The WSJ actually published this Op-Ed. It must have been a mistake. Rupert Murdoch will surely fire the bastard that allowed this to happen.
Why Ron Paul Matters
Among all the GOP presidential candidates, he’s the only one who stands for constitutionally limited government.
By EDWARD H. CRANE
The controversy surrounding decades-old newsletters to which GOP presidential aspirant Ron Paul lent his name is regrettable. First, it is regrettable because the sometimes bigoted, intolerant content of those newsletters is inconsistent with the views of the congressman as understood by those of us who know him. Yet, while Mr. Paul disavows supporting those ideas, he refuses to repudiate his close association with their likely source, Lew Rockwell, head of the Alabama-based Mises Institute.
Second, the New York Times editorialized recently that these unsavory writings “will leave a lasting stain on . . . the libertarian movement.” That is wishful thinking on the part of the Times, but it adds to the background noise surrounding Mr. Paul’s candidacy, obscuring the real libertarian policy initiatives that have made his candidacy the most remarkable development of the 2012 campaign.
Ron Paul’s libertarian campaign has traction because so many Americans respond to his messages:
• Tax and spending. If ever there were sound and fury signifying nothing, it has to be the recent “debate” over the budget. Covered by the media as though it was negotiations on the Treaty of Versailles, the wrestling match between Republicans and Democrats centered on the nearly trivial question of whether the $12 trillion increase in the national debt over the next decade should be reduced by 3% or 2%.
Getty ImagesRon Paul of Texas
Mr. Paul would cut the federal budget by $1 trillion immediately. He can’t do it, of course, but voters sense he really wants to. As Milton Friedman once explained, the true tax on the American people is the level of spending—the resources taken from the private sector and employed in the public sector. Whether financed from direct taxation, inflation or borrowing, spending is the burden.
• Foreign policy and military spending. As the only candidate other than Jon Huntsman who says it is past time to bring the troops home from Afghanistan, Mr. Paul has tapped into a stirring recognition by limited-government Republicans and independents that an overreaching military presence around the world is inconsistent with small, constitutional government at home.
The massive cost of these interventions, in treasure and blood, highlights what a mistake they are, as sensible people on the left and right recognized from the beginning. Of course we want a strong military capable of defending the United States, but our current expenditures equal what the rest of the world spends, which makes little sense. It is futile to try to be the world’s policeman—to try to create an American Empire as so many neoconservatives promote. And we can’t afford it.
• Civil liberties. Libertarians often differ with conservatives over issues related to civil liberties. Mr. Paul’s huge support among young people is due in large part to his fierce commitment to protecting the individual liberties guaranteed us in the Constitution. He would work to repeal significant parts of the so-called Patriot Act. Its many civil liberties transgressions include the issuance by the executive branch of National Security Letters (a form of administrative subpoena) without a court order, and the forbiddance of American citizens from mentioning that they have received one of these letters at the risk of jail.
The Bush and Obama administrations have claimed the right to incarcerate an American citizen on American soil, without charge, without access to an attorney, for an indefinite period.
President Obama even claims the right to kill American citizens on foreign soil, without due process of law, for suspected terrorist activities. Meanwhile, the Stop Online Piracy Act moving through the House is a clear effort by the federal government to censor the Internet. Mr. Paul stands up against all this, which should and does engender support from limited government advocates in the GOP.
• Austrian economics. Mr. Paul is often criticized for references to what some consider obscure economists of the so-called Austrian School. People should read them before criticizing. Nobel laureate Friedrich von Hayek and his mentor Ludwig von Mises were two of the greatest economists and social scientists ever to live.
Modern Austrian School economists such as Lawrence H. White, now at George Mason University, and Fred Foldvary at Santa Clara University predicted the housing bubble and the recession that followed the massive, multitrillion-dollar malinvestment caused by government redirection of capital into housing. Mr. Paul, like Austrian School economists, understands that we would be better off with a gold standard, competing currencies or a monetary rule than with the arbitrary and discretionary powers of our out-of-control Federal Reserve.
