If Ron Paul becomes President.

[awake]

First off, please don't misunderstand the following post as trying to pee on the parade, I am not trying to do this. What I want to honestly discuss is how Ron will withstand the ignorant masses from blaming him for the pain he will inherit if he takes the office of the President.

I believe the people will turn on "the office" (him) when the pain comes, be it from the implementation of sound policies or the effects of disastrous past policies. This unavoidable political effect will not magically disappear because Ron takes office.

At this point, who ever the next president will be is going to get left holding an economic bomb and will be blamed for it going off regardless of who he or she is. There will be overwhelming pressure on the political structure to end the pain in the most expedient manner possible - as always.

Just as a heroin addict, viewing those who wish to help him as the enemy, will Ron be rendered inert and swept away in the chaos? Will they turn on him?

[UWDude]

I think best case scenario is Ron becomes president, and all the mainstream media sours their faces.
Then a group of neocons and bankers institute a coup, and the American people can see who the monsters are.

worst case scenario is he wins, and the bankers and pentagon do their best to punish the American people for defying their wishes.

[moonshineplease]

Dr. Paul always stresses the idea that people need to change their philosophy about what the role of government ought to be. This is necessary in order for him to win. It is necessary to reform the system, or completely rebuild a system of limited constitutional government.

[A Son of Liberty]

Dr. Paul always stresses the idea that people need to change their philosophy about what the role of government ought to be. This is necessary in order for him to win. It is necessary to reform the system, or completely rebuild a system of limited constitutional government.

Consider yourself +rep'd. :)

[Travlyr]

At this point, who ever the next president will be is going to get left holding an economic bomb and will be blamed for it going off regardless of who he or she is. There will be overwhelming pressure on the political structure to end the pain in the most expedient manner possible - as always.


Legitimate concern. I heard Thom Hartmann telling his audience yesterday that "the Tea Party guys are going to crash the economy." The people with the microphones today are lying but the people believe whatever their told. Yeah, it's a problem.

[A Son of Liberty]

It's a fait accompli.

I almost hope the man doesn't win... he doesn't deserve the garbage that'll be foisted upon him...

[ChristianAnarchist]

The good Dr. will be a one-term president. He will undertake the tough decisions and set the country back on the right path. The pain will be maybe one year, and then the recovery. By the end of the 4 years, all will want him to run again, but it will be time to retire and let someone else (a good student of the Dr., no doubt) to take the reigns...

[Fermli]

I've thought about this too, OP.

My belief is that if he gets elected, more than half of Americans will understand that the economy will get worse. Hell, a lot americans already believe this. I think a severe recession has been prolonged for so long that it won't be over in one year as a previous poster says. It's also possible that the economy will be in such terrible shape by RP's inauguration, that RP won't be blamed as much as you think. Obama started his term with 7.8% unemployment and it's now 9% and he still has a 50/50 or better chance of re-election. And the % gap is even worse if you look at real unemployment.

It's one thing to hope the economy will get better (Obama) and another to know why and how the economy will get better (RP). And since the media is no help for getting people to mindlessly vote for Paul (as with Obama), the only way he can really win is through education.

I wish I knew more economics to make a guess about how severe/prolonged the RP recession would be. I would hope that at the very least, most people would be extremely optimistic about the economy by the time 2016 rolls around... seeing new factories/companies popping up, seeing improvement in education, having lower taxes, etc. More people would be working, and less on food stamps, which will have a positive effective on their happiness.

If RP can somehow prevent food riots, and have a peaceful drop in standard of living, he would fare well. Could also be that the whole world goes through a depression, but that the US is a sharp contrast relative to europe/asia. Europe/Asia could have price controls, food riots, martial law, toppling of governments, wars, etc.

Too many factors for even the brightest people to prognosticate. No one knows exactly how the economy will fare or what effect the RP administration would have. This situation is unprecedented in magnitude.

