Ron Paul for President of the USA

[PaleoPhil]

  It is mentioned frequently that, ever since Roosevelt expanded the office of President re extra powers, that the US President has become more powerful than in previous times. The only exception was the US Congress making it more difficult for the US President to start wars(obviously a failure) and a law to stop US presidents from manipulating one type of budget, enacted because Nixon abused this power.

Correct, and politicians like GW Bush and many congressmen wishing to appear "patriotic" have contributed to increasing the power of the executive office by pushing measures like the Patriot Act and re-interpreting executive power more aggressively (such as with Bush's policy of pre-emptive warfare without Congressional approval). The Democratic presidents mostly go right along with the power grab (going all the way back to FDR, as you rightly mentioned), in part because once they're in power they can't resist power either, and they also don't want to appear "unpatriotic" or "weak".

Obama pulled the same trick that FDR did--running as a dove during the campaign and then becoming a hawk once elected. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the plan all along. Obama made a lot of talk about reigning back in the imperial presidency and bringing the troops home, but once in office he instead increased troop levels and added yet another war to the endless stream, basically continuing Bush Neocon foreign policy and the imperial presidency (Obama Extends Bush's Legacy of an Imperial Presidency). The leftists who protested war under Bush disappeared from the streets, revealing themselves to be more upset about having a Republican in office than with wars.

The latest example of this is Gingrich and Santorum promising to greatly weaken the power of the judicial branch, and thus further expand the power of the executive branch, with Santorum even vowing to abolish parts of the judiciary. Why is Ron Paul considered unrealistic for wanting to  abolish the Fed but Santorum is not for wanting to gut the judiciary? It seems like the usual political hypocrisy.

[ys]

Why is Ron Paul considered unrealistic for wanting to  abolish the Fed but Santorum is not for wanting to gut the judiciary?

Seems unrealistic to me as well.  That's why I think Santorum is not going anywhere.

Obama made a lot of talk about reigning back in the imperial presidency and bringing the troops home, but once in office he instead increased troop levels and added yet another war to the endless stream.

We are out of Iraq, finally. Libya raids are over.  Taliban is willing to talk.  And Obama is talking about reduction in military spending.  I think you should be happy.

The only other conflict on the horizon is Israel bombing Iran.  Even though Obama and Netanyahu can't stand each other, Obama will support Israel.  But that may not happen because Iran may implode from within.  Ah-my-dinner-jacket and ayatollahs hate each others guts and are fighting for power grabs.

Also,
Syria's regime will fall.  Iraq will explode spectacularly 3-way:kurds-sunni-shiite.  So buy gold and oil. Pakistan could also see another military coup.  The usual practice there.

FDR managed to trick the United States into WWII despite

Tyler, as always you are the expert in history.  Japan attacked US because??  To liberate Philippines? or was it something else missing from wiki? 

[TylerDurden]

It's amusing that NeoCon idiots have been pathetically trying to portray the "Arab Spring" as a success. In actual fact, in Tunisia and elsewhere, the ones who are winning are the decidedly undemocratic Islamic extremist parties. if Syria goes down due to Al-Quaeda operating there, the Christians  and Shiites there will be slaughtered.

As regards the Taliban being "willing to talk", that means bugger all. I mean, some of the Afghans have always sided with their invaders for a (short) time, given past history re British and Russian conquests. The trouble is that Afghanistan is a fractured nation  so that for every allied tribe there will be another hostile one, and alliances are always temporary.

It is fairly obvious to me that the US just wants to pull out of Afghanistan as soon as possible, while still pretending that they hadn't lost.

[TylerDurden]

Tyler, as always you are the expert in history.  Japan attacked US because??  To liberate Philippines? or was it something else missing from wiki? 

There's a lot of official documents, pointing out how FDR provoked Japan into declaring war so that he could go to war with Germany which was allied with Japan:-

http://rationalrevolution.net/war/fdr_provoked_the_japanese_attack.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCollum_memo

[PaleoPhil]

Seems unrealistic to me as well.  That's why I think Santorum is not going anywhere.