Mr. Paul should be given credit for his efforts to promote these ideas and other libertarian policies, all of which would make America better off. He’d be the first to admit he’s not the most erudite candidate to make the case, but surely part of his appeal is his very genuine persona.
Which is not to say that Mr. Paul is always in sync with mainstream libertarians. His seeming indifference to attempts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, his support for a constitutional amendment to deny birthright citizenship to children of illegal aliens, and his opposition to the Nafta and Cafta free trade agreements in the name of doctrinal purity are at odds with most libertarians.
As for the Ron Paul newsletters, the best response was by my colleague David Boaz when the subject was raised publicly in 2008. About them he wrote in the Cato Institute’s blog:
“Those words are not libertarian words. Maybe they reflect ‘paleoconservative’ ideas, though they’re not the language of Burke or even Kirk. But libertarianism is a philosophy of individualism, tolerance, and liberty. As Ayn Rand wrote, ‘Racism is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism.’ Making sweeping, bigoted claims about all blacks, all homosexuals, or any other group is indeed a crudely primitive collectivism. Libertarians should make it clear that the people who wrote those things are not our comrades, not part of our movement, not part of the tradition of John Locke, Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Ludwig von Mises, F. A. Hayek, Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, and Robert Nozick. Shame on them.”
Support for dynamic market capitalism (as opposed to crony capitalism), social tolerance, and a healthy skepticism of foreign military adventurism is a combination of views held by a plurality of Americans. It is why the 21st century is likely to be a libertarian century. It is why the focus should be on Ron Paul’s philosophy and his policy proposals in 2012.
Mr. Crane is co-founder and president of the Cato Institute.
Wyoming Mike says:
God Bless Him! Winning!
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31st December 2011 at 2:24 pm
Kill Bill says:
Even if Paul doesnt get elected his ideology will continue to grow as many Americans want off the crazy train ride the neo-cons have taken us on.
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31st December 2011 at 3:08 pm
FRED FLINTSTONE says:
I hope this goofy bastard pulls off Iowa. Happy 2012 to all. Champagne and .308 all around.
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31st December 2011 at 4:21 pm
KaD says:
Kelly Clarkson sales spike after Ron Paul endorsement: http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/30/news/kelly_clarkson_ron_paul/
One day after she announced her support for Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul on Twitter, sales of pop singer Kelly Clarkson’s most recent album were surging Friday on Amazon.com.
Sales of Clarkson’s album Stronger shot up 442% between Thursday and Friday afternoon on Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), moving the album from #38 to #7 on Amazon’s sales list.
“I must admit I have not really followed you but your recent stance on Ron Paul made me check you out,” one fan wrote Friday in a review of the album on Amazon. “If you are smart enough to support Ron Paul then you are probably talented too.”
“JUST DISCOVERED YOU…BECAUSE OF RON PAUL!” another wrote. “The energy of these songs would be great as Ron Paul event background music.”
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31st December 2011 at 12:34 am
Administrator says:
Rand Paul: Ron Paul surging at the right time
By Kevin Hechtkopf
(CBS News) Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said his father, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, is surging at the right time ahead of Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses.
“I think this is the best time to be surging to the top,” Rand Paul said on “Face the Nation.” “Ron Paul has surged probably as much as anyone in the last two or three weeks and has been the frontrunner or near being the frontrunner in Iowa. He’s closing the gap in New Hampshire. So I think he’s surging at precisely the right time.”
Ron Paul, the Texas congressman, spent most of the campaign at the back of the pack, but has recently risen to near the top of the polls in Iowa. In the most recent poll, released last night by the Des Moines Register, Paul was in a statistical tie with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
However, the poll also showed a surge by Rick Santorum, who was leading Paul when only the most recent two days were taken into account.
When asked by “Face the Nation” host Bob Schieffer about Santorum, Rand Paul said the former Pennsylvania Senator “has a lot of things to overcome” as the race continues, even if he does well on Tuesday.
