Ron Paul: underestimated, overestimated, or both?

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Underestimated, in that the press tends to treat him as non-existent no matter how high he rises in polls, as Jon Stewart trenchantly observed last August:

Indecision 2012 - Corn Polled Edition - Ron Paul & the Top Tier - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 08/15/11 - Video Clip | Comedy Central

Overestimated, in that he gets credited for his supposedly consistent and principled libertarianism, despite the race-baiting tactics used in his political newsletter in the 1990s--

TNR Exclusive: A Collection Of Ron Paul

--which he now disavows and claims to have had no hand in, though that is not what he was saying back then--

FACT CHECK: Ron Paul Personally Defended Racist Newsletters | ThinkProgress

and despite the fact that his libertarianism comes to a screeching halt when it concerns a woman's rights over her body, if that includes getting an abortion or even using contraceptive methods, such as the pill, Plan B, and the IUD, that work by preventing implantation of the fertilized ovum:

Ron Paul Signs Personhood USA Pledge, Proving Once Again That He Is NOT A Libertarian Or A Liberal | Addicting Info

I would say: he is underestimated as a presence in the electoral process and overestimated as a figure of consistent principle (though I freely grant that he stands head and shoulders above the rest of the field on that score).

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He's the best candidate for president.

Yep the 'best candidate' if you want to undo the last 100 years.

Dagger of the Mind

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anti semite anti american anti social..loon

the real question is how did the friggin nutbag get reelected 10 times to congress. His district is next to to the one I live in and it is a mystery, he has one bill passed his entire career as congressman.

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Unlike most of the other Republican candidates, he at least seems to have some sense. I disagree with him on many issues, but it does irk me that he tends to do rather well in many polls yet get little-to-no coverage from the mainstream media.

(That, and his online fan club really needs to get their panties out of such a bunch. Hardcore online Paul supporters tend to be pretty insufferable.)

What's the saying, about judging a man by the company he keeps? According to Rev. Kayser, there is no separation of church and state and Paul's libertarian views would allow states rights where they could enforce a strict Christian / Biblical government including death for homosexuals.

Death Penalty For Gays: Ron Paul Courts The Religious Fringe In Iowa | TPM2012

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Ron Paul is the crazy aunt in the basement that fellow Texan Ross Perot alluded to, which is about how high his chances of being president are, too. As if he alone weren't bad enough, he also spawned pseudo-libertarian nutjob Sen. "Ayn" Rand Paul.

No country has ever become powerful, prosperous or fair through government-bashing. Indeed, some of the fastest-growing and dynamic places on Earth have a strong central government hand in planning and regulating a healthy private investment sector. The key is keeping private contributions out of public service and wisely balancing the public-private partnership. The US federal government is one of the most hands-off in the entire developed world, far too much so in my opinion. Its reticence to take a more active role in managing our society is what's holding back equality, growth and progress in this country. At the end of the day, the government owns every square inch of land (try not paying your property taxes) and can put private enterprise out of business if it wishes.

Every 10 or 20 years a kook (or dozen) comes along with a plan to reinvent the wheel. The views that the Pauls espouse are immature and unworkable.

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I agree with this. It seems like there is a race to the far right with all of the other candidates, which makes some sense considering so many primary and caucus voters tend to be the extremes on both ends. Ron Paul seems a lot more rational than a Bachmann or Gingrich, and a lot smarter than Perry or Romney. He could also collect enough delegates during the process to be a royal pain in the ass to the party establishment, which from my perspective could be fun to watch.

When the people of the world all know beauty as beauty,
There arises the recognition of ugliness.
When they all know the good as good,
There arises the recognition of evil. (Lao-tzu)

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I've been watching one of the parts of the Ken Burns PBS documentary Chicago, the one that deals with goings-on in the later 19th century. Sounds like libertarian paradise: even the police force was effectively under private ownership. Of course, libertarians will always say that that is not TRUE libertarianism, because in TRUE libertarianism, there will not be such corruption, and so on. But I have never understood how, when you've made government as small and ineffective as possible, it is supposed to operate with integrity in the service of all the people, rather than simply selling itself to the highest bidder.

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Old...washed up...racist...

If people wanted smaller government they would stop asking the government to fix all their problems..............Smaller government ship has sailed............

Ron paul' newsletters from the 90's show he is a homophobic, racist, misguided fool who wants america to withdraw from the world and pull up the drawbridge. No thank you. Time to reelect obama and embrace the fact we have responsibility and everyone in our nation deserves equal rights, respect and responsibility. Ron and rand both opposed the civil rights legislation of the 60's and 70's as well. Both the pauls belong in the ashcan of history's losers.

CRUZTBONE OF THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST

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Damn! That's got to hurt!

Kent Sorenson, Bachmann’s Iowa chair, defects to Paul - The Washington Post

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A very good article on Ron Paul here:

Ron Paul's Racism Isn't the Worst Thing About Him | Crooks and Liars

The article contains a handy list of Paul's disastrous policy views. Here are the first few items:

Would abolish the income tax
Would place the U.S. on the gold standard
Would allow citizens to engage in trade using gold and silver instead of currency
Would arbitrarily cut government regulations and believes that regulations only hurt businesses
Would eliminate the taxation of foreign income
Is a global warming denier
Says that Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare are unconstitutional
Would eliminate antitrust laws
Would eliminate the federal minimum wage

There are about 40 more on the list.

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