[Vision2020] Ron Paul

[Sunil Ramalingam]

Paul,

I think the reaction to Paul when he tried to discuss blowback is worth 
looking at.  The other candidates leaped down his throat.  It's an idea 
that's off-limits, it seems.

Sunil


>From: Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com>
>To: Vision2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>Subject: [Vision2020] Ron Paul
>Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 22:53:58 -0700
>
>In an effort to switch topics, I'd like to pose the following question:
>
>What are people's thoughts on Ron Paul (Republican candidate for 
>President)?
>
>I'll start it off by saying that I'm on the lookout for candidates that
>might be somewhat palatable to both sides who don't care to establish
>more Presidential power or remove any more of my civil liberties, or
>force us to go to war with any other countries unjustifiably.  I fear
>that Hilary Clinton will prove to be a rallying point for Republicans to
>react against.  I'd be willing to switch my vote from my usual vote for
>Democrats or Independents if it means stopping the kind of trouble we're
>in the midst of now.
>
>As for Ron Paul himself, I really like his stance on civil liberties.  I
>also like many of his Libertarian positions, but not all of them.  I
>like that he voted against the Patriot Act, and that he voted against
>the war in Iraq.  I don't like his isolationist tendencies, or his
>willingness to fence off Mexico.  I like that he wants to place more
>decisions in the hands of the individual states, even though I'm in the
>minority in Idaho.  He seems to be very principled, and doesn't seem to
>be in any corporations pocket.  I especially like that he sponsored a
>bill to have Congress declare an actual war in Iraq, although he stated
>he wouldn't vote for it.  He wanted a real declaration of war if we were
>going to war, not some Presidential power play.
>
>As for his most famous recent stance, I think he is right that our
>actions in the past have caused a situation where we have made ourselves
>a target.  The concept of "blowback" is very real.  Our removal of a
>democratically-elected leader in Iran to be replaced by the Shah and the
>Iran-Contra affair haven't helped.  Training Osama Bin-Laden how to
>fight was probably not such a bright idea, either.  I'm not saying that
>we're to blame for 9/11, just that we may share in the blame in a small
>way through bad diplomatic or political decisions - and that we should
>take that into account when making more such decisions.
>
>Anyway, enough of my opinions.  What does everyone else think?  Is this
>a candidate that can be reached out to by both sides?  If not, then who?
>
>Paul
>
>
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