Also, if RP wins 2012, we'll have a social and ideological transformation in this country. People will continue to demand lower taxes, less regulation, less welfare. Libertarian candidates will get elected in droves to local and state offices. The political debate will forever be changed, regardless of whether or not a pure libertarian like RP wins in 2016. That's why the educational campaign is more important than a lot of people give it credit. I find it hard to believe that a RP presidency would just be an anomaly and that the country could return to someone of Obama's policies right afterwards.

But I am an optimist.

[cindy25]

there will not be as much pain as one might logically think; the first cuts will be imperial, as they would not need congressional approval.

next will be corporate welfare, no pain there; the other cuts such medicaid, food stamps will be slow, much of it just because the economy will grow.

[Nate-ForLiberty]

think depression circa 1920-1921. Big hit but quick recovery. Competing currencies will help many many people. And by the end of his term we will see manufacturing jobs start reappearing.

[AlexMerced]

Yeah, Ron Paul would be a one term president in the same way Martin Van Buren was, made the right choices on the economy and avoided war... and paid for it at the ballot box, but it was worth it.

Not familiar with MartinVanBuren? ... http://www.VanBurenDemocrats.com

[MelissaWV]

I'm not as afraid of what Ron Paul wouldn't be able to do as President. Even he (wisely) says he can't just wave a magic wand and fix things. He can, though, use his veto power. This makes passing legislation very sluggish, and forces more people to actually vote on it. Right now an awful lot of people miss votes so they can claim the popular position later.

He can nominate Supreme Court justices that will bring integrity to the table. This also blocks subsequent presidents from having the opportunity to appoint those robes.

He can begin to heal our image around the world, which I would suspect would involve far fewer trips overseas at our expense. How can you not trade with a nation who makes the best cookies ever?

Most importantly, though, he fills the seat so that others cannot. If absolutely nothing else is true, voting for Dr. Paul means none of these others will be our Commander In Chief for at least four years.

[Pauls' Revere]

Dr. Paul always stresses the idea that people need to change their philosophy about what the role of government ought to be. This is necessary in order for him to win. It is necessary to reform the system, or completely rebuild a system of limited constitutional government.

Yep, and thats where the change will happen. Unless people wake up and smell the coffee we're just piling on more debt and problems down the road. It is morally unjust to put upon future generations "our" ills, how irresponsible is that?

[TCE]

Think about how he would wield power via the Executive Order. You forget that several of his main platforms are very popular. All he would have to do to gain support would be to enact all of his popular policies right away. That way, his honeymoon period will be extended and his popularity will soar.

1. End the wars/Bring Troops Home from the hundreds of countries they are pointlessly stations - Very popular. Military families would rejoice and he could flaunt the massive savings along with talk about how our National Security will be stronger.

2. End Foreign Aid - Very Popular. I remember a CNN poll where 79% of those polled were for ending foreign aid. Again, Dr. Paul could flaunt the savings and say it can go to lower the debt and instead spent here.

3. End the bailouts - Very Popular. Well, unless you're a big businessman. The grand majority of people hate them, so for a President to tell his Treasury Secretary to stop giving out money to rich bankers, well, he could be seen as heroic. As an added bonus, when the economy doesn't fail and the companies are allowed to fail, people will laugh at the obnoxious notion of something being "too big to fail." The good parts of the companies will be resold and the economy will be headed in the right direction.

4. Audit the Fed - Very Popular. Virtually all of us are familiar with the poll stating 75% of Americans want to audit the Fed. This is popular across the board and would be considered a good thing.

Those alone would buy him some good will and he could move onto a few more controversial items.

[Brooklyn Red Leg]

4. Audit the Fed - Very Popular. Virtually all of us are familiar with the poll stating 75% of Americans want to audit the Fed. This is popular across the board and would be considered a good thing.

Personally (though I'm fairly certain he wouldn't do it) I would rather have The Federal Reserve's members all arrested and charged with racketeering. The big one is gonna be if Dr. Paul has the gold in Ft. Knox audited and what the implications for that could be....

