Watch out for this guy. . . .

Bird of Prey

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WASHINGTON — As virtually all of Washington was declaring WikiLeaks’s disclosures of secret diplomatic cables an act of treason, Representative Ron Paul was applauding the organization for exposing the United States’ “delusional foreign policy.”

It was hardly the first time that Mr. Paul had marched to his own beat. During his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, he was best remembered for declaring in a debate that the 9/11 attacks were the Muslim world’s response to American military intervention around the globe. A fellow candidate, former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York, interrupted and demanded that he take back the words — a request that Mr. Paul refused.

During his 20 years in Congress, Mr. Paul has staked out the lonely end of 434-to-1 votes against legislation that he considers unconstitutional, even on issues as ceremonial as granting Mother Teresa a Congressional Gold Medal. His colleagues have dubbed him “Dr. No,” but his wife will insist that they have the spelling wrong: he is really Dr. Know.

Now it appears others are beginning to credit him with some wisdom — or at least acknowledging his passionate following.
After years of blocking him from a leadership position, Mr. Paul’s fellow Republicans have named him chairman of the House subcommittee on domestic monetary policy, which oversees the Federal Reserve as well as the currency and the valuation of the dollar. . . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/us/politics/13paul.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&src=ig

Ron Paul's getting a lot of traction lately, and I think that puts his son in a favorable position in 2012. If high unemployment lingers along with lower incomes translating to an overall lower standard of living, I'm not convinced that voters will be willing to forgive and forget "politics as usual.". . .
 

Michael Wolfe

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So you think Rand will run for president in 2012? Personally I think it's unlikely.
 

Bird of Prey

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So you think Rand will run for president in 2012? Personally I think it's unlikely.

It depends on the measure of public disgust, but unfortunately, I think it will be there. . . .
 

Bird of Prey

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either paul, father or son, would at best be a nuisance candidate.

Perot was more than a nuisance candidate, and he had a real shot had he not been so squirrelly. It all depends on how the economy looks. Personally, I think we're just now glimpsing the tip of the big iceburg, but - as we have an utterly myopic Administration - we're rushing toward it, full steam ahead. . . .
 

Don

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I'm not sure whether Ron Paul will throw his hat in the ring for another "educational" run, or whether he'll decide to back Gary Johnson, ex-gov of NM. (Hat tip Haskins). I think Ron will be too old to be a serious contender. His son is Sarah Palin lite, not exactly a chip off the old block, and inexperienced to boot. Rand Paul has no more business in the Race than that first-term Senator candidate from Chicago did. ;)

Ron's one hell of a nuisance candidate, as Rudy & Fred found out a couple years ago. He got a ton of dialog started, which was rather refreshing in a contest of "me, too" candidates. The first tea party of the century, on 12/16/07, raised over $6 million for a candidate running on small government/non-intervention principles.

I'd go for a Gary Johnson/Ron Paul ticket, where Paul was to play the foreign affairs elder statesman, repairing our reputation around the world, while Johnson applied his domestic executive skills to the mess on this side of our borders.

In any case, I'd like to see somebody with actual executive experience go up against Obama and his "lost in the woods" performance. Gary Johnson or Mitch Daniels from Indiana would work for me.

More fun, in the short term, will be Paul vs. Bernanke now that he's chairman of the House subcommittee on domestic monetary policy. Those were interesting exchanges before Paul ascended to the top boss slot; they should be even more entertaining now that there won't be anybody there to drag him off the body by his collar. :D
 
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Bird of Prey

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I'm not sure whether Ron Paul will throw his hat in the ring for another "educational" run, or whether he'll decide to back Gary Johnson, ex-gov of NM. (Hat tip Haskins). I think Ron will be too old to be a serious contender. His son is Sarah Palin lite, not exactly a chip off the old block, and inexperienced to boot. Rand Paul has no more business in the Race than that first-term Senator candidate from Chicago did. ;)

Ron's one hell of a nuisance candidate, as Rudy & Fred found out a couple years ago. He got a ton of dialog started, which was rather refreshing in a contest of "me, too" candidates. The first tea party of the century, on 12/16/07, raised over $6 for a candidate running on small government/non-intervention principles.

I'd go for a Gary Johnson/Ron Paul ticket, where Paul was to play the foreign affairs elder statesman, repairing our reputation around the world, while Johnson applied his domestic executive skills to the mess on this side of our borders.

In any case, I'd like to see somebody with actual executive experience go up against Obama and his "lost in the woods" performance. Gary Johnson or Mitch Daniels from Indiana would work for me.

More fun, in the short term, will be Paul vs. Bernanke now that he's chairman of the House subcommittee on domestic monetary policy. Those were interesting exchanges before Paul ascended to the top boss slot; they should be even more entertaining now that there won't be anybody there to drag him off the body by his collar. :D


The fact that Rand Paul is "lite" and outside the Washington norm is precisely why he'd do well. You of all people are looking for executive experience? Why on earth do you think we're in this mess? It's thanks to year after year after year of "executive experience." You think a good portion of the country doesn't see that??
 

Don

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The fact that Rand Paul is "lite" and outside the Washington norm is precisely why he'd do well. You of all people are looking for executive experience? Why on earth do you think we're in this mess? It's thanks to year after year after year of "executive experience." You think a good portion of the country doesn't see that??
Yeah, I think executive experience is a good idea for our chief executive. Weird, I know. Perhaps we should stick with community organizers and optometrists (although optometrists have some small-business executive experience).

Clinton wasn't half bad, although Carter was pretty much a train wreck. Reagan would have been a pretty decent President if he hadn't let the Bushes get their claws into him.

If you're thinking of the Bushes, daddy was a CIA policy wonk, and sonny didn't get elected because he was once governor of Texas. That dynasty goes all the way back to grand-pappy Senator Prescott Bush. His election had nothing to do with his "executive" skills, assuming he actually has any.
 

Mara

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Ron Paul would be utterly obliterated in a presidential election. Right now, he's just the amusing guy who says random stuff that makes everybody mad, and they ignore him. But if he were actually a threat, rivals from both parties would bring up some of those old statements and he'd go down in flames.
 

kuwisdelu

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The only problem with a Ron Paul candidacy is just because many of us may agree on the problems, we don't all agree on the solutions.
 

Bird of Prey

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The only problem with a Ron Paul candidacy is just because many of us may agree on the problems, we don't all agree on the solutions.


I think Rand Paul is the more likely candidate. And right now, the Libertarian stand for freedom ala the end of pat-downs, x-rays, mandatory health insurance and senseless, brutal wars trumps all for me. Oh, and did I mention a balanced budget??