Why Not to Vote for Ron Paul
I am going to tell you why voting for Ron Paul would not be a rational thing to do. I’m not really endorsing anybody else. Just don’t vote for Ron Paul. Okay?
I’m going to start my saying that a few years ago I supported Ron Paul. In my early adult years, I didn’t have much of a political opinion. I did a lot of research on the internet, and started watching the news. After a while I came across Libertarianism, with its respect for personal property, and radical self reliance. It had a lot of appeal. I called myself a Libertarian, and even voted for Ron Paul (in a primary). On top of all this, I met Ron Paul in 2008, and shook his hand.
So, here I am, years later, a little better informed. If you’re anything like me, you’re open minded, and can respect common sense and good facts. I have a much better idea of the “big picture”. I hope you agree. Again, this is all about being rational.
WHY NOT TO VOTE FOR RON PAUL
1. Ron Paul’s Ideas are bad ones.
Ron Paul wants to cut taxes and to do this he is going to gut the government. If you haven’t read Ron Paul’s economic plan (you wouldn’t vote for him unless you had, right?), here it is. This isn’t his long term plan, he wants to cut a trillion dollars IMMEDIATELY.
He want’s to eliminate:
- Department of Education
- Department of the Interior
- Department of Homeland Security
- FEMA
- IRS
- Federal Reserve
- Department of Energy
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Department of Commerce
He wants to cut:
- Department of Health and Human Services: Food and Drug Administration, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Medicaid by 34%
- Food Stamps by 62%
- Child Nutrition Programs 33%
Thats really just the beginning.
Ron Paul’s main reasoning is his ideology. He firmly believes that government has no business in these affairs. Even if we agree with him, changing our existing structure that much would be a huge regression for our country.
All those institutions and agencies (or at least their functions) are part of how our country runs on a daily basis. At the moment, we need them. If we instantly deleted them, they would have to be replaced by private institutions that would, at best, take years to catch up. It would really screw things up.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot why Ron Paul wants to make these cuts. So that he can give the money to wall street in the form of complete deregulation. Let me explain why that’s bad. People are sometimes dishonest.
This is Ron Paul’s economic projection spending. It doesn’t seem possible let alone smart.
Taking a trillion dollars out of the budget would amount to a 7% cut in GDP. That is really bad. That would cause a major recession, just like the one we just had. Defunding the government to this extent is not a rational thing to do. It would have disastrous effects on our economy.
2. He wouldn’t get much done.
This one is easy. Ron Paul is running for President, not King.
If elected, he would see opposition at every turn. On top of that, the economy would tank, he would get blamed for it, and end up being a very ineffective one-term President. People say Obama was a letdown. That’s because they made him into Jesus. Guess what? Ron Paul is also not Jesus.
3. Ron Paul might split the vote!
This is the big one people. I had to start with the others so that we could understand the big picture. Ron Paul is polling around 10%. He isn’t going to get the Republican nomination. What scares me though, is that he might run as a 3rd party candidate. He’s done it before. If he does this, he probably won’t get elected, but anybody else could.
Remember Ralph Nader, of the Green Party? In 2000, he helped get George W. Bush elected. How many of his supporters do you think wanted that? Again, its about the big picture. Ron Paul isn’t some Green party candidate either, he’s a Libertarian. He has the unique ability to steal votes from the left and right.
- If war is your biggest issue, vote for someone else.
- If the economy is your biggest issue, vote for someone else.
- If taxes are your biggest issue, vote for someone else.
- If making your voice heard is important, vote for someone else.
My point here is: Ron Paul is not a safe choice
4. He’s weak on social issues.
He supports leaving these issues up to the states:
- Gay marriage
- Prayer, Creationism in schools
- Abortion and family planning services
On the surface it seems like Ron Paul is being tolerant by not weighing in on these issues. In reality he’s just avoiding splitting his base. It’s going to lead 50 different policies, in 50 different states. That’s not what America is about. He’s definitely not protecting any freedoms here.
5. He’s not in touch with reality.
Ron Paul has been pretty active in the debates. He spends a lot of time talking about Libertarian ideals. It’s very appealing and strait forward, but it doesn’t work. It’s like the opposite of Communism (which also doesn’t work). The only way Ron Paul’s ideas will work, is if he can convince everybody else to be a Libertarian too.
I think the reason he has so much support, is because of Libertarianism itself. Most of the Libertarians I come in contact with (most of them online) are fervent defenders of their ideology. They talk about how great the ideal Libertarian government would be. They don’t seem as familiar with the man himself.
When he’s not speaking in ideals, he’s spending time talking about conspiracy theories like the NAFTA superhighway. He should be talking about things that matter to everyday Americans, like the economy (How’s that job search going?).
In conclusion:
Lets go over the basics. 1) Voting for Ron Paul endorses an insane fiscal policy that could seriously damage the economy. 2) He would be a very ineffective president. 3) He may split the vote and get someone worse elected. 4) He’s weak on social issues. And last but not least, 5) He doesn’t really have it together. We need someone with a practical approach, who has the outlook and direction of a leader.
Seriously, what?
