Posters in support of Ron Paul are an eyesore that every student at this university has seen, asking the question: "Who is this guy?" Some of their chalk writings even pose the question directly: "Who is Ron Paul?"
For those still in the dark, Paul is a U.S. Representative (R-Texas) who has earned the nickname "Dr. No," after the James Bond villain for his refusal to vote for any bill not explicitly authorized by his interpretation of the Constitution and his political resemblance to a cartoon super-villain; he is also a presidential candidate and unelectable clown who deserves neither public office nor support.
The title of "Unelectable Clown" was first applied to him, and many others, by Conan O'Brien on Late Night. This clip, like everything of interest these days, was uploaded to YouTube. It was then flooded by his rabid supporters with comments such as "I quit watching this douchebag," and calling Mr. O'Brien a "cocksucker." For a man with such devoted followers, the extremism of his policies is surprising. On Constitutional issues (his alleged strong point), where he wants to reduce federal protection of individual rights in favor of states' rights, and on international issues, which he plans to conduct entirely through trade (i.e., let corporations control U.S. foreign policy).
His followers love him for his claims to "restore the Constitution," and for his positions strongly aligned with the Libertarian party. To "restore the Constitution" (to its pre-14th Amendment state), he has repeatedly sponsored a bill (killed in committee every time) titled the "We the People Act," intended to remove establishment clause and sexual/reproductive privacy cases, among others, from the jurisdiction of Federal courts and the Supreme Court (traditional guardians of our Constitutional rights), and strike down those cases as precedent. This bill would strike down precedent relating to the establishment of religion (allowing a state to establish an official state church), the right to privacy, especially "any such claim related to any issue of sexual practices, orientation, or reproduction" (striking down cases as diverse as Roe v. Wade and Lawrence v. Texas, and bringing the government back into your bedroom); thus he suggests a huge step back for Constitutional freedoms. Aside from de-clawing the Supreme Court, he also supports abolishing the Federal Reserve (apparently, his ideal constitution has no "Necessary and Proper" clause either), which caused an economic depression when Andrew Jackson did it.
He supports immediate withdrawal from Iraq, drawing more cheers from his supporters. This is a point in a pattern where he demonstrates a belief that the U.S. government should play no part in international affairs. The House of Representatives recently passed the Darfur Divestment Act, which prohibits the U.S. government from doing business with the Sudanese government directly or through middlemen (but imposes no sanctions), by a bipartisan margin of 418 to 1; Paul alone voted against. He supports withdrawal from the United Nations, NAFTA, and WTO, calling them "a threat to our independence as a nation." The toothless United Nations, and trade organizations dominated by the world's leading economy, he holds, threaten U.S. sovereignty.
Representative Paul is a racist bigot with terrible foreign policy ideas and a domestic policy that is a throwback to the 19th century, and that barely scratches the surface. O'Brien was right to call him an unelectable clown, and he should not be supported by anyone.
For those who may be interested, his quotes on racial issues can be found at http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/views/0024-views.html .
Reach the reporter at: ncchapma@asu.edu.
