March 14, 2007

 

With Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) officially entering the presidential race, Americans now have a real choice.  They can choose Paul, who believes that the state should be subservient to the individual, or they can choose Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani or any of the other statists waiting in the wings to increase the power and reach of the federal government. 

 

The outcome is almost certain:  Paul will come in last in the Republican primaries.

 

And that, my fellow Americans, shows how much you have learned to love big government.

 

Oh, sure, many of you believe that the nation has reached the pinnacle of its power and is facing a long downhill slide.  Many of you recognize that the voracious government is eating the nation’s seed corn.  Many of you can’t respect a government that engages in Ponzi schemes, lies about the existence of a Social Security Trust Fund, and sticks future generations with $70 trillion in unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare.  Many of you understand that it is just as dangerous for the government to have a monopoly over K-12 education as it would be for the government to have a monopoly over newspapers, books, the Internet, and radio and TV stations.  Many of you want to swat AARP, teachers unions, subsidized farmers, rent-seeking corporations and all of the other parasites who feed off of the fruits of your labor.  And many of you are deeply troubled by a foreign policy that, starting with the Spanish-American War, has been more offensive than defensive under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

 

But when push comes to shove, you’ll vote for the status quo.  Which means that you won’t vote for Ron Paul, who is the only candidate who believes in the full array of civil liberties and in all aspects of economic freedom.

 

You won’t vote for him because you won’t want to give up something in the short term in order to stop the nation’s inevitable long-term slide.  If you’re a member of AARP, you won’t want to stop sending your medical bills to your grandkids.  If you’re an Iowa farmer, you won’t want to stop receiving subsidies and thus raising the price of groceries for everyone else.  If you’re a unionized teacher, you won’t want to compete in a competitive labor market.  If you’re a domestic grain company or ethanol producer, you won’t want to eliminate the tariffs on foreign ethanol made from sugar cane.  If you’re a tax accountant, you won’t want to eliminate your rice bowl of the tax code.

 

If you listen closely to all the other candidates, you’ll hear them promise more free stuff while hiding their statism and lust for power behind platitudes about the common good. 

 

Common good, my ass.

 

If you look at Ron Paul’s voting record, you’ll find that he has consistently upheld the nation’s founding principles and voted against increasing the size and power of leviathan.  And as a physician, he understands how to fix the American health care system without nationalizing it and allowing politicians and bureaucrats to look up your hospital gown.

 

But when all is said and done, you won’t vote for Paul. 

 

Wheeeee!  I hope you enjoy the long downhill slide.

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