11/21/07
OK, with the caveat that this is not a fully-formed thought, but
rather a starting point for forming one, I wish to throw out the
following heretical proposition for your discussion in the comments
section: As desirable as a Ron Paul presidency would be in principle,
it has the potential to be a disaster in practice.
Here's what I mean.
Isn't the economic system so thoroughly broken down that it will
require massive pain before the economy is restored to health? And
wouldn't a President Paul take the brunt of the blame for that pain?
Is it not likely that Paul's programs would be so thoroughly
compromised, corrupted, and distorted by the political process that
they would lead to potentially disastrous results, giving the
principles of liberty a bad name for generations to come? Libertarians
don't want to be put in the position of old-line communists who plead,
"But it's never really been tried."
As I say, I haven't thought this out all the way. And I've seen
Paul say a few things that indicate he's been thinking about this
himself — ways of effecting a seamless transition. Still, as the
fundraising and polling figures get better and better, it's something
perhaps more of us should think about.
So… Fire away in the comments area. In the meantime, I wish all of our readers a happy Thanksgiving.
Dave Gonigam
Treading a fine line between contrarian thinking and conspiracy theory, Dave Gonigam explores the nexus of finance, politics, and the media for Agora Financial's 5 Minute Forecast. He joined kindred spirits at Agora Financial in 2007 after a 20-year career as an Emmy award-winning writer, producer, and manager in local TV newsrooms nationwide.
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oh, well
ya can’y have it both ways
sooner or later, the medicine must be dosed
Economic hardship we can live with. Anyone who works for a living in the midwest is used to making do. But what we can no longer live with is the millions of surveillance cameras, the hundreds of thousands of cops better armed than the citizens and immunity from justice for thier wrongdoing. We need a peaceful revolution to prevent the need for the horrible alternative.
The line in the sand.
One side, a leader. The other side, politicians.
Lead, follow or get out of the way.
You are right. You haven’t thought this out all the way. If we don’t get back to a constitutional government NOW the economy will never be restored to health. The disaster is already here. We have the disease. One more generation and it will be incurable. The good doctor is the only one offering a cure. It is up to us to take the medicine in 2008 on behalf of the next generation.
I look at it this way: What the USA needs right now is someone with the tenacity of a Volcker when he had the guts to take interest rates up to 18% to save the country from itself. I see Ron Paul as someone with the tenacity to make a difference in the here and now and the honesty to let people know the truth even if causes a lot of grief in the short term. He will be like a Reagan who reminded us what makes our country great without the huge deficit spending that Reagan allowed. It will not be easy but Ron Paul, I believe, can pull it off. Besides, if we elect one of the other big spenders or warmongers as President our country will head off into the abyss of hyperinflation and permanent decline.
He can’t do much without congress. Despite Bush/Cheney’s attempts, there’re still checks and balances within the system. Of course the guy doesn’t believe in the right to privacy or seperation of church and state, so I’m not sure how great a candidate he is anyway.
About the blame for administrating the medicine to this country, and to all of us by the way, I’m not worry; Ron Paul knows very well what will follow, and deffinitely doesn’t expect to see his statue build up durring his life on Capitol Hill. If ( and hopping) will be our next President and if he will succeed on his endeavor, he will go in History as ” The President who had give back to Americans their Constitution”. But History is 20 – 25 years ago. What’s earlyer than that is ” yesterday “. And people from “yesterday” always was wrong, beeing them Paul Volker, Ronald Reagan or whoever.Ron Paul knows that and I think this will not gonn’a stop him.
What I’m really affraid of, is, after he will become our next President and start to cut in live flesh, begginning whith Federal Reserve as he already prommissed,the fat cats who own the damn Federal Reserve, and more than three quarters of then are not even Americans, will retaliate. And then, I think, an assasination will be in the cards…
Remember JFK and Dallas?…
Ron Paul is our last chance to save the Republic. It is our duty to take the pain now. For it will not matter for our children or grandchildren.
Agree on all points.
The bigger sin is to not try at all.
Ron Paul ain’t/won’t be perfect, but we can at least say we tried.
However, the foxes control the henhouse, Ron Paul’s campaign will not result in victory, the rulers will perform outright fraud (under the guise of “homeland security”) before they will allow such change.
