Category: Ron Paul

The Non-Barking Dog Of Federalism

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by Smitty

Why I can’t help but admire large swaths of Ron Paul’s ideas:

Ron Paul told host David Gregory that he would abolish federal student loans. . .

All of those students must claim a state for residency. Why. The. [Ahem]. are states not taking care of their own citizens? Well, clearly the federal government can cause money to appear much more readily. Given the moral hazards an unintended consequences of decades of this, it is high time that We The People call ‘nonsense’ on this.

Many miles away something crawls to the surface of a dark Scottish lake. . .

Mitt Romney defended his conservative bona fides today, insinuating that some mistook his lack of “outlandish … rhetoric” for a lack of conservative beliefs.

“I don’t know on which issue I’m not conservative,” he told Sean Hannity in a radio interview. Romney cited what he had done as governor of Massachusetts — balancing the state budget annually, increasing school accountability and education choice, and increasing the state’s rainy day fund — as proof he was conservative. “I think my record is as conservative as you’ll find,” he said. Alluding to the health-care program he signed into law, Romney noted that Newt Gingrich had conceded during the last debate that he had supported an individual mandate at one point.

And he pointed out that he had been elected in a very Democratic state: “I think people recognize that when you’re elected in a dark-blue state like Massachusetts … a conservative like me is playing an away game,” Romney remarked, noting also his efforts on abortion and traditional marriage.

Romney did identify one way in which he differs from some of his GOP rivals: “I may not be as incendiary or outlandish in rhetoric.”

Shag your rhetoric, mister: it’s your results that have people wondering if you’re packing the gear, or Yet. Another. Ruling. Class. Knob.

Instead of a 59 point plan to vulcanize a dead cat so that it bounces more, just tell us what federal agencies you plan to snuff. Because really, if you’re not whacking some bureaucracy with a Big Fancy Hammer, then you’re just shining us on.

Ron Paul’s “Restore America”: Spot On

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by Smitty

It’s an 11 page .pdf that is as serious as lung cancer about doing something concerning federal over-reach and over-spending, nuking:

  • Department of Education
  • Department of Commerce
  • Department of Energy
  • Department of the Interior
  • Department of Housing and Urban Development

What gives me pause about the bulk of the candidates is that they seem to be looking around the elephant in the room, the over-reach, and just talking about reigning in spending.

As they do pretty much every. Single. Miserable. Election. Cycle. It’s like some big news when a Rick Perry calls Social Security a Ponzi scheme. When the truth is like a shocking revelation, that, itself, is a problem.

Admittedly, I get queasy when Ron ventures into foreign policy, but what difference does foreign policy make when the whole country is impoverished by our idiot Ruling Class? One is tempted to vote for whoever is bringing the biggest wrecking ball.

via Althouse

PAULBOT-MANIA: Ron Paul Supporters Buy Victory in ‘Value Voters’ Straw Poll

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The question to be asked is not whether it is unfair for the Paul campaign to keep doing this, but why the rest of the GOP field can’t spend a few bucks to do it themselves. Dave Weigel at Slate reports:

He beat out seven other candidates and “undecided.” The full results, with 1,983 ballots cast:

Ron Paul – 36.9% (732)
Herman Cain – 22.5% (447)
Rick Santorum – 16.3% (323)
Rick Perry – 8.4% (167)
Michele Bachmann – 7.9% (157)
Mitt Romney – 4.4% (88)
Newt Gingrich – 2.7% (54)
Undecided – 0.7% (13)
Jon Huntsman – 0.1% (2)

In a post-vote press conference, FRC President Tony Perkins made sure to note that 600 people had bought tickets for Saturday only — a none-too-subtle hint that Paul’s supporters had over-represented themselves.
“Do the math,” said Perkins. “Ron Paul and his campaign are very well organized.”

What did 600 tickets cost the Paul campaign? And what would have been the publicity value if, for example, the Rick Perry campaign had paid for 1,000 of their supporters to attend the summit? Perry raised $17 million and he can’t afford to buy a straw poll? Your stupidity is not someone else’s fault. Beyond that, the story is:

A. Herman Cain continues his momentum; and
B. Santorum got twice as many votes as Bachmann.

This pretty much puts a fork into the Bachmann campaign. If she can’t beat Santorum in a straw poll at a national conference of social conservatives, Bachmann probably can’t beat Santorum in Iowa, either.

UPDATE: Jazz Shaw at Hot Air: “Ron Paul brings home the bouquet for best organizational skills at a conservative event .”

And by “organizational skills,” he means, the willingness to spend money on grassroots activism, i.e., offering free tickets for any Paul supporter who wanted to come vote for their guy.

UPDATE II: My buddy Joe Fein has shown how the Paulistas won — “stole” might be too strong a word — the California GOP straw poll.

