December 05, 2007 News+Opinion » Features

Could Ron Paul be South Carolina's perfect candidate? 

The Republican's Republican

by Stratton Lawrence
Ron Paul digs life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Last week Paul opened his local campaign headquarters in west Ashley.
  • Ron Paul digs life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Last week Paul opened his local campaign headquarters in west Ashley.

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Who is Ron Paul? If you ask most media outlets, he's a radical, a dark horse, and at best, a fringe candidate. But he's raised nearly $10 million in campaign funds during the fourth quarter, as much as Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and Fred Thompson. And he's done it without taking money from corporations with special interests.

The other Republican candidates must be feeling the heat. The basis of Paul's campaign (and 30-year Congressional voting record) is that the United States should strictly adhere to the Constitution. He advocates smaller government, abolishing the income tax, border control, and first and foremost, individual liberty. Did we mention he's a veteran, against gun regulation, and pro-life? As an obstetrician, he's helped deliver over 4,000 babies. He opposes Roe v. Wade, believing that states, not the federal government, should decide the legality of abortion.

The Charleston County Republican Party's website states that they're "dedicated to promoting conservative principles that include less government, lower taxes, a good education for our children, and the protection of our country through controlled borders and legal immigration." Paul's agenda certainly matches that description. So why is he considered so radical?

His belief that the CIA, IRS, and the Federal Reserve should all be dismantled surely helps, but County Party Chairperson Linda Bennett says it may even be his supporters. "I think his followers may turn more people off to him than he does himself," she says. "At his talk at the Omar Shrine Temple (in Mt. Pleasant) last Tuesday it was a gamut of everything from hippies to hip-hop to suits. And I think it's wonderful. We should be able to attract a wide array of people." Paul agrees, saying in Mt. Pleasant that "it's what we should expect with freedom."

Among those supporters are people like reported white supremacist Don Black, who donated $500 to Paul's campaign that has not been returned. Paul himself has been accused of being a racist, after comments were posted in his newsletter in 1992 that implied African-Americans were more likely to commit crimes than white people. (Paul says those comments were written by a staff person).

"If we return people's money because we don't subscribe to their philosophy, then we and every other candidate would be sitting here all day," says Amanda Moore, the campaign's S.C. Field Coordinator. "Dr. Paul doesn't subscribe to their beliefs. They subscribe to his."

So what would attract "hippies and hip-hop" to a man that anti-Semites seem to love, and that the County Republican chair Bennett describes as "very conservative"?

"He's not just out there saying stuff to get your vote," says Travis Ward, a local DJ who voted Democrat in 2004 because he wanted a change. "Ron Paul's telling how he feels, and it shows in the way he's voted for the last 30 years. And I don't think the income tax is fair, and the war on drugs is retarded."

Drugs? Paul's not for them, but he told supporters last week during the opening of his local campaign headquarters in West Ashley that he believes sick people whose pain is alleviated by medical marijuana should be allowed to use it if their state approves. "The federal government comes in with their great compassion and puts people in prison who would never commit a violent act," says Paul. "That needs to change."

The dividing conflict between Paul and today's Republican Party is his stance on the Iraq War. "There's nobody in this country that thinks we don't have a danger with terrorists attacking us, but if we go and do the very thing that caused the terrorists to attack us, and incite them to do more of it, that doesn't make any sense," says Paul. "If the policy is wrong, we have to change it."

Paul is one of six House Republicans to vote against the war in 2002, and he advocates an immediate troop withdrawal, pointing out that things worked out far better in Vietnam after we left. Quick to distinguish "isolationism" from "non-interventionism," he advocates trade and negotiations with foreign countries without directly intervening in their internal affairs.

"All the empires of the world went down the tube because they were spread too thin," Paul says. "We're in 130 countries. We have 700 bases. We as a people are taxed to destroy a country's infrastructure and then we're taxed to rebuild it, while at the same time our bridges are falling down."

All of Ron Paul's stances are centered around a core belief that the Constitution should be strictly adhered to and that government's role is to protect people's rights. He sees legislation like the Patriot Act as directly in conflict with that premise. "This administration wants us to believe there's this perpetual war and enemy, so we become incensed with fear and are willing to give up our liberties," says Paul. "Let me tell you, there is never room to give up liberty to be secure."

