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01-04-2010, 09:00 AM
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POLITICS AND COMMENTARY, COAST TO COAST, FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
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OMG, what's happening? A year into Obama's reign, Ron Paul's loopy ideas now making sense
January 4, 2010 | 2:04 am
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0128769f220e970c-600wi
Loyal Ticket readers from the 2007-08 presidential primary months will remember our many items about the amazing long-shot political campaign of Republican Rep. Ron Paul, Dr. No or Dr. Know-Nothing, depending on your viewpoint. (In fact, over in the right margin here under Categories, you can find an entire Ron Paul story archive to reminisce through.)
The now 11-term Texas congressman raised more money in the final quarter of 2007 than any other GOP candidate, including all the far bigger names.
Fueled by funds from millions of fervent supporters, many new to politics spontaneously roaming the Internet as chanting patrols of talking-point enforcers, his campaign haul totaled some $35 million. A remarkable feat that in many ways presaged the later tea party protest movement against federal spending.
Paul's campaign millions were way more than what's-his-name-the-ex-Arkansas-governor who lost so much weight, surprisingly won the Iowa caucuses and went on to do not really much else except get a commentating job on Fox News, the company that banned Paul from its New Hampshire Republican debate.
Shame, shame.
A former losing Libertarian presidential candidate (aren't they all?) and a retired ob-gyn who delivered 4,000 babies, Paul is even older than the old guy the Republicans eventually chose as their standard-bearer against the $750-million campaign of the hopey-changey guy from Illinois. That Democratic candidate was, btw, only 11 years old when his VP, Joe Biden, entered the U.S. Senate.
Here's one typically outrageous and ridiculous thing that Ron Paul did: He ran his....
...hopelessly outgunned presidential campaign as if it was a business, not even spending more money than he had in hand. C'mon now, how laughable is that in this day and age in modern America that someone who wants to run the federal government should live within his own campaign means? Just like normal people who live on a real budget with no ability to vote themselves a pay raise and a higher debt ceiling when no one is watching C-SPAN!
When the ultimate Democratic winner, in league with the extraordinary gentleman Harry Reid and the tough-talking San Francisco grandma who's House speaker, has decided to spend a gazillion more dollars than any non-federal calculator has digits to display.
These people, for Nancy's sake, are already spending the income taxes of the unborn grandchildren of those 4,000 babies that Paul delivered. A shocking realization that may be helping to fuel the recent re-examination of Ron Paul, who never met a federal dollar that needed spending -- unless it was going back to his district near Houston.
Ron Paul came within something like 1,000 delegates of catching John McCain for the Republican nomination in St. Paul. But when he finally gave up, Paul still had about $5 million left over. He's been investing it traveling around the country to speak and helping like-minded RFR's (Republicans For Real) organize all over. And, who knows, maybe sell a few books.
But now, just as his fierce supporters fearlessly predicted all along, many in American politics are coming around to think that maybe RP's crazy ideas, for example, of auditing and controlling the Federal Reserve, are maybe not quite so crazy.
Our news colleague in Washington, Don Lee, details the sea-change in opinion in a comprehensive look at the old guy's rebirth for weekend print editions, which we're sharing here this morning as a distinguished guest post for Ticket readers around the world.
And for any surviving Ron Paulites, who won't dare leave their typically snippy comments below because that would require them acknowledging that their favorite fiction about a MSM conspiracy to ignore the old guy is fiction.
-- Andrew Malcolm
Because no federal funds are involved, Ron Paul would want you to click here for Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or follow us @latimestot. Or join us over here on The Ticket's new Facebook FAN page.
Here's Lee's reported news item:
For three decades, Texas congressman and former presidential candidate Ron Paul's extreme brand of libertarian economics consigned him to the far fringes even among conservatives. Not a few times, his views put him on the losing end of 434-1 votes on Capitol Hill.
No longer. With the economy still struggling and political divisions deepening, Paul's ideas not only are gaining a wider audience but also are helping to shape a potentially historic battle over economic policy -- a struggle that will affect everything including jobs, growth and the nation's place in the global economy.
Already, Paul's long-derided proposal to give Congress supervisory power over the traditionally independent Federal Reserve appears to be on its way to becoming law.
His warnings on deficits and inflation are now Republican mantras.
And with this year's congressional election campaign looming, the Texas congressman's deep-seated distrust of activist government has helped fuel protests such as the tea-party movement, harden partisan divisions in Washington and stoke public fears about federal spending and the deficit.
"People are wondering what went wrong. And they're not happy with what the....
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0128769f2cb1970c-450wi
....government is offering up," said James Grant, editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, offering an explanation for why seemingly wonkish arguments over interest rate policy and the money supply are spilling over onto ordinary Americans.
Some of Paul's most extreme views are still beyond the pale for most economists. Despite the eroding value of the dollar, no one expects the U.S. to return to the gold standard, as Paul advocates; most economists think that could wreck the economy.
In their less drastic forms, however, Paul's ideas are being welcomed by conservatives and viewed with foreboding by liberals. For conservatives, runaway inflation constitutes the biggest potential threat to the nation's future. Liberals worry that cutting back stimulus efforts too soon could slow or even halt the current recovery.
The debate over that question -- what the basic thrust of U.S. economic policy should be -- is likely to dominate the coming elections and Washington policymaking.
