A Man Without A Party - Reader comments at The New York Sun

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Man Without a Party

Submitted by Rod Smith, Dec 19, 2007 04:09

In response to the editorial "A Man Without A Party" , it is clear that there are several points that have been carelessly cast aside:

"But we think the disparity between Dr. Paul's fundraising numbers and how he polls, at least among conservatives and Republicans reflects something altogether different. In a wartime election, Republicans just aren't buying Dr. Paul's message."

Ron Paul's $6.2 million dollar day was impressive, but what was more impressive is that it came from over 54,000 individual contributors ... 25,000 of them new. According to latest FEC reports, Paul may have more indvidual contributors to his campaign than all the other, so-called, "Top Tier", candidates combined. Huckabee, Romney, Thompson, Guiliani, and McCain reported just over 102,000 individual contributors. Paul's campaign touts 118,000. He's finished at least third (if not first) in over 80% of GOP straw polls throughout the country. It is more logical that many of the polls (if he is listed at all ... as "other" is usually given instead in the telephone polling) are taken from registered Republican voters who backed Bush in 2004. Frankly, in terms of tangeable support, ( since not one real vote has been cast) I would suspect that most of the others would like thier base to "buy in" to thier message since thier fourth quarter dollars have all declined.

"In other words, America was owed the terror of September 11, and Mr. bin Laden and his band of joyless fascists have legitimate grievances. Don't be surprised if Dr. Paul starts lecturing us about root causes and the like, purchasing the popular academic chicanery today that the Western victims of terrorism are its prime movers."

What Neoconservatives (... an oxymoronic label in itself ... "Neo" meaning new as though creating a world empire has never been attempted by the likes of the Ottomans, Romans, Germans, or the Soviets.) can't stand to hear is that thier policies have failed. In so doing, anyone who challenges the wisdom of those policies is banished by Neocons as "Blaming America". It is obvoius that war is nessesary from time to time. But, history proves those times to be rare, and Neoconservative retoric for war and threats of more war almost endless.

Furthermore, it is self evident that what that ideology and its cohorts have been doing over the last few decades under the guise of "spreading democracy" has been is enacting policy of deciding which countries in the world have been run by the wrong group of thugs. Why would anybody hate us for proping up brutal dicators around the world? Unthinkable. In some cases, war is just one more big government program ... filled with the same boondoggles and boomerang effects as the rest of it. Case in point, despite the best intentions, thousands of our dead service men and women, and a trillion dollars, Where is Bin Laden?

At long last, Iraq was never Nazi Germany and had nothing to do with 9/11 ... a country with a one-time, US of A approved, tin horn, dictator - a pitiful, conscripted, army, and no planes, ships, or WMD's to fight with. Now that it has gone wrong the argument has been reduced to this: If we leave Iraq now it will be a mess ... implying the implausible, that if we stay it won't be a bigger mess.

In the words of Ronald Wilson Regan at the height of the Cold War:

"Peace is not the absence of conflict, but rather, the ability to handle conflict through a peaceful means."

At the the end of the day, Congressman Ron Paul may well wind up as a man without a party, but if so ,in terms of an endless warfare state and welfare state perpetuated by this administration , his party will be left with cardboard replacements instead of a choice.

