Ron Paul is a Libertarian, which means essentially that he trusts that people, left to their own devices, will do the right thing. This contrasts with Leftists who believe that government, given enough resources and control, will do the right thing for the people.We Conservatives balance these two extremes on principles of Liberty - freedom under the law. Plus we inject some morality into the mix because we believe government should be more than just business. One of the prime reasons I have beefs with Libertarians is that they believe that government should be just business - they shy away from concepts like patriotic duty, honoring one's nation and the like. Secondly, Libertarians think privatization cures everything, they believe market forces without regulation will provide the best solutions. They are cluelessly impractical in that regard.
Ron Paul evidences all the hallmarks of a Libertarian, and so we Republicans have to share the party with him. I find no irony whatsoever in the fact that Libertarians are pathetically unable to get candidates elected into government. They are, for all intents and purposes, terminally unorganizable. Libertarian groups are splinter groups by definition. They distrust collaboration and negotiations, preferring small independent and consequently unaccountable groups.
Like white supremacists.
The news today is that Ron Paul regularly hung out with the cast of characters from American Renaissance, a white rights group that pretends to be about social justice. I've boxed several rounds with AmRen types and their basic beef is typical white resentment - but when the rubber meets the road, they are in many ways the mirror image of the worst aspects of Sharpton.com: media hustlers who wish to try the courts and government in the media sowing seeds of paranoia and distrust. Ask any AmRen supporter about the 'Zebra Murders' and you'll find their emotional ground zero.
Stormfront sent a few hundred dollars over to Ron Paul and he kept the money, lamely saying that he's converting it to good out of the hands of baddies. I haven't made up my mind about that logic in general, but you'd think a bit of common sense would be in order. Stormfront is as extreme a white supremacist group as could legally exist in America - it doesn't get any skinheadier than that. These are the guys who sell racial holy war speedmetal CDs on their website.
Ron Paul distrusts the global economy. There's nothing quite so lunatic as his desire to put the American dollar back onto the gold standard. His own words indict him:
Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce legislation to restore financial stability to America's economy by abolishing the Federal Reserve. I also ask unanimous consent to insert the attached article by Lew Rockwell, president of the Ludwig Von Mises Institute, which explains the benefits of abolishing the Fed and restoring the gold standard, into the record.
Since the creation of the Federal Reserve, middle and working-class Americans have been victimized by a boom-and-bust monetary policy. In addition, most Americans have suffered a steadily eroding purchasing power because of the Federal Reserve's inflationary policies. This represents a real, if hidden, tax imposed on the American people.
From the Great Depression, to the stagflation of the seventies, to the burst of the dotcom bubble last year, every economic downturn suffered by the country over the last 80 years can be traced to Federal Reserve policy. The Fed has followed a consistent policy of flooding the economy with easy money, leading to a misallocation of resources and an artificial "boom" followed by a recession or depression when the Fed-created bubble bursts.
With a stable currency, American exporters will no longer be held hostage to an erratic monetary policy. Stabilizing the currency will also give Americans new incentives to save as they will no longer have to fear inflation eroding their savings. Those members concerned about increasing America's exports or the low rate of savings should be enthusiastic supporters of this legislation.
Though the Federal Reserve policy harms the average American, it benefits those in a position to take advantage of the cycles in monetary policy. The main beneficiaries are those who receive access to artificially inflated money and/or credit before the inflationary effects of the policy impact the entire economy. Federal Reserve policies also benefit big spending politicians who use the inflated currency created by the Fed to hide the true costs of the welfare-warfare state. It is time for Congress to put the interests of the American people ahead of the special interests and their own appetite for big government.
Abolishing the Federal Reserve will allow Congress to reassert its constitutional authority over monetary policy. The United States Constitution grants to Congress the authority to coin money and regulate the value of the currency. The Constitution does not give Congress the authority to delegate control over monetary policy to a central bank. Furthermore, the Constitution certainly does not empower the federal government to erode the American standard of living via an inflationary monetary policy.
In fact, Congress' constitutional mandate regarding monetary policy should only permit currency backed by stable commodities such as silver and gold to be used as legal tender. Therefore, abolishing the Federal Reserve and returning to a constitutional system will enable America to return to the type of monetary system envisioned by our nation's founders: one where the value of money is consistent because it is tied to a commodity such as gold. Such a monetary system is the basis of a true free-market economy.
In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand up for working Americans by putting an end to the manipulation of the money supply which erodes Americans' standard of living, enlarges big government, and enriches well-connected elites, by cosponsoring my legislation to abolish the Federal Reserve.
That's just crazy talk.
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