[meatwadttm]

Okay, 2k8 election time is nearing. Think about it closely, who are the 2 people that come to mind?

Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama. Now why are they the 2 most popular, because this is a first. First woman and First African American. But do we want to risk America's already unstable state in the hands of someone trying to break new grounds? Or do we want to elect someone to straighten out america?

Ron Paul 2008 — Hope for America
About Ron Paul

Congressman Ron Paul is the leading advocate for freedom in our nation’s capital. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Dr. Paul tirelessly works for limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies. He is known among his congressional colleagues and his constituents for his consistent voting record. Dr. Paul never votes for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution.In the words of former Treasury Secretary William Simon, Dr. Paul is the “one exception to the Gang of 535” on Capitol Hill.

Ron Paul was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Gettysburg College and the Duke University School of Medicine, before proudly serving as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force during the 1960s. He and his wife Carol moved to Texas in 1968, where he began his medical practice in Brazoria County. As a specialist in obstetrics/gynecology, Dr. Paul has delivered more than 4,000 babies. He and Carol, who reside in Lake Jackson, Texas, are the proud parents of five children and have 17 grandchildren.

While serving in Congress during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Dr. Paul’s limited-government ideals were not popular in Washington. In 1976, he was one of only four Republican congressmen to endorse Ronald Reagan for president.

During that time, Congressman Paul served on the House Banking committee, where he was a strong advocate for sound monetary policy and an outspoken critic of the Federal Reserve’s inflationary measures. He was an unwavering advocate of pro-life and pro-family values. Dr. Paul consistently voted to lower or abolish federal taxes, spending and regulation, and used his House seat to actively promote the return of government to its proper constitutional levels. In 1984, he voluntarily relinquished his House seat and returned to his medical practice.

Dr. Paul returned to Congress in 1997 to represent the 14th congressional district of Texas. He presently serves on the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. He continues to advocate a dramatic reduction in the size of the federal government and a return to constitutional principles.

Congressman Paul’s consistent voting record prompted one of his congressional colleagues to say, “Ron Paul personifies the Founding Fathers’ ideal of the citizen-statesman. He makes it clear that his principles will never be compromised, and they never are.” Another colleague observed, “There are few people in public life who, through thick and thin, rain or shine, stick to their principles. Ron Paul is one of those few.”

Brief Overview of Congressman Paul’s Record:

He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.

He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

Congressman Paul introduces numerous pieces of substantive legislation each year, probably more than any single member of Congress.

The Issues:
Ron Paul 2008 › Issues

Debt and Taxes
Working Americans like lower taxes. So do I. Lower taxes benefit all of us, creating jobs and allowing us to make more decisions for ourselves about our lives.

Whether a tax cut reduces a single mother’s payroll taxes by $40 a month or allows a business owner to save thousands in capital gains taxes and hire more employees, that tax cut is a good thing. Lower taxes allow more spending, saving, and investing which helps the economy — that means all of us.

Real conservatives have always supported low taxes and low spending.

But today, too many politicians and lobbyists are spending America into ruin. We are nine trillion dollars in debt as a nation. Our mounting government debt endangers the financial future of our children and grandchildren. If we don’t cut spending now, higher taxes and economic disaster will be in their future — and yours.

In addition, the Federal Reserve, our central bank, fosters runaway debt by increasing the money supply — making each dollar in your pocket worth less. The Fed is a private bank run by unelected officials who are not required to be open or accountable to “we the people.”

Worse, our economy and our very independence as a nation is increasingly in the hands of foreign governments such as China and Saudi Arabia, because their central banks also finance our runaway spending.

We cannot continue to allow private banks, wasteful agencies, lobbyists, corporations on welfare, and governments collecting foreign aid to dictate the size of our ballooning budget. We need a new method to prioritize our spending. It’s called the Constitution of the United States.

American Independence and Sovereignty
So called free trade deals and world governmental organizations like the International Criminal Court (ICC), NAFTA, GATT, WTO, and CAFTA are a threat to our independence as a nation. They transfer power from our government to unelected foreign elites.

The ICC wants to try our soldiers as war criminals. Both the WTO and CAFTA could force Americans to get a doctor’s prescription to take herbs and vitamins. Alternative treatments could be banned.

The WTO has forced Congress to change our laws, yet we still face trade wars. Today, France is threatening to have U.S. goods taxed throughout Europe. If anything, the WTO makes trade relations worse by giving foreign competitors a new way to attack U.S. jobs.

