Super Tuesday

Sounds like you might be voting for Mitt Romney then…

You write: “I am looking for a leader that can unite us as a nation with common interests to drown out the voices of special interests.” Considering the sheer amount of money necessary to become the leader of the United States, is it conceivable to find the leader who can do this?

To address Ryan’s suggestion, “Sounds like you mght be voting for Mitt Romney then”: Ryan must have missed the entire point advocating Trust. The only thing Romney can be trusted to do is to do the most politically expedient things he can to win votes. I don’t feel he has an iota of personal integrity and never has.

It sounds to me that the only candidate that meets all of your criteria is Barack Obama. This is a brilliant man who has offered the only vision for hope and change in this country.

Special Interests get no attention in Ron Paul’s platform. He doesn’t even vote for pork barrel spending for his OWN district! (Yet he consistently gets re-elected 10 times over!)

He has gotten overwhelming financial support from the grassroots level by individual donors, certainly not from mega-corporations.

He has remained true to himself and the Constitution for 30 years in Congress.

As the only physician in the race, he has a clear understanding of health care delivery as seen and experienced in the trenches of medicine, not as a business managing doctor-wannabe on the periphery.

He is the only candidate with a true understanding of sound economic and fiscal policies. So much so, in fact, that you will never hear anyone other candidate dare question him on economics in a debate. They know all to well his mastery of the subject.

I always wonder what it is about Dr. Paul that people couldn’t possibly support. He might not be 100% for everyone on every little topic but the man, simply stated, is a Constitutionalist. That is it in a nutshell. He simply votes as one would if they were to follow the path laid out by our forefathers in the U.S. Constitution. Candidates swear to uphold the Constitution upon taking office and people in general say they respect the vision of the founding fathers and the Constitution. Yet when given the clear opportunity to vote for the only candidate with such a clear and irrefutable record of voting for that policy in keeping with that amazing document, they instead vote for someone with hardly a Constitution-supporting bone in their body.

This really makes me wonder WHAT IS IT that they believe? If it’s the Constitution then Ron Paul is the obvious choice. I mean this with all respect and I’m not trying to put down anybody’s choice but I sincerely don’t understand how it is Constitutional to invade countries without declaring war; to allow the Federal government the right to usurp State’s powers; to demand that all citizens forsake their privacy and control over their image/identity for the “privilege” of traveling, mailing a letter, or going to court; the list goes on and on: property rights, habeus corpus, gun ownership, posse comitatus etc, etc, etc. These things are supposed to be protected from government violation. Yet on a weekly basis in America these things are being eroded and few are taking a justifiably outraged stand. Instead, they look toward short-sighted gains like a $500 tax credit or, more convenient tax forms, or a free bail-out from the burden of buying a house that they couldn’t afford. As well, too many are running scared of a terrorist threat that, while ever-present, is never worth trading in one’s freedoms over. A strong government is a good thing but not to the point of becoming an Orwellian fascist state where we are all monitored and subject to search, seizure, and imprisonment “for our own protection and the greater good” In that case, terrorists have won. They will have effectively changed America and the principles upon which it was founded all in the name of “safety”. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Those who would give up Liberty in the name of Safety, deserve neither.” Do we not care about this anymore? Are soccer games, football, barbeques, and Britney Spears updates more important than the freedom to despise those things and still call America home. Ron Paul is the only candidate standing up for the brilliance of what America was founded upon. The others, while, “insider” types, are essentially all the same. Sure they vary here and there on some details but generally, they still promote a paradigm that subjugates State’s and citizens to the will and mandate of a centralized government master. “The Decider” as GWB says. Isn’t it supposed to be a nation FOR the people BY the people. How can that happen given the current situation where “the people” are marginalized on a near daily basis. Ron Paul stands by the people and for the Constitution. The others? I honestly have no idea what they stand for or how it is they can effectively perjure themselves they very moment they take the oath to uphold the Constitution and then support the very dismantling of it.

Vote Liberty, Vote Ron Paul.

