How Ron Paul Can Save the Republican Party

verklingen · 12-07-2009, 11:19 AM

the ebb and flow of politics becomes ever stranger!

Quote:

Howard Fineman
Is There a Doctor in the House?
Ron Paul, the GOP's unlikely savior.

Published Dec 4, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Dec 14, 2009

I have to admit that I kind of like Rep. Ron Paul. Partly it's that we're both from Pittsburgh, and both began our careers as paperboys for the Pittsburgh Press. More important, Paul is something unusual in politics. He appears to believe in something. His fundamental views have not changed since 1971, when he decided to run for Congress in Texas because President Nixon abandoned the gold standard.

I don't like labels, but in this case I'll use some. Paul, a Duke-trained physician, is an angry, apocalyptic, populist, hard-currency libertarian. He is against paper money, the Federal Reserve, the income tax, and most of the federal government's role in our lives, from fighting in Afghanistan to printing Social Security checks. Paul never saw an establishment he didn't loathe. Many of his ideas are unworkable, some are dangerous, and some of his supporters are conspiracy theorists so paranoid, they probably think this column is part of the Plot. But, as odd as it seems, Paul has become a player in Washington and at the grassroots. His emergence should be a lesson to rudderless Republicans. They don't want to scare away independent voters, but they need to find a way to emulate Paul's outsider's anger and his commitment to conservative essentials.

The last time Paul was center stage in politics, running for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, he flamed out. Even in New Hampshire, where the license plates read LIVE FREE OR DIE, he was seen as too weird and finished fifth. More recently he appeared on film fending off Sacha Baron Cohen (a.k.a. Brüno) in a motel room. It was not a funny scene.

Last week the indefatigable Paul was onstage again. After decades of trying, he finally succeeded in getting Congress to attack the Federal Reserve Board, or at least the legendary secrecy of its deliberations. A House committee approved Paul's bill to open the Fed's books to public audits, which would expose the bank's dealings with foreign banks, its emergency infusions of cash and credit into institutions here and abroad, and its decision making on our interest rates and other monetary tools. Paul's real aim was not just disclosure but destruction. If the backroom deals of the past two years are exposed, he figures, public outrage will overwhelm the Fed.

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke thinks public audits would destroy the bank's independence, but he was too busy fighting for his own political life to outmaneuver Paul. Though the mainstream consensus is that Bernanke (and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner) helped save the world economy from catastrophe, Paul is having none of it. By doubling the money supply and making extensive loans, Paul says, Bernanke's Fed has made "the entire federal government one giant toxic asset." The dollar will tank; inflation will return; the sun will set on what is left of the American empire—or at least so says Paul in his new bestseller, End the Fed. Somebody has to take the fall, and Bernanke—who has trillions of dollars at his disposal but not one dime of PAC money—could be the guy. Last week Paul's Senate friend, socialist Bernie Sanders of Vermont, placed a "hold" on Bernanke's nomination for a second term, which means the chairman will need 60 votes to keep his job.

No one thinks Ron Paul is going to lead the GOP, let alone be president. He's 74 years old and just too…cout there. He is an obscure guy who waited patiently (if not quietly) for the cycle of history to come back around his way, and finally it did. We have been arguing about money, credit, and banks since the first days of the republic. Paul is a bargain-basement Jefferson for our time.

Still, the GOP needs to study Ron Paul, and learn. No one has better captured the sense of Main Street outrage over secret insider deals and Wall Street bonuses. No one has been more consistent about sticking to core conservative values—including the one that says the government shouldn't spend more money than it takes in. If the GOP is going to appeal to independent voters, it has to confront its own corporate allies. "Republicans need to find a populist edge again," says Craig Shirley, the author of Rendezvous With Destiny, a new account of Ronald Reagan's 1980 campaign. "Reagan spoke to the guy who thought he was being screwed by big business, by big government, by the big media." The good doctor, of all people, is showing Republicans the way. What they need is a candidate who embodies the spirit of Ron Paul. Just so long as it isn't Ron Paul.

Howard Fineman is also the author of The Thirteen American Arguments: Enduring Debates That Define and Inspire Our Country.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/225723

Flamingnun · 12-07-2009, 11:26 AM

He's still alive huh?

Lloydy · 12-07-2009, 11:35 AM

the scene in bruno was hilarious

Dr. Nick Nasty · 12-07-2009, 09:07 PM

a libertarian will never save a party that near nakedly embraces fascism

Mydriasis · 12-07-2009, 11:54 PM

Ron Paul for the fucking win. Seriously though his opinions and ideas just make so much sense to me. I agree he is old as fuck though.

Tricto · 12-08-2009, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickNasty

a libertarian will never save a party that near nakedly embraces fascism

Exactly. Show me a republican who agrees with Paul that citizens should be able to have 100 grams for personal use, or one who thinks that war is wrong in 98% of cases, and i'll show you someone who's not a republican..

