Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Kuros]

[Fox]

[Kuros]

[Harpeau]

Though I don't agree with all of his views, I think Ron Paul is the best hope for America.

[Ineverlie&I'malwaysri]

[Ya-ta Boy]

This is a really good thread.

I sympathize with jrwhite82. I think he does what most voters do: list the issues most important to him, and then weigh them, and try to match which candidate comes closest to his views.

Some comments:

1. Ron Paul gets just as much attention as he deserves. As someone said, 'His support is a mile deep and an inch wide.' His supporters are extremely dedicated, but in election after election, they have failed--and failed BIG TIME--in expanding beyond a small coterie. I submit that it is because their ideas are extremely radical; you may attribute it to the Venusian lizards' conspiracy to keep him out of power if you wish. I prefer real-world explanations. He does well in straw poll after straw poll (because his team is good at mobilizing a small group to show up), but in election after election, he fails to attract support outside that group. When this happens, you can always blame it on the media; you can always blame it on the messenger; god forbid that you should blame it on the message itself.

He will get mainstream media attention when/if he breaks out of that tiny minority of fervent supporters. So far, he has failed to do so.

2. jrwhite82's interest as far as culture war issues goes, seem to coincide with both Paul and the Democrats. Libertarians are, in my view, johnny-come-lately's to the socially liberal view. Let people do pretty much what they want to do. It is pretty much beyond debate that the socially progressive party of the last century is the Democratic Party. (There used to be a progressive wing of the Republican Party, but it has been ostracized, strangled, suffocated, crushed...by their own party.)

3. As a liberal, I find it highly offensive of Ron Paul and the other conservatives to claim to base everything on the Constitution. This has been a contentious issue since the days of John Marshall. What it comes down to is a debate between the Federalists who wanted a strong national government, and the Anti-Federalists who wanted a very weak national government. Neither Ron Paul, nor anyone else, has the definitive interpretation of the Constitution. It is divisive, even destructive, to claim otherwise. He does not have a corner on patriotism and love of country. In fact, he is asserting the minority view when he says his view is the only correct one. I agree with Kuros that RP understands the Constitution better than most Republicans these days, but that is more or less saying that Stalin was a lot nicer guy than Mao.

4. I generally agree with Fox on most points, but I think he is making a serious mistake on the idea of 'third parties'. Whether intended by the Founders or not (and I think it wasn't intended), our system forces elections into a two-party system except when social tensions are so great that things break down. There is no such thing as a 'third party' solution. That is a recipe for throwing elections into the House of Representatives...and extreme danger. For good or ill, our system forces compromises to be made within each party, then between the parties in Congress.
It is nonsense that there is no difference between our two parties. It is nonsense that it doesn't matter who wins an election. If anyone can look at the Election of '00 and think that we would be in the same place we are had Gore won, then there is no use continuing the conversation.

5. Historically, the Democrats have offered, passed, and defended the social safety net. Historically, the Republicans have tried to destroy the social safety net while defending the privileges of the already wealthy. When I was a kid, the Republicans tried to block progress in civil rights. Today, Republicans want to destroy the public education system. Today, Republicans reject a scientific world view. (It's all a hoax!)

[Ineverlie&I'malwaysri]

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Ineverlie&I'malwaysri]

And that definitive interpretation can be wrong and can change over time. So?

The Supreme Court has the last word - until they decide to reverse themselves.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[bucheon bum]