Ron Paul - Presidential Candidate 2008

[Ujitsuna]

I'm making this topic to just let you know about a man running in the Republican party to become President, he is not that well known but on the internet his popularity is unmatched. He is a traditional and constitutionalist republican from Texas who has been making waves with his policy and stance on Iraq and 9/11.

Since I really just want to show him to you, here are some of the best videos I could find involving him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7d_e9lrcZ8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peBGJwE9NXo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCM_wQy4YVg (Massive 1 hour and 5 minutes explanation of his policies)

I'm not an American and can't really offer an important opinion on him or who is most relevant to Americans, but from what I've seen and learned, I have to say I am really impressed with Ron Paul. I think it would be a great thing if we had a politician like him here, and even more of his kind in the world generally. He seems to offer something generally different from all the other candidates both Democrat and Republican.

[Sage]

I wouldn't say that he's not popular. He has signs up in Montana (or at least all over my town) and that means he's probably made it everywhere else first. That's usually how it goes.
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[Creepr]

First of all, it doesn't matter if you are American or not. You have as much right as everyone else to say whatever you want. I like the things that he said. the only problem i that as they mentioned in the first video, he is the only one of the candidates to have that way of thinking. That puts the odds slighly against him.
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A name is just a name, simply because it stands for you, it doesn't define who you are...

[HarmonianHiccup]

Huh! So that's who he is!
There're signs up for him all over my hometown, but all they say is "Ron Paul ReLOVEution" with no other clue as to who he is. I was starting to get really annoyed by them, actually. O_o Now that I know who he is, though...

I think it's good for people to pay attention to the political situations in other countries. I think it's good for people to pay attention in their own countries too, but that doesn't always happen. >_>

The fact is that any political leader, especially one as high-profile as the President of the United States, is going to have an effect on other countries, espcially allied countries. Foreign policy has an impact on everyone, and it's something we should all be paying attention whether in our own countries or no.
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Proud Owner and Operator of The Hiccup's Speciality Grassland Atelier, the only place to find Electric Whiffle Bats!

[Bub]

I really hope he catches on more-so than he is already. I really wish he would run Independant. I know that is usually (well, always) political suicide, as no one really votes independant ("it's throwing your vote away, blah blah), but I am looking long term. If he would get a significant percentage of votes running Independant, that may be the first step in getting out of this stagnant and horrible Two-Party System we have going on in the United States.

That would be incredible.
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Kooluk's Resident Drunkard.

[Tullaryx]

If he picks Chuck Hagel as his running mate then that would make for a very interesting Republican pairing. Ron Paul's views are not new to me. Chuck Hagel has pretty much said the same except Hagel has not made an announcement to run for President though some who are less party-bound have called for him to do so.
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[Ujitsuna]

[Bub]

Aye, he is a Republican of old. He isn't of the new batch.
What we need is a few more parties to choose from. We need to stop being able to fund ridiculous amounts of money to campaigning. We need equal share of time getting to know multiple candidates.

Almost every free country in the world has this. Why don't we (the U.S.)?
All we have is two corrupt power mongering political parties that do nothing but send smear campaigns against each other during election time, instead of attacking facts and issues that are important to our nation. It has gotten out of hand.

That is why I think Ron Paul would be incredibly beneficial running as a Third Party ticket. He is nowhere near most Republicans nowadays. Get the ball rolling. Get more Parties involved in our elections. Give us more options!
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Kooluk's Resident Drunkard.

[Ujitsuna]

I just get the feeling that with the way Independants are viewed in the US, if he ever went third party, we'd never hear from him again...

[Bub]

I figure that is the only chance he has.
There really is no way he is going to get the Republican Party nomination.
Though he is relatively popular, he is nowhere near Romney or Guliani or a few others.

Furthermore, I don't think he would accept a Vice President ticket, nor do I think anyone running for the Republicans would ask. Again, he is surprisingly popular for someone who thinks outside the box, but not popular enough to warrant the VP slot. Unless the Republicans get smart and realize they are losing a lot of their younger audience/support.

So I see it as his best bet would be Independant. I can also see him try for the Republican spot, lose, and try the Independant route, which would be great. He seems to have a lot of desire to change our ways, and to get his voice heard. I hope this is what he does.
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Kooluk's Resident Drunkard.

[Ujitsuna]

[Tullaryx]

Despite all the talk of people asking for a third-party to join in the political debate...there's already many political parties outside of the Democratic and Republican parties. The reason why these other parties don't get much press or support is that most have a tendency to either be too liberal or too conservative. There's rarely a middle ground for these parties. Another thing is that for all the ideas they give out during debates and stump speeches they rarely have a viable and practical plans to put such ideas into effect.

I, for one, think that the two-party system has worked best the past 200+ years and why fix something that's really not broken. While the parties both have their demagogues the majority of its party representatives either land on the moderate or centrist side of their respective parties' political platform. The trick is for people to vote these practical-minded, level-headed politicians instead of the far-left and far-right members of their party.
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[Amyral]

[Timbo]

My thoughts on Ron Paul is that he has good intentions, but I don't think his ideas will work well in the modern era. Getting rid of most of what the federal government does and giving it back to the states can cause problems when America is acting globally. it can also be strange when a person is going from one state to another, seeing as there could now be massive change going from state to state.

On the talk of third parties, I think the only way that a third party could become practical is if a fourth party came at the same time. If the Libertarians and the Green party put two candidates up it would cost the Democrats and Republicans votes and get rid of the political sabotage of elections. Although I doubt they would win, if a strong presence was made, it would change the political atmosphere and could grow after the lost election.
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"There is no normal life, there's just life. Now get on with it"

[Ujitsuna]