NAFTA’s superhighway is just one part of a plan to erase the borders between the U.S. and Mexico, called the North American Union. This spawn of powerful special interests, would create a single nation out of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, with a new unelected bureaucracy and money system. Forget about controlling immigration under this scheme.

And a free America, with limited, constitutional government, would be gone forever.

Let’s not forget the UN. It wants to impose a direct tax on us. I successfully fought this move in Congress last year, but if we are going to stop ongoing attempts of this world government body to tax us, we will need leadership from the White House.

We must withdraw from any organizations and trade deals that infringe upon the freedom and independence of the United States of America.

[meatwadttm]

War and Foreign Policy
The war in Iraq was sold to us with false information. The area is more dangerous now than when we entered it. We destroyed a regime hated by our direct enemies, the jihadists, and created thousands of new recruits for them. This war has cost more than 3,000 American lives, thousands of seriously wounded, and hundreds of billions of dollars. We must have new leadership in the White House to ensure this never happens again.

Both Jefferson and Washington warned us about entangling ourselves in the affairs of other nations. Today, we have troops in 130 countries. We are spread so thin that we have too few troops defending America. And now, there are new calls for a draft of our young men and women.

We can continue to fund and fight no-win police actions around the globe, or we can refocus on securing America and bring the troops home. No war should ever be fought without a declaration of war voted upon by the Congress, as required by the Constitution.

Under no circumstances should the U.S. again go to war as the result of a resolution that comes from an unelected, foreign body, such as the United Nations.

Too often we give foreign aid and intervene on behalf of governments that are despised. Then, we become despised. Too often we have supported those who turn on us, like the Kosovars who aid Islamic terrorists, or the Afghan jihads themselves, and their friend Osama bin Laden. We armed and trained them, and now we’re paying the price.

At the same time, we must not isolate ourselves. The generosity of the American people has been felt around the globe. Many have thanked God for it, in many languages. Let us have a strong America, conducting open trade, travel, communication, and diplomacy with other nations.

Back to issues main page ›

LIFE AND LIBERTY
The right of an innocent, unborn child to life is at the heart of the American ideals of liberty. My professional and legislative record demonstrates my strong commitment to this pro-life principle.

In 40 years of medical practice, I never once considered performing an abortion, nor did I ever find abortion necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman.

In Congress, I have authored legislation that seeks to define life as beginning at conception, HR 1094.

I am also the prime sponsor of HR 300, which would negate the effect of Roe v Wade by removing the ability of federal courts to interfere with state legislation to protect life. This is a practical, direct approach to ending federal court tyranny which threatens our constitutional republic and has caused the deaths of 45 million of the unborn.

I have also authored HR 1095, which prevents federal funds to be used for so-called “population control.”

Many talk about being pro-life. I have taken direct action to restore protection for the unborn.

As an OB/GYN doctor, I’ve delivered over 4,000 babies. That experience has made me an unshakable foe of abortion. Many of you may have read my book, Challenge To Liberty, which champions the idea that there cannot be liberty in a society unless the rights of all innocents are protected. Much can be understood about the civility of a society in observing its regard for the dignity of human life.

Border Security and Immigration Reform
The talk must stop. We must secure our borders now. A nation without secure borders is no nation at all. It makes no sense to fight terrorists abroad when our own front door is left unlocked. This is my six point plan:

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.
Back to issues main page ›

Privacy and Personal Liberty
The biggest threat to your privacy is the government. We must drastically limit the ability of government to collect and store data regarding citizens’ personal matters.

We must stop the move toward a national ID card system. All states are preparing to issue new driver’s licenses embedded with “standard identifier” data — a national ID. A national ID with new tracking technologies means we’re heading into an Orwellian world of no privacy. I voted against the Real ID Act in March of 2005.

To date, the privacy focus has been on identity theft. It was Congress that created this danger by mandating use of the standard identifier (currently your SSN) in the private sector. For example, banks use SSNs as customer account identifiers because the government requires it.

We must also protect medical privacy. Right now, you’re vulnerable. Under so-called “medical privacy protection” rules, insurance companies and other entities have access to your personal medical information.

Financial privacy? Right now depositing $10,000 or more in cash in your local bank account will generate a federally-mandated report to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network at the United States Department of the Treasury.

