expand apon this on the sight. Plus, I would like to read what he thinks about public land usage, water and mineral rights, deforestation, etc.
What I don’t see on the sight is anything about environmental issues, conservation, or oversite/regulatory powers. I guess he would say these things aren’t directly mentioned in the Constitution so governement has no business legislating them. I strongly disagree. I also have a feeling Ron Paul, as a conservative, is against NASA and any other national, government funded group covering the sciences, or any other group for that matter. I also feel from what I read that he is against any form of welfare, universal healthcare, anything that is not directly mentioned verbatum in the Constitution.
Ron Paul seems hell bent on handcuffing the federal government.
And what are his feelings about the seperation of Church and State? The whole mess over the pledge, or the 10 commandments in our court houses? Can you get me info on this stuff?
And on top of all that, “He was an unwavering advocate of pro-life and pro-family values.” Which reads to me that he is against the civil rights of homosexuals and the reproductive rights of women.
Nope, sorry derek, but your guy sounds like a real dick to me. But if it makes you feel any better I have decided to not support the Democratic Party any longer. They have proven themselves to be cowards and as long as their main candidates for the presidency are Clinton, Obama and Edwards, they can go fuck themselves.
Ron Paul sounds to me like about 1/4 the right person we need in the White House. The rest of him would drive us into a protectionist stance at a time when the world needs to come together, not be driven further apart. That was Bush’s fatal (if not intentional) error after 9/11. But feel free to share any info you might have that proves my thoughts wrong about the man that is Ron Paul.
just another vet 
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