Background
I have been named a "bleeding heart liberal", "greener", "granola","crunchy" and countless other terms that are associated with hard core liberals. I believe in the social issues and have never really looked outside of the Democratic Party for a viable candidate. I've always considered the Republicans to be the "big fat cats" allowing the rich to get richer (and in many cases that is definitely true).
After the 2004 election, I vowed to do whatever I could to prevent another Republican candidate from getting into office. Whether it was Hillary or Obama, I frankly didn't care. The main issue was to get the "war mongering", "tax cutting" Republicans out of the White House and out of the legislature.
The Democrats
Although the different stances of Obama and Hillary played a role, the most important factor was if they were "electable" or not. My main concern was whether the American public (at least in certain regions of the U.S.) were more willing to vote for a black man or a white woman so that we could get a Republican out of office.
Unfortunately, both of the candidates offer the same old democratic rhetoric trying to play the middle in order to get the moderate votes and don't really offer anything new. Yes, Obama might be more change than Hillary, but is it okay to accept "more change" when "huge changes" are necessary?
Time for Change?
Last month, I watched the documentaries The Money Masters, Money As Debt, and America: Freedom to Fascism. It wasn't until I had watched these documentaries that I truly understood how the American economy ran based on the fractional reserve banking and the influence of the Federal Reserve.
Who is Ron Paul?
I won't go into a detailed account of his history and stances but if you want more information check out his official campaign website at Ron Paul 2008 and his profile on the site On The Issues. Briefly, he is a Texas House Representative and is a Libertarian running on the Republican platform.
I have listed briefly his stances that I believe are good and are the reasons that I support him.
What I like:
- He is the only candidate who truly addresses monetary reform and understands the issue
- He wants to eliminate the Federal Income Tax, the IRS, and the Federal Reserve (See IRS blog for more information)
- He is the only presidential candidate who voted against the Iraq War
- He voted no on the $78B emergency fund for Iraq/Afghanistan
- He voted no on $266B Defense Appropriations Bill.
- He voted against the Patriot Act
- He is against the National ID
- He wants out of the WTO, UN
- He is against a North American Union
- He voted against constitutionally banning gay marriage
- He voted against constitutionally defining marriage between one man and one woman.
What I don't like:
- He wants to repeal Roe v. Wade (each state can decide individually)
- He voted against raising CAFE (Car mileage) standards and alternative fuel funding
- He is for "private property" related to environmental regulation (or lack thereof). Essentially people can sue companies for any damage to their property (air, water, house etc). This would internalize previously externalized costs, but only if lawsuits were effective.
My Thoughts
I don't want to dismiss these issues too lightly because I myself am a member of a group that would be affected. But for reasons that I explain below, the rights of specific groups are insignificant when more fundamental civil liberties are under attack (See America: Freedom to Fascism)
The U.S. has been so paralyzed by issues such as abortion, the death penalty, and gun rights that we have largely ignored some of the more overreaching policies. Although these issues are important, what about the suspension of habeas corpus? The Patriot Act has taken away many simple guaranteed rights such as the right to a trial and has moved us further down the road towards a fascist state. With the National ID measure being pushed through congress, it is one more step for the government to track and monitor its citizens.
Ron Paul has consistently voted against these measures stands up for the civil liberties protected under the constitution. Maybe it hasn't happened to you or anyone you know, but it is wrong to allow habeas corpus to be suspended and continue on the rocky path to a police/fascist state.
My biggest reason for supporting Ron Paul is because of his monetary policy. Monetary reform will curb inflation and reduce or eliminate the so-called "business" cycle that has been artificially created by the central banks. It will allow the United States to get off the treadmill of never-ending interest payments and allow us to print our own money.
Before you dismiss him as "another Republican", just as I almost did, please look at his stance on issues related to military intervention, monetary reform, and civil liberties. If you don't understand fractional reserve banking, central banking, and the Federal Reserve thoroughly, watch the documentaries that I have linked below. If you still don't believe that monetary reform is a (or THE) pressing issue today and Ron Paul won't help solve those problems, then you can go ahead and criticize him.
But until then, keep an open mind. America needs change and he might be the change we need.
Related Blogs:
The IRS, Tax Protesters, and the Federal Reserve
Ron Paul on Tax Credits and Federal Reserve
Related Links:
Ron Paul Campaign Website
On The Issues: Ron Paul's Profile
Videos on YouTube
Ron Paul and Bernanke Part 1
Ron Paul and Bernanke Part 2
Related Links
The Money Masters
The Federal Reserve Bunk
Pay No Income Tax
Liberty Dollar
Recommended Books
The Federal Mafia
Recommended Movies:
All of these movies are free to watch on Google Video.
Money As Debt
The Money Masters
America: Freedom to Fascism
1 comment:
sometimes you wonder if it's best to have an elimination of taxes. on one hand, it's more money in your pocket, on the other hand, we lose money for publicly funded ventures such as medicare and medicaid. While I'm not a HUGE fan on the CMS (medicare/medicaid) it does hold a lot of importance that only a federally and state mandated tax via income concession would address.
Ron Paul is fairly extreme in his views of Constitutional power. His call for less federal and more state control causes a problem with centralization of the country which would in turn cause there to be interstate problems with trade and regulations. E.g. monopolies.
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