#conservatie

[humanismtoday]

AN American conservative magazine says they can’t support this vile “man”

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatches/2019/12/13/the-american-conservative-endorses-trump-impeachment/

[deltamusings]

[americarising]

Dem On Dem Crime In Minnesota House Race

Click here to find out what happened

[wiskundewereld]

Kwam dat allemaal uit dat blikje? Hoe kan dat nou, ik heb meer gekregen!

[crossfitimbue]

Ron Paul: The Rhetoric and The Reality

With Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) you always have to read the fine print and nuanced comments. He says "If you have the inconsistency then you're not defending liberty." Paul has always been inconsistent. This inconsistency was noted by conservative commentator Mark Levin who says “Paul is poison and part of the hate America first crowd.” The Texan advocates policies which are the exact opposite of his rhetoric, and if you visit his website it indicates he supports many things he actually opposes.  His speeches before conservative audiences are often impressive, but the radical libertarian reality is completely different. Some examples are:

Admirers claim Paul is the only truthful lawmaker on Capitol Hill, but he tells outrageous lies. Paul falsely claims 1) Israel created Hamas, 2) Palestinians are starving and confined to a "concentration camp," 3) the United States financed Osama bin Laden during the first Afghan War, 4) the CIA is behind the sale of illegal drugs, and 5) there is an "international conspiracy" focused on the non-existent North American Union.

Paul claims to be a champion of individual liberty but is the only lawmaker to oppose the 1964 Civil Right Act, and voted against the legislation on its 40th anniversary. This is the law which allows blacks to eat at the lunch counter and says they cannot be turned away from hotels. They also deserve liberty. 

The Congressman says he supports a strong national defense and emphasizes his military service. He was an Air Force gynecologist and today he wants to end every military modernization and readiness program. He would abandon NATO, abolish the CIA, the Patriot Act and every War on Terror policy approved by both the Bush and Obama administrations. 

He would give up America's veto power in the UN Security Council as well as all military cooperation with Israel. He would also ignore the major lesson from WW I and WW II, collective security. He would abandon our allies who paid 100% of the costs of Operation Desert Storm and have suffered 35% of all combat casualties in Afghanistan.

Paul is running as a Republican but has said “I want to completely disassociate myself from Ronald Reagan.” He thought George H.W. Bush was a “war criminal” and wanted to impeach George W. Bush. 

He condemns Reagan, Bush and GOP founder Abraham Lincoln, while finding excuses for Hitler, Stalin and Jefferson Davis. 

He says Republicans and Democrats are alike on economic, monetary and foreign policy. In fact, he says they are alike on “everything. They pretend they are a little bit different. . . there’s no difference. . . There’s really no difference between them.”  Republicans are trying to achieve a government that consumes 15 to 18 percent of GDP, while Democrats want to double that. Under Obama we are now at 25 percent. There is a major difference between the two parties.

Dr. Paul refused to support Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in the 2008 election because “I couldn’t find anything that we agreed on.” McCain’s 2010 rating from the American Conservative Union is 100%, and in 2009 it was 96%. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) lifetime ACU rating as a Senator is 10%.

The Texan says he is an advocate of free trade, but opposes practically every free trade agreement. As the Club for Growth notes, Paul "lives in a dream world if he thinks free trade will be realized absent agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA. Paul himself argues that 'tariffs are simply taxes on consumers,' but by opposing these trade agreements, he is actively opposing a decrease in those taxes. While Paul’s rhetoric is soundly pro-free trade, his voting record mirrors those of Congress’s worst protectionists."    

He claims to be a right to life champion, but his plan allows abortion on the state level. He is against taxpayer funded abortions but not self paid abortions in the states' rights category. 

He claims to be against illegal immigration and his 2008 campaign featured a forceful TV ad on that subject. He did vote for the 2006 Secure Fence Act and claims to support the Border Fence, but he also voted against it on numerous occasions and has repeatedly said it is not needed. He believes sensors at the border are enough. He also says the military is not needed on the border, and the Border Patrol is sufficient.

The Border Patrol is not mentioned in the Constitution and he use to claim they were unconstitutional. On one hand Paul is arguing for complete sovereignty and isolationism, but on the other hand he is opposing the border fence. 

He also claims to be against amnesty but his book, Liberty Defined, advocates it. He claims to be against birthright citizenship but his book supports it. He also opposes the E-Verify system to check employment. Paul says we would not be "Good Samaritans" if 11 million illegals were deported. That is a difficult task and it is why the GOP advocates E-Verify which takes away their ability to work. They would then have no choice but to go back home. 

He says we should not tell other countries what to do, but is always the first to criticize Israel.

He describes himself as a fiscal conservative but has voted for numerous pork barrel projects and was against the Constitutional Amendment for a line item veto. He says it is unconstitutional because it gives too much power to the president. 

Paul is one of only four House Republicans who supports earmarks, and opposes the GOP Ryan plan to cut the deficit by $6.2 trillion over a decade. 

He has criticized welfare for decades but was one of just four GOP Congressmen who voted against extending welfare reform in 2002. Most Americans are not fond of welfare but the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996" was a GOP proposal signed by a reluctant Bill Clinton. When Clinton added his signature the sign on his desk said "Welfare to Work," and the promise came true. The act resulted in a large reduction in the number of people collecting welfare and that is why Republicans have supported its continuation. 

He says he is against gay marriage, but voted against the amendment to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. The amendment would have outlawed gay marriage but not civil unions. At the 2007 Values Voter Debate Paul said, "True Christians believe marriage is a church function, not a state function. I don't think you need a license to get married." By that definition any liberal church would be free to perform gay marriages that would be recognized by the state.  

He says executive orders are unconstitutional, but in June of 2011 he introduced a four point economic plan he would implement by executive order. 

Rep. Paul has won the presidential straw vote at the last two Conservative Political Action Conferences, but his 2011 rating from the liberal ACLU is 80%. They oppose all aspects of the War on Terror. Paul voted against the constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. He is against the death penalty, allowing silent school prayer, and school vouchers.  

As a medical doctor he took the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm and to “prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.”  Nevertheless, Paul is against the War on Drugs and believes people should be “free to choose.” For example, they should have the ability to buy, sell and use highly addictive crack cocaine as much as they want.  

Paul is also at the forefront of the anti-vaccine movement which has had a serious impact. Now the U.S. is struggling with a large number of cases of measles and other disease which were once thought to have been eradicated. According to the Centers for Disease Control, America is experiencing the largest outbreak in 15 years. 

Ron Paul is not a conservative or a "Constitutionalist." He is a radcial libertarian who has been consistent since his election to Congress in 1976 in advocating unilateral disarmament of America’s defense and trade policy. 

Ron Paul always denounces Republicans as neo-cons, but he could be called a neo-liberal. He is well to the left of Obama and Pelosi on defense, foreign policy and trade issues. 

-Gregory Hilton