Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul
I imagine Ronl Paul to be the Republican 2008 equivalent of the Democratic 2004 Dennis Kucinich. Reportedly, one might walk past Dennis Kucinich’s Portland campaign headquarets and hear an all night burner, Bob Marley and a drum circle, whiffs of marijuana blowing out, nobody really accomplishing anything per se but in the midst of a political cause nonetheless. Picture Ron Paul’s campaign with some Ayn Rand recording
in place of Bob Marley, discussions merging from the tyranny of the United Nations to the War of Southern Aggression and how Lincoln paved the way to continued government consolidation.
The rankers of such thing tend to have Paul as right about 50-50 on the liberal – conservative rankings. This is the necessary limitations of a ranking that would, for instance, toss Paul liberal points for voting against a budget cut on Head-Start, when Paul’s reason for voting ‘no’ is that the program shouldn’t exist in the first place — not prescribed in the Constitution. He’s also as pure an anti-war candidate as you will find anywhere, tossing the additional loop in there that he never has said a good word about the current Republican President.
Can Paul be denied from the debates? He’s not likely to endorse or support the eventual nominee — McCain, Romney, Brownback (wait — do I actually think Brownback might be the nominee? In lieu of anyone else acceptable to your Social Conservative, yes.) I think he’s the obvious choice for the Libertarian Party to pluck right out of the burners of the Republican primary season and show themselves a better profile than possible with anyone else. Mockingly, I say the Libertarian Party could have Paul as their Fusion candidate. Back to the Kucinich comparison, in 2004 John Hagelin, the 2000 and 1996 and probably 1992 Presidential candidate for the now defunct Natural Law Party had Kucinich as the end point for a Democratic — Natural Law fusion ticket. Not going to happen, of course, as Kucinich was never going to be nominated president. (The Natural Law Party loved fusions, such as their 2000 delapidation of the Reform Party.)
Maybe the Republican Party could shove him out of the debates unless he agrees to support the eventual Republican nominee, and not run on any third party ticket. There were 2 elected Democrats shoved out in such a manner in 1992 — a minor city mayor, who did end up in a debate but was then unceremoniously framed out of the AP photo — and Eugene
McCarthy — and Mike McGavick is 2008’s version of McCarthy 1992. (Incidentally, McCarthy in 1992 ran against George Bush the elder’s speech patterns. Go check back and you’ll see!) I’d think, however, the Republican Party would much prefer to frame out Tom Toncredo — and their framing outs bullets are perhaps limited.
Here’s a question. Is it better for Ron Paul to have a speaking slot at the Republican convention or run a campaign as a Libertarian Party candidate? A platform is what Ron Paul’s campaign is about. Ron Paul denies that, but I don’t believe him. I have think about that question for a minute before answering it, because I don’t immediately know the
answer.