If the global economy were a three ring circus, then the center ring attraction would be the currency and debt battle quietly and slowly building between the United States and China. But for the past month the world’s attention has been distracted by a much more entertaining sideshow in which European unity, and the ongoing viability of the euro, is being tested by the Greek debt crisis.
I believe the short-term problems in Europe are being overblown and the potential demise of the euro highly exaggerated. For those who can connect the dots however, the Greek drama throws some much needed light on the far more daunting problems unfolding within our own fiscal house.
The scenario that is eliciting the greatest fears is that resentment from the more solvent EU members (Germany, France, et. al) will prevent a bailout. If the Greek government then fails to adopt austerity measures that will bring it back in line with EU debt requirements, an expulsion, or withdrawal, from the Union becomes a possibility. This could set off a domino effect that will bring down larger European political or monetary union. On the other hand, if Greece does receive a bailout, a moral hazard will be created that will encourage other indebted countries (Portugal, Spain, etc.) to press for equal benefits.
Ron Paul appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe this morning for nice long segment. The hosts, for the most part, heaped praise on Paul for his CPAC straw poll victory, energizing young people, and his steadfast fidelity to the free market and limited government.
It’s been played over and over again by now. The large amount of “boos” Ron Paul received after the announcement of the results of the CPAC Straw Poll where he won with 31% of the vote. Not much has been explained about how or why someone who got this kind of support would be booed like he was. Here is my take.
These are the facts, I know because I was there.
Ron Paul’s keynote speech on Friday was the first speech in the main room to pack the house and require overflow seating in other rooms. He was welcomed with cheers as can be witnessed by watching the video of his speech. His supporters (31% apparently) had a chance to get into the main room to hear his speech.
Saturday, the Campaign For Liberty held a panel discussion that began at 2pm and didn’t end until nearly 4pm. By this time the line waiting to get into the main room was 8-10 deep and down the long hotel hallway. When I left the Campaign for Liberty panel I overheard a volunteer telling people in line that they would likely not get into the main room and should instead find an overflow room to watch the event.
CPAC sells Saturday-only tickets. A co-worker and his wife took advantage of this so they could see Ann Coulter, Newt Gingrich, and Glenn Beck. Many people, apparently, took advantage of this which left those that attended the conference all 3 days in overflow rooms.
Those that came on Saturday were not able to vote in the straw poll. The polling ended on Friday at 1pm.
So, those that were in the main ballroom during the straw poll announcement were mostly unfriendly to Ron Paul. I didn’t even know there were boos when they announced the results because in the overflow room I was in there were mostly cheers and clapping drowning out the boos from the main room.
It makes for a good story for the media, pointing out the boos, but if the room was full of Ron Paul supporters and Mitt Romney (or someone else) had won there would have been a large number of boos at the results.
Please note, I’m not suggesting that Ron Paul supporters were blocked from the main room on purpose. It’s just the way it ended up due to the logistics of so many people coming to CPAC on Saturday to listen to Glenn Beck, Coulter, and Gingrich. Most of these people were neo-conservatives antithetical to Ron Paul’s foreign policy of non-intervention who did not and could not vote in the straw poll.
It’s safe to say that if the panel at 2pm by the Campaign For Liberty called “Why Real Conservatives are Against the War on Terrorism” were held in the main room, the cheers would have drowned out the boos when the poll results were announced. Of course, Judging from the boos in the main room, there may have been a mutiny if the anti-war panel were held there.
Ron Paul appeared on Larry King Live with James Carville to discuss Paul’s CPAC Straw Poll victory and the future of the GOP. Surprisingly, the discussion was very civil, indicating that the Democrats (like Carville) like the idea of Paul shaking things up in the GOP.
I’ve seen many people incredulous that Ron Paul could somehow win the CPAC 2010 straw poll. I’ve seen it on Twitter, emails, blogs, and comments on blogs. I’ve read that people call him “crazy” or “liberal”. I even witnessed someone say they would vote for Hitler if he was running against Ron Paul. Yeah, and Ron Paul is the crazy one.
So if you believe Ron Paul is crazy on foreign policy I ask you to watch the following videos and learn why it’s quite possible Ron Paul is actually the sane and constitutional one on foreign policy.
If you don’t have 90 minutes to spare to watch both videos in their entirety then go to 16:55 of the 2nd video and just watch Jacob Hornberger’s speech. If you do have 90 minutes then please watch both parts in their entirety. This video is from last Saturday afternoon at CPAC 2010 from a panel discussion called, “Why Real Conservatives Are Against the War on Terrorism”.
The panel is made up of:
Philip Giraldi, former CIA officer.
Karen Kwiatkowski, retired U.S Air Force, Lieutenant Colonel whose assignments included duties as a Pentagon desk officer and a variety of roles for the National Security Agency.
Bruce Fein, associate deputy attorney general from 1981 to 1982 under President Ronald Reagan.
If you’ve ever wondered where our country is heading, just look at the UK. They always seem to be a step or two ahead of us in the idiocy department.
According to the UK’s Human Genetics Commission, a government advisory commission, police are routinely arresting people to add their DNA to the national database.
According to the commission, over a million people who have not been convicted of any crime have been added to the database.
Ron Paul appeared on CNBC this morning to discuss his surprise CPAC straw poll victory and the financial state of America and the world. Paul continues his dedication to free market principles by saying he believes the market should bet the regulator, not the government.
Liberty Maven
by Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital and author of Crash Proof 2.0: How to Profit from the Economic Collapse
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