I would definitely gladly vote tomorrow, but I have only Permanent Resident status. Although I am not a citizen yet, I hope that my citizenship becomes official prior to the elections, so I can actually vote.
When I came to this country, I had no intentions of becoming a citizen, as I thought this is not my battle and this is not my country. My opinion has changed since then…this is my battle, even if it isn’t my country. After living here for 9 years, I started to believe that this country needs to change in order to be what it used to stand for: Fresh ideas and more open minds to keep the American Dream alive; find a way to keep the economy strong; to re-invent the meaning of the word “freedom”. Those are just several items that motivated me to make a difference with my vote. I truly hope that everyone else can see that it is time for major changes, as things are becoming pretty “rotten in the state of Denmark”.

What would Ron, Mitt, Barrack, or Hillary do as President about the events listed below? What will they do if we are attacked again? Let me rephrase that what will they do when we are attacked again? Frankly I think that Mitt, Barrack, and Hillary would see which way the political wind was blowing and do nothing like Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. I think Ron Paul would try to discuss the issue with an enemy that hasn’t forgot or forgave the crusades that ended in 1291.
Ask the school nerd if trying to make friends with the school bully is ever a good idea.

September 11, 2001 - Terrorists hijack four U.S. commercial airliners taking off from various locations in the United States in a coordinated suicide attack. In separate attacks, two of the airliners crash into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, which catch fire and eventually collapse. A third airliner crashes into the Pentagon in Washington, DC, causing extensive damage. The fourth airliner, also believed to be heading towards Washington, DC, crashes outside Shanksville, PA., killing all 45 people on board. Casualty estimates from New York put the possible death toll close to 5,000, while as many as 200 people may have been lost at the Pentagon crash site.

Oct. 12, 2000 - A terrorist bomb damages the destroyer USS Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen, killing 17 sailors and injuring 39.

Aug. 7, 1998 - Terrorist bombs destroy the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In Nairobi, 12 Americans are among the 291 killed, and over 5,000 are wounded, including 6 Americans. In Dar es Salaam, one U.S. citizen is wounded among the 10 killed and 77 injured.

In response, on August 20 the United States attacked targets in Afghanistan and Sudan with over 75 cruise missiles fired from Navy ships in the Arabian and Red seas. About 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from warships in the Arabian Sea. Most struck six separate targets in a camp near Khost, Afghanistan. Simultaneously, about 20 cruise missiles were fired from U.S. ships in the Red Sea striking a factory in Khartoum, Sudan, which was suspected of producing components for making chemical weapons.

June 21, 1998 - Rocket-propelled grenades explode near the U.S. embassy in Beirut.

July 27, 1996 - A pipe bomb explodes during the Olympic games in Atlanta, killing one person and wounding 111.

June 25, 1996 - A bomb aboard a fuel truck explodes outside a U.S. air force installation in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. 19 U.S. military personnel are killed in the Khubar Towers housing facility, and 515 are wounded, including 240 Americans.

Nov. 13, 1995 - A car-bomb in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia kills seven people, five of them American military and civilian advisers for National Guard training. The “Tigers of the Gulf,” “Islamist Movement for Change,” and “Fighting Advocates of God” claim responsibility.

April 19, 1995 - A car bomb destroys the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and wounding over 600.

February 1993 - A bomb in a van explodes in the underground parking garage in New York’s World Trade Center, killing six people and wounding 1,042.

Dec. 21, 1988 - A bomb destroys Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. All 259 people aboard the Boeing 747 are killed including 189 Americans, as are 11 people on the ground.

April 1986 - An explosion damages a TWA flight as it prepares to land in Athens, Greece. Four people are killed when they are sucked out of the aircraft.

April 5, 1986 - A bomb destroys the LaBelle discotheque in West Berlin. The disco was known to be frequented by U.S. servicemen. The attack kills one American and one German woman and wounds 150, including 44 Americans

In response, on April 15 the United States retaliated in an operation dubbed ‘El Dorado Canyon.’ Approximately 100 aircraft were launched in direct support of the raid. It was an attack against military targets involving land-based bombers from Great Britain together with carrier-based air strikes from ships in the Gulf of Sidra.

December 1985 - Simultaneous suicide attacks are carried out against U.S. and Israeli check-in desks at Rome and Vienna international airports. 20 people are killed in the two attacks, including four terrorists.

November 1985 - Hijackers aboard an Egyptair flight kill one American. Egyptian commandos later storm the aircraft on the isle of Malta, and 60 people are killed.

