Liberty Maven

CNN and Politico are sponsoring a GOP debate tonight from the Reagan Library in Simi Valley California. All four remaining GOP candidates are participating. The debate begins at 8pm on CNN.

Many have been calling for Ron Paul to be more aggressive during this debate. It’s hard for me to argue against that, but Ron Paul being aggressive could alienate people. The counter argument is that he has nothing to lose anymore and so much to gain.

There are so many people telling Ron Paul what to say tonight. I guess I might as well give it a shot as well. At some point I want him to say the following.

I am a true conservative. I’ve never voted for a tax increase. I’m advocating cutting spending as well. Our country’s economic struggles can be solved. I’ve studied economics for over 35 years. My stimulus plan has been endorsed by leading economists and it would not recycle money from your pocket back into your pocket. That is lunacy and won’t work. If you are concerned about the rising costs of health care I can help. I’ve been an OB/GYN doctor my whole life. There’s nothing more precious than looking into the eyes of a child and seeing that hope. Hope for something better. Hope for a better life. Judging from the election results thus far my candidacy is all about hope. I’m not doing this for political gain or power. I’m doing this because I have hope for America. I am pro-life, pro-family, pro-jobs, and pro-freedom. America today seems to be going down the road of socialism. This has to stop. I love the America that our founders created: The America of freedom, prosperity, and peace. Vote for me and help us make America stronger, safer, more free, and more prosperous than ever before.

Or something like that. Somehow I’m asking Ron Paul to step outside of his lecturing teacher mode and go more into a Mike Huckabee soundbite mode. Not likely I know. In any case, Ron Paul should get more time tonight because there are only four candidates left. Even if it is still relatively the least time of those on the stage.

John McCain likes to tout his record as being “good” with the National Taxpayers Union. Of course, this is just a little bit more of his “crooked talk”. On Tuesday the Union released a report showing that Ron Paul is the only candidate that would cut spending.

Read more about it at Ron Paul’s Daily Dose.

NRO’s John Derbyshire has become one of the most ardent Ron Paul supporters in the media. This short blurb on his blog is just the latest that demonstrates his unwavering support.

Oh, stop whining. So what if the likely GOP nominee believes in restraints on free speech, higher taxation, bigger government, open borders, and 100-year U.S. armies of occupation everywhere from Albania to Zimbabwe? Romney believes in those things too — at least, he does when he’s in a room full of people that want him to.

You already have a genuinely conservative candidate on offer. He’s just not slick enough for you. What, he has positions you don’t agree with? More than the other guys? Actually, I have heard very little complaining about Paul’s positions. What I have mostly heard is (a) He’s funny looking, (b) He can’t win, and (c) He has a lot of icky supporters.

The answer to (a) is to put aside the New York Times “Style” section for five minutes and think. The answer to (b) is, that if conservatism is going to lose big in 2008 anyway (newsflash: it is), it should at least make a stand, to inspire future generations. The answer to (c) is, get in there and swell the ranks of non-icky Paul supporters — there are plenty of us — to drown out the nutsos.

While you guys are crying into your light-blended crème frappuccinos, I’ll be making a campaign donation to help Ron & Carol celebrate their 51st wedding anniversary Friday.

Read his blog when you get a chance. It is worth your time.

How is it that this Insane McCain fella is supposedly heading for the GOP nomination? The GOP must be in pretty horrible shape if this is the best they can do. Wouldn’t it be neat, if somehow people were to suddenly wake up and realize that Ron Paul is the only true conservative left in the race?

This is a good short interview with Ron Paul. I find his answer on evolution interesting because of the claims made by many saying he doesn’t believe it.

The following interview, which appears in a condensed format, was conducted last week on a conference call with reporters from several universities across the country, including The Minnesota Daily.

Texas Representative Ron Paul is gaining momentum in the GOP presidential race. He broke the single-day online fundraising record, more recently placed second in the Nevada caucus, and has a large and growing fan base at colleges across the nation, the moderator said while introducing Ron Paul.

We wanted to start the forum by asking your reaction to (Nevada’s GOP caucus) results and to hear your plans for the next few weeks. And also, what part of your message do you think is resonating most with college students?

I believe the momentum is going to continue, especially with the young people because the receptions are always growing. I spent (Jan. 21) in Louisiana and the college students did turn out, and it’s interesting to try to figure out why there’s been such an attraction to this message and to our campaign from the young people.

I ask each and every one whenever I get a chance. But although the answers vary slightly, generally the theme is that they like the Constitution. They like principle. And they also like the concept of personal liberty – that is, it’s your life to lead as you choose and people don’t like to be told by the government everything they can do.

Read the rest at the Minnesota Daily.

This is good stuff from Mark Larsen on 1040 AM WWBA. Mitt Romney laughs at Ron Paul and Larsen gets mad and says he’s going to vote for Ron Paul.

My track record at predicting these has been pretty dismal so far, but that doesn’t stop me from trying. Unfortunately, for Ron Paul he will likely finish in last place now. Here is how I see it playing out.

1. Romney
2. McCain
3. Giuliani
4. Huckabee
5. Paul

I hope Ron Paul gets around 8%, but that will be tough. I hate being a negative Ned about Ron Paul’s chances, but that is the reality as I see it. A Romney win would be good for Paul going forward because it should help bring McCain down a bit in the eyes of the media. Yes, the media and the GOP, who seem to be pushing McCain for some reason.

The bottom line is, even though, I think McCain will win the nomination with Huckabee as the VP, McCain is too much of a moderate for most GOP voters. Working in his favor though is the fact that tried and true neo-conservative GOP voters are smaller in number this go around. Thank you Mr. Bush.

Looks like Ron Paul’s strategy of going where no other candidates go is continuing. Here is his visit to Maine as reported by WGME 13 News.

The Ron Paul campaign has released 3 new ads to be used in the Super Tuesday states. Two of the ads are for television and the other is for radio. All 3 are very good in my opinion.

 Radio Ad is here.

This interview was recorded from Ron Paul Revolution Radio (rprradio.com) this morning (01/28/2008). Luskin makes some really great points about various economics topics. His discussion of corporate taxes I found especially interesting. Overall it was a very insightful interview into a popular economist who is supporting Ron Paul in an official capacity.

I urge you to also check out Don Luskin’s web site at http://poorandstupid.com/

NOTE: The recording seems to cut Luskin off at about 17:20 into the 19 minute interview. This is how it actually happened on RPRradio due to the forced commercial breaks they have. Following that point the rest is just a ‘goodbye’ from Luskin.

Listen the the interview here.