Who do you think is going to win the Republican primary and general election? Forgive me if you stated it before, I don't recall.

We are out of Iraq, finally. Libya raids are over.  Taliban is willing to talk.  And Obama is talking about reduction in military spending.  I think you should be happy. ...

... Iraq will explode spectacularly 3-way:kurds-sunni-shiite.

You just answered why I'm not celebrating more enthusiastically quite yet. I am happy that our troops are out of Iraq now, sure, I just suspect that Obama's surge wasn't worth the lives and resources and I hope they aren't sent back in, as I've said before. I also wish they had never been given the nation-building task to begin with. Of course, I do hope that things turn out for the best.

The only other conflict on the horizon is Israel bombing Iran.

Wars are not always unexpected. Besides, some of the Republican candidates are engaging in war hysteria re: Iran. They don't seem content to let Israel handle it.

Iran may implode from within.

Yes, and let's hope that happens before anyone can get us into a war with them.

So buy gold and oil.

So do you expect that gold will go up in value relative to the US dollar (and thus the US dollar will decline relative to gold)?

[PaleoPhil]

Wow, the Neocons are tearing each other apart. They can't blame this on Ron Paul.

Republican rivals round on Romney
By James Politi in Concord, New Hampshire
January 8, 2012 6:56 pm
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/52df0cd0-3a1f-11e1-a8dc-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1iteKNVjf
(requires free registration to access)

Mitt Romney was on Sunday ferociously attacked by his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, who accused him of lacking authenticity and a sufficiently conservative record and failing to disavow dishonest advertisements by his supporters in the quest for the US presidency.

In the second of back-to-back debates leading up to Tuesday’s crucial New Hampshire primary, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Jon Huntsman took a much more aggressive stance towards Mr Romney than they had the previous night, when they battled each other more than they rattled the frontrunner. ....

Romney is sinking his ship further with respect to the Theocons:

Romney was asked about a quote he gave years ago to a gay publication in Massachusetts: "I think the gay community needs more support from the Republican party," he said at the time. ....

Asked when was the last time he spoke out for gay rights, Romney said, "Right now."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57354670-503544/santorum-romney-challenged-on-gay-rights-in-debate/

Maybe he figures the Theocons will vote for Santorum or Perry anyway?

Devastating attack on Romney by Santorum, revealing Romney's liberal past that will turn off conservatives:

"Governor Romney lost by almost 20 points. Why? Because at the end of that campaign he wouldn't stand up for conservative principles, he ran from Ronald Reagan, and he said he was going to be to the left of Ted Kennedy on gay rights, on abortion, a whole host of other issues."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZvRMDVETl8

Romney didn't deny it. Instead, he tried to change the subject to politicians' desire to run. A wimpy response. If Romney is the Republican nominee, Obama will clean his clock. My gosh, it's painful to watch Romney. How can ANY Republican support him for one second? Disgusting.

Gingrich hit Romney with another powerful shot after Romney's wimpy, lying answer. I think the Republicans would do better with Gingrich than Romney, as at least Gingrich is a far better debater than Romney, and I don't think most people care that much whether a male politician cheats on his wife.

Do you see now what I've been talking about regarding this chameleon? Anyone but Romney, ANYONE but Romney!

[ys]

Who do you think is going to win the Republican primary and general election?

I think it'll be Romney.  But primaries got a long way to go so anything can change.  1150 delegates is the magic number.

So do you expect that gold will go up in value relative to the US dollar (and thus the US dollar will decline relative to gold)?

Every time there is an event such as major Middle East escalations gold tend to rise not just relative to dollar but relative to ALL currencies.  The funds are usually taken out of stocks and put into gold.  I would be tempted to put some money into gold when it gets around 1500.  But again it is all speculation.

Oil will have much bigger impact because Middle East is the source of it. Specifically Iraqi oil.  Right now it is flowing so nicely it even ignores OPEC quotas.  But the Kurds are sitting on the huge reserves and they will not give it so easily to governing Shiites.  US, until the pullout, was the mediator keeping all three groups in check.  Now that the US is out Iraq may detonate awesomely.

