This is vitally important because America currently does not have a viable political party that advocates such. The Tenth Amendment is dead. The Second Amendment is on life-support. First Amendment free speech rights, the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures, and Fifth Amendment property rights are increasingly under assault from various government entities. Spending has skyrocketed, borrowing against the economic freedom of our heirs. The powers of the President (a single, fallible man) have expanded tremendously in the last seventy-some years. Both Republicans and Democrats have played a part in this erosion of personal liberty.
More importantly at the moment, all of the Republican presidential candidates except Ron Paul have played a hand in it as well. Most of the candidates supported the police-state "Patriot" Act. McCain, Romney, and Giuliani have all actively worked to restrict Second Amendment gun rights. McCain also took a big bite out of the First Amendment with his McCain-Feingold "Incumbent Protection Act."
Contrast these with Ron Paul's record in Congress. His website lists his achievements succinctly:
- He has never voted to raise taxes.
- He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
- He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
- He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
- He has never taken a government-paid junket.
- He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
- He voted against the Patriot Act.
- He voted against regulating the Internet.
- He voted against the Iraq war.
- He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
- He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.
In short, he supports smaller, Constitutionally limited government. There was a time when the Republican Party stood for that. Unfortunately, the neo-conservatives now in charge of the party do not. In 2006 the neo-cons watched their party lose control of Congress. Perhaps if Ron Paul wins the Ames Straw Poll, or even makes a good showing, the neo-cons will begin to lose control of their own party.
Can Ron Paul lead the Republicans to victory in 2008? I don't know. But he can lead the party back to where it should have been all along, at it's small government, Goldwater-Republican roots.
1 comment:
Ah, the good ole Ames Straw Poll. Just won't be the same without Chuck Heston there. The last time I went, the roads were lined with "GO PAT GO!" signs. Pat actually tied for first in the vote, so they had to have a "recount" that made things turn out the "right" way. I wonder what they will do to squelch Ron Paul. Nowhere I go do I see/hear any cheerleaders for the Rudy McRomney Show.
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