Posted by
Likkerish on Sunday, September 02, 2007 4:53:59 AM
RON PAUL--IN DEFIANCE OF LOGIC
In this first installment of my blog, I cannot resist addressing a recent blog entry by Mary Katharine Ham, as well as some of the ensuing comments, all of which cry out for rational discussion. Self-serving ad hominem attacks or insinuations do not intelligent political discussion make. This goes for people on both sides of the issue of Dr. Ron Paul's candidacy.One respondent to Ms. Ham's post, "Duncan Hunter Runs Away With Texas Straw Poll," who writes under the name, purplestater, muses, "...my one big concern about Ron Paul is this: His defenders...say he is not a racist, even though there is evidence that he *may* be. But if he's not a racist, why is it that the White power folks at places like Stormfront.org like this guy so much?"Ron Paul and Pseudo-Logically Derived RacismMy response to purplestater is simply this: Your "logic," sir or madam, defies logic. Your reasoning appears to be: White supremacists are racists; some white supremacists support Ron Paul; therefore Ron Paul is a racist. Do you want a "do-over?" Quite frankly, I tire of such faulty logic that ignores the whole spectrum of evidence and focuses on building a pseudo-logical argument from one minuscule item gleaned from a Goggle search.Anyone who looks at the constitutional principles and personal values, evident in Dr. Paul's speeches and voluminous writings, which have guided his behavior during 20 years in Congress, will instantly discard racist allegations and certainly would not use them as a basis for argument. The purported “racist” statements written by a campaign worker years ago have been disowned by Dr. Paul and his record in Congress supports this disavowal. So do his many statements about freedom as an individual right and not a group right. According to Dr. Paul, we don't get our rights by virtue of being black, brown, yellow, white, or purple. We get our rights, Paul says, from our Creator. These rights are not given to us by any government. Government can only give us Liberty to exercise these human rights or it can constrain them, but it can never take them from us, regardless of our skin color, gender, national origin, or even sexual preference. Paul supports Liberty for all people, regardless of their identification as a member of a minority or other group which has suffered discrimination. And, he says that to support Liberty, you must support Life--all of Life! These are not the positions of a racist, so I urge purplestater, and all others of similar disposition, to do some research and thinking before tossing off such logically ludicrous and factual deficient statements.Ron Paul's Poll Results Defy Logical ExpectationsRegarding Ron Paul's third place showing in the Texas Straw Poll, Ms. Ham notes glibly that he was "unable to convert all that strange enthusiasm into a conventional win in his home state," referring, of course, to the conspicuous presence of large numbers of Ron Paul supporters in the vicinity of the poll.Well now, I have to admit that Ms. Ham's pronouncement sounds either a bit lacking in intellectual acumen or just flat out disingenuous, given that the poll was open only to core members of the Republican Party, as defined by participation in previous elections as a delegate. So, duh--is it any wonder that "all that strange enthusiasm" did not make it inside to cast votes for Ron Paul, especially when so much of the enthusiasm was being generated by new voters, disenchanted Republicans, Independents, and even former registered Democrats?In my opinion, the outcome of the poll represents the tip of the iceberg, which is about to sink the "Neoconservative Titanic." It would appear that this vessel is steaming full speed ahead into unwelcoming North Atlantic waters, its officers blithely convinced, so to speak, of its "unsinkable" reputation, No doubt, their purpose is to compete aggressively with the Russians for mineral deposits in the Arctic. Paul's garnering of 16.7% of the delegate count in the Texas poll (not 16.1% as reported by Jonathan Garthwaite in his blog and apparently based on a total vote count of 1,300 and not "approximately 1,400 votes," as Ms. Ham calculated) is a huge step up from the 3% figure of the most recent Gallup Poll on August 20 and his previous 9.1% of the Iowa Straw Poll voters. This suggests that he has the support of sizable contingent of the core Republican establishment in Texas, i.e., those who think like, and may be influenced by, individuals like Donald Huffines, a prominent Dallas real estate developer, who hosted a recent fundraiser at his home that brought in $102,000 for the Paul campaign in one evening. Those ain’t just crumbs, folks, as "Ms. Mary Green Eggs and Townhall HAM" would have you believe are the sustenance of Ron Paulians.Another respondent to Ms. Ham's blog, Darvin Dowdy, advocated for Duncan Hunter saying, “He'll get us out of Iraq sooner because he'll fight to win.” Win what, Darvin? What are we fighting for? For democracy, as the good colonel maintains? Who is our opponent? Who do we have to defeat? Where do we find them? Just in Iraq? Dr. Paul voted for our going after Osama in Afghanistan. He called for the issuing of a “letter of marque” to allow mercenaries, like we already employ in Iraq, to have free rein to go after him. What has happened with this pursuit? There were NO Al Qaeda in Iraq. Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11. This is abundantly documented. Why did we “cut and run” from pursuit of Bin Laden and his cronies? I agree with LibertyLadyFL, “I’ll take liberty over democracy any day.” Democracy throws people to the wolves, i.e., to “mobocracy,” which is precisely what we see happening in Iraq today.Paul's 16.7% delegate strength represented exactly one-third of the 651 votes that would have been required to have a majority of the Texas Straw Poll delegates supporting true freedom and a republican form of government. Can you imagine how the grassroots energy that is very conspicuous now all across the nation (see the recent Yahoo front page article on this support in New York City) may well translate into a new batch of Texas delegates of the type represented by Donald Huffines?No, Miss Mary Katharine Ham...the Paulies have nothing at all to weep about. The poll results are the vanguard, a harbinger, of much more to come. I think it is you who may eventually be reduced to tears. I hope you have some in reserve.