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

If Ron Paul becomes President....I'm going to get drunk that night. :p

[RonPaulGetsIt]

You ask a good question but after you think about it it really answers itself.

Ron Paul will be elected president only if boobus americanus understands what he has been saying all these years about shrinking the size and scope of government.

Under that wonderful scenario, Ron Paul will not be blamed by the ignorant masses, he will on the contrary be doing precisely what he was elected to do.

Truthfully I think there is no way we get to that point until after the dollar unravels and people are desperate and searching for answers.

That being said, the probability of this thing melting down before the elections in my opinion is a lot higher than what most people think.

[Don Lapre]

Too many factors for even the brightest people to prognosticate.

This.


There are SO many things that can happen before now and January of '13 that it's impossible to know what kind of situation Ron Paul would inherit.

If he were to hypothetically take office ---> TOMORROW, he would be wise to let the people know that the economic policies he will be pursuing may very well bring some PAIN (in the relative short term) in order to help correct a system that has become very deeply flawed.

Hard to get elected on a platform of, "Hey, vote me in and things might get pretty damn nasty for a while."


I'm not sure Ron Paul would be allowed to live if he were to win the oval office.
Hate to be morbid, but... well, you know what I am thinking.

I personally think this liberty movement is going to take time, and Ron Paul is the torch-carrier.
Getting many more Rand Paul type Senators and Congressman elected is a way to start to shift Washington toward a government much more aligned to serving the people.


No matter what, if Ron Paul is elected president, he will be crucified by the media and by the left to such a degree that it would make the treatment George Bush got from the media look like baby shit.

They'll hammer the guy and blame EVERYTHING on him, without a doubt.

[freedom-maniac]

Even if the economy continues to worsen and he can't get anything through congress, bringing the military home and pardoning all non-violent drug criminals would be a popular enough move to restore families and end countless suffering that he would be a well respect president even if he couldn't get reelected.

[MelissaWV]

Ron's first and last Executive Order might be one removing Executive Orders :p

I actually always kind of liked the line-item veto, myself, which would mean Ron could take a big black Sharpie to all those stupid riders on a lot of bills. I know, I know; unconstitutional. Still! A gal can dream.

[Jandrsn21]

If Ron Paul becomes President.

Well, I'll pull a frank the tank moment, get nice and liquored up and run buck naked through the streets. I'll even take the misdemeanors that come with it! :D

[ProIndividual]

for some reaon the post below posted twice, so i erased this one.

[ProIndividual]

Merced hit on the head...one term Presidents aren't always bad...sometimes they are self sacrificing, and history proves them heroes. I don't think Paul will run for a 2nd term. This means all the negativity will be for nothing, as it only serves to get him out of office...something I don't think he plans on fighting. Any President worth crap only needs 4 years anyway...I mean Washington took only 2 terms, and he had to preside over a newly born nation! How can an established nation require 2 terms from a President to see results? I wish he would run, win, then NOT run again...using the remainder of his life to leverage policies by constantly hinting at another run at President (that he never intends on making).

Leverage is the grandest power of a former President...as they always get more popular when out of office and retired. If Ron can still technically run again, no matter how old, he can always hint at running again until he dies whenever some newer President steps out of line. Sure, it'd be great if he was younger and did this one term thing, but even the threat of a former President endorsing your political adversaries is enough to leverage policy from the confines of retirement.

A smart, not greedy, President would PLAN on only one term to begin with...and using the mere ability to legally run again as leverage to keep his/her good policies going until his/her death. That's smart politics, not want for power.

Good call Merced, Van Buren was right.

[pcosmar]

Ron Paul has stressed that economic hardship is a reality that cannot be avoided. He has been (as he has always been) honest about it.
If he is elected it will not be because he has promised otherwise.
However, he has also promised a level of freedom that has not been seen in my lifetime and I expect that will outweigh the temporary hardships.

I remain hopeful.