I said in the previous posts that Earth is way too crowded and violent conflicts are inevitable.  Iraq is the classic example.  If Iraq will spiral out of control expect other interested parties to get involved.  From one side it'll be Iran supporting Shiites, from the other - Saudi Arabia/US supporting Sunnis.  Kurds will be left by themselves as usual.

Experts predict 2012 will be a very volatile year.

[ys]

Romney is sinking his ship further with respect to the Theocons:

Let's wait for NH and SC to see if it is sinking or not.

[raw-al]

I said in the previous posts that Earth is way too crowded and violent conflicts are inevitable.  Iraq is the classic example.  If Iraq will spiral out of control expect other interested parties to get involved.

Experts predict 2012 will be a very volatile year.

Bacteria propagate till they get swamped by their own wastes. That is in effect what antibiotics are. We are no different.

[zbr5]

This game is unfair (





And predictions of Paul's ten years ago:

Ron Paul Was Right (2002)

[PaleoPhil]

Let's wait for NH and SC to see if it is sinking or not.

To be clear, I only said and meant with respect to the Theocons, not overall, so that probably wouldn't hurt him a lot in NH. Unfortunately, Romney appears to currently have the best shot of winning the nomination, more by default rather than by enthusiastic support.

[ys]

This game is unfair (

Life is unfair too!

[raw-al]

Life is unfair too!

No it isn't, It's all just Karma.

Karma is the results of your actions or the results of everyone's actions. You can only control your own Karma, much to everyone's dismay, but then that's the secret to Maya.

And it's all just Maya. Maya is the Vedic word that means a huge play that Brahma (God, Yehwa) set up for his amusement. We all have a part to play and have certain tendencies and are affected by everyone else in a negative or positive or neutral way depending on how we chose to see them.

You get to get the he*l out of here when you step back and realize this and prove it by not reacting to all the BS that goes on in this world.

Seeing it but not being affected by it. That's my story and um stickin to it. 

[SkinnyDevil]

NH voting has begun.

Most polls have Romney far in the lead with Paul & Huntsman fighting for 2nd....and Parry all but gone, gone, gone.

Of course Santorum was a huge surprise last time around, and Gingrich is coming off 2 back-to-back debates (where his numbers always surge). Romney is slipping slightly but looks like he;'ll still win, but the big surprise may be in 2nd & 3rd slots.

Paul's backing throughout this process will likely remain constant (15-20%, +/- about 3%) regardless of where he places, so the clincher is (especially as candidates drop out) how many candidates can place above his core?

Early exit polls have Romney in the lead, with Huntsman & Paul in a dead heat, just as the polls predicted.

[SkinnyDevil]

As an aside (for RP supporters), RP's numbers in SC & FL (the next 2 stops) are not good. Holding roughly 4th place behind Romney, Gingrich, & Santorum....for whatever that's worth.

Paul better score BIG in NH today, and he & Huntsman have to bury Gingrich and Santorum,. Yep - they have to not only generate momentum, but stop the Santorum momentum (& the love of Gingrich in the older & hard-core right-wing voters).

If Paul can score a 2 or VERY close 3 today (plus stop Santorum cold), he may be able to stay in the game for the next two states. If not, I suspect he's done.

Holding my breath...........

[ys]

Where are the women for RP? (besides Kelly Clarkson)

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/9/pauls-campaign-finds-big-gender-gap-to-bridge/?page=1

[ys]

Why Ron Paul is Mitt Romney’s best friend, part two

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/why-ron-paul-is-mitt-romneys-best-friend-part-two/2012/01/10/gIQArPN7nP_blog.html?wprss=the-fix

Tonight we'll see how true this is.

[goodsamaritan]

World domination- George Carlin [HD]

[sabertooth]

Bombing brown people is necessary for homeland security, don't you understand. If the US/Nato forces do not bomb brown people on a regular basis then the terrorist win.