“He was, in his last election, defeated by over 20 points,” he said. “He’s really been a big-government type of moderate. A lot of people don’t know that because he hasn’t surged to the top yet so he hasn’t had much scrutiny. When he has the scrutiny, I think he’s going to have some of the same problems that some of the other fair-weather conservatives have had.”
Rand Paul also addressed the conventional wisdom that, despite a recent rise in the polls, his father would be unable to win the Republican nomination, or the general election.
“Who is scoring the best with Independents and Democrats among Republicans? Ron Paul is the only one getting significant Independent vote, and Democrat vote,” he said. “So I actually see Ron Paul as the… one Republican who could collect a lot of people who don’t vote normally and really energize the party.
“Look at the crowds… Ron Paul is having these big huge crowds in Iowa and really exciting a lot of young people and new people. I think there is a lot of momentum. I think he could win by bringing in the Independents.”
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31st December 2011 at 12:19 pm
Administrator says:
In Iowa, Paul’s got right message, right place
LE MARS, Iowa — In the odd world of American politics, is there an odder show than Ron Paul?
A 76-year-old who appeals to young people. A Republican who sounds like what we used to call a peacenik. A low-key orator who can both fire up crowds and attract rapt, near-hypnotic attention from supporters.
Say what you will about Paul, you cannot doubt he is an all-too-rare politician whose pronouncements come from conscience, not consultant. I told you he was odd.
On Friday in Le Mars (Le Mars? Is that French for the planet some people thought Paul was from before he became a top-tier Iowa contender?), he riffed on his isolationist foreign policy he says is not isolationist, blasted the Patriot Act, complained about the Fed and generally went full Paul to a crowd fully on board for the revolution.
Take our 900 military bases in 139 countries, please, Paul said, calling them foolhardy foreign and fiscal policy. We just should be nicer, he said, offering Vietnam as a lesson.
“Just think how much better things are from working things out in a more peaceful manner. For 20 years, the French and Americans tried to force their will on the Vietnamese. Finally, we leave, and they become more westernized by themselves. Now we trade with them, and we travel back and forth. We invest over there.
“My belief is, the founders were right when they said offer friendship to people and talk to people and more can be achieved in peace than in war. You can’t force people to love you,” he said, drawing applause, as he did with this: “Don’t you think it would be a good idea if we talked to Cuba and maybe travel back and forth?”
Paul’s followers are a curious, devoted bunch. It’s easy to niche them as the raw milk/anti-fluoridation crowd. But polls show Paul has branched out beyond that. His “bring em all home from everywhere” foreign policy rhetoric is a siren song to a war-weary nation. And, foreign policy perhaps aside, he is on point with many GOP voters.
In introducing Paul here, Iowa state Rep. Jason Schultz noted Paul has none of the “personal transgressions” other GOP candidates have. Hmm, what about the fact Paul has touched thousands of women who paid him to do it? Calm down. It’s OK. Paul is an OB/GYN and has delivered more than 4,000 babies.
So, Republicans might ask, how many abortions has he performed? Zilch.
“After being forced to witness an abortion being performed during his time in medical school, he knew from that moment that his proactive would focus on protecting life,” Paul’s campaign website says. “And during his years in medicine, never once did he find an abortion necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman.”
In Le Mars, he said: “As a physician taking care of women who are pregnant, I have two patients to take care of. If I mess up, I’m legally bound to answer to those problems.”
So, libertarians might ask, as one of us, we presume Paul thinks government should stay out of abortion decisions? Nope, he does not. Paul believes life begins at conception.
Because Paul is different, his events are different. There’s no soaring rhetoric, just sincere beliefs competently expressed in a common-sense way.
And on each chair at the Le Mars event, folks found the “Ron Paul Family Cookbook,” including “Cherry-Pineapple Dump Cake,” “Razzle Bo-Dazzle Pork Tenderloin” and the chocolate-chip cookies Carol Paul sent to her future husband when he was in college. And no, there is no recipe for Mrs. Paul’s fish sticks. (Sorry, I’m making good on my vow to use a version of that lame joke every time I write about Paul.)
