Ron Paul

I don't understand the obsession with Ron Paul. He's just a free-market libertarian Republican. The kids don't get this excited over the Libertarian Party. It's almost creepy. Not quite as creepy as the LaRouche-ites, but still disturbing. Why would I want to support a guy who champions the very ideology I have struggled against?

Free Markets

Ron Paul's "Invisible Hand" has crushed billions of people, not helped them. Lifting government restrictions only hurts more people. Remember London of the 19th century? That's free market. Unmanaged free market economy was also one cause of the Great Depression and US fiscal policy changed dramatically to try to soften the natural periodic recessions and depressions which will occur under a market economy. I am strongly opposed to capitalism, especially unrestricted capitalism.

Civil Rights?

Ron Paul claims he champions "civil rights," yet these "civil rights" are often those of corporations and the government, not individuals!

Reproductive Rights?

He is also staunchly anti-choice, whereas I do not support legal restrictions on abortion and support state and federal funding of sex education. He has worked hard against Roe v. Wade and supported the so-called "Partial Birth Abortion Ban". The government is a poor place to handle complicated, personal, moral decisions like abortion with a sweeping ban.

Government-sponsored Murder

He is pro-death penalty. He objects only on its unfair application, not its inherent evil.

Private Murder

Ron Paul strongly supports gun ownership, including automatic weapons. He believes that more weapons will help curb crime and violence rather than promote it. Yet he claims the Iraq war is un-Christian.

Civil Rights for Us?

Notably (because it directly effects me) he is anti-gay. He opposed same-sex adoption. He supported the DoMA and opposed ENDA and the hate crimes bill. He opposed Lawrence v. Texas, saying that the government has the right to tell people they can't have sex (not very Libertarian, eh?). He supports "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

Strom Thurmond 2.0?

Ron Paul he has opposed the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. He supports a border fence. He was author and supporter of several several far-right racist publications. Maybe he really is no better than Lyndon LaRouche...

Friends in Odd Places

In addition to the Lyndon LaRouche defectors, Ron Paul has also gained the support of neo-Nazi David Duke, Pat Buchanan (unsuprisingly, I was comparing them in a discussion a few nights ago), Larry Pratt, and the John Birch Society.

I have no idea why he has become so popular among young people. I live in a pretty liberal "hippie college town" and I see Ron Paul stickers all over. People are fascinated by him and they're barking up the wrong tree if they have any respect for civil rights.