Mydriasis · 12-08-2009, 12:20 PM

But maybe we can trick the republicans into becoming liberatarians

.

verklingen · 12-08-2009, 12:23 PM

it's about influence, guys. reason is slowly influencing all aspects of our society, even republicans! maybe democrats are next

John F. Kerry · 12-08-2009, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mydriasis

But maybe we can trick the republicans into becoming liberatarians

.

seriously lol

not sure what this thread has to do with reality, this dude thinks hes gonna sabatoge the republican party next election or something i guess....

its funny that he wants to "save" the republican party rofl, if anything u should be looking to save pelosi and co who have about 15% approval ratings and will be out the door next novermber.

Tricto · 12-08-2009, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mydriasis

But maybe we can trick the republicans into becoming liberatarians

.

True, I just hope people don't confuse Ron Paul as the typical Republican just because he ran on that ticket when he's in fact very different.

Quote:

Originally Posted by verklingen

it's about influence, guys. reason is slowly influencing all aspects of our society, even republicans! maybe democrats are next

I agree, the key word being slowly haha. Lets hope reason has its day before the tectonic plates holding up California and Asia collide

The Rev · 12-09-2009, 12:54 PM

I think Ron Paul is getting his day in the sun now because America is pissed at government spending and monetary policy now. And while they have a right to be, and while they are right that the Fed has an agenda beyond simply "safeguarding against inflation" I think opening the Fed's books to an economically illiterate populace and congress is a recipe for disaster.

If you institute hard money, for example, the long run benefits would be enormous. However, the short term change from an inflationary monetary system would be disastrous. The stock market would tank, due to stagnating prices, and money would flow out into every other part of the economy. A trillion dollars a day goes through the New York Stock Exchange. When it found it's way into every other part of the economy, you would have bubbles everywhere, accompanied by rediculous consumer inflation levels. Eventually, the waters of this money tsunami would recede, as prices rebalanced themselves, but the economy would be in turmoil for 5-10 years before this happened, inviting all kinds of insanity in the world of politics (like ACTUAL fascism).

There needs to be a process for getting us off this inflation addiction we have found ourselves in, but radical change is not the answer. Some forms of withdrawal can kill you, after all.

The Rev

12-07-2009, 11:26 AM	#2 (permalink)
Flamingnun Shpadoinkle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: roflmao Posts: 17,538 Thanks: 1,046 Thanked 2,611 Times in 1,178 Posts	He's still alive huh? __________________

12-07-2009, 11:35 AM	#3 (permalink)
Lloydy KTF Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: England Posts: 11,692 Thanks: 469 Thanked 2,191 Times in 1,004 Posts	the scene in bruno was hilarious __________________ Keep the red flag flying high

12-07-2009, 09:07 PM	#4 (permalink)
Dr. Nick Nasty A PhD in Anarchy Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York/New Jersey Metro Wasteland Posts: 1,095 Blog Entries: 5 Thanks: 576 Thanked 347 Times in 219 Posts	a libertarian will never save a party that near nakedly embraces fascism __________________ The true [classical] liberal, in pursuit of fixed principles, must never have fixed political alliances. They must change based on the ruling rationale of the moment.- Lew Rockwell

12-07-2009, 11:54 PM	#5 (permalink)
Mydriasis Do Not Resuscitate Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,317 Thanks: 840 Thanked 431 Times in 298 Posts	Ron Paul for the fucking win. Seriously though his opinions and ideas just make so much sense to me. I agree he is old as fuck though. __________________ ۞

12-08-2009, 12:20 PM	#7 (permalink)
Mydriasis Do Not Resuscitate Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,317 Thanks: 840 Thanked 431 Times in 298 Posts	But maybe we can trick the republicans into becoming liberatarians . __________________ ۞

12-08-2009, 12:23 PM	#8 (permalink)
verklingen Radical Dreamer Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: texas Posts: 8,031 Thanks: 795 Thanked 1,470 Times in 940 Posts	it's about influence, guys. reason is slowly influencing all aspects of our society, even republicans! maybe democrats are next __________________ “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” rip matt

12-09-2009, 12:54 PM	#11 (permalink)
The Rev Clear Light Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: In my head, somewhere. Posts: 17,674 Thanks: 4,716 Thanked 5,060 Times in 2,710 Posts	I think Ron Paul is getting his day in the sun now because America is pissed at government spending and monetary policy now. And while they have a right to be, and while they are right that the Fed has an agenda beyond simply "safeguarding against inflation" I think opening the Fed's books to an economically illiterate populace and congress is a recipe for disaster. If you institute hard money, for example, the long run benefits would be enormous. However, the short term change from an inflationary monetary system would be disastrous. The stock market would tank, due to stagnating prices, and money would flow out into every other part of the economy. A trillion dollars a day goes through the New York Stock Exchange. When it found it's way into every other part of the economy, you would have bubbles everywhere, accompanied by rediculous consumer inflation levels. Eventually, the waters of this money tsunami would recede, as prices rebalanced themselves, but the economy would be in turmoil for 5-10 years before this happened, inviting all kinds of insanity in the world of politics (like ACTUAL fascism). There needs to be a process for getting us off this inflation addiction we have found ourselves in, but radical change is not the answer. Some forms of withdrawal can kill you, after all. The Rev __________________ "You're seriously flying close to the fag-sun, icarus." -Flamingnun

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