Be careful with words -- too many Americans do not examine language.

[LayZayFaire]

I absolutely abhor the word conservatism. Why? The definition that we use is not the same as the definition liberals use.

I would absolutely can the idea that Ron Paul is the most conservative member of Congress. The word Conservatism has changed in the minds of both Democrats and Republicans. I would rather classify Ron Paul as a libertarian.

Think about the subtle propaganda from the media (not that I am surprised or disgusted, the mainstream media have a reason for doing what they do. They have to be pawns in regards to politicians -- otherwise, they would get not information about what's on the table in terms of legislation).

In the argument of "Tax the Rich", I hear from pretty much every MSM outlet that we simply, "ask the rich to pay a fair share". Be careful with this. Taxes are not about asking. They are about taking without your consent. In fact, the government doesn't even trust you to pay your taxes annually. They just take it from your paychecks every week, two weeks, or bi-monthly.

As the educated class of people (at least I hope, I'm not necessarily convinced), we should condemn these arguments. But we don't. In fact. even before Newt or Santorum released the attack ads, people on this forum were already condemning Romney as a what they call now, "a vulture capitalist". I can look up the posts about Romney on this forum and find similar arguments.

Too many people are not educated in the Paul camp about capitalism. As I have said before, politics is not about educating your potential voters, it is about convincing people that you are the best candidate. And I am always pointing out the flaws in people's arguments. There are extremely protectionist people even on this forum in regards to foreign goods as opposed to American goods.

What is the point of this post? I don't know. All I know is that A LOT of people support Ron Paul. But they may not understand economic issues as well as they should. You will find plenty of Paul supporters saying that the Federal Reserve is a private entity that robs us of our wealth. Of course, they ignore the fact that the Federal Reserve was a creation of government which makes them, and I'm very generous with this statement, socialists that believe that only if the government controlled the printing of money, everything would be better. What the hell is private about the Federal Reserve? They are a part of the government, are you kidding me?

As I've said, politics is about convincing people (mostly idiots). Let's hope Ron Paul can convince more idiots than Mitt Romney.

[The Beastly One]

Of course, they ignore the fact that the Federal Reserve was a creation of government which makes them, and I'm very generous with this statement, socialists that believe that only if the government controlled the printing of money, everything would be better. What the hell is private about the Federal Reserve? They are a part of the government, are you kidding me?
[/QUOTE]

Okay. With respect to the rest of your post, I can certainly see your point, however, about the Fed... The Federal Reserve Bank is a PRIVATELY owned quasi-governmental agency that operates with ZERO government oversight. The Director of the Fed is appointed by presidential nomination, but the person must come from within the Fed's agency, or with their approval. There is no audit - EVER - because it is owned privately, and the original contract between the Fed and our government stated that in exchange for performing a critical government function from within the private sector, the government promised to allow them to operate with absolutely no government interference or oversight. The Fed is not obliged to reveal any cogent information about their operation to ANY government official - including the president...Take a closer look at the Fed my friend. Educate yourself a bit better, because even the name, Federal Reserve Bank, was chosen to decieve the average onlooker into making them believe it to be a FEDERAL office.

[Sentient Void]

I absolutely abhor the word conservatism. Why? The definition that we use is not the same as the definition liberals use.

I would absolutely can the idea that Ron Paul is the most conservative member of Congress. The word Conservatism has changed in the minds of both Democrats and Republicans. I would rather classify Ron Paul as a libertarian.

Think about the subtle propaganda from the media (not that I am surprised or disgusted, the mainstream media have a reason for doing what they do. They have to be pawns in regards to politicians -- otherwise, they would get not information about what's on the table in terms of legislation).

In the argument of "Tax the Rich", I hear from pretty much every MSM outlet that we simply, "ask the rich to pay a fair share". Be careful with this. Taxes are not about asking. They are about taking without your consent. In fact, the government doesn't even trust you to pay your taxes annually. They just take it from your paychecks every week, two weeks, or bi-monthly.

As the educated class of people (at least I hope, I'm not necessarily convinced), we should condemn these arguments. But we don't. In fact. even before Newt or Santorum released the attack ads, people on this forum were already condemning Romney as a what they call now, "a vulture capitalist". I can look up the posts about Romney on this forum and find similar arguments.

Too many people are not educated in the Paul camp about capitalism. As I have said before, politics is not about educating your potential voters, it is about convincing people that you are the best candidate. And I am always pointing out the flaws in people's arguments. There are extremely protectionist people even on this forum in regards to foreign goods as opposed to American goods.

What is the point of this post? I don't know. All I know is that A LOT of people support Ron Paul. But they may not understand economic issues as well as they should. You will find plenty of Paul supporters saying that the Federal Reserve is a private entity that robs us of our wealth. Of course, they ignore the fact that the Federal Reserve was a creation of government which makes them, and I'm very generous with this statement, socialists that believe that only if the government controlled the printing of money, everything would be better. What the hell is private about the Federal Reserve? They are a part of the government, are you kidding me?

As I've said, politics is about convincing people (mostly idiots). Let's hope Ron Paul can convince more idiots than Mitt Romney.

Thank you for this post. It was absolutely needed. It is definitely sad that so many that claim to support Ron Paul, liberty, free markets, capitalism, etc - many found on this forum - will irrationally argue for protectionism or 'fair trade' (which is bad economics and immoral to restrict peoples' voluntary choice - and fair trade? fair for who?), and also refer to Romney et al as 'Vulture Capitalists'. I am *not* a Romney supporter - but I also do not believe such ends justify means, that we should all jump on the bandwagon and attack Romney because it is merely politically convenient, especially when that attack is a *direct attack* on our own principles (and that of Ron's) of capitalism (such an attack is also bad economics as well).

And yes, while the Fed is ultimately a 'private entity' and is privately owned, operated, and controlled - it is in bed with government. It is a corporatist entity which is extraordinarily corrupt, and it has the backing of government force, mandated monopoly, causes massive distortions int he market, and is plagued with 'the fatal conceit'. But the important thing is - that *these* are the reasons the Fed is bad - *NOT* because of anything involving it's private ownership, per se.

And while I mostly agree with you about the 'conservative' label, and prefer the libertarian one (for the general populace), I understand why it's still important to use the term 'conservative'. If RP can be justified/rationalized as a 'conservative' (and he legitimately can), then it will attract conservative voters. And we need the GOP nomination before we can try to get to the general election.