Ron Paul Is A Nut

Because "respectable" opinion must make sense, right?

by James Leroy Wilson | December 27, 2007

Ron Paul is a nut, and his supporters are crackpots. If you are a conservative, it is better to support Obama or Clinton than Paul, and if you are a progressive, it is better to support Giuliani, McCain, Romney, or Huckabee than Paul. Because if you are a reasonable Democrat or Republican, you acknowledge and embrace several core ideas that have evolved over the past century, which Paul has the audacity to question. Paul's views on the Constitution, national security, and money are just too far out of the mainstream. Moreover, they are crazy.

While there may be some room for quibbling around the edges, most educated, rational people would agree with all, or almost all, of these seventeen principles:

1. The Commerce Clause of the Constitution, which states "The Congress shall have power ... To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes," gives the federal government the power to tell you what decisions you can make regarding your own property.

2. The penumbra of the Bill of Rights creates a "right to privacy" that forces states to respect a woman's right to choose abortion, but does not force the federal government to respect a woman's right to choose medical marijuana.

3. The United States has an obligation to fight poverty worldwide - and also has an obligation to create even more poverty through economic sanctions against certain regimes we don't like.

4. Iraq was a failure in execution, but not in principle; in principle America's young men and women should be sent overseas to fight wars that have nothing to do with the security of the United States.

5. Inflationary policies are good for the poor, and falling prices relative to precious metal-backed dollars are bad for the people.

6. Deficits don't matter.

7. There should be compulsory national service (military or civil) for young people; the Constitution's prohibition against "involuntary servitude" means something else.

8. The Second Amendment empowers the federal government to restrict personal firearms ownership.

9. If you have nothing to hide, it shouldn't trouble you that the government is monitoring your activities.

10. When the country starts an ill-conceived war, rather than end the war...Read more>>>