IDA Caucus Countdown #6: Ron Paul
Yesterday I launched the IDA Caucus Countdown in which I am discussing the Presidential candidates in order of my preference, from worst to first. We started the countdown off with candidate #7, former Governor of Utah Jon Huntsman, Jr. The primary reason for Governor Huntsman’s low finish was his steadfast refusal to campaign in Iowa. As I mentioned yesterday it is entirely possible that Governor Huntsman may have been successful in Iowa, but now we will never know. Now let us move on to Iowa Caucus candidate #6, Texas Congressman Ron Paul.
Early in the race for the 2012 race for the Republican Presidential race for President I considered supporting Texas Congressman Ron Paul. There is a lot to like about the Congressman from Texas. In particular I adore Congressman Paul’s fiscal policy. For instance I absolutely love his position on the Federal Reserve System. He championed the Audit the Fed movement that appeared just a few years ago as a response to the federal bailout of private industry as a method of holding the aforementioned Federal Reserve System accountable. Congressman Paul has repeatedly called for massive reform of the federal government including the elimination of a number of federal agencies including but not limited to: the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Education, and the Department of Energy. The short of it is that Congressman Paul is fantastic when it comes to the economic issues for the most part. I have very little disagreement with him there; it is other issues that I have a problem with.
Up until this morning Congressman Paul has resisted placing his signature on the Personhood Pledge. For those of you that may not be familiar with this pledge the basics of the pledge are that the Presidential candidates that sign it pledge to fight to defend the unalienable right of all human beings to life regardless of their stage of development. Despite the assurance that he has made by signing the pledge Congressman Paul has repeatedly asserted that abortion is a states’ rights issue. Essentially Congressman Paul has demonstrated that, despite his repeated claims to the pro-life moniker, he cannot be trusted to do the right thing when it comes to the sanctity of life at the federal level. Of course I believe I could have supported Congressman Paul despite his inconsistency because he has indicated that the states would be able to regulate and even abolish abortion.
Despite the inconsistency that Congressman Paul has on the issue of life he may still have an even larger negative against him, his foreign policy. A lot of voters that I have spoken with are truly frightened by Congressman Paul’s isolationist foreign policy. It seems that Congressman Paul has forgotten the lessons taught to us by World War II. Just like Nazi Germany of the 1930’s and 1940’s the world is once again confronted with the threat of a tyrannical regime bent on the elimination of an entire ethnic group. Despite Congressman Paul’s assertions to the contrary, the threat posed by a nuclear Iran is real and it is imminent. Even the UN International Atomic Energy Agency is concerned over the growing evidence that Iran is indeed close to having a nuclear weapon. At this point in time the free and peace loving world should be worried about the potential devastation that could be wrought by a nuclear Iran, Congressman Ron Paul sees no reason not to let the Iranian regime achieve nuclear power status. And that belief is indeed a dangerous one.
As I stated earlier in this article, I had at one point considered Congressman Paul as a serious contender for my caucus vote. I wholeheartedly agreed with most of his domestic economic policies. However his lack of consistency and his reluctance to ensure that all Americans are afforded their basic Constitutional Right to Life did cause me some concern. And his steadfast and dangerous isolationist position on foreign policy has thrown up huge caution flags. At this point in time I could not support Texas Congressman Ron Paul for the Republican Presidential nomination.
Posted on December 22, 2011, in Commentary, Iowa Caucus, Politics and tagged abortion, Audit the Fed, Constitutional Rights, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Economic Policy, Federal Reserve System, Foreign Policy, IAEA, IDA Caucus Countdown, Internal Revenue System, Iowa Caucus, Iran, Jon Huntsman, nuclear weapons, Personhood, pro-life, Ron Paul, sanctity of life, UN, United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.
Ron Paul is a Christian and an OB/GYN Medical Doctor. He understands the issue of Pro-Life at a deeper level than most. It is in his philosophy to protect Life, and he is legally required to do so as a physician. So I don’t fault him for not signing a pledge to get votes like other politicians who do nothing once they get in office anyway.
I agree with your ideas about Paul’s foreign policy. But here’s my point. The economy is our biggest problem. We’re broke and can’t afford this middle-east game anymore. I think we should take 4 years and fix the economy according to Ron Paul’s plan. In that time we ought to reconfigure our strategic objectives.
If Iran is a threat afterwards, we go over there and show them who’s the boss at a time when we have the resources for fighting war. I think heading in there too soon, like in the next couple years is bad. It means the Fed will have to print more paper for we could afford it. That will create more a lot more debt and lead to the reason that you liked Ron Paul in the first place – fixing the economy. But he’s not going to be around to run again in 4 years after things with Iran are finished – and no one else knows what to do to put us back on our feet.
So I think this is our one shot to create a smaller government, become more prosperous, and build a powerful national defense to secure our safety for the long-term future. That’s the conservatism of Ron Paul which has drawn me to him. And in the 4 years of a Paul presidency to restore America, we would ask Israel to keep an eye on Iran while we get our house in order. And if they have to, NATO can bomb the reactors. We don’t have to sit in the driver’s seat to get the job done. That’s all I’m saying.