October 1985 - Palestinian terrorists hijack the cruise liner Achille Lauro (in response to the Israeli attack on PLO headquarters in Tunisia) Leon Klinghoffer, an elderly, wheelchair-bound American, is killed and thrown overboard.

August 1985 - A car bomb at a U.S. military base in Frankfurt, Germany kills two and injures 20. A U.S. soldier murdered for his identity papers is found a day after the explosion.

June 1985 - A TWA airliner is hijacked over the Mediterranean, the start of a two-week hostage ordeal. The last 39 passengers are eventually released in Damascus after being held in various locations in Beirut.

June 1985 - In San Salvador, El Salvador, 13 people are killed in a machine gun attack at an outdoor café, including four U.S. Marines and two American businessmen.

April 1985 - A bomb explodes in a restaurant near a U.S. air base in Madrid, Spain, killing 18, all Spaniards, and wounding 82, including 15 Americans.

November 1984 - A bomb attack on the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia kills a passer-by. The attack was preceded by death threats against U.S. officials by drug traffickers.

October 1983 - A suicide car bomb attack against the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut kills 241 servicemen. A simultaneous attack on a French base kills 58 paratroopers.

April 1983 - A suicide car bombing against the U.S. embassy in Beirut kills 63, including 17 Americans.

Tim,
Ron Paul would do exactly what he did as a congressman after we were attacked on Sept 11, 2001: He approved the attack on Afghanistan in an attempt to seek out and crush the Al Qaeda attackers. As President, he would seek approval from Congress (Time permitting, of course. Obviously there are executive emergency powers to hasten the process in event of ongoing attack), before going to war and he would only go to war when we had very clear objectives and targets to kill or destroy. (The whole point of war, BTW. Not hanging around as police amidst new civil uprisings.) He would not aggress toward sovereign countries that had not directly provoked us on our land, without congressional approval, without clear strategies, and without a clear exit strategy or workable long-term response, not to mention the money to fund the fiasco that would result from such a thoughtless “plan”.

Yes, he would actually engage in meaningful dialogue with other nations. Without communication, there is only the unknown. The unknown breed’s insecurity. Insecurity breeds fear. Fear breed’s over-reaction and war. Examples?

2003 Pre-emptive strikes against a nation not attacking us –> Current Iraq mess.

1964 Overblown reaction in Gulf of Tonkin –> Vietnam “conflict” killing over 58,000 Americans.

1914 Archduke Ferdinand’s assassination –> Austria-Hungary’s overblown reaction –> Russia enters due to distrust of Austria –> Triple Entente enters due to their distrust of everyone = WWI killing over 1.5 million.

1939 This is in turn lead to a disenfranchised Germany –> acceptance of a fascist leader who promised to “restore Germany’s honor and greatness” –> WWII. During this “dangerous time of enemy threat” all Germany asked of its citizens “ in the name of ensuring security and eliminating the “bad people” was that they forsake their guns, give up their liberties, and carry national I.D. This all culminated in the killing of over 62 million people and the destruction of countless treasures!

Why did all these things happen? All because of fear, distrust, ego, and arrogance that largely could have been avoided with a show of a little respect and some strong communication efforts to breakdown fear of the unknown. The more people truly know about each other, the more they realize how similar they are. The more similarities they realize, the less likely they are to kill each other. And, even when they do kill each other, if they feel a commonality, the more willing the remaining folks are to forgive the incident and avoid more senseless killing.

Getting back on track to Ron Paul:

He also would have kept the U.S. out of much of the world’s nefarious business in the first place. For instance, he wouldn’t subsidize, train, and arm unstable tribal factions and quasi-governments in the name of “spreading democracy” only to, in a few short years, be faced with the blowback of these decisions and have “oops, how were we to have known?” as his main defense.

Further, he wouldn’t have been eating dinner with the Bin Ladin family just 36 hours earlier (as George H W Bush was) and quickly ushered them out of the country, at tax payer expense, on U.S. Airliners while all other Americans were not allowed to fly due to a security stand down.

He probably also would NOT have shut down NORAD (the North American Defense system that has protected America’s skies for over 50 years) just hours BEFORE the WTC’s were attacked. An attack, mind you, which the president was briefed about in the CIA’s Presidential Daily Brief on August 6, 2001 entitled “Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US”.

