Flutterby™! : Ron Paul's voting record 2007-05-19 15:32:25.224086+00

Ron Paul's voting record

2007-05-19 15:32:25.224086+00 by Dan Lyke 16 comments

Ron Paul's voting record courtesy of VoteSmart, via crasch.

#Comment Re: made: 2007-05-20 19:03:36.321083+00 by: ziffle [edit history]

He is not an Objectivist. Thats the bad news. But he is a breath of fresh air compared to 'the others'.

Looking at his polling he is cleaning up. It appears that in all the online polls he is always number one or maybe two.

He wants a gold standard, delete the IRS (I went to their site but I could not find the 'delete button'), the dept of education, the dept of energy; wants to stop all the federal intrusions into our lives, voted against the Patriot Act. And so forth. He would do away with welfare, and state required mandates, and forget global warming until it is proved. Ahhhh..

The Media is against him. His July 10 2003 speech was removed from the CSPAN archives. (Therein he laid out the neo-cons and their failings and named names.) Foxnews put him down. All the others tried to explain away his success in all the polls.

You have to wonder if something isn't going here that is good. At least he is espousing ideas that are worth discussing - they must be or so many people in power would not be trying to stop him.

I am ready to vote for him, I think. His abortion stand is stupid, but I don't consider that important.

P.S. I hereby disown any responsibiity for misspellings as this blog will not accept any text copied from Word or the such where I would have the ability to check for such things. Dan is working on it. Down with UTF-8!

Do we even have enough gold to go back on the Gold Standard? I know the government stopped reporting one of the money measures (M3) probably because they don't want to show by how much they're inflating the money supply.

Other than that, and if I thought he had any chance of all of implementing any of his ideas (or that he would survive his first term) I might vote for him.

His voting record on abortion rights is not the only stupid stand he takes. (A woman's UNQUALIFIED right to control her body is one of the issues by which I judge a candidate for office. No one who supports the so-called "Right-to-Life" philosophy gets my vote. At the very least, they're hypocrites.)

Paul also supports the following: Display of the Ten Commandments Bill Number: H Con Res 31 Ron Paul's vote=YES

Is there anyone who can show me that the 10 commandments have had 'a significant impact on the development of the fundamental legal principles of Western Civilization?' Or, establishing a moral code? Forget about #2.

Oh sure! That's easy. Lesse... Do not kil... er, no, that didn't do much good. How about thou shalt not stea.... er, no, lots of pastors do that. Er, thou shalt not commit adulte... well, not, that didn't quite work out either. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's MILF.... er, nope.

It seems to me that there are two ends of the Libertarian spectrum: Those who value economic freedom more, and those who value personal and social freedoms more. I think w can kind of look at these as Singapore versus Sweden.

Neither is really free, but an awful lot of people who call themselves "Libertarian" are really just anti-tax and would be happy with a level of Singapore level of intrusion into our personal and private lives if they could just pay less taxes.

I want a candidate who's willing to vote for both sorts of freedoms, but they're so rare that, these days especially, I'd rather vote for someone who supports personal freedoms, and that's rarely the Libertarian candidate.

Ron Paul's stance on abortion makes him a non-starter for me, and I don't even have a problem with someone making statements #1 and #2 (although I think they are debatable), as long as there's no attempt to codify them into law, but #3 gives me the heeby-jeebies and makes me as likely to support him as, say, Jesse Helms.

His stance on both those issues say to me that he has no problems at all with heavy government intrusion into my personal life; money comes and goes but personal freedoms are precious. I understand the mugger who says "your money or your life", there's a clear trade-off there and I get the motivation, the mugger who says "wear blue on Thursdays or I'll kill you" is the sort of person I really want off the streets, 'cause I never know when the rules are going to change.

Well I agree with all of you but anyone who would do away with the IRS etc. is at least a starting point. I mean now we have all those mystical-collectivist-religious types who also want to limit all aspects of our lives. That is why I am not a Libertarian but, rather, an Objectivist. Ayn Rand specifically disavowed Libertians BTW.

#Comment Re: Ron Paul is far superior to any other candidate made: 2007-05-22 01:21:36.409822+00 by: BC

No candidate is perfect. I happen to disagree with him on abortion but I agree with most of his other positions. He would definitely right the ship to the extent that he would be allowed.

By the way, a libertarian is essentially one who is a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. Yes, there are hard core libertarians out there who will take it to absurd extremes but that is true for all ideologies.