I also agree with the Feds retaliation, but it seems this is a better informed (and armed) hoi polloi then back in the 1960′s will pay back any infraction on our attempts to regain sovereignty with extreme prejudice.
Either way, I think the Fed-eqsue class of people have crossed the Rubicon with the Americans and the majority of the world at large. They know their time is short and they are being found out.
Not to be a party pooper, but it’s moot – he’s not only not going to win, he’s not even likely to place high enough to be in the over-exclusive end-debates. Surely you all can see that coming already?
Even if he did have enough support, you think they wouldn’t just lie, in order to keep their establishment folks unchallenged?
Paul won’t take the blame for a massive implosion of the US economy. It will happen before we even vote. Paul is the right man to clean up the mess by restructuring the monetary system and forcing the stockmarket’s losers to swallow their own greed.
“If she dies, she dies.”
Like a free lottery ticket, it’s a risk well worth taking.
As most here already see clearly, the ‘economy’ is AT BEST a dead man walking.
Likewise, a former Republic which doesn’t even have enough combined intellect left to even take one last shot at liberty isn’t worth saving.
Oh boy, do I agree with this remark. So much so that in 2004 when Kerry was the obvious winner of the vote he refused to contest the outcome because no one in their right mind wanted to follow Herr Bush into office. No matter what you do after BushCo leaves the White House you’re doomed!
I think the same thing when the honorable Vermonter was running a successful campaign and realized “Christ! I could win this thing!” and he went a little outof control in public thereby scuttling his chances of being the candidate.
Take a look at those running today. I really don’t think any of them are worthy of my vote and certainly don’t think any of them are stupid enough to follow Bush into office considering he has a scrotched earth policy in place and runnning as we speak (type).
If Mr. Paul wants to be in the White House I suspect that he will have to wait until the US economy completely fails and the lumpen investorate exercises their 2nd Amendment Rights and marches on DC to take back the gov’t. I just hope they have enough street lamps along Penn. Avenue to string up these guys.
It all fits together like pieces of the puzzle. Unfortunatley, the outcome is cast in stone. Its the final phase of a process that began in 1913, a bad year for liberty. For 150 years prior, prices where stable. The Fed was born, the IRS created to eat the Fed’s offspring. Then end of the gold standard by FDR and Nixon. Since then its been inflation, inflation, inflation and stagnant wages. The CFR sits back and directs the whole scheme.
Next comes uncontrolled immigration. NExt comes the SPP. All that is needed is one final crisis to herd all the sheeple towards a North American Union, the only way out (they’ll be told) of the economic chaos of this the 21st century depression. The NAU and the Amero (see, the Frederal Reserve Note is dead). Bush, like Wilson, is a puppet. They just follow orders from the CFR.
Its New World Order time people, and you will get your 10 minutes of hate. Ron Paul is the answer, but the answer 20 years ago.
So if you haven’t got your four G’s in place, you had better hurry. You see, our parents (parents of the baby boom) where the last great generation. Ours will not be able to withstand the coming hardships. We’ve squandered everything they fought and died for, the strongest economy in the world post WWII. Now its all gone, the jobs (unless you work for government or get from the same) and the middle class (America’s bed rock) is going to get obliterated.
The ruling elites will survive, its been their game ever since 1913.
Got ground, guns, gold and grain?
Dr. Paul will never sit as president because his views threaten the power of the ruling class. They’ll steal the election or kill him first; when we protest they’ll jail or kill us. Only force of arms could install president Paul and in that case economic hardship will be the least of our worries.
I guess it is a relief to know that some of you guys are more paranoid than me.
However have any of you considered what would happen in case he did win–? Four years of pain for the fat cats would be followed by more than four years of backlash by “the other side”. Even if Paul managed to get rid of all the boondoggles, what would they be replaced by? The mind shudders…
Of course I will still continue to support him, honor demands no less…
In the last ten years, the Clinton and Bush administrations have done enough damage to the goodwill of the good old USA among my clients, Asians and US expatriates alike that many of them voted with their feet, giving up green cards and US passports in drove. Personally, it made my US international tax practice dwindled. For those who gave up their US legal residency before June 2004, they should be considered the luckiest one. By finding out there is Ron Paul in the picture, I hope I can convince my clients to hold off their decisions and hope for the best.