Thursday, July 26, 2007

RE: Paul tops list of GOP candidates

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Stephen du Buis
Date: Jul 26, 2007 11:43 AM


An article written by J. PATRICK RHAMEY for the The Red and Black, an independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community.

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Paul tops list of GOP candidates


Ronald Reagan once said "protecting the rights of even the least individual among us is basically the only excuse the government has for even existing."

As the current election season continues to barrel forward in full force, I am constantly asking myself, "is our government protecting our individual rights?"

Glancing across the many depressing political headlines, the answer is most clearly "no." At least, not most politicians.

Many Georgians have never heard of Ron Paul. The 10-term Congressman and doctor from Lake Jackson, Texas, has delivered over 4,000 infants (never accepting Medicare or Medicaid, but at times doing the work for free instead), is consistently ranked as a Taxpayer's Best Friend by the National Taxpayers Union, and constantly gives speeches on the House floor concerning the Constitution. He was a close friend of Ronald Reagan (one of the first Congressmen to endorse him for the presidency) and Barry Goldwater.

In his over 20 years in Congress, Ron Paul has not once voted to raise taxes or congressional pay. Of all the current and prospective Republican candidates, no individual more closely resembles the traditional values of the Republican Party, and the constitution, than Paul.

Georgia Republicans should not feel constrained into having to vote for a pro-choice New Yorker, a Massachusetts Mormon or an Arizona flip-flopper. If the Republican Party is to stand any chance against the big government schemes of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, we must select a candidate who closely identifies with our values.

What are our traditional values? Looking across history, they are most certainly not wire-tapping, secret prisons, and preemptive wars. The Republican Party gained power with Newt Gingrich to minimize the size of government, lower taxes, encourage free trade, and get government out of our lives.

Unfortunately, they did the opposite and have paid the price.

It is time to elect someone who represents the political views of Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater and Dwight Eisenhower. A patriot who will not put our brave fighting men and women needlessly into harm's way. A candidate who supports policies of economic growth for the middle class such as lower taxes and minimizing government. A man of outstanding character who has been married to the same woman for fifty years and opposes abortion. A veteran who will secure our borders. This is the type of Reagan Republican we need back in the White House.

I encourage Georgians of all parties to take a moment to investigate Paul as a candidate on his website, www.ronpaul2008.com. In this great struggle against terror, amidst the many successes and setbacks, I fear we may be losing sight of that which our fighting men and women are dying to protect: individual freedom. If we lose sight of that, the terrorists have most surely accomplished their goals.

We must elect a candidate who will pursue a humble, defensive foreign policy. One who will bring our fighting men and women home to protect us here, not in Iraq, Afghanistan or Iran.

To quote another great Republican president, Dwight Eisenhower, "Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. Frankly, I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked about such a thing."

As the only Republican candidate who took that advice seriously and opposed the war in Iraq, let's give Ron Paul a chance.

- J. Patrick Rhamey is a graduate student in political science from Athens.

Source: http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2007/07/26/Opinions/Paul-Tops.List.Of.Gop.Candidates-2927189.shtml

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