In theory I would love to see a Libertarian elected. With exception to the last couple of elections in which I voted mostly Republican I have always voted Libertarian straight down the board (with one guilty exception, I voted for Clinton the 1st time around). Ron Paul, no matter that he is running as a Republican is and always will be a Libertarian. Some of his ideas are pretty far-fetched but in general they are good.
Facts are facts. He won't get nominated, nor will he get elected, but like Ross Perot many of his ideas will find fruition later on. Although it seems like our politicians don't listen, they do, it just takes a while and the losers in the 2008 election (most likely the Republicans) will be listening and scratching their heads wondering what the fuck happened. THAT is the point at which they might start listening and asking questions.
The below are some of Dr. Paul's responses from one of the republican debates that aired. I agree with him 100% that we need to cut spending on the Federal Government level but I also believe that some of the stuff we fund should remain. Completely doing away with the Federal Income Tax is a great idea in principle, but we cannot cut spending enough to completely get rid of it without some other way to bring in income, which is one of the reasons I am behind the Fairtax.
There is a pretty interesting discussion going on at the Fact Checker blog at the Washington Post blogs, which is where I found the link to the above video.
I was very interested in listening to what Mike Huckabee had to say about scrapping the tax cod. I can't imbed it but you can find a link to the video here.
One of the other big issues of the election will be immigration reform. Here's what Dr. Paul has to say about Immigration:
- Physically secure our borders and coastlines. We must do whatever it takes to control entry into our country before we undertake complicated immigration reform proposals.
- Enforce visa rules. Immigration officials must track visa holders and deport anyone who overstays their visa or otherwise violates U.S. law. This is especially important when we recall that a number of 9/11 terrorists had expired visas.
- No amnesty. Estimates suggest that 10 to 20 million people are in our country illegally. That’s a lot of people to reward for breaking our laws.
- No welfare for illegal aliens. Americans have welcomed immigrants who seek opportunity, work hard, and play by the rules. But taxpayers should not pay for illegal immigrants who use hospitals, clinics, schools, roads, and social services.
- End birthright citizenship. As long as illegal immigrants know their children born here will be citizens, the incentive to enter the U.S. illegally will remain strong.
- Pass true immigration reform. The current system is incoherent and unfair. But current reform proposals would allow up to 60 million more immigrants into our country, according to the Heritage Foundation. This is insanity. Legal immigrants from all countries should face the same rules and waiting periods.
This certainly isn't meant to be an ad for Dr. Paul and I am still undecided as to whom I will vote for but both taxes and immigration are two of the important topics that are going to have to be addressed sooner or later.
I don't guess I have a huge point to make here, I have been up far too long and am not even making much sense to myself.