Statements like that are the type that inspire people to action. Outside of his West Ashley campaign headquarters last week, a red, white, and blue RV covered in pro-Paul slogans sat as he spoke inside. Linda Hunnicutt, an Asheville woman who goes by "Granny Warrior," is a lifelong Republican who voted for Bush twice. She says that upon meeting Paul last March her life was changed, and within weeks she'd painted her RV and was accompanying his campaign around the country to spread the word.

"When he says he's a Christian, he is a Christian. He lives it," says Granny. "What he says makes so much sense. We're like mushrooms. The government's put us in a dark cave and fed us all baloney."

Brian and John McMurray agree. The Summerville brothers teamed up with their friends to start a group called the Black Freedom Movement. "I've never supported the system before, let alone a Republican, but Ron Paul has cured our apathy," says Brian. "Our rights may be violated, but they can't be taken away."

Polls show Paul pulling ahead of Thompson and Mike Huckabee in New Hampshire, and he recently raised $4.2 million in a single day. Despite that, the media still hesitates to give him credit. Last Tuesday, local CBS affiliate WCSC (Live 5) gave more time during the evening news to appearances by Hillary Clinton in Spartanburg and John McCain in Seneca than to Paul here in Charleston, calling him a "dark horse." After the YouTube debate last Wednesday, CNN commentators gave McCain points for mentioning that he spent Thanksgiving with the troops, but seemingly ignored Paul's comment that he's received more funds from active duty military officers than any other candidate. Even Salon.com teased Paul's "conspiracy theories" in their headline for debate coverage, although appeared he presented none.

If Paul's numbers keep growing, all that could change. But for now, when did the Constitution become so radical?

RON PAUL ON THE ISSUES

The Environment — "Nobody has a right to pollute anybody's property, air, or water."

Campaigning — "Very powerful special interests are in charge of both parties. There is no serious intent to have democracy in this country."

The Economy — "The best measurement of an empire is the value of a nation's currency, and the dollar is getting weaker and weaker. We can tide people over at home if we stop spending overseas."

Iraq — "They say there'll be chaos if we leave. What do we have over there now? The same people who say 'stay' said it'd be a cakewalk."

Government — "All political action should be directed toward protecting individual liberty."

The Solution — "We can solve all of our problems by obeying the Constitution."

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Ron Paul 2012!

Posted by tenbobnote on November 10, 2009 at 10:48 AM | Report this comment

Being from California liberal thought has no doubt influenced my political thought. However, whether as a liberal or a conservative, Ron Paul seems to make the most sense in my opinion to both groups of people. He is definitley the truest follower, among the current presidental candidates, of the democratic principles set up by our founding fathers in that one fateful day in Philadelphia. I urge the people of South Carlonia to not only listen to the words of the candidates but to examine their voting records in their respective state governments or in Washington. Ron Paul's voting record speaks for itself. America's intervention in the world in the soverign affairs of other nations, is not what the founding fathers had in mind, or what our own parents had in mind when they decided to call this country their home. Why is it that Iran and so many people in the Middle East hate us as a nation. They do not hate the American people, they hate the actions taken by our government. And is not the government supposed to be the spokseperson of the people. America right now is nothing close to being a nation of true democratic principles. It is an oligarchy, an aristocracy. The people of South Carolina, I cannot tell you who you should vote for, but please excericse your keen judgment and vote for the candidate that has a voting record that justifies and legitamizes his words. Ron Paul is in my opinion the only candidate, from both parties, who has truly believed in the principles of our founding fathers, and to the truest ability has fought to keep this nation the proudest nation in the world. Due not let the imperial presidency and the congress, who is in bed with special intrest groups, prevert our democratic system. Reclaim America, and do not vote into office those who seek to pervert the system even more. Vote Ron Paul and reclaim your democratic rights as citizens of this great country!

Posted by BigMichaelKim on January 19, 2008 at 3:40 PM | Report this comment

You wrote: 1. Ron Paul "raised nearly $10 million in campaign funds during the fourth quarter ..." Wrong. Ron Paul raised $9.5 million in the 4th quarter - twice as much as you reported. 2. "... as much as Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and Fred Thompson." Wrong again. Candidates other than Ron Paul and Romney have not posted for the 4th quarter. Romney raised $5 million - 1/4th what Ron Paul raised (Romney raised $7.5 million for All of 2007 - approx. 1/3 what Ron Paul raised in the 4th quarter alone). Other candidates nowhere near matched Ron Paul's $19.5 million in the 4th quarter, otherwise they and the media (virulently opposed to Constitutionalist Paul) would have spread the word.