This is the main talking point used against Ron Paul, and the sick thing is that it actually works. Which means that a good portion of the American population supports United States Imperial Operations. National security is a means used to justify any invasion, or murder. It somehow makes it OK to kill innocent people as long as the media can convince the hypnotized that they could harbor potential terrorist. Even if that terrorist is a 14 year old boy thousands of miles away who is armed only with a rifle and a homemade pipe bomb, we still need to spend 100,000 dollars on a bomb to destroy him and his family.

When people like Paul try to step outside the farce and try to speak realistically about the unnecessary and unsustainable war on brown people, then they are ridiculed for such dangerous thinking.

[SkinnyDevil]

I don;t know about anyone else, but I was pretty happy with the NH results. RP in 2nd place with over 20%, HUntsman at 17%, and Gingrich & Santorum at 10%.

This looks good to me. Perry essentially skipped NH to get a head start in SC, where he is not likely to take away RP votes, but will duke it out with Gingrich & Santorum for the "anti-Romney" vote. While RP (not to mention Huntsman) is less likely to do as well in either state (older voters with a tradition of ultra-conservatism & SC is a closed primary, though he might do a bit better in FL due to its open primary), he has established his strong "20%" base. This allows him to maintain his position for the long haul. A few bad showings might kill Perry or Gingrich or Santorum or even Huntsman (Perry has a LOT of money, but may well be spending at a rapid pace...Gingrich & Santorum, following their surges, may have raked in a lot more cash - but we won't know for sure until the next disclosure)....but not Ron Paul.

All the way to Super Tuesday (March 6), then we'll get a real idea of how things are gonna go down.

Hoping Santorum is gone long before then. And Gingrich.

[SkinnyDevil]

I got a huge laugh out of this statement just released by the Paul campaign:

Rep. Ron Paul's campaign called on the rest of the Republican field to drop out of the race and unite behind him in order to defeat Mitt Romney.

“We urge Ron Paul’s opponents who have been unsuccessfully trying to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney to unite by getting out of the race and uniting behind Paul’s candidacy,” campaign chair Jesse Benton said in a statement."

http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/ron-paul-to-everyone-but-mitt-drop-out

[ys]

Rep. Ron Paul's campaign called on the rest of the Republican field to drop out of the race and unite behind him in order to defeat Mitt Romney.

Yeah, not going to happen.  3-way battle is here to stay:  Romney, non-Romneys, and Paul.
Also not going to happen non-Romneys asking Paul to drop out to beat Romney.

[SkinnyDevil]

Hahaha! Yeah, I don't think anyone in the Paul camp thought anyone of the non-Romney's would actually drop. More designed to charge up his supporters, get a little press time, and dishearten his rivals.

Paul is here for the long haul. My interest now is two-fold:

1) Who else can be forced out of the race, and

2) How effectively he shifts the tone of his message (from educational to "sound-bite").

I think he needs to do a better job getting certain messages out. Namely:

Abolish federal income tax,
end war on drugs,
power back to the states & the people,
ending corporate welfare.

[ys]

1) Who else can be forced out of the race, and

Does not really matter, the longer they all stay the quicker Romney gets the nomination.
I'd think Perry would be next.

2) How effectively he shifts the tone of his message (from educational to "sound-bite")

He polls very low in the South - around 10%.  Even worse in Florida.
The whole message is the problem.  The government is like an obese person and Paul wants to do a gastric bypass.   
There are better and less radical ways to fix it that would appeal to much broader electorate.
He could have said:
 'I plan to decrease funding to these bloated programs.'
 'I plan to reduce financial support to these countries.'
  and similar, using gradual and steady approach.

Instead he is wielding an axe and not many people are liking that.

[PaleoPhil]

Does not really matter, the longer they all stay the quicker Romney gets the nomination.
I'd think Perry would be next.

If Romney wins the nomination, it will ensure Obama's victory. Ron Paul has the best chance of defeating Obama.