Do you know what a preface is? A prototype? The Articles were meant to be the framework for the government of a nation. The philosophy of government that generated them was proven to be unworkable even thought the people who were responsible for them thought that they would work and produce a viable nation. The political philosophy espoused by you and the other Paulistas are close to them and won’t work in the 21st century any better than the articles did in the 18th century. I know it’s a difficult concept for the Followers of Paul to comprehend but this is in fact the 21st century and its demands are far different that those that faced the Founding Fathers in 1776.

A better candidate? Biden, Obama or even Clinton in that order. It’s time to tone down the ideology and Paul isn’t about to do it.

What direction does the country need to go? Well, Libertarians such as Paul have blind faith in the market to solve all problems. There is absolutely no proof for this position but it is spouted constantly. There is no role for the government as a representative of the larger society to provide a safety net no matter what happens to any individual or the larger economy in Paul’s opinion. Just leave the businesses and corporations alone and it will all work out for everybody is the claim. Sorry, but that isn’t realistic. And whether he can really do it with Congress opposing him just the fact that Paul thinks eliminating Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the EPA, OSHA, the FDA and all other regulatory agencies (So far as I know.) tells me that he and his supporters are completely out of touch with the modern world. Besides, as we’ve seen with our current president all you have to do to cripple agencies is put people in charge who oppose the purpose of that agency.

Yes, you’ll be out doing something. Trying to support someone who would cripple our government because he has a problem telling the difference between what would work over 200 years ago versus what will work now.

I’d still rather be blinded by ideology than misdirected anger and hatred.

My history is perfectly straight. I’ve studied the Constitution, the Articles, as well as the Federalist papers. Not to mention Democracy in America by Toqueville. But this isn’t about me is it?
This is about whether we should just place blind faith in an executive branch and a rubber stamp Congress that surely must have our best interests at heart or to follow the document that is an unambiguous guideline for our Federal government’s rights and responsibilities.

an FYI: I was speaking about the Constitution (not the Articles) when referencing the limitations on government.
You would seriously argue that the articles were not a preface or prototype to the Constitution? Did you go school? Write a paper? Ever revise and expound on what you originally wrote or was it perfect the first time?
The Articles were weak, but they were that all important first step.

The founders were arguably much wiser than you or I. They were certainly light years beyond the likes of GWB or Karl Rove or the Clintons for that matter.
They saw first hand the potential for abuse of power and crafted the best antidote to tyranny that has yet graced this planet IF followed properly.

You are absolutely right that it was crafted to be purposefully difficult to amend. It was created that way by design with full knowledge that it would be as worthless as the Articles if it could be easily bypassed. Nearly all the warnings initially given by Madison, Jefferson, and Hamilton (men who rarely agreed mind you) regarding an overreaching military and government have now come to pass.

Lastly, it is clear you are some form of troll anyway. I’ve looked through this thread of posts and nowhere do offer anything remotely constructive or alternative to what seems to anger you so much about “Paulites”.

Do you have a better candidate?
Do you have any answers about the direction the country should go?

The only thing I can figure is that you’re alone at the computer and any sense of political unity or community or collective enthusiasm amongst people must really make you jealous. It appears that YOU are the one sitting on your ass trying to debase a real movement of citizens concerned that their friends, relatives, and children may wake up in a police state or economic depression sooner than later.

But if it soothes your soul, happy trolling!

I’ll be at the next sign wave for Dr. Paul actually doing something.

Paulistas are people who mostly have no idea of history or if they do view it solely through eyes blinded by ideology. For one thing they virtually worship the concept of viewing the Constitution as a dead document that cannot change with the times or allow the government to adapt to changing issues without a Constitutional amendment. Unfortunately not so much for them as for the country should they get their way, the real world isn’t willing to sit on its ass and wait for the purposefully difficult process of a Constitutional amendment to wend its way through the process.

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved for the States respectively, or to the people.”

I agree that we all lose with fanatic behavior if it is directed improperly.
And as far as fanatic ideology goes, you can’t forget dropping 3 bombs for every man, woman, and child in Vietnam.
Allocating more than a third of our total foreign aid to Israel.
Spending more than all of NATO combined on “defense”.
Spending more than all seven “rogue” nations combined.
Pre-emptive warfare
Undeclared warfare
on and on

What else can we credit to fanaticism? If it were not for fanaticism we would not have had the Spanish Inquisition, the Salem Witch trials, the Ku Klux Klan, the Holocaust, the murder of the Israeli Olympic athletes, the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11 and other acts of terrorism and murder.

Somehow I think fanaticism loses when it comes to weighing human virtues.

I think that they are so blinded by their ideology that they are incapable of recognizing that these just might be the consequences of what would happen should they get what they want.

Then there’s the states rights’ argument represented by

“In fact, if you understood his and our positions properly, you would conclude that a return to the rule of law via the Constitution simply puts the power to regulate back into OUR(the States) hands. Virginia should decide how Virginia wants to educate it’s young. Massachusetts should be free to decide if they want legions of married gays. Wyoming should be able to set an 80mph speed limit if they’d like. California should be able to permit Marijuana use if it suits them.”

