Friday, May 13, 2011

Ron Paul on Green Hair

First, it was Juan Williams declaring it is the "Age of Ron Paul"

Then Jon Stewart put Ron Paul's truth telling and principle into perspective.

Now, NYT's Michael Shear appears to appreciate Ron Paul's honesty and principled stands.

There's no other presidential candidate that is as instinctively honest and principled as Ron Paul.

Here's a couple of sidebars from my visit with Ron Paul two weeks ago:

When we were riding over to the Washoe County Republican Party breakfast, somehow the topic of people dying their hair green came up and almost simultaneously a comment about San Francisco. Being as politically incorrect as ever, I managed to combine the two comments by saying, "The problem with San Francisco is that there are too many people walking around with green hair." Dr. Paul immediately responded to this in a small scolding. "Now, as long as people aren't interfering in the lives of others, it shouldn't be a problem what color their hair is," he said to me, immediately.

Again in the car, this time heading to the airport, I asked him what he said to those who were hardcore Rothbardians and didn't vote. He said that Rothbard loved politics and was always involved. He mentioned that Rothbard always followed his career and even at one time endorsed Pat Buchanan for president. He then added, "But Rothbard probably didn't vote himself."

How's that for clear, unvarnished, truth? This isn't Kris Kringle telling Macy's shoppers that the right gift might be across the street at Gimbel's. This is Kris Kringle telling shopper's, "Well, maybe you don't need to shop as much this year, to start with."

I find it hard to think of another candidate who without any prompting would so easily bring up that a major influence on his thinking never voted---on principled reasons!

Ron Paul clearly believes the truth will ultimately out and that there is no good reason to deny it in the interim. Further, he has his principles which he is not going to change for even one vote, as Jon Stewart very accurately recognized in his skit.

It appears Williams, Stewart and Shear are starting to get Ron Paul. Especially Williams, since his understanding seems to go beyond just Ron Paul's honesty and principles, and includes the understanding that Dr. Paul has something very important to say, and that the problems Dr. Paul has been warning about for years, are the problems that are facing us today.

If truth, principle and wisdom actually catch on as something voters start to look for in a presidential candidate, than Williams, Stewart and Shear won't be the only ones taking a deep look at Ron Paul. Indeed, the recent CNN poll indicating that Ron Paul would do best head-to-head against President Obama suggests that perhaps that is what voters are starting to look at and that they understand that Ron Paul really is different than any other presidential candidate.

In other words, Williams, Stewart and Shear may be just ahead of the pack of pundits, and that many more will start to notice this very unique man that is running for president, Ron Paul.

---
Robert Wenzel is Editor & Publisher of EconomicPolicyJournal.com and author of The Fed Flunks: My Speech at the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

Buy "The Fed Flunks" Now:


13 comments:

  1. Good -- but that Rasmussen poll is a year old.

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  2. ...what rasmussen poll? did i miss something? he links to a 5/5/11 CNN poll

    The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey's Thursday release comes hours before the first Republican presidential debate of the 2012 election cycle ... Who does best against Obama? Paul. The congressman from Texas, who also ran as a libertarian candidate for president in 1988 and who is well liked by many in the tea party movement, trails the president by only seven points (52 to 45 percent) in a hypothetical general election showdown.

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  3. @Nathan: Wenzel isn't referring to the Rasmussen poll.
    He's referring to a recent CNN poll. Details here:

    http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/05/cnn-poll-still-no-front-runner-in-the-battle-for-the-gop-nomination/

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  4. @ Nathan,

    What are you talking about? He referenced a CNN poll not a Rasmussen poll. The Rasmussen Poll has Paul @ 41% to Obama's 42%

    CNN's poll is 52% for Obama to Pauls 45%.

    Two major polls that give Ron Paul a clear shot to win.

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  5. Corrected, it's a recent CNN Poll.

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  6. Hey guys, Nathan was correct. I intially referenced Rasmussen and corrected it.

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  7. Wow, lots of commenters at NYT seem to think that only omnipotent government can possibly provide insurance, equating the election of Ron Paul to a lack of any safety net.

    Safety, ya, that's what the federal govt has been providing us. Safety from hurricanes, plane-jackings, and dollar-fluctuation. Thanks.

    Others find his honesty too old-fashioned... folksy Paul doesn't advocate killing and theft... can we really trust the presidency to someone like that?

    And my all time favorite: this 15-term congressman is 'unelectable'. Oh, my sides... please stop?

    Thanks for another great article, Robert.

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  8. I love Ron Paul but whenever I read the comments about him left by readers at the NY Times, HuffPo, Salon and other, non-libertarian sites, I despair over being vastly outnumbered by people of low intelligence and lower morals.

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  9. I'd say that Ron Paul's biggest obstacle is being affiliated with the Republican party. Most people do not delve deeply into the policies of candidates, but just base their decisions on stereotypes of political parties. I often hear people lumping Ron Paul in with the likes of Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee, as just another crazy bible-thumping conservative.

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  10. Thanks for the insight. I thought for a moment you were referring to the 1948 anti-war movie called "The Boy with the Green Hair", and were associating Ron Paul with the main charactor in the film. A young boy's hair mysteriously turns green one day, and he is treated as an odd duck by society.The boy uses the attention to preach peace to a world sick or war after enduring WW2.

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  11. There are usually a few hateful comments against Ron Paul on mainstream media sites implying that he is anti-Semitic or not a real Christian because he does not want to persecute Muslims. The commenters usually seem very angry that the charges do not stick, given Ron Paul's unfailing gentlemanly manner. If you support Ron Paul, you might very well be called "anti-Semitic". Watch how Ron Paul handled that smear by Ben Stein (see YouTube). NEVER back down, NEVER DENY, but ALWAYS attack the person who made the vicious smear. Demand an apology; do not allow the conversation to continue until you get one.

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  12. Obama will win and gun-control will be the top item on his agenda. The pen is not mightier than the sword, though that is something the sword carriers would like the writers to believe.

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