"Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country."
—President Ronald Reagan
Why is it that people from across the political spectrum so passionately seek to vilify Ron Paul? Ronald Reagan—blindly loved as an icon by conservatives and ultraconservative the way Lenin is loved by ultra-leftists—has become somewhat of a guiding light for modern Republicans, who use his tenures as Governor and President, his speeches, and his writings as their beacon for forming policy. President Reagan clearly appreciated Ron Paul’s contributions to the House of Representatives as well as his contributions to public policy.
Congressman Paul represents the basic pillars of conservatism: the practice of religion unhindered by government, family ties and the role of families in society, strong national defense, lower taxes, property rights, and sound money. Furthermore, Congressman Paul’s voting record in Congress shows he is consistent in voting according to his values for which his constituency elected him.
One reason many conservatives distrust him and ultraconservatives openly hate him is his opposition to a global empire established through military force, coupled with his opposition to getting entangled in foreign affairs and especially foreign alliances. He would see a quick end to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and an immediate end to the bombing campaigns in the Libyan Civil War and Yemeni Uprising (two undeclared wars which the GOP is smashing President Obama[1]). What the ultraconservatives translate this into is an idea that he is completely against Israel.[2] In reality, he isn’t against Israel, he is simply against giving huge amounts of aid and advice to a country that is often at war. He has no double standards and would apply this principle to every other country the United States has dealings with.
But why is this such a bad thing? If trillions of dollars were not being squandered as “gifts” for foreign assistance[3] (to countries most likely unable to properly manage that aid money or put it to good use), then the trillions or hundreds of billions could stay at home and substitute for the high taxes Americans are burdened with. In regards to Israel, he knows that many militants who hate Israel also hate this country, as they perceive Israel to be a puppet state and the United States to be the puppet master. This is a far cry from the truth, but it’s not completely irrational, since Israel goes out of its way to consult with the Executive Branch on many of its internal matters, especially in regards to dealing with terrorism from Hamas, Hezbollah, and the PLO, and even asks for monetary aid.[4] Ron Paul knows that in order for Israel to be a free country, its population needs to be free to run its own country without “getting permission.” Though he is sympathetic to the political plight of the Palestinians in having their own State, he knows that it’s not the U.S.’ job to be the world police. If the U.S. were the designated mediator in Israel/Palestine, then it would only be right to also mediate in the various civil wars occurring in Africa and even Asia and Latin America.
Nonetheless, the pro-Israel-at-all-costs cult sees Congressman Paul as the Antichrist[5][6] trying to destroy Zion.[7] This is a false portrayal, since Congressman Paul is a Christian and, unlike many Conservative “Christians” in the Congress, Ron Paul has actually lived up to the ideals of a Christian lifestyle through worshipping God, being absolutely faithful to his wife of over fifty years, providing for his family and teaching his children the importance of hard work, and those who know him can testify that he is true to his word.
Other ultraconservatives portray Ron Paul as being anti-military.[8] This is also false; he spent over five years in the Air Force and Air National Guard and has repeatedly advocated having a strong military for the purpose of national DEFENSE—just the way the Founding Fathers wanted. President Ronald Reagan even commended Congressman Paul for being an excellent advocate of national defense.[9]
When Paul says he wants to scale back the size of the military, he refers not to the amount of troops at Fort Hood, Fort Irwin, or Naval Base San Diego, but rather the amount of overseas personnel and installations overseas in over one hundred countries[10] (this does not count simple embassy garrisons). He has repeatedly said that he was all in favor of finding Osama Bin Laden and destroying Al Qaeda, just not at the cost of invading other countries, toppling regimes, and spending thousands of lives and trillions of dollars on nation building. This is not a farfetched vision of fighting terrorism… After all, the CIA and Navy SEALs found Osama Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan (NOT Afghanistan) and took him out. This victory was possible without American troops fighting insurgents or government troops in Islamabad.
After these analyses, the only logical answer to the question of why so many groups attack Ron Paul is that he fails to meet the criteria for a statist political party stuffed shirt whose existence is dedicated to satisfying special interests at the expense of the general coffers, the Constitution, and personal liberties.
Continued in: Why THE LEFT Attacks Ron Paul
The image used in this blog is the artwork and property of the author, edited and compiled from open source images from Wikimedia Commons.
[1] Libya and Republicans. Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303936704576399863429920534.html
[2] Geller, Pamela. Victory! Ron Paul Pulls His Vile Anti-Israel Amendment. Atlas Shrugs blog. http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2011/02/victory-ron-paul-pulls-his-vile-anti-israel-amendment.html
[3] State Department Executive Budget Summary FY 2012. pp. 20-21. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/156214.pdf
[4] Israel Seeks U.S. aid for Iron Dome. UPI. May 2010. http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2010/05/04/Israel-seeks-US-aid-for-Iron-Dome/UPI-51851272998979/
[5] Ron Paul Is the Antichrist. http://www.metacafe.com/watch/937729/ron_paul_is_the_antichrist/
[6] Is Ron Paul Anti-Christian? http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message476781/pg1
[7] Jameson, Jane. Ron Paul: Anti-Semite: Case Closed. Uncoverage.net. July 2010. http://www.uncoverage.net/2010/07/ron-paul-anti-semite-case-closed/
[8] Kincaid, Cliff. Ron Paul Helps Obama Slash National Defense. Accuracy In Media. July 2010. http://www.aim.org/aim-column/ron-paul-helps-obama-slash-national-defense/
[9] A Strong National Defense. http://www.ronpaul2012.com/wp-content/uploads/wpsc/product_images/RP-Defense-SJim.jpg
[10] Johnson, Chalmers. 737 U.S. Military Bases = Global Empire. AlterNet. February 2007. http://www.alternet.org/story/47998
No candidate ever brought so many different groups together in one place.
ReplyDeletenader paul kucinich gravel mckinney baldwin ventura sheehan perot carter
Independent Voters will control the primary
Independent Voters will control the election
goodbye status quo establishment criminals
...For the same reason the Left does. As you so eloquently explained..he represents a threat to "the norm"
ReplyDelete