In that case why bother having a country? Let’s just break it up, let it devolve into 50 nation-states. Your version of a nation was represented by the Articles of Confederation, which was superseded by the Constitution because they didn’t work. Your version of government would never have ended slavery. It would never have eliminated Jim Crow. Get real.

I think that most people in this country that know anything about Ron Paul want him to win whether they agree with him or not because we want HONEST government. I’m damn near socialist, but I’d vote for Ron Paul over any of the democrats that are likely to win the nomination because they are bought and paid for.

I am definitely voting democrat running against any republican…. except Ron Paul. If he is the nominee, he gets my vote.

People are tired of the same old rhetoric that they have been hearing for the past 45 years. Finally there is a man that believes what he says, and says what he believes. Ron Paul is in many ways a proverbial voice in the wilderness, and hope for a better tomorrow from a candidate willing to make the tough choices, and not bow to the neocon establishment, and big business. His voting record speaks for itself. He is what he is, and has backed that up with his voting record over the last 20 years, and that’s what people today want to see.

How well he will do in the straw vote today, remains to be seen, but if the money I have given to his campaign has helped him buy a few votes today, then more power to him, and his campaign. Is it make or break? No, I don’t believe so, but a good showing could sky rocket his campaign forward, and help him secure some of the campaign funds he needs and deserves. He is my opinion the last hope for America, and the problems we are now facing.

Ron Paul for President 2008!!

The problem with folks like Jim is that they accuse others of being ideologues while never facing the mirror. His statements are full of hate and negativity regarding OTHER peoples stances, but his type never advocate what should be done.

Support for Paul is at it’s core a political statement that tells the contempt ridden establishment that there are some of us who have woken up to the game.
There is no viable difference between the parties any longer. They play on the electorates moral sensibilities with distractionary issues while spending the nation into gross debt and deficit. Only the spending priorities are even marginally different.

I am under no illusion that a Paul presidency would suddenly wipe out every government program or agency. There is still an entire Congress to deal with, and one that is loath to even keep spending level much less reduced.

In fact, if you understood his and our positions properly, you would conclude that a return to the rule of law via the Constitution simply puts the power to regulate back into OUR(the States) hands. Virginia should decide how Virginia wants to educate it’s young. Massachusetts should be free to decide if they want legions of married gays. Wyoming should be able to set an 80mph speed limit if they’d like. California should be able to permit Marijuana use if it suits them. Do you really believe that Libertarians and other independents would like to see an increase in rampant pollution, corporate crime, or a host of other negative impacts on our quality of life?

I noticed the post by Jim S above, who says he doesn’t like fanatics. Well Jim, if it weren’t for fanatics this country would never have been,
and we probably would still have a king. Remember, when you walk in the middle of the road, you get run over.

Libertarians are blind ideologues who come from the other side of the spectrum from the equally ideological Communists. Neither end has a clue about the real world. The real world has to exist in a balance between the two, recognizing that there are those things that private companies can do and others that need to be left to government. Communists want way too much government and the Libertarians want too little.

In fact, the divide you mention is the reason that I live in NH proudly. This is even despite the influx of morons from Massachusetts with their “government must be involved with every aspect of your life mentality”.

Worse for me though would be to have to live in a southern red state surrounded by hillbillies with a fourth grade reading level who blindly endorse everything their party and president does.

Do you prefer to associate with the contempt ridden crowd in Washington like Bush, Cheney, Rove that think the Constitution is outdated, irrelevant, or just a clever principle?
Of course it’s a classic, yet sad tactic to accuse an opponent of your own worst trait (ignorance in this particular case).
Why does Ron’s support anger you so much? Should we vote for another neocon robot like Romney or Guiliani?
Where’s your positive contribution? Suggest a candidate with more integrity if you’d like, but if you believe this nation is headed in the right direction, do us all a favor and go back to sleep.

What does this mean for tomorrow? Maybe nothing. But if RP registers 1-2%, as he does in the polls, I’m sure the campaign will not only be very disappointed, but will have to wonder whether there is any chance he can catch on in the Republican heartland ranks. If the ends up in the double digits, I think we’ll see RP getting all the headlines, contributions will come pouring in, and we’ll be sure he made the first cut.

This straw poll is crucial.

The Iowa GOP is facing possible suit over their use of the same Diebold machines that were just de-certified. Story here.

They are claiming of course, that there is nothing to worry about since the voting procedure will be conducted with the assistance and oversight of the Story County Auditor’s Office. Story here.

If we look here we see the Story County Auditor is Mary Mosiman.

Mary Mosiman also happens to be on Mitt Romney’s “Romney for President Leadership Team”.

So there you have it, the Story County Auditor who will take part in overseeing the voting on the questionable machines is part of a team dedicated to “help Governor Romney share his vision for America”.

That’s a blatant conflict of interest and this is something we cannot ignore.

PS. It’s also worth noting that according to this article, Romney’s Commonwealth PAC gave State Auditor David A. Vaudt $1,000 in 2004.”