Ron Paul at the Americans for Prosperity Conference
Great quote from Ron Paul (aka, “Dr. No”): “Do I support the fair tax or the flat tax? I support the low tax, and I want to abolish the federal income tax.”
Great news!
Gosh, too bad that he blames 9/11 on America. I think that, in terms of foreign policy, Ron takes the concept of political realism, mixes it with the views of President William Taft, and somehow ends up with Chomsky-style nonsense. Out of all of his great views, why would he pick that issue to emphasize during his campaign? He is an idiot, because I support his views on monetary policy, taxes, and the government, but he still finds away to get me to oppose him.
I’m about to be less than 10 inches away from Ron Paul as he gives a press conference, so I’ll report if he says anything interesting.
Update: Ron Paul explains that the poor is harmed when a government prints excess money to pay for the welfare state. He also wants to scrap No Child Left Behind and the Dept. of Education. He also opposes the Law of the Sea treaty. I agree with all of those positions, but the press is less than interested. In fact, atleast 2 reporters are picking their nose right now. I hate reporters.
Gene said,
Wrote on October 5, 2007 @ 12:05 pm
Can you cite a specific quote where Ron Paul “blames” 9/11 on America? It’s funny: no one seems to be able to find such a quote. Maybe you heard or read something the rest of America isn’t privy to??? Please give reference, because even Ron Paul denies blaming 9/11 on America. I’m sure he’d be interested as well.
Joe C. said,
Wrote on October 5, 2007 @ 12:06 pm
If Ron Paul was a Democrat, he’d be leading their primary field.
Bert M said,
Wrote on October 5, 2007 @ 12:59 pm
Name one serious scholar who doesn’t believe that US foreign policy was a factor in causing 9/11. And I’m not talking about self-annotinted “experts” like Mark Steyn and Robert Spencer.
Ron Paul believe there is an aggressive islamist motivation behind the attacks; he just knows that it took something to make these people do what they did. And it sure as hell wasn’t “our freedoms.”
Todd said,
Wrote on October 5, 2007 @ 1:03 pm
Mathew,
Either provide your source for your opening statement or retract it. We are tired of the lies and spin about Dr. Paul’s non-interventionist foreign policy and the mischaracterization of his reasonable debate comments about “blow back” as defined by the CIA and the 9/11 Commission Report and looking at the reasons the Saudi Arabian Terrorist’s hijacked and crashed those planes on 9/11.
Don’t be a Hannity.
Todd
Matthew said,
Wrote on October 5, 2007 @ 1:36 pm
The Islamofascists would hate us no matter how involved America’s military is in the middle east. Ron Paul does believe that America’s foreign policy caused 9/11, and his answer always is “read the 9/11 commission report.”
Also, Paul seems to have far too much support from the 9/11 troother movement for me to be comfortable with his candidacy.
Nathan said,
Wrote on October 5, 2007 @ 1:54 pm
Isn’t saying that American foreign policy caused 9/11 effectively blaming America for 9/11? Paul’s rhetoric on this issue makes it fairly clear that he doesn’t grasp the issues surrounding the war on terror and national security.
He constantly points the finger at our foreign policy, but what is his plan for dealing with the Jihadists? Does he honestly believe that they’ll just leave us alone if we leave Iraq?
Jihadists have been clear that their desire is to form a caliphate - Islamic government throughout the world. To do this, they need to destroy the west and “cut off the head of the snake”…America being the snake, of course.
Paul’s apparent failure to understand the broader issues involved in the war on terror is problematic for most Republican voters. Like Matthew, I find much to admire about Paul’s views on most domestic issues. But his simplistic view of national security is dangerous given the very real threat posed by radical Islamic fundamentalists.
David said,
Wrote on October 5, 2007 @ 2:20 pm
Nathan, an important recognition is that even in the relatively backwards Middle East where extremism remains truly extreme (suicide bombs are about as extreme as it gets) is that there still exists a fundamental truth about extremists: their numbers are naturally small. That’s an inherent fact of extremism.
Without a catalyzing influence to sweep the typically less-than-extreme portion of the population into the segment willing to support terrorism, there would be very few willing to carry out the acts you worry about so deeply. I don’t think Ron Paul or any rational person thinks simply coming home and refusing to provide a catalyzing influence will make the problem of Islamic extremists disappear. Instead, it is in itself a decapitation move aimed at the extremists: cut off their primary recruiting tools and watch them implode faster than Howard Dean in Iowa.
You are absolutely right that they are a threat, but they are only a threat for as long as they have local examples that support claims that Americans are out to get the people in the Middle East. I don’t know about you, but I’m all for causing a decline in terrorist numbers. I want anything but to give them additional tools with which to attack us. For as long as our foreign policy gives them persuasive talking points when dealing with those in their local communities, we will be less safe.
Bear Claw said,
Wrote on October 5, 2007 @ 2:32 pm
Now now Matt just because some on the lunatic fringe may support some of his beliefes does not mean he is acually that way. I will admit that I have not checked the guy totally out but until I have heard statements from him saying things of question that should be of concern I will stand a neutral ground. Look we all have our mavericks like Buchanen, and others the thing is we have very influenceable people all around the world that are willing to blame America for all the ills they themselves have created and we need to find a way to show this to be false and more the leadership they themselves have backed or voted for.
Liberty in Law said,
Wrote on October 5, 2007 @ 7:48 pm
The assertion that, “Ron Paul blames America for the 9/11 attacks” is a smear. He stated in a nationally televised debate that America’s foreign policy causes blowback. This statement is supported by the 9/11 Commission Report. It’s hardly nonsense.
