Willravel

Evolution isn't in the Constitution, so RP doesn't believe in it.

skier

Another of his views i'm surprised to hear about from him, considering he's a doctor, is that he believes the health care industry should be all privatized. Profit-motivated health care is hard to see as anything but disastrous. There would have to be tremendous social responsibility on the part of the corporations and they just don't have a good track record for that.

I had thought that Dr. Paul's views would be more like Kucinich's, and was a little surprised that his views as a libertarian superseded his views as a doctor.

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Ustwo

You would think a Libertarian would have a communistic view on health care because he was a doctor?

Why is that?

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skier

I would think a doctor would have a communistic view on health care despite being a libertarian.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, Dr. Paul is pretty absolute on his other views- they stay in line with his understanding of the constitution and his libertarian beliefs.

I understand that there are people who disagree with my position on health care but so far the doctors i've talked to have made clear two points on the public vs. private argument:

1. Public health care benefits everyone.
2. Private health care benefits me. (as a doctor)

It also came across as a basic sort of understanding about how the two systems functioned, and was presented as fact/foundation for further debate on the finer details.

Just from my experience I had thought Paul would have softer views on private health care because he was a doctor, but it looks like he's a libertarian first.

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"Asking a bomb squad if an old bomb is still "real" is not the best thing to do if you want to save it." - denim

Ustwo

You don't know many doctors. Its not about just me as a doctor, its about working conditions, its about quality of care, its about not being part of a bureaucracy.

Socialized medicine has a lot more baggage than just who pays, and while many doctors would love to see the lower middle class (mind you not the poor they are covered) get some insurance help, thats a far cry from the government taking over 1/5th of the economy and becoming a civil servant.

__________________
Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host

Obama - Know a Man by the friends he keeps.

skier

I know plenty of doctors. It may be that it's a Canadian perspective.

I respect that you believe that a profit motivated health care system would be good for the states, but I really doubt you'll be able to convince me of it's worth. While it is hard to pinpoint even rough estimates of a country's average payout for health care, i've yet to see a single professional estimate that shows the average American citizen is paying less for health care than citizens in other countries are paying.

I'm just saying that from the doctors I know and my father knows, that I expected a softer position on health care than 100% private from Dr. Paul.

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"Asking a bomb squad if an old bomb is still "real" is not the best thing to do if you want to save it." - denim

samcol

I find it interesting that Ron Paul has gotten more votes than a couple supposed front runners (ghouliani and thompson). Why is he still being shutout and slandered by the media?

Total votes cast IA, NH, MI - 1,219,208

Romney- 443,139- 36.35%
McCain- 361,546- 29.65%
Huckabee- 207,308- 17%
Paul- 84,554- 6.94%
Thompson- 50,925- 4.18%
Giuliani- 49,198- 4.04%
Uncommitted- 17,971- 1.47%
Hunter- 4567- 0.37%

Considering he still has plenty of money to follow through strong for Super Tuesday, while the Giuliani campaign is working for free this month, how can he not be considered a 'serious candidate'?

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dc_dux

Ron Paul will be considered "serious" if he can come to the Republican National Convention with a meaningful number of delegates in his pocket....and the delegate race is close between two of the top contenders.

He currently has two and the Republican party still has "winner take all" states (the Democrats do not).

Guiliani's strategy was to bypass the first few states, hope that different candidates win in those states (exactly what transpired), and focus his attention and resources on winning Florida and all of its 57 delegates to jump start his campaign going into Super Tuesday. We'll see if that was a good strategy or not.

Either way, if Pau's trend of getting 10% or less of the vote continues, he wont be going to the convention with many delegates and his presence will have no impact....much to the chagrin of his supporters.

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"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

jorgelito

That's interesting. I did not know about the whole delegates thing and that the Republicans have a "winner take all" rule. Hmmm...maybe Ron Paul should have run as a Democrat then. If you look at delegates, then Ron Paul has been utterly ineffectual. But in terms of percentage or campaigning, I feel he has done a good job.

samcol

It appears Ron Paul has gotten second in both Nevada and Louisiana recently. I think Nevada was winner take all but he did get delegates in LA if I'm not mistaken.

This is encouraging considering he was able to raise another 2 million on MLK day and still has millions more in the bank, while huck and rudy's campaigns are working for free.

Plus Hunter and Thompson are out.

I expect another great debate performance from the doctor tonight.

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It's time for the president to hand over his nobel peace prize.

dc_dux

You forgot to mention the 5th place showing in SC with 4%.

The only remaining question is if Paul can demonstrate a capacity to get more than 10% on a consistent basis...particularly with other candidates dropping out and with most of the remaining primaries being closed (where Independents cant vote).

I dont think so...but we will see in Florida and the Super Tuesday states where he is still polling at an average of about 5%.

The question I have is what do the Paul supporters do next unless you still seriously think he has a chance to win the Republican nomination.

Should he run as an Independent or as the Libertarian candidate and sacrifice his position in the Republican party, squander all that money and still lose?

Or should he invest all that money in a longer term strategy to build a new third party or attempt to transform the Republican party?

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"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

sprocket

He needs to go back to congress, and try and build himself a coalition, instead of making a career out of protest votes.

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dc_dux

I'm the farthest thing from a Paul supporter in TFP, but I agree.

The forces behind his candidacy who share his political views and values must recognize that they represent a very small percentage of the electorate at present.

To have an impact on national politics and see their vision gain acceptance and credibility, they need to build the "movement" from the ground up. They will never elect a president until they are represented in state houses and Congress with a track record of successful, viable candidates.

Paul has the money from his supporters to lay the foundation for such a movement. The question is whether he has the interest and whether his supporters have the staying power to see it through...because it wont happen overnight, but will be a generational effort.

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"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

Willravel

Ron Paul has officially dropped out.
Will this finally free up Digg and Reddit for people who are obsessed with Obama? Probably not.

guyy

Their time has come and gone. The great reaction to the New Deal is waning. With that considered, i think his strategy is fairly rational.

dksuddeth

Obviously, most people in this country are not ready to be in charge of their country again. a pity.

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dc_dux

Or perhaps most Americans just dont believe in the libertarian approach to government.

I certainly dont see that as a pity.

I do think the fact that Paul has nothing good to say about McCain and wont endorse him and, at the same time, praises Bob Barr and comes as close as he probably will to endorsing Barr might have an impact on the campaign:

__________________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

sprocket

I'm not sure what to make of the 'typical' present day conservative who is nearly nothing more than a big government nanny state liberal when it comes to social/moral issues and domestic surveillance.

Why is so much to ask to want a smaller less powerful federal government not just when it comes to taxes and entitlement programs but these other areas as well?

It's always a neat trick to make a conservative sound like a left-winger.. all you have to do is get them talking about the war on drugs, abortion etc, and they sound like a lefty arguing for more gun control.

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Remember, wherever you go... there you are.

rlbond86

Agreed. In fact, most Ron Paul supporters seem to have a very arrogant view of themselves. They don't realize that some of us don't want the things he's talking about. I personally feel that libertarianism is cruel to the less fortunate, promotes social darwinism, and opens the door for abuse by corporations. While I feel the executive branch of this administration has overstepped its bounds by a wide margin, I don't feel that public goods and corporate regulations need to be thrown by the wayside.