Some guy named Mortman apparently has a love-hate relationship with Ron Paul (sadly for Mortman, Dr. Paul is probably unaware of the relationship), and he enjoys playing with the words Ron Paul on his blog.
He has several posts about Dr. Paul, and in the above-linked post, Mortman does a top-ten list. In that spirit, I’ll do a top 7 list of what’s great about Ron Paul. Why only 7? I read somewhere that Top 7 lists are more popular than Top 10 lists.
So, in no particular order …
My Ron Paul Top 7 List
1. Like most Republican voters, but unlike most Republican politicians, Ron Paul believes in and votes for smaller government.
2. Ron Paul has no character issues. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a political race where no one talks about whether the candidate used drugs, cheated on his wife, or had so many divorces?
3. Ron Paul is consistent. The guy has been active and successful in politics for something like 20 years, and he hasn’t flip-flopped all over the place like almost every other politician out there.
4. Ron Paul has actually read the Constitution, more than once. I’d bet more than half the candidates have never read the whole thing. If you did a simple quiz and asked where in the Constitution the following phrase appears: “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” I would bet nearly all of them would get it wrong. Ron Paul knows it’s in the Declaration of Independence, and not in the Constitution. Guys like Giuliani, Romney and Thompson think the Constitution is something that gets in the way and you’re supposed to find ways around it. The current Bush administration has essentially discarded the entire document. Ron Paul embraces it. Meanwhile, both parties have no idea what the Commerce Clause is about and couldn’t care less.
5. Ron Paul doesn’t need focus groups. Having principles and following them is a much better way of making policy than licking your finger and sticking it up in the wind.
6. Ron Paul accepts responsibility for his own actions, and doesn’t claim credit for things he didn’t do. Rudy Giuliani is the worst example of this, ducking his horrendous appointments (like Bernard Kerik), and claiming credit for something to do with 9/11. I’m waiting for someone to tell me what he actually did, other than show up for the photo ops. I’d give him a lot of credit if he had anticipated attacks on the WTC (duh) and prepared for what to do about it.
7. Ron Paul can change politics. He’s being ignored by the mainstream media, and yet he’s raising money (now with more cash on hand than John McCain) and continues to dominate the Internet. If he keeps doing this well, at some point the mainstream media is going to have to acknowledge him.
Okay, 7 wasn’t enough, so …
8. An extension of #7, Ron Paul doesn’t fit on today’s 2-dimensional media perspective on politics. He’s not liberal, not conservative, and he’s not a moderate either. Ron Paul can break the liberal-conservative trap we’ve been stuck in for about 30 years.
That was fun!!