And then there’s the so-called Patriot Act. As originally proposed, it:

Expanded the federal government's ability to use wiretaps without judicial oversight;
Allowed nationwide search warrants non-specific to any given location, nor subject to any local judicial oversight;
Made it far easier for the government to monitor private internet usage;
Authorized “sneak and peek” warrants enabling federal authorities to search a person’s home, office, or personal property without that person’s knowledge; and
Required libraries and bookstores to turn over records of books read by their patrons.
I have fought this fight for many years. I sponsored a bill to overturn the Patriot Act and have won some victories, but today the threat to your liberty and privacy is very real. We need leadership at the top that will prevent Washington from centralizing power and private data about our lives.

Property Rights and Eminent Domain
We must stop special interests from violating property rights and literally driving families from their homes, farms and ranches.

Today, we face a new threat of widespread eminent domain actions as a result of powerful interests who want to build a NAFTA superhighway through the United States from Mexico to Canada.

We also face another danger in regulatory takings: Through excess regulation, governments deprive property owners of significant value and use of their properties — all without paying “just compensation.”

Property rights are the foundation of all rights in a free society. Without the right to own a printing press, for example, freedom of the press becomes meaningless. The next president must get federal agencies out of these schemes to deny property owners their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property.

More Issues:

Health: Ron Paul 2008 › Issues › Health Freedom
Home Schooling: Ron Paul 2008 › Issues › Home Schooling

He's interested in protecting our constitutional rights and stabilizing our country, not breaking new grounds. Vote Ron Paul 2008!

[ComradeMolyneux]

You see why we ban people? ****ing nyy...

[meatwadttm]

hmm, how have I broken the rules, but if you wanna live in a ****ed up country, then go ahead, be my guest, but I'm gonna actually try to do something about it.

[Flash LCD]

Yeah.

Ron Paul is the ****.

But the free state project is a much more realistic objective for achieving any sort of true freedom in our lifetime.

[Jinjiro]

Well Obama doesn't seem too terrible from what I've read. I like him a lot better than Hillary. Perhaps not my first choice, but it wouldn't be awful if he got elected.

I've read & heard about Ron Paul before, and where my caution lies is that all that information (and all the info I know about him) comes from his website. I'd like to hear some 3rd party info about him.

It's hard to really trust any candidate though.

-Jin

[sNoW PIrAnHa]

"I oppose legislation that increases the FDA‘s legal powers. FDA has consistently failed to protect the public from dangerous drugs, genetically modified foods, dangerous pesticides and other chemicals in the food supply. Meanwhile they waste public funds attacking safe, healthy foods and dietary supplements"

Thats terrible, the FDA needs more funding, more power, and more people. They've been understaffed and spread thin for so long (like our troops). They don't have enough power, they can't control all the tons of food that this country is producing. They need to be reorganized and the penalties against health violations need to be increased so that companies will actually give a **** when they get fines.

[TonyD]

Originally Posted by Jinjiro

It's hard to really trust any candidate though.

Isn't that the truth. I can't see myself voting for any of the Democrats or any of the leading Repulicans. I have a feeling that I'm not going to vote (and I'll briefly explain why), but we have a year, so we'll see.

From a website I frequent:

May 7. The 2008 presidential race is getting interesting! Basically, the framing of the whole discourse gets deeper in bull**** year after year, until all it takes is one candidate who stands up and talks straight, and the internet goes wild and the dominant media have to suppress it. This happened to some extent with Nader in 2000 and Dean in 2004. This year the Democrat to watch is Mike Gravel (pronounced gravEL), who is apparently the only Democrat -- the only Democrat -- to pledge not to start a nuclear war, or in propaganda-talk, "preemptively use nuclear weapons," or in extreme propaganda-talk, "leave all options on the table with Iran."

And the Republican to watch is Ron Paul. You might have seen that ABC news put up a debate poll that listed every candidate except Paul, and when they were swamped with complaints, they added Paul and he blew the other candidates away. He's pretty bad on the issues, but I would probably vote for him over the leading Democrats just because he owes nothing to the ruling powers. In reality, I expect not to vote but to endorse the bat**** crazy Rudolph Giuliani over Hillary Clinton, so he can finish Bush's job of destroying the American Empire and making the right look bad.

With some divergence, I basically agree with this.

