The Ron Paul Wars

Egad! one would think that there were oodles of kossacks ready and eager to change their registration and vote for Ron Paul.  But I assume, no one here, unless they are already libertarians, is going to vote for him. I did read a comment in which someone said they would give him money, but I thought this was a strategic move--to help make the Republican contest more interesting and divisive.  I would not give him money. I got a thing in the mail from the Yarmouth re-election campaign. If I give to anyone, it would be him or other Democrats. So what is the deal with the vituperative rage?

Ron Paul is right about the war. He is right about the Patriot Act. He appears to have a genuine concern with civil liberties. I thought his answer regarding the moral evils of the day (pre-emptive war) was downright eloquent. When he was asked in the debate about
gays in the military, he said at first he agreed with the policy but then seemed to contradict it--indicating that gay and straight behaviour should be treated equally, on the basis of whether it is "disruptive" or not. For a Republican running for president,that is a downright liberal thing to say. In any case, Paul makes what otherwize would be a boring debate interesting.
   Of course Paul is wrong on domestic issues, he is wrong in his defense of the xenophobic position on immigration, and his belief that most of the federal government should be shut down. I think it was Paul, running for president as a libertarian, who did suggest selling national parks and forests to pay for the national debt. But he is no monster. The consequences of his polices would be a disaster domestically, though perhaps less disasterous than our present trend to monarchial tyranny with Bush/Cheney.  Especially if there is a sane nonlibertarian congress refusing to sell Yellostone or dismantle Medicare.
  There are lots of reasons why Ron Paul should not be elected president. But in The Republican primaries,there is nothing wrong with rooting for him.