Stipulate that the Paul campaign operates according to the “By Any Means Necessary” radical principle. Nevertheless, the point to which I wish to call the reader’s attention is this: The Paul campaign is smart to spend money on getting their supporters to events, and other campaigns are stupid in spending money to hire a bunch of staffers and consultants who don’t necessarily provide value-added to their efforts.

Suppose you are a college kid who might be willing to support a Republican presidential candidate. Now, suppose that you could actually get to meet that candidate, and get free travel to events where that candidate appears. OK, furthermore suppose that the campaign had a sort of Amway incentive deal where, if you were campus activist who could sign up a dozen of your college buddies to accept the same free-travel deal, you’d get a small commission for every warm body you delivered on the Republican candidate’s behalf.

Shouldn’t Republicans be able to understand how the Ron Paul campaign is using market incentives to build their movement?

Why, then, are most GOP presidential campaigns top-heavy affairs that spend ridiculous sums on “media consultants,” etc., rather than to use their money the way Ron Paul’s campaign uses their money?

Like I said: Your stupidity is not someone else’s fault.

Barry Manilow, Paulista

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Maybe he’s the one who’s been trolling the comments at Hot Air:

“I like him. I like what he says, I do. I like what he says. I think he’s solid,” said Manilow, who confirmed to TheDC in an interview at the Capitol on Thursday that he contributed to Paul’s last campaign for president.
“I agree with just about everything he says. What can I tell you?” Manilow added.

For younger readers who may not know who Barry Manilow is, he sang your mother’s favorite song, when your mother was a lonely and somewhat chubby eighth-grader in the mid-1970s.

RON PAUL FOR PRESIDENT
Because He Came and He Gave Without Taking

Tough Talk, But Who Will Campaign On Eliminating The TSA?

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by Smitty

Libertarian Republican echoes The Hill quoting Ron Paul from the GOP debate on TSA thuggery:

Texas Congressman Ron Paul let it rip on TSA abuses of airline passengers (via TheHill):
“If the perpetrators were a gang of criminals, their headquarters would be raided by SWAT teams and armed federal agents,” he continued. “Unfortunately in this case, the perpetrators are armed federal agents.”

It is Obama-esque to talk vaguely about cutting the need to cut spending. Until we’re backing candidates offering specific discussion of which acronyms to elide from the federal budget, it’s not much more than posturing.

Let’s keep up the pressure on these politicians to recover the country from the Euro-weeny pit, people. Homo bureaucratus must not prevail.

Ron Paul vs. Tea Party Express?

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Eric Odom wonders why “Doctor No” doesn’t join the tour:

During the past few months Ron Paul’s fans/supporters have gone out of their way to promote his candidacy at every corner of the web. You’ll find them in the comments of every post about an opponent and they’re very active in message boards and discussion forums.
One of the biggest complaints made by these folks is that some of the more “mainstream” tea party organizations do not give Ron Paul a platform to speak from. They argue Paul is being actively silenced in some parts of the movement and they strongly advocate more opportunity for Paul to speak out through these organizations.
Which brings up a very puzzling situation. You see, the Tea Party Express is rolling through 29 cities right now, some of them being in early/battleground states. Iowa, New Hampshire, Virginia, South Carolina and Florida for example. I’m told that Ron Paul has repeatedly been invited to speak at ANY rally on the tour, yet has not once confirmed he wishes to do so. . . .

Read the whole thing. Unlike some other conservative bloggers, I try not to alienate the Paulistas because (a) I’ve got a pretty serious libertarian streak myself, (b) some of my good friends support Paul, and (c) I’m a gutless weasel who doesn’t need a bunch of crazies attacking me in the comments.

It’s bad enough having to deal with left-wing trolls like Anamika, why should I go out of my way to antagonize libertarians?

2012 Candidates Not Named ‘Herman’

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It’s kinda been all-Herman, all-the-time here lately, so let me update you on what’s going on with the non-Hermans:

And finally, Newt Gingrich becomes a punchline:

We now return you to your regularly-scheduled (neutral and objective) reminder to join the online grassroots army at Citizens for Cain.


On This Caption Like Sweet On Cherry Pie

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by Smitty (h/t Maggie’s Farm)

a_jolly_heh
The Federal Reserve: holding the purchasing power, if not the denomination, of the bill with Abe's face constant since 1913

Or, as Ron Paul said, End the Fed. Also available for the mighty Kindle, which gadget I have been enjoying immensely here by the Hindu Kush.
I don’t know how to link Amazon URLs to Stacy’s tip jar, but we really need to support him financially so that he can offer the Full Gonzo at the Republican Leadership Conference here in a couple of months.
My wife loves her some New Orleans, but she’ll be rather gravid at the time, not to mention my location halfway around the world, so I can’t go. But at least I can live vicariously through Stacy McCain, which is a not-bad alternative.