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December 21, 2007
by Paul Kemp  
Our country faces many challenges over the next ten years or so. To successfully navigate the dangerous waters we're in will require the wisest leadership.
We are stuck in a senseless war in Iraq that had nothing to do with pursuing the terrorists of 9/11 - and yet most presidential candidates are in no hurry to remove our troops from danger there. Whats up with that?
Our financial system is tottering with massive debts. There is the potential for a collapse of our banking system due to fraudulent mortgage loans made in the U.S. (http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north591.html/). The dollar is sinking lower and lower in value. The country is teetering on the edge of a deep recession or worse. Inflation is returning. And most candidates for president are promising new, expensive healthcare programs to jaded voters. What's wrong with this picture?
Meanwhile the U.S. Comptroller David Walker, a nonpartisan position, is running around the country like Paul Revere trying to alert the public of the danger of a national bankruptcy caused by the retirement of the huge Baby Boom Generation and the lack of any workable plan to deal with this.
There is, as usual, a disconnect between what is best for the citizens and what the country can afford, compared to what the politicians want to talk us into. War and weaponry have become our big export industries, so our politicians - nine tenths of them, anyway - are supportive of these big campaign donors, no matter what the public wants.
And our potential leaders are smart enough to know that by promising us what we clamor for, they can get elected to office to do the serious business of the Military-Industrial-Complex, even if it bankrupts the country. After all, they won't have to pay.
Oh, sure...a lot of Americans can't afford healthcare insurance. They would like for our federal government to create a painless program that could magically pay for it by taxing the mega-rich or finding some savings by systematizing all the patients into one efficient single-payer machine. Unfortunately, our government doesn't operate efficiently in the Real World.
If you will remember, this is the same federal government that made such a mess out of helping the Hurricane Katrina victims. This is the same well-oiled machine that provides such fine care for our returning wounded Iraq vets at Walter Reed Army Hospital. This is the U.S. government that can't account for billions of dollars of cash lost in Iraq.
Why should we expect they could set up a better medical insurance program, than they have done in anything else they turn their attention to?
If we had any honest political candidates running for President, they should be leveling with the American people, explaining that we have serious fiscal problems that make it unwise to add any more expense to our budget. In fact, the rare honest politician would be pointing out that many programs must be cut, not expanded, if the public doesn't want to be faced with massive increases in taxes.
(For the record, there are not enough mega-wealthy Americans to fleece to raise the $60 TRILLION or so in unfunded entitlement obligations we face over the next twenty years. If there was any move to tax these folks, you can bet they'd be "voting with their feet" to find a more friendly tax jurisdiction.)
Actually, there is such a politician who stands out from the rest of the pack by telling the voters the bad news as well as the good. This is Congressman Ron Paul, the candidate for president whom the mainstream media would have us believe is too unrealistic, too idealistic to even be considered for the highest office in the land.
"Preaching to the Choir"
I expect there are many others reading this who are Ron Paul supporters. I salute you for your efforts to return America to the source of its greatness, the Constitution.
For those who may quibble about some of Dr. Paul's positions and find them lacking, I will ask you this: What other presidential candidate, who stands a chance of being elected, will deal constructively with the life-and-death issues our country is facing?
Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel may be against the war, but #1) neither have the support or campaign budget to get elected; and #2) IF they were to be elected, they would still continue to expand the bureaucracy and the entitlement programs which are driving our country into insolvency.
Where else can we find a candidate who would by decree, as Commander in Chief of the armed forces, end the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the 130 other countries where we have military bases?
(Article Continues Below)
On social issues, who else would fight to end the War on Drugs and federal interference in doctors prescribing medical marijuana for sick patients? Who else is smart enough to work to legalize the cultivation of hemp, a drug-free plant with many promising uses?
Who else has the discernment to point out that murder of the unborn is wrong, but it is not a federal issue?
Who else, while not approving of gay marriage personally, has the courage to say that it is not an issue that should require an amendment of the Constitution? It's simply a matter of contract law and the state should not get involved.
Who else goes to the root of the immigration problem and says we should remove the incentives that encourage and facilitate illegal immigration? It may seem cruel to liberals, but how is it fair to force all Americans to pay for medical and welfare services for people who come here in violation of our laws?
Who else among the candidates takes the position that the trend toward giving our soveignty to the UN and other multi-national organizations is wrong and dangerous? Granted, the U.S. commonly uses the UN as justification to make war presently, but the day may come when we are no longer the most influential nation on the Security Council and then where will we be?
Who else but Ron Paul goes after the root causes of our loss of high quality jobs because of the excessive regulation and cost of doing business laid on by Congress? Not to mention the subsidies given to major campaign donors which expensively skew the free market process of allocating capital.
Who else rightly points out that the Federal Reserve being given the job of protecting Americans from inflation and damaging fluctuations in the busines cycle is like empowering the fox to guard the henhouse? Look at the results! Our dollar is now worth 4 cents, compared to the pre-Fed dollar of 1913. The Fed has set us up for a major financial bloodletting due to the bubble it has encouraged in the housing industry.
In Conclusion
We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to correct the course of this once-great nation. A lot of large and small issues that have been swept under the rug for generations have been championed by the rare politician who has both the intellect and the character to deal with them before they cause us irreparable peril.
As evidence of how firmly our nation has come under the control of leaders who would turn us into a corporatist security state, I will urge you to look at how Congressman Paul's positions and supporters have been marginalized and censored by the Old Media. The major media, the MSM, work hand-in-glove with the government to lay down the party line.
The Powers-That-Be want us to believe that Ron Paul has no chance to be elected. Will you let them determine your vote? Do you trust someone else to do your thinking for you? (Polls are typically taken of those with a land line who voted Republican in the 2004 election, when the turnout was very low and skewed toward the most pro-war Republicans. This doesn't address the many Independents, Libertarians, and Democrats who are now registering to vote for Dr. Paul in the coming primaries, nor does it reflect those who have become disgruntled and quit voting or those who have never voted.)
I appeal to the intelligent and compassionate readers who consider themselves Populists to decide how important it is to the cause of freedom and justice for Ron Paul to become our next president. Compare the other options - look deeply into how the candidates have voted over time, not just what they say on the stump. What lobbies, such as AIPAC, are they making promises to, out of the public eye?
If you support the causes of peace, freedom, and prosperity - not just for Americans, but for all the world - then spreading the message of Ron Paul is the most important contribution you can make to world progress today.
This election may be our last chance to salvage our legal heritage of freedom in America and to return our country to being the advocate for a more free world.
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Paul Kemp awoke to the realities of American politics as a Conscientious Objector and war resister during the Vietnam era. He is an entrepreneur and writer who lives in the Pacific Northwest. He welcomes feedback through his website, www.defending-your-retirement.com/
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