Conor Kenny
Staff Writer
There’s something rather endearing about Ron Paul. At the current rate the man from Texas is going, it seems as though he’ll be running for President even when he’s six feet under. The determination of the congressman to launch a third campaign at the age of 76 is reminiscent of a loony tunes character who seems to be continually struck dead with an anvil, yet who somehow manages to reappear in the next episode. Nevertheless, this old-style libertarian is starting to gather vast support in the polls. Everyone from the tea party movement to liberals fed up with insipid Obama policies are starting to take note of Ron Paul. And so they should.
Despite the honourable efforts of the Occupy Wall Street movement, there is absolutely no chance that America will not be a capitalist country by the time the next election comes around in 2012. The idea that a dyed-in-the-wool socialist congressman like Dennis Kucinich ever stands a chance of being elected is lunacy. What is clear, however, even to hardcore Republicans, is that the Federal Reserve System has evolved into something beyond a bad joke. It is a system so historically chaotic that it was even criticised by Thomas Jefferson. Any politician who believes that central banking can continue in it’s current format without wreaking economic havoc in the US needs to be taken away by the men in white coats. Liberals too, believe that the Fed should be financing government investment in infrastructure repair to raise employment levels, instead of being an institution that essentially exists for the benefit of those on Wall Street. Dr. Paul believes that the Fed should be completely eliminated. Not the most ridiculous of ideas when you consider that this institution is suspected of having played a hand in both the Great Depression of 1929 and the current global financial crisis.
Perhaps the most notable of Dr. Paul’s political ideas is his firm belief in a peaceful, isolationist foreign policy. Considering this is something that most Democrats, never mind Republicans don’t support, it is evident that this particular congressman is remarkably progressive. Indeed, he even managed to coin himself the nickname Dr. No by virtue of the fact that he will “never vote for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution”. Given that America’s reputation around the world is at an all-time low, a more liberal approach to foreign affairs is imperative, something which Barack Obama is never likely to deliver with his implied support of Israel. So many Democrats have become disillusioned with Obama’s imperialist dogma that the term “Blue Republicans” has been assigned to those defectors who have registered as Republicans simply to vote for Ron Paul in 2012.
The only obstacle to Paul’s campaign after Rick Perry’s stupidity blew up in own his face two weeks ago, is the fact that Fox News seems to regard him as some sort of geriatric madcap. If you ask me, coming from them that’s something of a compliment. The downside is that despite having the most popular blog of all the candidates, he has only had 2% of the coverage by the mainstream media in America. He believes that the neoconservative media consider his beliefs to be “too dangerous”. He’s probably right. The good news is that they can’t choose the next President, but the people of the United States can.