Of interest, the New American Magazine reported on this blowback concept in an article titled: “American Made Terrorists.” This article is found in the Oct. 12, 1998 issue, which had Bin Laden on the cover with the Question: “Is This the Face of Terror?”
This is 3 years before 9/11/01!
Ron Paul is the only candidate who courageously upholds the Biblical principles of liberty and independence in word AND deed; He is the only candidate who isn’t afraid to speak truth to power. He is not enamored with political correctness or political parties. He loves America’s Christian history and heritage. He supports and defends the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence just as his oath of office commands. And, most importantly, he does not grovel before the wealthy and affluent.
Geoffrey Shough said,
Wrote on October 5, 2007 @ 11:13 pm
Do you guys know why Ron Paul has such wide support coming from so many different types of people? It is this concept that once formed the building blocks of our country and the philosophy of freedom that made us so great. Natural Rights/Negative Rights; We all have a right to life, liberty, and the fruits of our labor free from coercion. The founders recognized that government was a “necessary evil” because it would abridge our rights but only to protect them. Now we have strayed so far from our Constitution and we are witness to the perversion of negative rights into positive rights: right to health care, welfare, good paying wage, etc (this is where socialism and its champion Hillary Clinton come in). Positive rights abridge our own rights. People just want to be free from coercion and an unconstitutional government and they see Congressman Ron Paul and his consistent 20 year voting record supporting only constitutional legislation as their means to an end.
At this point I would like to say that I am a student at Ohio University and am a member of the Republican Club and president of the Students for Ron Paul club. I can tell everyone here from personal experience that RP supporters love this country just as much as anyone else. Our group is not constituted by a bunch of conspiracy crazies, but our membership is made up of Republicans, Constitutionalist, Libertarians, Moderates, and even a former democrat or two.
If you know anything about Dr. Ron Paul and the fact that he is a student of the Austrian School of Economics and a advocate of those teachings and the Chicago School of Economics under Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman I assume we can all agree that our country under his presidency would enter a new golden age of prosperity. Capitalism and Free Market Economics has no greater champion in Congress. What we probably do not agree upon however is Dr. Paul’s foreign policy. There is a simplicity to it and a complexity to it.
(Contact me at [email protected] and we can set up an appointment at the OU Library and I can thoroughly explain his foreign policy in detail accompanied by the historical evidence that gives veracity to his viewpoint).
I will try to explain his foreign policy in brief as this message is already long.
1.) Voted for the authorization of force to find and destroy the terrorist in Afganistan.
2.) No wars of aggression. Christian just wars/wars of defense instead.
3.) No undeclared wars or wars under the United Nations, instead have Congress declare war like our Constitution intended. Republic not King George.
4.) 9/11 did not change fundamental human nature but was evidence of blowback.
5.) Blowback is a CIA term used to describe how the government’s foreign policy of intervention has deleterious consequences. Michael Sheuer, former CIA Bin Laden unit chief in a book he wrote explains that U.S. foreign policy of nation building/intervention does indeed cause blowback.
Now Ron Paul is not saying we are responsible for 9/11. I am in contact with the campaign and am quite familiar with his viewpoint, he has only said our foreign policy is partly responsible. Foreign policy is not crafted by the masses but by a few politicians. Politicians have intended consequences to their policy and unintended. When the unintended are so deleterious and undesirable than it is time to man up (don’t talk about saving face) and change the policy for the benefit of our people.
Blowback was one major reason why 9/11 happened. Imagine China occupying Canada and Mexico, overthrowing Puerto Rico and installing a dictator, their aircraft carriers stationed off California, Florida, and New York and their military occupying Christian holy land. Would there not be some people in the U.S. that have such contempt for China that they might pull something crazy? Some kind of attack perhaps?
History is replete with examples of the dangers of nation building and military interventions. Unfortunately those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it.
Ron Paul’s stances: www.RonPaulLibrary.org
School of Austrian Economics (our greatest champion for pure capitalism): www.Mises.org
Tim said,
Wrote on October 6, 2007 @ 12:34 am
Blame America? I don’t think so. Ron Paul has stated that it is the American interventionist foreign policy that is to blame. Not just for 9/11 but another thing he has mentioned is the taking of our hostages in Iran.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldgbOxDX6DE
Also, in several videotaped messages since 9/11 bin Laden gave very different, specific reasons for the attack, to wit: the U.S.-led embargo of humanitarian aid to Iraq in the 1990s following Gulf War I (in hopes that starving, illness-crazed Iraqis would arise to overthrow Saddam Hussein), later replaced with a corrupt and equally ineffective U.N. food-and-medicine-for-oil program, which together were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children; America’s unwavering Israel-first Middle-East foreign policy which has so often ignored the rights of Palestinians and which contributes to so much instability in the region, and the continued, growing presence of U.S. military bases in the Middle East, specifically in Saudi Arabia, the holiest lands in Islam.
Perry said,
Wrote on October 6, 2007 @ 10:22 pm
He does NOT blame America! He blames our policy! You need to listen to him more. Any who thinks they attack us because we’re free, is the idiot.
Sara said,
Wrote on October 7, 2007 @ 10:15 pm
If you missed it- here’s press coverage of Ron Paul’s
Oct 6 visit to the Second Amendment Conference in the Cincy area:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aG5yniAUSY
Sara said,
Wrote on October 8, 2007 @ 9:49 am
Photo album from Second Amendment event Oct 6:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bp_968/?saved=1