If Ryan thinks he can reach out to Ron Paul supporters and get them to vote for Romney/Ryan vs. writing in Ron Paul’s name, I have this really beautiful, orange bridge in San Francisco I’d like to sell him.
I’m going into the confessional with the open mic for a few minutes. I like Ron Paul. There. I said it. It’s his foreign policy. God help me, but it makes me swoon. Ron Paul in 1987:
Non-Intervention
Throughout the 20th century, the US has steadily drifted from the traditional policy of nonintervention, neutrality, and independence to one of interventionism in the internal affairs of other nations, covert foreign activity, and broad international commitments. This dramatic shift in policy, one of the major US blunders of this century, is responsible for all of our overseas military conflicts of the past eight decades, which have resulted in more than 650,000 Americans killed and 1,130,000 Americans wounded…Policy shifts have since occurred, but reassessment of the overall foreign intervention policy has not taken place. Reassessment must occur if the senseless killing is to be stopped.
If we had reassessed our foreign policy back in 1987, there would be no Iraq War (Part I and II). The war in Afghanistan could still be possible, but only because we were attacked. There would be no involvement in Libya.
Neutrality on Israel-Palestine
It is sort of a contest: should we be pro-Israel or pro-Arab, or anti-Israel or Anti-Arab, and how are we perceived doing this? It is pretty important.
But I think there is a third option that we often forget. Why can we not be pro-American? What is in the best interests of the US?
I believe that it is in the best interests of the United States not to get into a fight, a fight that we do not have the wisdom to figure out. I would like to have neutrality. That has been the tradition for America, at least a century ago, to be friends with everybody, trade with everybody, and be neutral unless someone declares war against us.
The perceptions are yes, we have solidarity with Israel. What is the opposite of solidarity? It is hostility. So if we have solidarity with Israel, then we have hostility to the Palestinians.
I have a proposal. We should start by defunding both sides. I think we can contribute by being more neutral.
He’s like the pied piper to my non-interventionist side.
Thing is, he’s the pied piper to a lot of people. For a lot of different reasons – whether it be the legalization of drugs or his serious dedication to slashing big government.
His truly radical ideas explain why Ron Paul’s supporters are die-hard and unwavering. Just like Ron Paul. Ryan can’t come in, give a few examples of how his views are similar to Ron Paul’s, and expect them to vote for the ticket. It’s not going to happen because they don’t see much difference between Romney and Obama. A Ron Paul supporter, “Calvin,” on the Yahoo! comments section said it all:
Who does Paul Ryan think he is to even try to reach out to those of us who supported Ron Paul in the primaries? It was only over the past few months that the party establishment openly violated its own rules to squash Ron Paul’s campaign. The foul play ended up going all the way up to Tampa Bay. The GOP establishment has made it very clear that they do not want reformists to play any meaningful role in the nomination process, yet now the establishment asks us to vote for the candidate that it rammed through come November? Forget it!
And of course, that is just on top of the fact that Romney and Ryan are nor really better than Obama. Romney signed Romneycare, was involved in the negotiations for the RGGI, and voiced approval of the Wall Street bailout and the NDAA. Paul Ryan voted for No Child Left Behind, Medicare Part D, the Wall Street bailout, the Detroit bailout, and the NDAA. Ryan’s budget plan would not touch military spending, and it would not balance the budget for three decades. What would Ron Paul say about those things?
If Romney and Ryan win in November, the only thing that those of us who supported Ron Paul will gain is lip service. Our goal is not to send someone who gives us lip service sent to the White House, it’s to get send someone to the White House who actually believes in limited government. We want Obama gone, but we also want him replaced by someone who is genuinely different.
Message to Paul Ryan: If you did you your homework on Ron Paul supporters, you wouldn’t have bothered. Seriously. Getting Obama to vote for you would be easier.
Spinny Liberal 