Go Ron, Go

Republican Senator Ron Paul is the new sensation sweeping the race for the presidency and I like the way he thinks (on some things anyway).

I first tripped across Sen. Paul when I was browsing for a Libertarian candidate to post on Tyson's MySpace. He was a Libertarian candidate in the 1988 election but he's a Republican this time.

Later, as I was driving through Ohio, I saw several of his campaign signs posted. And now, some people are saying he did very well on the CNN/YouTube debate and was able to significantly increase his fundraising, matching or beating Romney, Giuliani and Thompson.

Here's what I like about him;

• He's against amnesty for illegal aliens saying basically that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants but "legal immigrants" who "embraced their new nationality" and learned English. "If we reward millions who came here illegally, surely millions more will follow suit."
• He's against protecting abortion using the constitution. While his objection to abortion appears to be largely religious, he is right in that the constitutional protection of privacy in no way implies that people should be allowed to have an abortion. Leave that up to the States, he says, and I agree.
• His environmental policy is very common sense. The constitution protects private property rights. So you can build a factory or whatever, just make sure you don't harm your neighbor's property, including his clean air and water.
• In foreign policy, Paul believes we should stop meddling in other countries' affairs and stop getting in bed with bad countries like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel. While some call this isolationism, I think it's about time we adopt a policy like this and look out for our own citizens first.
• I also like his view on terrorism. We are being attacked by terrorists because of our poor foreign policy in Muslim countries. Fix that and terrorism attacks will stop.
• He's an Air Force veteran. As such, he is interested in protecting veterans.

Here's what I don't like;

• He is opposed to a "religion free" government which means he doesn't like when people complain about religion in school or public buildings. He doesn't agree with the separation of church and state that has been established by Supreme Court precedent. I disagree with him here. I don't like my taxes used for religious propaganda.

The religious issue aside, I like Paul and I would probably vote for him. He is very libertarian in his views. I also like the fact that he doesn't take campaign money from special interests.

Here are a few telling statistics;

• Ranks first in donations from veterans and active military.
• Forty-seven percent of contributions from individuals donating less than $200 (compared to 17 percent for McCain, the next highest. )