The list of completely absurd cause and effect scenarios that resulted from the current administration’s policies, ignorance, underhanded secrecy, and unconstitutional actions is WAY longer than the list of attacks you provided.

That said, I think your list only goes to show that regardless political alignment: liberal; conservative; Republican; Democrat; hawk; dove; the defense policy makers and presidents of the past 30 years have failed to stop well planned efforts of directed violence and aggression. And again, regardless of party affiliation, the presidents have essentially all marched to the same tune. They have subscribed to the same failed policy ideas that time and time again have incrementally eroded the foundation upon which America was built. As Dr. Phil would say: How’s that workin’ out?

It’s time to get real: Ron Paul sees clearly though all the fiascos and the glad-handing that takes place on Capitol Hill and refuses to participate with the lobbyists, to compromise on the Constitution, or to subjugate the States to the overbearing control of the Federal Government. Name another candidate that can claim this and back it up without doublespeak! Name why an American would want anything less?

Ron Paul is NOT funded by lobbyists, NOT funded by Rockefeller, Not endorsed by Kissinger, NOT a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, NOT a Bilderberg attendee, and NOT part of the system that has promulgated or catalyzed the very terrorist attacks that you list above. Again, name another candidate that can claim all this and back it up without doublespeak!

Vote Liberty: Vote Ron Paul

I read all of your writing with great interest-you are so on target-I couldn’t agree more with this last e-mail. I have followed all the debates on both sides-I’m not sure any measure up to all your outlined qualifications. My husband is in state politics, and it is so frustrating to see our elected reps. misuse power, swap favor for political favor, succumb to lobbyists, and use the philosophy of “getting even;” votes are promised to spare feelings and protect territories, and then switched in the actual count.

The issues that are doable-like a decent school for all children-remain a stumbling block on all levels-I am an optimist who finds it difficult to remain upbeat in this political environment-it has to change. The system seems terribly flawed.

Will, your list of leadership qualities is extremely important information to communicate to the voters. I hope that you can find additional ways to get this message out there in order to facilitate better voter decisions and bring in the best leaders that we have to offer.

I might add at least one other quality to your list, though. I believe that a great leader has the capacity to transcend conflicts and transform public opinion in the gentlest possible manner, rather than only rely on violence, aggression, and coercion. In order to avoid an even longer war in the Middle East and extreme global hardship, I believe that this is the type of leader that we need right now (in addition to a person possessing the qualities that you have already mentioned).

Right on Will! I love reading your essays. They inspire me, and give me hope!
I have decided on my candidate, but my big hope is that, should he win, he will build a cabinet that is truly bipartisan and that will work to dismantle the special interests, have a compassionate foreign policy, and truly change the economy.

My dream team: President Barack Obama, VP John Edwards, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense General Wesley Clark, US Treasury Ron Paul (goodbye IRS), Department of the Interior John McCain, Secretary of Education Bill Gates (don’t think he’s interested but I can dream), Department of Consumer Affairs Ralph Nader. Others I’d like to see involved: Colin Powell, Bill Richardson, Howard Dean, and most of all, Will Marre…

Opinions about who should be president miss the BIG point. No matter who it is, the better issue is, do we need a president? Do we need a Congress? Its out of box thinking thats needed. The political structure we have was created in 1776 when there were no phones, no internet. We elected congress people to go vote our desires. But who needs them now? I can vote my own desires on the Internet. And why do we need a president? Wouldn’t a “high counsel”, somehting like the supreme court be better? If we continue to be bound by the structures that already exist, we get nowhere. It will be the same old same old. The issue is how do we change the CONTEXT not just the content. The people who read this blog are likely more enlightened than so many who live in the dark (e.g. people who buy a Hummer that gets 12 miles per gallon just after they see the movie “Inconveneient Truth”). At miniimum, we can speard some light in our workplace, with our friends, with our family. My friend purchased an $80,000 BMW 650 and I aksed him “why did you do that? Coul;dnt you have purchased a Prius for $20,000 and used the other $60,000 to feed starving children?” Unless we ask these questions, NOTHING changes. Our opinions dont have much value. Can we ask ourselves daily “What did I do today, what ACTION did I take to move the planet just a nudge closer to sanity?” Another nudge and another person you can bring on board the train of sanity eventually results in a big nudge and somehting visible happending that keeps us from goping over thge precipice.