[Vision2020] Fw: Mr. Paul’s Discredited Campaign

Fri Dec 30 12:31:48 PST 2011

The state's rights v. federal rights is an issue that has been argued without resolution for over two centuries.  There is little I could add to either side.

However, one big argument against granting states more power is the current and recent Idaho legislature and Governor.  Ignorance and arrogance rule, not thoughtful fact finding, evaluation of values and consequences, and thoughtful, objective consideration.

I don't think everything any level of government does is always correct, sometimes it is horribly wrong.  A lot is done for the wrong reasons, especially when driven by favoritism, extreme idealism, and/or over consideration for moneyed interests.

Having been employed by local governments under different leaders and having made some careful investigations as a citizen, I can attest that favoritism, stupidity, hubris, conflicts of interest, and ignorance exist in all levels of government.  I used to think that local politicians were more honest than national ones.  I no longer believe that.  I think we are very fortunate to have Tom Trail and Shirley Ringo, but their level of integrity is a rarity, e.g., consider Walter Steed, Phil Hart, John McGee, etc.

In addition, because of the rise in citizen me-orientation, dishonesty is no longer considered a fault, especially if the majority of influence makers profit by it, and they convince others that they are better off.

Ron Paul vetoing everything that in his opinion is unconstitutional would make the present Washington gridlock look like a freeway.  We are facing enormous, very difficult problems.  We need thoughtful consensus builders, not crackpot idealism driven barricaders.  Paul doesn't seem to understand that the global scene is full of dog eat dog predators which must be understood and dealt with in our national interests.

Here are two other problems:  

1.  Despite the availability of information, citizen knowledge of and participation in governmental issues/affairs is not high enough to ensure that those in government do their jobs in a thoughtful, objective manner.  This takes time and effort in a complex world.  It is easier to watch TV or do other less demanding activities.

2.  A lot of what is claimed to be knowledge upon which governmental and other decisions are based is speculative or downright wrong.  For example, there is no consensus among economists over what will be the likely consequences of various economic policies.  Further, some idealistic economists cling to theories that have been shown to be inconsistent with reality -- "trickle down" theories or various tax break theories, for example.

The lack of reliable knowledge is not a reason to take any simple, attractive crackpot theory and run with it.  This lack calls for more research and careful knowledge building of the way things actually work.  It also calls for not being guided by polls taken among those that have inadequate knowledge of the probabilities and issues.

w.

From: Paul Rumelhart 
Sent: Friday, December 30, 2011 9:47 AM
To: Art Deco 
Cc: Vision2020 at moscow.com 
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Fw: Mr. Paul’s Discredited Campaign

If he does what I think he'll do if he gets into office, he'll veto anything that he finds to be unconstitutional.  This will, at the very least, help stop abuses like the Patriot Act and increases in funding for DHS.  Even if Congress can come up with enough votes to override the veto, issues like this will suddenly be at the forefront of the "national conversation" about what's going on in government.  For this alone, I'd like to see him get in there.

Paul

On 12/30/2011 09:29 AM, Art Deco wrote: 
  I agree with Rumelhart to the extent that things in this country [and globally] are broken beyond the traditional politicians' ways of repairing them.  We need bold, realistic, non-poll-driven leaders who can convince us to re-evaluate our situation, offer feasible solutions, and to convince us to make the inevitable selfless sacrifices necessary.

  Though not traditional, I do not think Ron Paul is one of those leaders.

  His view of the world and his positions are too simplistic for the complex, diverse, globally competitive world we live in.  The latest revelations have shown that his integrity does not rise above the minimum standard.  The simplicity of his views are his main attraction to many, but reality is the barricade to his views ever producing workable solutions -- they would be even more disastrous than the messes we now face.

  In addition, some of his views are so abhorrent and/or crackpotty that he would not be likely to convince congress to implement them in the face of public opinion.

  Having said that, I am unable to suggest any leader or group of leaders that seem capable of fixing things.  The best I can hope for is that we elect the lesser of the evils, at least by a little, to struggle on.

  I'm glad I'm old and not likely to live too much longer.  I don't not want to see the result of where the world is heading and the foolishness of those in power resisting what needs to be done to change that direction.

  w.

  From: Sunil Ramalingam 
  Sent: Friday, December 30, 2011 7:54 AM
  Cc: vision 2020 
  Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Fw: Mr. Paul’s Discredited Campaign

  Why doesn't the NYT address Paul's stances on foreign policy? On defense spending?