I'm not extremely familiar with Mike Gravel, but I've seen some. He's an interesting guy, and doesn't seem like a terrible candidate. Unfortunately, though, he just didn't strike me as a strong leader. Maybe it's the "crotchety old man" or that I think he's beginning to lose his mind with age, but I just can't see him being a great leader—and I emphasize that word, since it's something I don't think we've had in a very long time.

Paul, on the other hand, strikes me as a very competent guy up to the task. He seems to approach things in a reasonable, studied manner, and he's a lot less emotional in the way he handles himself. The line that I think I agree with most from the above quote is "He's pretty bad on the issues, but I would probably vote for him over the leading Democrats just because he owes nothing to the ruling powers." I didn't really know what "he's bad on the issues" meant at first, and couldn't find much else about it. But recently at one of the conventions that I caught on TV (by chance) he started out with a 3-5 minute rally against abortion. I found out later that he at one point wanted to "leave it to the states" (a stance that seems fitting of him), but I can't tell if he's changed his mind. It's not that the abortion "issue" is something I feel terribly strongly about, but a 5 minute rant isn't something I can get behind. He also has 5 kids or some crazy ****.

That doesn't change the fact that he's the best candidate in many respects, though. The Republican party is supposedly all about "small" or "limited government," and he's the only one that seems to show that sentiment. Being that the "issues" are often superficial and trite, in many ways I think he's the best guy, even if that smaller government isn't in the direction I'd wish. I don't think he will win the presidency, though.

Originally Posted by sNoW PIrAnHa

"I oppose legislation that increases the FDA‘s legal powers. FDA has consistently failed to protect the public from dangerous drugs, genetically modified foods, dangerous pesticides and other chemicals in the food supply. Meanwhile they waste public funds attacking safe, healthy foods and dietary supplements"

Thats terrible, the FDA needs more funding, more power, and more people. They've been understaffed and spread thin for so long (like our troops). They don't have enough power, they can't control all the tons of food that this country is producing. They need to be reorganized and the penalties against health violations need to be increased so that companies will actually give a **** when they get fines.

I don't think most federal agencies actually care. I think most of them are useless.

A book I just read had a bunch of cases that had documented evidence for the EPA simply "not caring." They're basically an agency that's there to make it look like we're doing something, when really, they're just ineffective. I say get rid of them all because it doesn't matter what you do with them, they're not going to make a difference.

[Pierced]

I say its all rigged, "they" will put whoever they want in office. :kindadodgy:

[Spudchucker]

Originally Posted by sNoW PIrAnHa

Thats terrible, the FDA needs more funding, more power, and more people. They've been understaffed and spread thin for so long (like our troops). They don't have enough power, they can't control all the tons of food that this country is producing. They need to be reorganized and the penalties against health violations need to be increased so that companies will actually give a **** when they get fines.

he is againts making laws for everything. the FDA= a whole bunch of laws

FYI, a positive side affect of this is that he wants to legalize it

[Gabriot]

Originally Posted by sNoW PIrAnHa

"I oppose legislation that increases the FDA‘s legal powers. FDA has consistently failed to protect the public from dangerous drugs, genetically modified foods, dangerous pesticides and other chemicals in the food supply. Meanwhile they waste public funds attacking safe, healthy foods and dietary supplements"

Thats terrible, the FDA needs more funding, more power, and more people. They've been understaffed and spread thin for so long (like our troops). They don't have enough power, they can't control all the tons of food that this country is producing. They need to be reorganized and the penalties against health violations need to be increased so that companies will actually give a **** when they get fines.

I really hope you're being sarcastic

[meatwadttm]

Originally Posted by Pierced

I say its all rigged, "they" will put whoever they want in office. :kindadodgy:

It is rigged, the electoral college is the most ****ed up system ever. They are not required to vote in accordinance with the popular vote, which is completely screwed up. HOpefully the new voting technology that we have will allow us to have a direct popular vote of the president and do away with the electoral college all together. It's a screwed up system, and I'm completely against it.

[Lord Headley]

Your vote doesn't count for anything. If you think the people of this country pick their leaders, then you must also believe in Santa. Take a stand America is right, take a stand and take back your goverment.

- Brian

[big_balla]

Ron Paul.. Lol. He won't even get the republican candidacy.

Fail.

And why are you worried about both Obama and Clinton? They can't both become president. But the wench won't get elected, guaranteed.

[riotpolice]

i dont like hillary neither do i like bill clinton,ill go nuts if she gets elected