The good doctor has made himself impossible to ignore.
And he’s a particular problem for Rick Perry as our governor tries to claw his way to a top-three finish in a state he once thought he could win. Unless the polls are way off, Perry won’t even be the top vote-getter Tuesday in Iowa among Texans with the initials R.P.
Thanks in part to Paul, Perry could be headed for the biggest Iowa crash involving a Texan since Buddy Holly went down near Clear Lake. (I eagerly await the emails from the Buddy Holly Fan Club.)
Despite a potential strong showing here, it’s doubtful Paul can win the GOP presidential nomination. The slice of votes he gets is impressive when there are seven candidates but less impressive when the field narrows, as it might after Tuesday. In that way, he kind of reminds me of Pat Buchanan, and Paul seems to attract some of Buchanan’s old “peasants with pitchforks” crowd.
It’s not hard to squint and see the attraction of Paul’s simple message. It is alluring and well-suited to the simpler world we wished we lived in.
Let’s keep that simpler world concept in mind when we resume the space program and colonize Le Mars.
kherman@statesman.com; 445-3907
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31st December 2011 at 12:21 pm
Administrator says:
Ron Paul confident of strong Iowa finish
DES MOINES — Ron Paul says he’s “pretty electable” as he defended himself against increasing attacks from his GOP rivals ahead of Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses.
Paul did a round of interviews on Sunday morning talk shows, appearing on CNN, Fox News and ABC. He sounded confident and predicted a top two finish in Iowa.
“If I’m leading in the polls, that means I’m electable. I’ve been elected 12 times in Texas, when people get to know me,” he said on ABC’s This Week. “We’re doing well in the polls. Our crowds are getting bigger. And the people who are complaining are the ones who are way down in the polls, so they don’t have a whole lot of credibility about my electability.”
On CNN’s State of the Union, Paul said he doubts he would come in third or fourth and predicted a top two finish.
Paul is running neck-and-neck with Mitt Romney in the final Iowa Poll, released last night by the Des Moines Register. Romney has 24% support from likely caucusgoers, with Paul right behind the former Massachusetts governor with 22%.
Rick Santorum, who has been surging in recent days, is third with 15%. If the last two days of polling are taken on their own, the former Pennsylvania senator outpaces Paul.
Paul, a Texas congressman, dismissed findings in the Iowa Poll that show 29% of caucusgoers find him unelectable as “propaganda.”
He also insists he is not considering a third-party bid for president. “I haven’t even thought of it except when you people keep asking me,” Paul said on CNN. “I’m essentially tied for first…why would I even think of doing anything like that.”
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31st December 2011 at 12:24 pm
Administrator says:
Ron Paul’s fervent supporters revel in his rise in the polls
NEWTON, Iowa – It has been said Ron Paul supporters would walk through broken glass, barefoot to help the Texas congressman win Iowa and beyond but Jeremy Spice and Sarah Howe went a few steps further.
They got tattooed.
In huge letters across his left forearm reads “REVOLUTION,” a logo often used by Paul’s supporters ; Howe’s smaller, matching tattoo is on the back of her neck.
The two had driven to Iowa from Fort Wayne, Ind., at the last minute to attend a rally for veterans Tuesday evening Paul was hosting.
“We both have this week off after Christmas — it was last minute but we were like, we’re going to go,” Spice said. “So we left yesterday around noon, got in last night around midnight.”
Paul’s growing popularity in Iowa is no surprise to those who love him best. In some cases, these supporters have spent years vocally supporting him through straw polls, social media and contributing to his massive money bombs that raise millions within hours.
His support reaches beyond the droves of college students who have come to Iowa to volunteer and who are the most closely associated with Paul’s campaign.
Among the Paul fans gathered at a recent event at the Iowa Speedway were a 28-year-old factory worker, a 60-year-old military veteran and a 48-year-old registered Democrat.
With a nose piercing, a Ron Paul stocking hat, a shirt declaring his support of Paul in the 2011 Ames Straw poll and a leather jacket with a “Led Zeppelin” patch on the sleeve, David Richardson, a 28-year-old factory worker from Newton, looked the part of a stereotypical Ron Paul supporter.
