Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Ron Paul: Occupy Movement is ‘Very Good, and Very Risky’


Ron Paul said Tuesday that he had mixed feelings about the Occupy Wall Street movement.
“I think it’s both very good, and very risky,” he said in an interview with The Des Moines Register. “I think there are a few that attend these rallies that actually want more government — they want to just tax people more and believe if we just taxed the 1 percent, it could solve all the problems.
“That, to me, is a risky idea.” Paul continued. “But I think that the majority of them think government is the problem and taxes are too high and they know that the Federal Reserve plays a role in this, which, of course, is something I agree with.”

11 comments:

  1. Clever little magic trick he's pulling. Paul supports OWS because most protesters want less government. He must know that's not what most are really calling for, but this way he gets to support OWS *and* claim that he's a populist.

    ... but I doubt he's actually fooling anyone.

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  2. That's a politically maneuver, as he is targeting some potential left-wing voters to see the light-side.

    He knows that many of his current supporters came from the left after being disenchanted with Democratic warmongers.

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  3. Gee-

    Paul knows that most of the protesters are misguided socialists who don't know shit about economics. He must believe that they are young enough, passionate enough, and INTELLIGENT enough to see through the bullshit "education" they have to see that "more government regulation" is just going to make it worse. He knows that if he can shape the sentiment, and help them understand that the Wall St/FED/DC nexus is the REAL enemy then they will be a powerful force in his campaign.

    None of the other candidates- 0bama especially- can give them concrete, actionable, sensible ideas for actually changing the corrupt system.

    If he can play this right, and convert the #OWS crowd to a libertarian/populist perspective then he will win the presidency. It's a gamble, but he has the high cards and he knows the other players have no hand.

    It's a brilliant move, actually, and I look forward to his next move!

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  4. My impression of OWS is that , like most Americans , they know "something" is wrong. Many at OWS just arent well informed enough to have concrete understanding of what.

    These people need to be informed and instructed on what the actual causes of our economic woes are and thereby become something that those that have received Austrian instruction can support.

    I went to OWS San Francisco a few weeks ago with some signs , a few friends and I had made , and spoke with one gentleman in particular that was yelling ,"capitalism is evil." I spoke at length with him and explained the differences between crony capitalism / corporatism / fascism and true free market capitalism.

    It was worthwhile and I recommend those that have some spare time to do the same.

    The ignorant need to be instructed if we are to have any chance of a return to fiscal / economic sanity.

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  5. I think this tactic is a colossal failure. He exerted lately a tremendous influence on the GOP and even among some voters that were not traditionally inclined to take him seriously. His agenda, moreover, got a lot of steam among the right-wingers, a thing unimaginable just two years before.

    I am afraid that he is only going to compromise his chances with the "conservative" voters by this pandering to those crazy commies, without gaining any support from them (they support Che Guevara, Mao, North Korean regime, big government, taxes and regulations, not free markets, and Paul perfectly knows that).

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  6. Building "coalitions"...focusing on what the commonalities are and ignoring the differences. Ron Paul is a true uniter.

    I think he's gotta a great shot running 3rd party if he can overcome the local ballot issues and weasel into some presidential debates somehow...but those are two difficult tasks. The GOP is serving it's purpose for now.

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  7. I love Ron, but I don't think he's employing a savvy strategy to woo the indolent youth who gravitate to OWS. The idea of building a coalition comprised equally of those who want to dismantle 80% of the state and those who want the state to takeover 80% of the economy, isn't slick, savvy or smart. It's idiotic, a bit like the EU. Ron's just naive and a bit confused. If he wants to broaden his coalition, he should condemn these hooligans and their socialist puppet masters very clearly. That would draw the old school, mainstream law & order Republicans with whom he could actually work in the event of a 3rd party run.

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  8. I agree with Ivan. I have tried to see the good in this movement and what I see is people that want is to substitute one form of evil with another. They will no more support Paul then they would Romney. They want to use government the way the crony capitalist do to enrich themselves.

    In short, they want free shit and want government to give it to them, while Paul wants to give them the freedom to work for shit and prevent government from taking it from them. Applying the second law of thermodynamics, the free shit wins.

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  9. I don't think it's the actual OWS he's talking to. It's the gazillions of young disaffected Dem voters who kinda SYMPATHIZE with OWS.
    It's a "I feel your pain" strategy ala Clinton.
    BTW, Bill Clinton is a brilliant campaigner. Too bad he's also an asshole.

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  10. Richard --

    "If he can play this right, and convert the #OWS crowd to a libertarian/populist perspective then he will win the presidency."

    I really wish that he had the speaking ability to accomplish such a monumental task, but I don't think that he does. That said, Adam Kokesh (via Youtube) interviewed at least one socialist who supports Ron Paul, so all hope is not lost.

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  11. There's no crass political maneuver here by Paul. He's just stating what he thinks the movement is composed of. He doesn't do "calculations". He's an Austrian after all!

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