Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
Peter Robinson ·
December 15, 2011 at 7:22pm
Over at The Atlantic, Ricochet member (and provocateur) Conor Friedersdorf has just posted an article under the headline above. A grab:
Paul's very presence in the race, and especially his strong showing in Iowa polls, puts every Tea Party voter who supports any other candidate in the uncomfortable position of voting against the more principled, consistent proponent of small government, and for the guy they regard to be more electable, or partisan, or better at formulating zings against liberals.
I'm not supporting the man myself--on foreign policy, I just plain can't--but there's a case for taking Dr. Paul seriously.
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May '11
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
Yeah, I like most of Ron Paul, but as an individual he's hardly an inspiring presence, and his take on foreign policy is too extreme.
I'm all for isolationism, if he can sell it, but his stand on the initial war in Afghanistan tells me that he is more of a pacifist than an isolationist. There was never a more justiified time for war of retribution than their attack on us. What it morphed into is a debatable matter, but the initial war was not. His ideas work well in the Congress but not in the executive where we need someone who isn't afraid to protect us.
May '10
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
Thank you. Finally someone on Ricochet is saying it (Yes, I know Andrew Sullivan wrote a piece yesterday).
I wouldn't expect a Reagan speech writer to endorse Paul's foreign policy position.
Still, not every war is the Cold War. Nor must George Kennan's containment policy be the static and normative position forever. That would be similar to arguing that the Monroe Document has the answer to every global issue.
Here is one U.S. veteran who supports Paul's non-interventionist foreign policy--not feckless isolationism, as some on this website have smeared it.
Jun '10
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Exist Won't Make Him Go Away?
Why not? That strategy sure has made Michele Bachmann go away, more or less.
She may not want to end the Fed, but she's still solidly in line with tea party principles.
Jul '11
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
Those entities who dismiss Ron Paul and his supporters do so at their own peril. There are a substantial number of his followers that support him on the basis of his disdain for the federal reserve alone. Mainstream candidates of both parties are seen as willing or unwilling stooges of the power brokers surrounding national fiat currencies.
So just because Mr Paul's foreign policy is best suited for the 1800's and his experience level is akin to a car chasing dog lost when he catches one I believe it is a huge mistake to dismiss millions of people who feel acutely aware of a giant scam. When someone labels Paul as a 911 truther (curious if there actually facts for this claim) it is interpreted as mainstream bought and paid for cronies repressing the man bringing the biggest swindle in history to light. Paul supporters votes will be needed. Their feelings are real firm and in my opinion have a level of validity that should not be ignored. Government IS the problem.
Nov '10
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
Principled: yes; an executive: signs point to no. A friend is a big Ron Paul supporter and once told me he'd be 10 times the President Reagan was. I laid out President Reagan's accomplishments: rolled back the regulatory state, reduced taxes, rebuilt the military, defeated the U.S.S.R., created an environment conducive to production, investment, and employment in which all increased. Though he didn't balance the budget, it was because he had to compromise with Congressional Democrats to accomplish the other goals. (Though, 90's balanced budget = Reagan peace dividend.)
I've asked my friend to point out where Ron Paul has any executive or legislative accomplishment. Has he authored legislation, mustered majority support, and seen it signed into law, or at least passed by the House (a la Paul Ryan). An answer is yet forthcoming. My friend wants only to talk about intent and ideological purity.
Ron Paul's has some good ideas (excepting foreign policy [thank you, Peter]), but I'd bet Romney would accomplish more. Romney's conservative plan may be less ambitious, but he's an executive who will implement more of it. A strong President must be a strong executive.
May '11
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
Because of an unwillingness to salvage the good for the sake of the perfect, Paul usually votes with radical lefty loons. I'll vote for him if he's the nominee. (But I'm still holding out for my ficus.)
May '10
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
If our budget remains completely at odds with reality, our foreign policy won't matter because our military will have nothing worth protecting. Our European allies are selling national interests to China and being converted to Islam, while our interest payments on the debt are funding the buildup of China's military. Whether we like it or not, America's role in the world is changing.
Which is to say that I don't like Ron Paul's foreign policy either, but our national security is being undermined primarily by our debt and social decay. That said, our President needs to exhibit strength to deter Iran and company.
My main concern about Ron Paul is whether or not he is a savvy enough negotiator to achieve the government cuts he so strongly advocates. How many of his fellow Representatives have supported his propositions in Congress?
And is this a man who can convince a majority of citizens to support limited, local government? We need a President who can bully the Beltway crowd into relinquishing power by making them afraid of their constituents.
Oct '10
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
It's funny how Ron Paul supporters project their own dismissal of anyone who criticizes him onto everyone else. They're so self-righteous that they can't conceive the possibility that Paul has been tested and found wanting. It must be for some nefarious reason that he's not taken seriously.