Like many Paul fans, the Texan’s brand of constitutional conservatism first caught his interest. From then on, the more he read, the more he liked.
“His opposition to the Federal Reserve really caught my attention; it was something I hadn’t thought a lot about before,” Richardson said.
Deanna Seiler, a Democrat from Elberon, Iowa, said Paul’s adherence to the powers outlined in the Constitution attracted her as well as his opposition to trying to turn backward foreign countries into modern societies, which Paul calls nation building.
“What is the purpose of us being everywhere and not here?” she said.
Bob Colby, a 22-year veteran of the military, was the first person to raise his hand following Paul’s speech.
“I just have a comment,” he said when called upon. “I’m retired military and of all the candidates that are running right now, you are the only one that I would trust to be my commander in chief.”
Paul has called for troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan as well as from other countries, such as Japan, where the United States still maintains military bases.
Not window shopping
Unlike Iowans who have visited rallies for other candidates and say they’re still undecided, those who attend Paul events aren’t window shopping. They come to see the man they’re committed to support in the Jan. 3 caucuses.
“Our supporters have always been very loyal,” Paul said. “My attitude to build momentum is to reach as many people as I can, and that means going to these meetings and rallies and the rallies are getting bigger and so I keep doing the same thing.”
Paul supporters are not only vocal but are protective of the man they often refer to as “Dr. Paul.” If they think a media organization has either ignored Paul, made a mistake about his record and smeared him, they bombard the offender with e-mails, phone calls and online comments.
In some cases, the slights only energize them, according to supporters who initially e-mailed USA TODAY to express their disapproval of a story about a series of newsletters Paul distributed that contained racist and anti-Semitic language.
“We as supporters get even more adamant in our support when the mainstream media marginalized and ignored Ron Paul,” Paul Niehaus IV of St. Louis wrote in an e-mail. “That just fuels our intensity.”
Paul supporters pride themselves on their research abilities and their comprehensive knowledge of Paul’s policies. Instead of relying on websites or listservs, they scour the Web for stories about Paul and make their views about those reports known.
“The reason you hear so much more from Dr. Paul supporters should be clear – we actually have educated ourselves on all the candidates in the field,” wrote Jeff Smith of Houston. “When we pick our guy then we feel strong convictions about it. So, if we see someone representing him in an unfair light then we call them out on it.”
Such reactions from Paul supporters has made public figures think twice about criticizing him publicly, said Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., who has endorsed Paul.
“I would think they don’t want to alienate his supporters or him,” he said.
Straw polls
The intensity of Paul’s backers is also apparent in their ability to mobilize to help Paul win several straw polls at various political events.
Their willingness to show up en masse to vote has irked some Republican and conservative activists, who have claimed Paul’s people have hijacked the polls.
After Paul won the Values Voters Summit October straw poll, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins hinted that the ballot box may have been stuffed.
“There were 600 people, over 600, that registered today just for the day, there were a number of people that left after Ron Paul spoke,” he told reporters after the event. “You do the math.”
Paul has topped the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll for two years straight.
When the results of the 2011 straw poll was announced, David Keene, then-outgoing chairman of the American Conservative Union, downplayed the results.
“It is what it is. It’s a straw poll,” Keene said. The audience, filled with Paul supporters, booed.
In Iowa, Republicans have worried that a Paul victory on Tuesday could hurt the state’s credibility.
Terry Branstad, Iowa’s five-term Republican governor, in response to concerns about the impact a Paul win could have on the state’s contest, said last month the top three candidate will likely see a boost if they win Iowa so a first place finish isn’t essential.
That’s a reflection of the commitment of Paul’s supporters and the impact they can have in a caucus with a low voter turnout.
“Enthusiasm times organization equals turnout,” said Drake University professor Dennis Goldford in a recent interview. “In a small pond, a modest-sized rock makes a big splash.”
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31st December 2011 at 12:31 pm