The Mythical Freedom of Ron Paulism

I was a supporter of Ron Paul’s last year till the summer. I believed more in him than I did any of the remaining candidates the Republican and Democratic parties offered up. Stridently anti-war without sounding like Cindy Sheehan; anti-drug war without sounding like a stoner hippie; anti-federal death penalty without equivocation; and a critic of moron Mike Huckabee’s advertisement brazenly using Christian imagery. However as I delved deeper into Mr. Paul’s politics as the summer moved, and encountered more and more of his supporters (working as the computer guy for two Libertarian candidates in the state, there were encounters with the Ron Paul fan-club), it became evident that Ron Paul was preaching a gospel wholly devoid of realism, but that he was consciously creating a cult of personality.

Then he came out and endorsed Charles “Chuck” Baldwin of the stupidly named “Constitution Party.” Others who’ve endorsed Mr. Baldwin include Jerome Corsi, a man totally lacking any principles whatsoever who wrote a book on Obama based entirely on speculation and whatever fantasies result from curing one’s hat with too much mercury. Jerome Corsi also appears on media run by Holocaust deniers and white supremacists, writes for the anti-Semitic conspiracy site World Net Daily, and has opinions regarding 9/11 which border on the “sublimely retarded.” This is who Chuck Baldwin appealed to, and Ron Paul apparently felt that this was cool.

Now what attracted many around my age (I’m 26) to Ron Paul was this gospel of freedom he was promoting. Economic freedom! Social freedom! Freedom from religion even! To someone who identified not at all with the Roman Catholic faith he was raised, this was an exciting prospect. Awesome, Ron Paul was going to let me keep the income I was earning, and let me spend it on pot if I was so inclined! I won’t be worried about the government knocking down my door, demanding 30% of what I earned and then throwing me in jail for whatever I decided to add to my personal hookah.

After careful studying, this was pure idiocy on my part. What Ron Paul preaches superficially is “freedom,” what goes on below the surface of his gospel is something entirely different.

For individuals who think Ron Paul is the Messiah of Liberty, ask yourself this: he had a choice to endorse the Libertarian Party candidate for President, a man who regretted (most likely dishonestly, but regretted it nonetheless) his creation the Defense of Marriage Act (an act which eliminated freedom), one who believed in social sovereignty (most likely superficial, but who knows), and the like. Instead he endorsed someone from the Constitution Party. The Constitution Party is as much about liberty as the Bolshevik Party.

Here is their party platform. Let’s look at the amount of liberty they wish to extend to people.

Gambling:

Gambling promotes an increase in crime, destruction of family values, and a decline in the moral fiber of our country. We are opposed to government sponsorship, involvement in, or promotion of gambling, such as lotteries, or subsidization of Native American casinos in the name of economic development.

Pornography:

Pornography, at best, is a distortion of the true nature of sex created by God for the procreative union between one man and one woman in the holy bonds of matrimony, and at worst, is a destructive element of society resulting in significant and real emotional, physical, spiritual and financial costs to individuals, families and communities. We call on our local, state and federal governments to uphold our cherished First Amendment right to free speech by vigorously enforcing our laws against obscenity to maintain a degree of separation between that which is truly speech and that which only seeks to distort and destroy.

Family:

The law of our Creator defines marriage as the union between one man and one woman. The marriage covenant is the foundation of the family, and the family is fundamental in the maintenance of a stable, healthy and prosperous social order. No government may legitimately authorize or define marriage or family relations contrary to what God has instituted. We are opposed to amending the U.S. Constitution for the purpose of defining marriage. We reject the notion that sexual offenders are deserving of legal favor or special protection, and affirm the rights of states and localities to proscribe offensive sexual behavior. We oppose all efforts to impose a new sexual legal order through the federal court system. [note: criminalize homosexuality] We stand against so-called “sexual orientation” and “hate crime” statutes that attempt to legitimize inappropriate sexual behavior and to stifle public resistance to its expression. We oppose government funding of “partner” benefits for unmarried individuals. Finally, we oppose any legal recognition of homosexual unions. We recognize that parents have the fundamental right and responsibility to nurture, educate, and discipline their children. We oppose the assumption of any of these responsibilities by any governmental agency without the express delegation of the parents or legal due process. We affirm the value of the father and the mother in the home, and we oppose efforts to legalize adoption of children by homosexual singles or couples.

And there’s a lot more. The Constitution Party is explicitly a religious party like Hamas, Hez’bollah, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Taliban only missing the militant aspect. The webpage of their platform mentions “God” or “Creator” 19 times.

This theocratic party is who Ron Paul believed would best be in charge of this country (after himself of course). In what sense does Ron Paul’s advocacy of what is a brazenly theocratic/authoritarian mindset even remotely similar to the notion of “freedom?”

Ron Paul = freedom is a myth that’s becoming far too widespread.