Monday
Oct222007
Rooting for Ron
Monday, October 22, 2007 at 3:00AM
By Ellen Ratner
I attended my second college football game last weekend. The United States Air Force Academy Falcons handily defeated the Wyoming Cowboys, (alma mater of Vice President Dick Cheney after failing out of Yale University). The game was wonderful, and I especially liked the pre-game phenomenon I learned of called tailgating, which, prior to the weekend, I thought was an annoying driving technique. As I surveyed Falcon Stadium's parking lot in search of the best tailgate food, a sea of presidential campaign '08 signs, bumper stickers and enthusiasts surprised me. I was even more surprised to see that there was only one candidate chosen – Rep./Dr. Ron Paul.
I'm not great at math like the Air Force Academy cadets, but I understand a bit about probabilities and statistics. At this point, most in the media would agree that the probability of Ron Paul being president is somewhere in the neighborhood of "never in a million years" and "when hell freezes over." But the increasing number of Paul supporters caused me to take a long second look at Rep. Paul, especially since the Ron Paul supporters were sitting with the Falcon fans – a group with one of the highest voter turnout.
I asked my host why the Falcon fans, most of them are connected to the Air Force Academy in some significant way, (alumni, parents of cadets, Air Force retirees, active duty military stationed at the Academy etc.), support Ron Paul. The answer was, "Because there are a lot of libertarians in the military, and they are not happy about King George."
There is a lot of blue sky between Ron Paul and myself. But overall, I have been a fan of Ron Paul's since the first Republican debate when he was the only one who had the courage to shine the light on our failed Iraq policy while the others use President Bush as their own Kevlar body armor. Their mantra of "don't ask, don't tell" is working – as in "Please don't ask me about Iraq, because I won't tell." Ron Paul also has the moral authority to criticize this war since he voted against it. It is clear that many members of the military are in this camp as well.
Yet, despite my being impressed with Ron Paul, I must confess that I have, like my colleagues in the Fifth Estate, ignored this drafted Air Force Flight surgeon turned U.S. congressman. He deserves to be taken seriously. Oddly enough, Ron Paul's core campaign resonates the most with primary voters. He has an answer to their most frequently asked questions, "What are you going to do about curbing the federal government's power? Or, what are you going to do to restore the Constitution and rule of law?" Ron Paul's website gives the answer in the first sentence:
"Congressman Ron Paul, R-Texas, is the leading advocate for freedom in our nation's capital. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Dr. Paul tirelessly works for limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets and a return to sound monetary policies. He is known among his congressional colleagues and his constituents for his consistent voting record. Dr. Paul never votes for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution."
After reading Ron Paul's website, along with several of the policy papers he has written over the years, I have concluded that he may stand a chance in a Republican primary after all. Republican primary voters are tired of big government, big spending, big regulation, big trade cartels, big foreign commitments and big egos.
There's no worry about a big ego with Ron Paul. He looks like a gynecologist. Actually, he specialized in gynecology out of Duke Medical School. Paul is a breath of fresh air among all the testosterone and hair gel on the Republican ticket. Ron Paul isn't the 9/11 candidate. His website makes him the 4/11 candidate. It's where voters are going for information. He has the greatest number of YouTube hits. It's time for the media to start giving him the airtime he has earned.
I attended my second college football game last weekend. The United States Air Force Academy Falcons handily defeated the Wyoming Cowboys, (alma mater of Vice President Dick Cheney after failing out of Yale University). The game was wonderful, and I especially liked the pre-game phenomenon I learned of called tailgating, which, prior to the weekend, I thought was an annoying driving technique. As I surveyed Falcon Stadium's parking lot in search of the best tailgate food, a sea of presidential campaign '08 signs, bumper stickers and enthusiasts surprised me. I was even more surprised to see that there was only one candidate chosen – Rep./Dr. Ron Paul.
I'm not great at math like the Air Force Academy cadets, but I understand a bit about probabilities and statistics. At this point, most in the media would agree that the probability of Ron Paul being president is somewhere in the neighborhood of "never in a million years" and "when hell freezes over." But the increasing number of Paul supporters caused me to take a long second look at Rep. Paul, especially since the Ron Paul supporters were sitting with the Falcon fans – a group with one of the highest voter turnout.
I asked my host why the Falcon fans, most of them are connected to the Air Force Academy in some significant way, (alumni, parents of cadets, Air Force retirees, active duty military stationed at the Academy etc.), support Ron Paul. The answer was, "Because there are a lot of libertarians in the military, and they are not happy about King George."
There is a lot of blue sky between Ron Paul and myself. But overall, I have been a fan of Ron Paul's since the first Republican debate when he was the only one who had the courage to shine the light on our failed Iraq policy while the others use President Bush as their own Kevlar body armor. Their mantra of "don't ask, don't tell" is working – as in "Please don't ask me about Iraq, because I won't tell." Ron Paul also has the moral authority to criticize this war since he voted against it. It is clear that many members of the military are in this camp as well.
Yet, despite my being impressed with Ron Paul, I must confess that I have, like my colleagues in the Fifth Estate, ignored this drafted Air Force Flight surgeon turned U.S. congressman. He deserves to be taken seriously. Oddly enough, Ron Paul's core campaign resonates the most with primary voters. He has an answer to their most frequently asked questions, "What are you going to do about curbing the federal government's power? Or, what are you going to do to restore the Constitution and rule of law?" Ron Paul's website gives the answer in the first sentence:
"Congressman Ron Paul, R-Texas, is the leading advocate for freedom in our nation's capital. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Dr. Paul tirelessly works for limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets and a return to sound monetary policies. He is known among his congressional colleagues and his constituents for his consistent voting record. Dr. Paul never votes for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution."
After reading Ron Paul's website, along with several of the policy papers he has written over the years, I have concluded that he may stand a chance in a Republican primary after all. Republican primary voters are tired of big government, big spending, big regulation, big trade cartels, big foreign commitments and big egos.
There's no worry about a big ego with Ron Paul. He looks like a gynecologist. Actually, he specialized in gynecology out of Duke Medical School. Paul is a breath of fresh air among all the testosterone and hair gel on the Republican ticket. Ron Paul isn't the 9/11 candidate. His website makes him the 4/11 candidate. It's where voters are going for information. He has the greatest number of YouTube hits. It's time for the media to start giving him the airtime he has earned.
Reader Comments