"Those who crusade, not for God in themselves, but against
the devil in others, never succeed in making the world better,
but leave it either as it was, or sometimes perceptibly worse
than what it was, before the crusade began. By thinking
primarily of evil we tend, however excellent our intentions,
to create occasions for evil to manifest itself."
-- Aldous Huxley
"The only war that matters is the war against the imagination.
All others are subsumed by it."
-- Diane DiPrima, "Rant", from Pieces of a Song.
"It is difficult
to get the news from poems
yet men die miserably every day
for lack
of what is found there"
-- William Carlos Williams, "Asphodel, That Greeny Flower"
Yes, Paul seems the least obnoxious of the Repug crowd. Still, the problem with guys like him is the all or nothing approach to government. The “it’s not the government’s job to take care of people” philosophy is impractical in this day and age. I think the worst, And I’m sure that this isn’t Paul’s beliefs, is the taking away needed social programs from the poor and low income while handing over billions to corporations all the while proclaiming that it is personal responsibility to sink or swim. Social Darwinism in the US seems to only apply to the lower classes.
I can see why we’ve never really heard of this Rep. Paul in the media here. He seems to speak with the clarity of his beliefs unlike the babbling blowbacks that filled the stage with him.
I have some questions for him though. Where was he when the “pugs were at their peak and wreaking such havoc on the US and the world, how come he wasn’t out in front fighting against the B.S. if he didn’t believe in what was being done. I seem to recall a lot of congressional votes that were 100% approved by Republicans meaning that every Republican Congressman and Senator voted yes for the resolution or bill. Where were his convictions then? At least Kucinich has ALWAYS voted his conscience and not Party line.
Where was he when the “pugs were at their peak and wreaking such havoc on the US and the world, how come he wasn’t out in front fighting against the B.S. if he didn’t believe in what was being done. I seem to recall a lot of congressional votes that were 100% approved by Republicans meaning that every Republican Congressman and Senator voted yes for the resolution or bill.
Paul voted against Iraq and felt very strongly that Americans were being misled.
http://www.antiwar.com/paul/paul51.html
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul58.html
Here is his congressional webpage.
Amen, Ann–sounded like a real conservative out there!
-Jack
Miche, I stand corrected. See what I get for shooting my mouth off before I was completely sure of the facts. I must be preparing for employment in the US media! I see Paul is from Pittsburgh, PA. Well, nearly a home town boy! Not that I agree with him on much….
Although I lean heavily towards Gravel, Paul is the only other candidate I feel would make any kind of positive change.
Unfortunatly the Washington Post considers both to be nothing more than Clutter
Agreed. Shows how out of touch the WaPo oped is when it describes two of the better candidates (and ones that most electrified the imagnation and confidence of educated Blogistan) as “clutter”.
Coming back to the discussion rather late, but Ron Paul’s stance on the war was really explained in last night’s debate. For me, the highlight was the schooling of Guilliani. Check my site for the video.