  Sunil

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:38:24 -0800
  From: godshatter at yahoo.com
  To: deco at moscow.com
  CC: Vision2020 at moscow.com
  Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Fw: Mr. Paul’s Discredited Campaign

  I'm beginning to believe that Ron Paul is our only hope to stop the downslope this country is on.  For example, the Transportation Security Administration just got an extra $7.85 billion in funding for 2012, including several hundred million dollars of funding for whole body imagers.  This passed both the House and the Senate.  Does anyone here actually believe that terrorism is a personally actionable danger?  Do you change your behavior at all due to the threat?  Do you think all the security theater is worth the money?

  Ron Paul is about the only guy out there that votes against this kind of crap.  Pretty much everybody else, (R) or (D), votes it in.  All they seem to argue about is who is getting the pork.

  As I see it, your choices are 1) the same old shit, but next year having slipped even farther away from rationality or 2) this one bat-shit crazy dude that might actually try to do something about it.

  One thing I've noticed this year is that Ron Paul is actually getting press.  There was a massive grassroots campaign for him the last couple of elections, but nobody in the media would take him seriously as an actual candidate.

  The fact that they have started the smear campaign means that there is actually a chance of getting him in office.

  My advice?  Don't vote for the person that looks like the most responsible Dad, or the guy that looks like he's someone you could have a beer with, or the one that looks like a he's a successful lawyer.  All of those guys are going to perpetuate the power grab that has been going on for the last few decades.

  Vote for the dude that puts the fear of God into the others.  Vote for the one that will work to decrease their power, not the others that only want to increase it for personal gain.

  Sure, he's a bag of mixed nuts sometimes.  But he's the only one with half a chance to shake things up a bit.

  This should be a fun election year.

  Paul

  On 12/28/2011 11:35 AM, Art Deco wrote: 

    a.. Reprints 

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    December 27, 2011
    Mr. Paul’s Discredited Campaign
    Ron Paul long ago disqualified himself for the presidency by peddling claptrap proposals like abolishing the Federal Reserve, returning to the gold standard, cutting a third of the federal budget and all foreign aid and opposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 
    Now, making things worse, he has failed to convincingly repudiate racist remarks that were published under his name for years — or the enthusiastic support he is getting from racist groups. 
    Mr. Paul, a Republican congressman from Texas who is doing particularly well in Iowa’s precaucus polls, published several newsletters in the ’80s and ’90s with names like the Ron Paul Survival Report and the Ron Paul Political Report. The newsletters interspersed libertarian political and investment commentary with racial bigotry, anti-Semitism and far-right paranoia. 
    Among other offensive statements, the newsletters said that 95 percent of Washington’s black males were criminals, and they described the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as “Hate Whitey Day.” One 1993 article appeared under a headline lamenting the country’s “disappearing white majority.” Other articles suggested that the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, praised the Louisiana racist David Duke and accused some gay men with AIDS of deliberately spreading the disease, “perhaps out of a pathological hatred.” 
    A direct-mail ad for the newsletters from around 1993 warned of a “coming race war in our big cities” and said there was a “federal-homosexual cover-up” to suppress the impact of AIDS. 
    Mr. Paul, who, beginning in 2008, has disavowed the articles and their ideas, now says that most of them were written by others and that he was unaware of their content. Even if that were the case, it suggests a stupendous level of negligence that should force a reconsideration by anyone considering entrusting him with the White House. 
    When the newsletters first became an issue during his Congressional campaigns in the 1990s, however, he did not deny writing some of them or knowing about them. 
    Mr. Paul has never given a full and detailed accounting of who wrote the newsletters and what his role was in overseeing their publication. It’s especially important that he do so immediately. Those writings have certainly not been forgotten by white supremacist and militia groups that are promoting his candidacy in Iowa and in New Hampshire. 
    The Times reported on Sunday that dozens of members of the white nationalist Web site Stormfront are volunteering for the Paul campaign, along with far-right militias, survivalists and anti-Zionist groups. Don Black, the Stormfront director, said his members were drawn to Mr. Paul by the newsletters and his positions against immigration and the Fed (run by Jews, Mr. Black said), even if Mr. Paul were not himself a white nationalist. 
    Mr. Paul, saying he still hopes to “convert” these supporters to his views, has refused to disavow them or to chase them out of his campaign. If he does not do so, he will leave a lasting stain on his candidacy, on the libertarian movement and, very possibly, on the Iowa caucuses. 

    _____________________________________
    Wayne A. Fox
    wayne.a.fox at gmail.com

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