The Reactionary Utopian
January 25, 2007


PRESIDENT PAUL?
by Joe Sobran

Dozens of people have announced their candidacies
for the White House in 2008, and if I had to bet at this
point, I would put my money on the old woman. Hillary may
be awful, but at least she is predictable. I suppose I
can learn to resign myself to her.

What difference does it really make? Our next
president will have his or her hands full cleaning up
after George W. Bush. In a negative sense, he has already
set the agenda for his unfortunate successor. Just
getting this country back to normal would be a labor of
Hercules. And Hercules isn't in the race.

Politics doesn't often produce good news, but I am
slightly heartened to learn that Congressman Ron Paul is
contemplating a run for the presidency. The Texas
Republican has now taken the standard preliminary step of
forming an exploratory committee.

Paul, a pro-life medical doctor, is a genuine
political maverick. When the House votes for something
434 to 1, you can safely bet that Paul is the 1. He
really fights for the principles other Republicans only
pretend to stand for, and does so with carefully reasoned
explanations of his positions.

In essence, Paul appeals to that subversive
document, the U.S. Constitution, long since abandoned by
both major parties, not to mention the U.S. Supreme
Court. He tests every proposed law by asking whether it
exercises a power authorized by the Constitution. The
answer is seldom yes.

Many years ago Paul told me, with his affably ironic
smile, that he felt more pressure from his fellow
Republicans than from Democrats, because the Democrats
weren't embarrassed when a Republican voted like a real
conservative, but the Republicans were. Showing up his
own party has been the story of Ron Paul's career. No
other Republican has voted against President Bush as
consistently as he has.

Paul isn't flamboyant or defiant about it; his style
is quiet and reasonable, not combative. Being a maverick
isn't a pose for him. It's a matter of conscience and
logic.

As a result, the GOP doesn't care much for him and,
if he runs, will try to stifle him. The allegedly
right-wing Newt Gingrich, when he was riding high, once
supported Paul's opponent in the primary race; Gingrich
knew what he was doing. A genuine conservative's worst
enemy is a fake one. And vice versa.

Paul ran for president once before, in 1988, when he
bolted the GOP to run on the Libertarian Party ticket.
Much as I admired him, I voted for George H.W. Bush,
afraid of "wasting" my vote on Paul, who had no real
chance of winning. Silly me. I soon realized I had really
wasted my vote on Bush. It made no difference to Bush,
after all, since he was going to win no matter what I
did; but it made a difference to me. I still regret it.
(And to this day, Bush has never thanked me.)

Paul has no chance of winning this time either, but
he may make a real difference just by being himself. He
is what liberals used to call a conscience-raiser. He
makes people reflect. After six years of supporting
George W. Bush, conservatives should be in a reflective
mood. American democracy has come down to an unappetizing
choice between the War Party and the Abortion Party. Paul
could offer an alternative to this bitter dilemma.

The Constitution must never be mistaken for Holy
Writ, but at least it is based on the idea that there
should be what William F. Buckley has called "rational
limits to government." At this point, even that may well
be a utopian hope.

But we have subscribed to the principle that the
Federal Government must confine itself to powers actually
enumerated therein. And after all, our rulers are still
sworn to uphold it, just as Bill Clinton is still legally
bound by his wedding vows.

Taken literally, this would reduce the government to
about 5 percent of its current size. That would be a huge
improvement. If nothing else, the Constitution stands as
a reminder of what normality used to be.

Well, I can dream, can't I? And today I'm dreaming
of President Ron Paul, with a Congress he deserves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Read this column on-line at
"http://www.sobran.com/columns/2007/070125.shtml".

__________________
Liberals are people that will believe anything twice.

Well, I can dream, can't I? And today I'm dreaming
of President Ron Paul, with a Congress he deserves.

Well, he can't quite walk on water, but he has some endearing attributes. I differ with him on a few things, (Nobody's perfect) but would probably vote for him if I thought he had a chance. I wouldn't want to waste my vote and let one of those wannabee hitler republicans get elected. Judiani, retch, retch, retch!

__________________
Life is good, the water is sweet. The ground keeps moving beneath my feet.

Ron Paul is a candidate I wish I could like more than I do.
The only problem I have with his platform is his stance on foreign policy and the military...IMO, he is borderline irrational when it comes to the War on Terror. It is unfortunate that he seems to me to suffer from myopia on this issue!
Oh well, no candidate can be perfect!
Needless to say he is far superior to the entire gaggle of feckless Dems!

__________________
If you wind up with a boring, miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest or some guy on TV telling you how to do your shit, then YOU DESERVE IT.
~ Frank Zappa ~

Liberty means responsibility, that is why most men dread it.
~George Bernard Shaw~

Ron Paul is one of the very few in government who really understands the meaning of the document that they are sworn to uphold.

And, I'm with you Wavels. Ron Paul is wrong on the War on Terror.

Vi

__________________
Liberals are people that will believe anything twice.

Exactly the way I feel now. I wouldnt waste a vote on someone who doesnt have a chance. I still sometimes look back and feel bad, I voted for nader the year bush won first. All i could think about was yeah pot legal. Not thinking about bush knowing that & laughing all the way to the winners box. So yeah, lets actually vote for the popular dems this year. Then once they own the majority of all govnt then we can vote for people we actually want.

i had never even heard of this guy until i happened to catch the colbert report (i hate that guy and the show) but ron paul made an impression on me, and i really liked the guy and how he stands. he made colbert eat his words a few times and that was awesome

__________________
maybe if i get a little high

Colbert is a spoof on the right wing assholes, He might be a little over your head. When I first watched him I felt as you do, another right wing asshole, but after you watch him a bit, it becomes obvious that his humor is very subtle and he is actually mocking the assholes.

__________________
Life is good, the water is sweet. The ground keeps moving beneath my feet.

And for the counter-punch to Colbert, watch "The half hour news hour" on Fox. These guys are brilliant! And ... they actually have an audience. *lol*

The 1/2 Hour News Hour - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vi

__________________
Liberals are people that will believe anything twice.

No thanks Adolf, I'd rather have my teeth pulled without novacain.

__________________
Life is good, the water is sweet. The ground keeps moving beneath my feet.

That "comedy" on fox news fuckin sucks.