In what will probably be an ill-advised post, since I expect to gain lots of flames from diehard Paulists, I’m going to share my thoughts on Ron Paul. First and foremost, what I like:
-He’s a small-government Republican. I don’t like big government, as a rule, and his opposition to big government at every turn does please me.
-He’s pro-life. I am, as anyone who knows me will confirm, very opposed to abortion…to the point that if that issue alone isn’t a deal-killer with a candidate, it comes quite close to being one.
-I like his opinion that when we’re getting into a war, we should declare war rather than doing a song-and-dance of it being a ‘police action’ or a ‘conflict’ or something else along those lines.
Now, for what I don’t like:
-I think the Federal Reserve Bank is covered under a (slightly broad in some eyes, perhaps) understanding of the ability of the federal government to regulate interstate commerce. I also think printing money (versus the right to ‘coin money’) is covered under that as well. I don’t like the Commerce Clause very much, and I think it should be used as little as possible, but when something has to do with interstate commerce, it’s probably covered under that clause. And ladies and gentlemen, I do believe that setting interest rates and regulating banking probably falls under interstate commerce.
-His anti-war stance gives me very mixed feelings. All rhetoric about an American Empire and so forth aside, I’m still in favor of making sure that we finish what we started. I like the letters of marquee idea that one of Paul’s supporters floated, at least in principle (that principle still has its place, I think, especially within certain contexts), but it strikes me that we’ve still got to do a bit of the heavy lifting ourselves. Still, I’ll confess that the inclusion of that solution does mollify some of my concerns, and it is one of the ideas that doesn’t get articulated very well.
-I’m not thrilled with his stance on civil unions (if I understand it correctly).
There are probably a few other points I disagree with him on, but let me sum up my opinion of Dr. Paul like this: I want him to have an influence on the GOP, especially with respect to the party’s stance on pork and on taxes. Those places are where I tend to agree with him over some flanks of the party. I don’t necessarily want him running the foreign policy of the US, though I wouldn’t mind seeing the letters of marquee put into practice and seeing where that goes. I hate to speak prematurely, but surely it can’t go much worse than some of the situations with Blackwater have. So, in short, I think the good doctor is a good influence on the party, and I think he can help the party attract a new segment of the population (something you’re not getting from all of the candidates out there), but I don’t see him as the strongest nominee.
Tags: Ron Paul
