I'm probably missing the web opportunity of a lifetime by not blogging more about Ron Paul, as Technorati still amazingly lists him at the top of its Top Ten "Where's The Fire?" list.
The fact is, though, I have nothing of interest to say about Paul. He's a decent guy, I like his politics, and he has a Texas snowball's chance in August of making it very far in the Republican presidential nomination race.
Rumor has it all this blogosphere traffic about Paul is the result of some small coterie of diehard libertarian supporters spamming web polls and such. I suppose the possibility can't be ruled out, but if there was ever a political category for which "herding cats" was the apt metaphor, it's libertarians. Just try to get a concerted effort out of three or more libertarians at a time, I dare you!
Maybe Paul is just the internet flavor of the month. If so, it can't be for his less than sterling performance during the first Republican candidates' "debate." He gets national air time and wastes it confusing people about the "inflation tax" or original intent regarding presidential citizenship requirements? Oh puleeze!
Still, I'll happily jump on the Ron Paul bandwagon just as soon as I have reason to believe its current momentum isn't from already having plummeted over the edge.
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3 comments:
I don't think Ron Paul wasted his time talking about the "inflation tax". I think he just had to point out the elephant in the room (no pun intended). Inflation hits everyone from the richest person on the planet to the middle class family living in the suburbs to the poor person living in the ghetto. Since about 1920 the US dollar has lost about 90% of it's purchasing power why is that because of inflation. People are worried about bird flu, terrorists, and mooninites in Boston all items that they really can not do anything about but inflation is something people can fix by allowing for alternative currency and actually backing the dollar with something besides a promise from the United States government.
Hi Slim, and thanks for the comment.
I understand the dangers of inflation and I'm all for monetary policy that minimizes inflation. That said, there's a time and a place for that discussion and the first "debate" was neither.
The "debate" offered Paul and the other lesser known, media shunned candidates an opportunity to make a positive impact on voters. From that perspective, the only sense in which Paul succeeded was in being perceived as "different" from the rest. Now, that's no small thing, but will his libertarian difference be perceived positively or negatively by the average viewer?
First impressions count. Paul is a known and respected person in libertarian circles, but unknown otherwise. If he's really serious about running he needs to do a much better job with soundbites that resonate with voters. That's all I was saying.
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