Ron Paul: The Best Choice for Democrats
Wed, 05/09/2007 - 7:45am
Confession: I've never voted for a Republican in my life. Not even Ronald Reagan. Never even considered it.
As a lifelong conservative Democrat, I enthusiastically began to research each candidate in an attempt to get a better idea of who I might support in the primary.
I began with Hillary Clinton. She was certainly my first choice going into this and for good reason. She's a smart, tough, capable woman. Bill Clinton was a great leader and brilliant politician who got things done. In my mind, a vote for Hillary is a way to get eight more years of Bill Clinton's successes. The deal breaker? Clinton's support of the 2002 Iraq War Resolution.
Barack Obama is one of the most charismatic men I've ever seen. He speaks positively about the future and he invokes my memory of Bill Clinton's "there's nothing wrong with America that can't be fixed by what's right with America." Truer words have never been spoken (did I mention that I liked Bill Clinton?). Obama's appeal is almost universal attracting a sizable number of Republican defectors. He's also not as polarizing, which has been an observation of Clinton's potential trouble in the general election. Deal breaker? No matter what others say, Obama's lack of experience is glaring -- blindingly so. To make matters worse, history also shows that an extended career in the U.S. Senate has historically not helped would-be presidents.
John Edwards is a smart guy who's been a very successful trial lawyer – and that's the problem. I don't buy the spin that he's "for the little guy." This may be petty, but a champion of the poor does not get a $400 haircut. Ever. To his credit, he has been very supportive of union issues, but it appears to be little more than election pandering to me. If that wasn't bad enough, he also voted for the 2002 Iraq War Resolution.
Who does that leave? No one. Certainly no one on the Republican side. Or does it?
Congressman Ron Paul may be running as a Republican, but one factor makes him stand out to dissatisfied Democrats: he's consistently been opposed to the war in Iraq. In fact, Dr. Paul believes in the issues that are most important to Democrats: he's opposed to aggressive foreign intervention, the dismal failure No Child Left Behind, and unconstitutional searches and wiretaps. He supports abolition of the IRS, personal freedoms and liberties, and protection of the poor and middle class. In short, he fully repudiates the neo-conservative agenda. He is everything George W. Bush isn't. He's truly the candidate of freedom unencumbered by corporate interests which seem to affect every other candidate -- Republican and Democrat.
Hillary Clinton was an ardent supporter of Barry Goldwater in 1964. Ron Paul is the Barry Goldwater of 2008 and I believe that he deserves more than a passing look from conservative Democrats.
About the author
Robert J. Johnson is an American political commentator and contributor to DCguide.com.
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Give me a break!
Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 05/09/2007 - 11:15am.
This is the biggest bunch of bu$%%%it that I've ever seen. Ron Paul is no more a Democrat than Ronald Reagan was!
C'mon.
nice
Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 05/09/2007 - 11:26pm.
thank you for the post. I hope all of your Democrat friends can be convinced of the same. If you take a close look at the issues however you will find the leading Democratic candidates to be the polar opposite of Dr. Paul.
Ron Paul is awesome!
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 05/10/2007 - 10:29am.
He's got my vote.
This Blue Dog says Go, Ron, Go!
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 05/10/2007 - 4:16pm.
I'm a Democrat and I'm a Ron Paul supporter.
http://www.ronpaul2008.com
Ron Paul for president
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 05/11/2007 - 9:59pm.
Our country needs Ron Paul. None of the other candidates even come close.
Ron Paul is an amazing
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 05/18/2007 - 11:39am.
Ron Paul is an amazing individual who has stood alone (just like in the S.C. debate) in procraiming the TRUTH. Don't fear the truth as the media would have you do. Paul's principles are founded on the constitution and he's proven he will not change. Forget about republican vs. democrat...IT'S ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION! These parties always want more power regardless of their claims that they are for smaller, less-intrusive government. Our country is being high-jacked by these phonies and we need a "people's president" to tell us the truth and not what "they" think we need to hear. Please learn about Ron Paul before forming opinions about him, check his voting record and go with your gut. Most important, don't be fooled by the left/right paradigm that has been constructed to deceive us. Wake up America, forget the labels, Vote for Ron Paul!
Ron Paul...is liked by Bill Maher, that says a lot.
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 05/31/2007 - 2:29pm.
Ron Paul is a class act and a people's champion. You can read him as the honest person that he is. He speaks with an extreme conviction and, as someone who can see and hear bullshit a mile away, I believe Ron Paul is genuine in his beliefs and adheres to the core values of the constitution. He speaks the truth and that is painful for many on both sides of the divide.
Like George Carlin says, America has become a nation of yuppies who like their bullshit out front where they can get a good strong smell of it. They necessitate this soft fruity language to conceal or hide the facts and present a sugar coated, less offensive truth. Lest it hurts someone's feelings. Euphemisms. It has made us soft, and weak, and arrogant.
Ron Paul tells it like it is, strips it down to bare bones and presents you with the problems and their solutions. There is no gray area with Ron Paul. Saying and doing are completely different things of coarse, but the one difference between Ron and the other candidates is that he doesn't give you this imaginary pie in the sky. He tells it like it is, and how it ought to be done, and how it will be done once he is in office.
It worked for our founding fathers and it would certainly work again. That is how we became a beloved and prosperous and powerful nation in the first place. It is then, and only then that you can turn around and spread the goodness of America to the rest of the world. Get your own nation in order before you attempt to help bring up other nations in glory and prosperity.
Vote Ron Paul for President, 2008.
If Ron Paul manages to get
Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 06/03/2007 - 4:03pm.
If Ron Paul manages to get the nomination I think a lot of the serious anti-war democrats will take a look at him.
I would vote for him even though I have voted democrat in the last four elections.
Everyone is getting pretty sick of Washington's smoke and mirrors, and Ron Paul's popularity shows that, in my opinion.
We are not trusting the main stream news anymore, we are going to the internet and doing our own research since the media's no longer works for the people. ( sorry off on a rant there)
I think Joe Biden makes more
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 06/04/2007 - 2:35am.
I think Joe Biden makes more sense than any of the 3 Democratic candidates you investigated. But also I agree about Ron Paul, hes certainly the only Republican candidate I would consider voting for. Theres a certain appeal to that strict minimalist government ideology that he subscribes to. On the other hand I think it ignores some important issues, most notably universal healthcare, which he would probably never support. Hes against taxes and big government. I'm for a government thats as big as it needs to be to get the job done, which is bigger than I think Paul would like it.
ron paul is the man
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 06/04/2007 - 6:58pm.
he has my vote he is the best choice
billary, giuliani, romney, obama all members of CFR
Ron paul is against the North American Union which is going to destroy our nations soveirnty.
Vote for Ron Paul!
Big government is the cause
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 1:26pm.
Big government is the cause of all our problems. Put it this way if you graduated from college and your parents support you afterwards how much longer will it take you to find a job and move out when your parents are paying for your food housing and other expenses. Parents telling you well you got six months to get a job and start paying rent or move out would get you a lot more motivated than being able to sit at home and mooch off of your parents. That's the problem with our society today. Everyone wants handouts from the government. Cut off handouts and people will become more dependent on themselves. It's not a governments job to take care of you, just as its not a parents job to support an adult child of theirs, but when you encourage it it becomes a bigger problem.
Right on!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 08/13/2007 - 9:22am.
I agree 100%!
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