Oct '10
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
Ron Paul is inspirational on some issues, hypocritical on others, and dangerously ignorant on critical issues like foreign policy. He's a fine person to have in a primary race to focus the mind on some important issues, but that's really the only function he serves. You don't vote for him because of his vast executive experience or his legislative successes.
He's an orthodox libertarian who decided he wanted to be a career politician and he's carved out a nice niche for himself in that space. I don't think anyone is advocating ignoring the man especially when he makes some fine points on a variety of issues, but unless we're to believe that the GOP voting base is the same as the Libertarian Party voting base, he's not getting the nomination.
Jul '11
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
All these folks running have been found wanting. Paul's supporters are self righteous because they feel a problem exists that no one is willing to address or even acknowledge. Or maybe it relates to the Sneetches on the Beaches syndrome, "Haha you're belly's got no star"
Oct '10
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
DocJay, I agree regarding the candidates but Paul Ryan is trying to address the problems. And yet Paul voted against his budget. What do you make of that?
May '11
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
To paraphrase Jed Babbin or Norman Schwartzkopf or somebody, "Going into an election without Ron Paul is like going deer hunting without an accordion. All you do is leave behind a lot of noisy baggage."
Seriously, the man is chin-drooling, bat guano crazy. It's not just his foreign policy either. Gold standard? Really? Russia would instantly be wealthier than the US, the Netherlands would be wealthier than the UK, Australia and Turkey combined and, oh yeah, all of your money would be worthless. Either private banks would print their own money or we would go to a barter system, either of which would crash a modern economy. Do you really want to try to float your IPO with Krugerrands?
Look, I get why its a nice idea to stop governments from devaluing the currency, but taking all your wealth out to the back yard and setting it on fire is not the answer.
Jun '10
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
Aaron Miller:
My main concern about Ron Paul is whether or not he is a savvy enough negotiator to achieve the government cuts he so strongly advocates. How many of his fellow Representatives have supported his propositions in Congress?
Successful presidential candidates seldom come out of the House, but I can see making an exception for a former Speaker or perhaps the Chairman of the Budget Committee.
Has Ron Paul ever even chaired a committee? Or co-authored a major piece of legislation (that actually passed)? He strikes me as a career back-bencher, not a leader.
Dec '10
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
Excuse me for a moment while I warm myself by Larry's strawman fire.
I could be misinterpreting the thrust of your comment, Skyler, but you do know-- I hope-- that Rep. Paul voted for the war with Afghanistan, right?
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
So you're saying he's a politician!
Dec '11
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
My problems with Ron Paul can be summed up in two words: Austrian economics.
Dec '10
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
I heard someone on the radio recommend Paul for Fed Chair. It was good to laugh like that.
Oct '10
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
I am a flaming libertarian.
That said, let me try to put on the Michael (Murphy | Barone) hat here and look at the numbers. Ron Paul polls between 8% and 20% on national and early primary state surveys. My own model of the electorate is that it's about 45% thieves and liars who will vote Democrat, about 45% productive people who will vote Republican, and 10% in the middle, who I deem the clueless and crazy who you have to win over to put your candidate across the goal line. The wild card is that each of those 45%s are soft—they assume that core constituency doesn't stay home. Now note that in the 2008 Presidential election, the Black component of the electorate was 12.1% and the Hispanic 7.4%. These are generally Democrat voters, and accounted for Obama's victory.
We're not talking about constituencies shifting from one column to another, but rather their probability of staying home. Should Ron Paul's supporters be made to feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in the GOP, then somewhere between the total percent of Hispanic and Black voters may stay home. Game over.
Jul '11
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
I thought it was flat out stupid to not embrace a practical solution to our nations debt woes even if Ryan's budget was not as aggressive as I'd prefer or as ideologically pure as Ron Paul preferred. I feel that the inability to compromise for the greater good at least occasionally makes as poor a leader as one who is so compromising as to have no principles at all. Ron Paul has flaws and one of them is his belief that standing on the moral high ground is preferable to getting something done for the positive. Many view this aspect of him as a strength though.
Mar '11
Re: Pretending that Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
Representative Ryan's plan appears good only when compared with the alternatives that have been presented by both parties. Representative Paul's criticism of both Ryan's and Obama's efforts as, “Neither of those budgets will solve our problems, or even come close," if unfortunately entirely correct.
The Ryan plan still has the federal government spending 19.9% of GDP, that is a higher percentage than during President Clinton's second term and is completely unsustainable considering our current debt levels. It is only progress when compared with how insanely irresponsible Congress has become.
Edited on December 15, 2011 at 9:09pm