Continue
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/01/ron-paul-republican-party-federal-reserve.html
POLITICS AND COMMENTARY, COAST TO COAST, FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
« Previous Post | Top of the Ticket Home
OMG, what's happening? A year into Obama's reign, Ron Paul's loopy ideas now making sense
January 4, 2010 | 2:04 am
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0128769f220e970c-600wi
Loyal Ticket readers from the 2007-08 presidential primary months will remember our many items about the amazing long-shot political campaign of Republican Rep. Ron Paul, Dr. No or Dr. Know-Nothing, depending on your viewpoint. (In fact, over in the right margin here under Categories, you can find an entire Ron Paul story archive to reminisce through.)
The now 11-term Texas congressman raised more money in the final quarter of 2007 than any other GOP candidate, including all the far bigger names.
Fueled by funds from millions of fervent supporters, many new to politics spontaneously roaming the Internet as chanting patrols of talking-point enforcers, his campaign haul totaled some $35 million. A remarkable feat that in many ways presaged the later tea party protest movement against federal spending.
Paul's campaign millions were way more than what's-his-name-the-ex-Arkansas-governor who lost so much weight, surprisingly won the Iowa caucuses and went on to do not really much else except get a commentating job on Fox News, the company that banned Paul from its New Hampshire Republican debate.
Shame, shame.
A former losing Libertarian presidential candidate (aren't they all?) and a retired ob-gyn who delivered 4,000 babies, Paul is even older than the old guy the Republicans eventually chose as their standard-bearer against the $750-million campaign of the hopey-changey guy from Illinois. That Democratic candidate was, btw, only 11 years old when his VP, Joe Biden, entered the U.S. Senate.
Here's one typically outrageous and ridiculous thing that Ron Paul did: He ran his....
...hopelessly outgunned presidential campaign as if it was a business, not even spending more money than he had in hand. C'mon now, how laughable is that in this day and age in modern America that someone who wants to run the federal government should live within his own campaign means? Just like normal people who live on a real budget with no ability to vote themselves a pay raise and a higher debt ceiling when no one is watching C-SPAN!
When the ultimate Democratic winner, in league with the extraordinary gentleman Harry Reid and the tough-talking San Francisco grandma who's House speaker, has decided to spend a gazillion more dollars than any non-federal calculator has digits to display.
These people, for Nancy's sake, are already spending the income taxes of the unborn grandchildren of those 4,000 babies that Paul delivered. A shocking realization that may be helping to fuel the recent re-examination of Ron Paul, who never met a federal dollar that needed spending -- unless it was going back to his district near Houston.
Ron Paul came within something like 1,000 delegates of catching John McCain for the Republican nomination in St. Paul. But when he finally gave up, Paul still had about $5 million left over. He's been investing it traveling around the country to speak and helping like-minded RFR's (Republicans For Real) organize all over. And, who knows, maybe sell a few books.
But now, just as his fierce supporters fearlessly predicted all along, many in American politics are coming around to think that maybe RP's crazy ideas, for example, of auditing and controlling the Federal Reserve, are maybe not quite so crazy.
Our news colleague in Washington, Don Lee, details the sea-change in opinion in a comprehensive look at the old guy's rebirth for weekend print editions, which we're sharing here this morning as a distinguished guest post for Ticket readers around the world.
And for any surviving Ron Paulites, who won't dare leave their typically snippy comments below because that would require them acknowledging that their favorite fiction about a MSM conspiracy to ignore the old guy is fiction.
-- Andrew Malcolm
Because no federal funds are involved, Ron Paul would want you to click here for Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or follow us @latimestot. Or join us over here on The Ticket's new Facebook FAN page.
Here's Lee's reported news item:
For three decades, Texas congressman and former presidential candidate Ron Paul's extreme brand of libertarian economics consigned him to the far fringes even among conservatives. Not a few times, his views put him on the losing end of 434-1 votes on Capitol Hill.
No longer. With the economy still struggling and political divisions deepening, Paul's ideas not only are gaining a wider audience but also are helping to shape a potentially historic battle over economic policy -- a struggle that will affect everything including jobs, growth and the nation's place in the global economy.
Already, Paul's long-derided proposal to give Congress supervisory power over the traditionally independent Federal Reserve appears to be on its way to becoming law.
His warnings on deficits and inflation are now Republican mantras.
And with this year's congressional election campaign looming, the Texas congressman's deep-seated distrust of activist government has helped fuel protests such as the tea-party movement, harden partisan divisions in Washington and stoke public fears about federal spending and the deficit.
"People are wondering what went wrong. And they're not happy with what the....
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0128769f2cb1970c-450wi
....government is offering up," said James Grant, editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, offering an explanation for why seemingly wonkish arguments over interest rate policy and the money supply are spilling over onto ordinary Americans.
Some of Paul's most extreme views are still beyond the pale for most economists. Despite the eroding value of the dollar, no one expects the U.S. to return to the gold standard, as Paul advocates; most economists think that could wreck the economy.
In their less drastic forms, however, Paul's ideas are being welcomed by conservatives and viewed with foreboding by liberals. For conservatives, runaway inflation constitutes the biggest potential threat to the nation's future. Liberals worry that cutting back stimulus efforts too soon could slow or even halt the current recovery.
The debate over that question -- what the basic thrust of U.S. economic policy should be -- is likely to dominate the coming elections and Washington policymaking.
Continue
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/01/ron-paul-republican-party-federal-reserve.html