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
Our monetary system is fundamentally flawed because it relies on a debt based fiat currency. This causes massive inflation which... [MORE]	Pete	Dec 22, 2007 14:27
His supporters are never lukewarm and are very well informed about their candidate and the history of politics,government. and economics. [MORE]	Scott Kossack	Dec 21, 2007 15:11
Some how we have become Paleo-conservatives, we may not have participated for a time but we are still here and... [MORE]	SC Hunter	Dec 21, 2007 13:50
"But Dr. Paul is running for office as our military is trying to stand up a democratic Iraqi government and... [MORE]	Oscar DeGrouch	Dec 20, 2007 19:59
That's really all I have to say. Who does this journalist think he is hashing up old nonsense? At least... [MORE]	Michael Griffith	Dec 20, 2007 16:37
You Ron Paul supporters don't even know why you support him. Because he's an isolationist? Because of his simpleton, kindergarten type answers... [MORE]	PJ	Dec 20, 2007 09:39
You sound like a man (or woman) without a candidate. Why not go spread the love for the candidate of... [MORE]	Louise	Dec 20, 2007 13:16
...like myself who will be voting for him in NY's primary. The fact that VA's GOP wanted to demand a... [MORE]	rdc	Dec 20, 2007 08:46
Republicans have produced some pretty remarkable candidates for President: Nixon and Regan won landslide elections for their party- though they... [MORE]	Larry Ward	Dec 20, 2007 18:16
The remarkable thing is how many of Paul's supporters seem to sincerely think he has a ghost of a chance,... [MORE]	Mac The Blogger	Dec 20, 2007 08:10
The editoral states: "But Dr. Paul is running for office as our military is trying to stand up a democratic Iraqi... [MORE]	Rusty Shackleford	Dec 20, 2007 02:11
Ron Paul is not looking for a political party. It is the neo-cons, empire building big government big spending statists... [MORE]	Jacob Steelman	Dec 20, 2007 01:41
Paul voted to invade Afghanistan, Al Qaeda's sanctuary, overthrow the Taliban and support a democratically elected government. He correctly choose... [MORE]	Vincent	Dec 19, 2007 22:04
Ron Paul is the only candidate talking about the constitution, as in restoring it, as well as habeus corpus. He... [MORE]	seeker135	Dec 19, 2007 20:07
Something you may want to look at is why the Republican party is so small and is shrinking. The American... [MORE]	Conservative Christian	Dec 19, 2007 18:45
foreign policy is the key to our destruction. the gains of the few verse the gains of the multitude reminds... [MORE]	MTGRAY	Dec 19, 2007 17:45
The point is Iraq is a mess we caused. We are "winning" arguments don't hold water when Turkey attacks in... [MORE]	Rex Chapman	Dec 19, 2007 16:39
Firstly, I want to commend the author of this article for their eloquence and knowledge of the subject. Good job.... [MORE]	Josiah	Dec 19, 2007 16:24
A quick search with Youtube would easily debunk the points in your article. [MORE]	Koh Choon Lin	Dec 19, 2007 16:09
I am an independant turned democrat by George Bush. If Ron Paul gets nominated, this may be the first general... [MORE]	Ron John	Dec 19, 2007 15:35
These polls consistantly get elections right - usually to the percentage point... [MORE]	G. Ardell	Dec 19, 2007 14:38
And Paul has now eclipsed all of the Democratic and republican candidates. In the third quarter: Hillary had 38,000 doners... [MORE]	rhys	Dec 19, 2007 14:37
These people who keep claiming that the polls are skewed remind me of the Number 2 anchorman played by Vince... [MORE]	Eric	Dec 19, 2007 14:20
Okay, could you please not put words into Dr. Pauls mouth? Thank you! Oh and another thing, what polls are... [MORE]	Teresa	Dec 19, 2007 13:50
Whether or not you've prepared is irrelevant. Even though I don't think Ron Paul will win the election, I am... [MORE]	X	Dec 19, 2007 15:17
On Sunday while the money machine was up and running huge numbers of people turned out for rallies all over... [MORE]	lucas	Dec 19, 2007 13:25
This election will be different for me. I for one, am sick and tired of having to vote AGAINST the... [MORE]	MaineMan	Dec 19, 2007 12:51
Out here in the heavily Democartic Bay Area, Ron Paul is the avant garde candidate of the moment. Left wing... [MORE]	Tony Waller	Dec 19, 2007 12:18
There's something about Paul that just strikes at the heart of the traditional conservative. Noble as his views are, Americans,... [MORE]	Grapevine Daily	Dec 19, 2007 12:08
Sure, Paul has a party. It's the Libertarian Party. It's the party that does not take social issues seriously. It's... [MORE]	Jordan	Dec 19, 2007 12:02
I'm voting for Ron Paul. [MORE]	Henry	Dec 19, 2007 11:53