Paul has my vote. In fact, no one else even comes close with the possible exception of Hagel, should he decide to throw his hat in the ring. I have a real problem with his potential running mate, Bloomberg. The last thing we need is more weighting placed on the East Coast, more specifically NYC.

#Comment Re: made: 2007-05-22 10:53:20.978129+00 by: jeff [edit history]

To BC's point, I think that if we look to find a candidate to fulfill every single one of our required inputs, then we will likely remain frustrated voters for a very, very long time.

And to borrow Ziffle's phrase, Paul does represent a breath of "fresh air," when compared to "the others." I do have a problem with some of his voting records, but I have much more serious problems with some of the other candidates.

For anyone who has listened to Paul's interviews, watched him debate, or read his his views, one comes away with a feeling that this man is very genuine, highly intelligent, compassionate (yet firm), and is passionate enough about his beliefs about what is good for America to take a true stand on the important issues of the day.

Ron Paul has my vote, unless a better OVERALL candidate emerges. And yes, my vote for Paul is NOT a vote for Hillary!

I see your point about Paul's being a breath of fresh air. Really, I do. I've read some of his interviews and find his candor refreshing. However, his voting record is nearly a mirror image of the current "administration's" stupid....I mean idealogy.

Mike Gravel, I feel, is a similar type of candidate as Paul, but more in tune with the majority of Americans. He is, however, closing in on 80 years of age.

The person whose name is missing from the list of Prez candidates (by his choice) is Russ Feingold. He would make an excellent president, and he may end up on the bottom of the Dem ticket.

eyes of newt, you have to be kidding. How can you say his voting is nearly a mirror image of the current administration? He voted against the war. The outcome of that vote alone would have the US in a completely different position right now. However, his voting record goes much further than that. He is adamantly opposed to Bush's amnesty plan for illegal aliens. Not only that, Paul is on the radar. He has resonated well with viewers in the first two debates. If you were to get on his emailing list I think you would be moved by how different he is from this administration. To suggest otherwise is to not understand who Ron Paul is.

He was the one who gave the famous "Neoconned" speech in Congress! He feels the Neocons have hijacked our government and our foreign policy. The difference between Paul and Bush could almost not be more stark.

#Comment Re: this should be read by all made: 2007-05-22 14:11:47.908565+00 by: BC

BC: To be fair, I only checked out his voting record on the vote-smart.org site. I will get on his email list. However, his words mean zero; it's his voting record that counts. If you haven't yet please check that out on:

I admire him for voting against the war! But, Feingold also voted against the war, and his record is more reflective of how I would have voted had I been in his seat.

#Comment Re: made: 2007-05-22 17:48:29.176468+00 by: jeff [edit history]

BC: That's a great article you referenced above. Among other things, it makes Rudy (Who?) appear even more of sophomoric grandstander for his ad hominem attack on Ron Paul during their recent debate. Nice try, Rudy, but start giving the sheeple of America some credit, as they see right through you and some of the other baseless candidates.

#Comment Re: made: 2007-05-24 19:41:19.955413+00 by: jeff [edit history]

Ron Paul strikes back at a grandstanding Guiliani. America better read up, as well. Ever hear of "cause and effect," Rudi?

I do not intend to carry this thread on forever, but once in a rare while you read something that is intelligent, insightful and right on. Go Ron Paul.

"The true patriot is motivated by a sense of responsibility, and out of self interest -- for himself, his family, and the future of his country -- to resist government abuse of power. He rejects the notion that patriotism means obedience to the state."

"The American republic is in remnant status. The stage is set for our country eventually devolving into a military dictatorship and few seem to care"

"Resistance to illegal and unconstitutional usurpation of our rights is required."

Let not those who love the power of the welfare/warfare state label the dissenters of authoritarianism as unpatriotic or uncaring. Patriotism is more closely linked to dissent than it is to conformity and a blind desire for safety and security. Understanding the magnificent rewards of a free society makes us unbashful in its promotion, fully realizing that maximum wealth is created and the greatest chance for peace comes from a society respectful of individual liberty."

Where have we read such truths before - from an elected official? He is writing for the ages!

#Comment Re: made: 2007-05-25 22:35:22.17671+00 by: jeff [edit history]

Great follow-up and quotes, Zif! May I join your tribe and add, quoting from the same collection, "The original American patriots were those individuals brave enough to resist with force the oppressive power of King George."