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Friday, July 18, 2008

The Ron Paul people felt Ron Carey and other GOP folks were unfair. So who is Ron Paul, and what can I learn from him about Iraq or Iran?

"Who is Ron Paul," is like asking, "Who is John Galt," in the Ayn Rand book, and Paul's stance on fiat money is reminiscent of Ayn Rand, and of Alan Greenspan's writing on the gold standard back in the days before being the bankers' banker when he instead was an Ayn Rand groupie (aka an "Objectivist"). See, e.g., here and here re Greenspan views in the 1970's, and here re Greenspan and Ron Paul in a colloquy.


There is more.

If you want a different perspective on Iraq and Iran from a Republican other than the Republicans in the White House who brought you fear and reaction to it, I am not going to quote or excerpt.

Do the serious reading. It is online, cogently written, and generally sensible if you accept the premise Ron Paul may be hammering away at the notion of "fiat money" a bit more than needed to make his points.

It is here, here and here, well stated.

You do not have to agree 100% with him to weigh whether some things he says, independent of other things he says, does or does not ring true and make more sense than some of the simplistic things coming from Bush-Cheney about Iran-Iraq, and from Gingrich about how further deregulation of profligate highly concentrated oil interests will result, some magical way, in "Pay Less" at the gas station pump.

Swallowing that big lie requires a willing suspension of disbelief, when such a suspension is not at all merited. Go ahead. Disbelieve. It is a bunch of hooey.

It is smoke and mirrors, pure smoke and mirrors, and Ron Paul makes more sense than any of that trashcan full of painfully redundant current GOP propagandizing.

No wonder the Ron Carey types feel uncomfortable, and censorial.

For the Ron Paul factions' frustrations with Ron Carey et al, in context, and for counter rhetoric, see, e.g., here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and Residual Forces, here, here and here.

The opening item in that string of cites, from Political Animal, is succinct, and uses quotes well. The MinnPost.com item about Ron Paul is particularly good reporting, with a host of reader comments.

For those saying what about a McCain-Paul ticket, well, Pelosi is likely to remain Speaker of the House, with a Dem majority remaining to keep her third in the succession line, and with those two old gaffers, Nancy will stand ready.