I grant the New York Sun that Ron Paul has not shown any traction among the voters polled by the... [MORE]	Cyd Malone	Dec 19, 2007 11:41
Who reads this fringe media stuff anyway? No serious intellectual should take this sort of scribbling as anything other than... [MORE]	Archiphage	Dec 19, 2007 11:41
Understanding your enemy is the first assessment that you must take before going to war. Have you assessed your enemy? [MORE]	Phil	Dec 19, 2007 11:35
The ONLY metric by which Dr Paul can be seen to be lacking support is the land-line based phone polls.... [MORE]	Chris Watson	Dec 19, 2007 10:55
Of course, Ron Paul is going to run third party. Yes, I know he's given his word but his word... [MORE]	Myrean	Dec 19, 2007 10:44
...is that it exposed the nakedness of the "mainstream media" and their "scientific" polls. Let me try to understand it.... [MORE]	BoMar	Dec 19, 2007 10:29
What matters is how many PEOPLE will vote for Ron Paul. Ron Paul supporters were not polled, so the numbers... [MORE]	Ryan	Dec 19, 2007 10:25
If you go to realclearpolitics, you will find that Ron Paul is part of the polling. Currently, he has about... [MORE]	David	Dec 19, 2007 18:25
I thought you points were well taken. I wish he would just forget about pushing his agenda. [MORE]	Timothy Wright	Dec 19, 2007 10:24
I feel so strongly against the war that can't comprehend any Republican candidate other than Ron Paul having a chance... [MORE]	Henry	Dec 19, 2007 10:16
Essentially your article makes a huge assumption, that the polls are accurate. Dr. Paul's message appeals to a republican base... [MORE]	Jacob B.	Dec 19, 2007 10:09
The idea is not that the terrorists have a legitimate point. Screw the terrorists.. The idea is that the wave of... [MORE]	Shadow	Dec 19, 2007 09:52
The only mystery is why the people in the media keep printing the same story over and over again. How... [MORE]	S Hall	Dec 19, 2007 09:30
Don't take seriously all these pro-Ron Paul diatribes. Your article was exactly correct. In just about every poll, prospective voters ARE... [MORE]	Daniel K. Weir	Dec 19, 2007 09:12
Well NY SUN, you certainly stirred up the hornets nest. Every Ron Paul disciple within range of this editorial has... [MORE]	PJ	Dec 19, 2007 09:11
Lets get a chant going: They hate us for our freedom. They hate us for our freedom. They hate us... [MORE]	Ryan	Dec 19, 2007 09:07
"They're in charge up north — the Shi'ia — the people in the north are in charge, as well, and... [MORE]	Jim	Dec 19, 2007 08:26
From the view of a humble Political Scientist, Paul will probably have to run as an Independent if he stays... [MORE]	Dr. M.S. Malaszczyk	Dec 19, 2007 06:16
In response to the editorial "A Man Without A Party" , it is clear that there are several points that...	Rod Smith	Dec 19, 2007 04:09
You are so part of the problem. We were attacked by 19 guys, half a bus, a row in a... [MORE]	Jeffrey S	Dec 19, 2007 03:03
This article is short sited and just plain wrong. Is there an argument made? Here's the best I can piece... [MORE]	Joshua Earlenbaugh	Dec 19, 2007 02:39
Joshua, why are the 'converts' mention more reliable? It seems to me that their 'conversion' would be considered to many... [MORE]	Yashmak	Dec 19, 2007 10:55
But so far there's little indication that Republican voters who are actually being called because they actually voted in the... [MORE]	Nash	Dec 19, 2007 02:34
There is no mystery among informed voters about Ron Paul's candidacy. He is a breath of fresh, truthful air amongst... [MORE]	xtrabiggg	Dec 19, 2007 02:26
I am 62 and female, Registered Republican. I voted Bush 2000. He betrayed the American people. I abstained in 2004,... [MORE]	Carole	Dec 25, 2007 23:50
This is an obvious hit piece. Your OPINION of Foreign Affairs is completely wrong. Watch Ron Paul's interview with Glenn... [MORE]	Mike	Dec 19, 2007 02:19
Who is being polled? Likely Republican voters who participated in the last primaries. We had an incumbent President running against noone.... [MORE]	Darren D.	Dec 19, 2007 02:15
And who better than a doctor to perform the task. 60 years the USA was almost universally admired in... [MORE]	gwarwick	Dec 19, 2007 01:58
9/11 seems to have turned normal intelligent Republicans into interventionist, nation building DEMOCRATS. Ron Paul is simply trying to get the... [MORE]	gregdn	Dec 19, 2007 10:07
As an Arab, that was born and raised in an Arab country. Believe me USA is only hated because of one... [MORE]	deepak	Dec 19, 2007 12:28
>>Conservatives have traditionally seen through efforts to refashion terrorists and mass murderers into misunderstood nationalists. We didn't buy it when... [MORE]	chas115	Dec 21, 2007 05:53

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