YORK BLVD. Republican Presidential Endorsement
Ξ January 31st, 2008 | → | ∇ Beyond Northeast |
A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement […] This is the sum of good government. – Thomas Jefferson
With the presidential races shedding the fat of the also-rans, Yorkblvd has decided to throw our considerable political clout (2 votes and limited disposable income) behind a presidential candidate from each party. With last night’s travesty of a Republican debate (which really should have been named the McCain/Romney debate as the other invitees were barely addressed in the 90 minute program), we present our GOP endorsement for president: Texas Congressman Ron Paul.
The time has come to limit the ever expanding scope of the Federal Government. Our Bill of Rights was crafted to protect individuals from the abuses of government, and while I don’t subscribe to any Orwellian conspiracies, this country has taken an alarmingly blithe attitude towards rule of law lately. The executive branch feels free to flaunt Congress and the courts, Habeas Corpus is being suspended in the American Judicial System, the government can tap your phone without a warrant, and still, Washington thinks it knows best how to govern 50 diverse states spanning seven time zones. See, for example, California’s (and ten other states’) legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Despite California voters’ wishes, the Federal Government maintains its costly and ineffective war on drugs by raiding these clinics and prosecuting their owners. Or, examine the on again off again debate on gay marriage. Washington is actually considering amending the constitution to ban two men from marrying each other. Wasn’t this document drafted to decide more important issues than sexuality? If Wyoming wants to ban gay marriage, Massachusetts wants it legal, and California wants it somewhere in-between, what’s the problem? Why should the moral compass of constituents in Arkansas and Oklahoma define Hawaiian’s relationships?
These two issues are merely microcosms of a Federal Government that finds it necessary to cast a wide net of legislation across a country they have clearly lost touch with, and what frightens me is that while the candidates are crawling over themselves to claim the mantle of the next Ronald Reagan, neither Romney, McCain, nor Huckabee seem willing to diminish the power of the federal government, the hallmark of what people loved about Reagan. Instead, the candidates argue the details of how to best wield the government’s power to meet their own social and ideological goals. Congressman Paul is the only man willing to take office and relinquish the broad executive power that has been so abused over the last 7 years. The man wants to dissolve the Department of Education not because he hates children, but because he believes that education is best decided on a more local (state) level. Ask a public school teacher how well “No Child Left Behind” has worked and you should have an accurate barometer of the inefficiencies of the Federal Government.
Still, the foremost reason we are endorsing Congressman Paul is because his belief is simple: You know how to run your life and spend your money better than bureaucrats in Washington. If you want to donate to a $398 million Alaskan “Bridge to Nowhere” (or any one of countless other fiscal horror stories to emerge almost daily from inside the beltway) you are free to do so. Paul just wouldn’t use the IRS to threaten you with imprisonment if you don’t. Foreign governments (the Chinese foremost among them) hold the mortgage to our country and still, the party that used to represent fiscal sanity is only using its executive veto power now that Democrats are passing spending bills.
As for the old scare tactic aimed towards outside candidates and 3rd parties of “throwing away your vote”, keep in mind that our congressional district is overwhelmingly democratic. In a closed primary, in a state where the delegates are awarded by congressional district, in a district with a limited number of registered republicans, every vote counts. If you agree with Thomas Paine’s famous edict, “That government is best which governs least”, Ron Paul remains the only candidate sure to reign in a dangerously overbearing Washington D.C.
If the embeded file below fails to load, view Ron Paul’s Google Candidates Series Interview at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCM_wQy4YVg
on February 1st, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Oh it’s so depressing that you’re endorsing a Republican. I don’t even want to be reminded that I live near people who would do such a thing.
on February 1st, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Guess I’m going to have to cancel my subscription.
on February 1st, 2008 at 9:11 pm
I do not intend to vote for Ron Paul, but the reasons you give in support of his candidacy are valid. His understanding of the Constitution and the proper role of government is largely correct, but he is wrong on a few big things, which is why I will be voting for someone else. Reasonable people can disagree agreeably.
People who are unable to reason, however, leave the type of comments that precede my own (Jody and notoriouslig). These leftists can not engage in reasonable discussion about the argument offered in defense of Ron Paul. Instead, as leftists often do, they emote, submitting irrelevant comments drenched with elitist liberal sanctimony.
The world is full of reasonable people who disagree about things. Mature people with the ability to reason about ideas recognize this. They don’t make condescending comments (Jody) or cry like a baby (notoriouslig) when other mature, reasonable people disagree with them.
on February 2nd, 2008 at 11:44 am
Georgie Porgie, Puddin’ and Pie,
Kissed the girls and made them cry,
When the boys came out to play
Georgie Porgie ran away.
on February 12th, 2008 at 11:47 am
I owe an apology to the Republican endorser of Ron Paul. You are not so weird or deluded. I had an opportunity to listen to Ron Paul in a debate(?) format. I tuned in late, but Paul was talking about his stance on the war. He spoke very well and definitely not a Bush follower. It was John McCain that really got my attention, when he turned away from Paul, (who was looking him in the eye with his response (took out his water bottle and continued to face the audience with a smug grin on his face. His attitude appeared pompous and disdainful. Ron Paul seemed a sincere and intelligent man. It is too bad, he will not be able to get close to the nomination. But I am curious - who do you think is better? McCain or Obama? Obama is only taking $ from us that want to give, no special interest groups etc. McCain, who I once found likable just seems too arrogant despite a history which should have taught him compassion and approprate presidential behavior. My apologies to you for getting into name calling, also arrogant. Sorry, Katrina