Posted by tquigly on January 13, 2008 at 3:16 PM | Report this comment

For decades, both the Republican and Democratic Parties have given the American people scant choices. We have been served up a heaping helping of candidates that represent the entrenchment policies that have dragged this nation into the dirt for the last 40 years or more. Every four years we are invited to their political stage play with different actors but always the same ole screenplay. Each of these entrenchment candidates recite their respective lines according to script, right on queue, making their empty promises that we have heard recycled for years. Each Party has had their candidates elected to the office of president and it rarely takes over four to six years for the American people to see that, once again, they have elected the same feckless leadership as they did before. These entrenchment candidates boldly speak with empty promises drooling from their lips, but offer no solutions to the real issues facing this country. The candidates that represent the entrenchment policies of both political parties will continue to do what they have always done: pander to their big special interest, bow down to the promise of filthy lucre and special privilege and yet they allow the country and its people to be plundered by those in power. Except for Ron Paul, the rest appear to be little more than parasitic ticks embedded into the flesh of this nation, sucking the life-blood from this country and its people. It is time for a real change, one that will steer this nation away from the disastrous policies of the last 40 years. This government has, over the past 109 years intervened into the internal affairs of over 200 sovereign nations and what has it gotten us? The failed foreign polices has done little to ensure our security and the proof of that is the crescendo of failure 9/11. With the Trillions of Dollars we spend, every single operating system in this nations defense failed on that dreadful day. That was a failure of leadership as much as it was a failure of a foreign policy that mimics the failures of other nations in the past. Had our policies been a success, would we not see it by now, after a 109 years of economic, covert and military intervention around the world? Ron Paul is absolutely correct in his logic and rationale; it is amazing that so many are blind by the ambitions of war, drunk on its lure of power. On numerous occasions, Ron Paul stood before the House of Representatives speaking out about the total lack of reason behind many, if not all of our foreign policies. He stated correctly that on most occasions this country has aided, armed, trained and entered into treaties with both sides of a conflict. He is correct when he states that this country has such an unfocused and broadly applied foreign policy that we fail to determine if our actions are actually in our Nations true best interest. In essence, we have no foreign policy only a conglomeration of miscalculations that tend to bite us in the ass more times than it actually provides us with security or solutions. We have spent decades and billions upon billions of dollars on programs, policies and decisions that have failed to provide us with any real solutions. Ron Paul understands that America is not the Social Worker of the World any more than we are the Policemen of the World. Most, if not all of our foreign policy actions have not only proved feckless, but many times harmful to the actual security interests of the American People and this Nation. It is time that we returned rational thought to this government, restrained by a reality that few politicians on either side of the political spectrum grasp. Dr. Paul also appears to be the only candidate that recognizes the fact that not only is the dollar collapsing on the global market, but that the underlying foundation upon which the dollar stands is also collapsing. Every single Federal Reserve Note is an IOU, a debt obligation and has been borrowed into existence. Soon the debt foundation on which they entire monetary system is based will overwhelm the economy by demanding more service than the economy can produce. Everything we know, our investments, our pensions, retirement, government programs and bonds, our 401ks, everything is based on a monetary system that has an inherent terminal point and it will follow every other fiat monetary system in history in its collapse.

Posted by Republicae on January 13, 2008 at 1:43 PM | Report this comment

Once again, the people of this country are poised to elect another President and yet, from all the candidates there is only one that is addressing one of the most pressing issues this country is facing and that is its failing monetary system. Consider this: a person making $32,000 per year today has the equivalent purchasing power of $5,907.40 in1970 dollars. So, the same person making $15.38 per hour today is equal to making $2.84 per hour in real purchasing power in 1970 dollars. It is not the price of goods and services that have risen, but the purchasing power of our dollar that has been so drastically reduced that it simply does not buy what it once did because it has been debased by the Federal Reserve and our government. Our standard of living has been effectively reduced through fiat money inflation. It’s your money, your labor and yet we all just stand by and let this government continue to siphon off our prosperity. Is there any wonder that poverty is becoming rampant? The government has no other choice but enforce minimum wages in order to keep the working poor at some level of subsistence. At the current $5.85 per hour a person has the same 1970 purchasing power of $1.08 per hour, at 40 hours per week that person is effectively making $43.20 per week to make ends meet. I can tell you this, if Ron Paul is not elected in 2008, then no matter who becomes President, by 2012 we will all wish that Ron Paul was sitting in the White House.

Posted by Republicae on January 13, 2008 at 1:41 PM | Report this comment

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