Yes, it’s true. Ron Paul is a nut. He commands a small but loyal, at times almost fanatical following – but that’s all. He will never be the GOP nominee for President and he will never sit in the Oval Office. Let’s put that possibility behind us right at the outset.
First, a qualifier: I like Ron Paul’s stance some things. He is, for the most part, an adherent to the Austrian school of economics, as I am. But as the old saying goes, even a blind hog finds the occasional acorn, and some of Ron Paul’s overall kookiness overcomes any positives he has. Among Paul’s nutty ideas are:
Iran Nukes. Ron Paul thinks we shouldn’t try to discourage Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran, the number-one state sponsor of terrorism, is developing nuclear weapons, and Dr. Paul has no real issue with that. That’s nuts. I grew up and served in the Army during the Cold War, when the NATO and Warsaw Pact alliances had thousands of nukes pointed at each other. There was a certain insanity in all that, but in the end, none of the leaders nor the people of the Warsaw Pact nations and NATO alike wanted to see those nukes used. People on both sides of the Iron Curtain loved their children and wanted them to have a world to grow up in. The same can not be said of Iran’s current leadership.
9/11 Trutherness. Dr. Paul may not believe the 9/11 Troofers lunacy, but he sure as hell does pander to them. Every society contains fringe groups, kooks who find it titillating to believe weird conspiracy theories. 9/11 Troofers believe weird shit, just like Creation Scientists, New World Order/UN conspiracy kooks, UFO fanatics, and Bigfoot sighting nuts believe weird shit. They should not be taken seriously be anyone, much less a putative Presidential candidate.
The NAFTA Superhighway. In 2008, Dr. Paul spoke of a “NAFTA Superhighway” to be built: “a ten-lane colossus the width of several football fields, with freight and rail lines, fiber-optic cable lines, and oil and natural gas pipelines running alongside.” The map he referenced in making that claim showed the existing I-35 and I-29 corridors, and the consortium that produced the map was advocating improvements to existing roads, not new construction.
Border Control. Dr. Paul worries that a fence along the border may be used like the Berlin Wall, to keep Americans in. Pay particular attention to him starting at 48 seconds in:
Dr. Paul won’t be nominated to run for President, so this is all rather academic. He’s a hero to a lot of libertarians, and while I lean libertarian on social issues, I don’t vote Libertarian because a lot of the Libertarian Party stances are just unrealistic. The Libertarian Party leadership also frequently comes off as a bit kooky.
Like Dr. Ron Paul.