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NEWTON, Iowa -- Ron Paul's appearance at the Iowa Speedway here drew the most media attention of the campaign season -- television and print journalists, as well as photographers, made the room tough to navigate.
Paul told the audience he wants to be the first president in history where the federal government shrunk -- instead of expanded -- "by thousands of pages and regulations."
On foreign policy, Paul asked, "How long do we have to stay in Korea?" He went on to explain how the U.S. military has had a presence in that country "since I was in high school." He also said Americans have been subsidizing Japan since World War II.
On Iraq, Paul said it is "so sad what's happening," telling the audience that before the war there, Iraqis were "arch enemies" of Iran; now they are "buddying up."
He said that in order to solve the nation's financial problems, Americans need to ask, "What should the role of government be?"
"Police the world, run your personal lives, and run economy? If that's what you want, this can't work."
The Texas congressman reminded the audience about the upcoming caucuses and said a message will be sent, telling voters that it's a choice between him or the status quo.
One audience member said he was a veteran and wanted Paul as the commander-in-chief. Paul responded by telling the man he served five years in the military, voted against the wars, and receives more donations from members of the military than all other candidates combined.
Asked about going back to the gold standard, Paul said he'd "like to go forward with a gold standard" and let the markets help decide.
Asked about federal funding of the Peace Corps, Paul said the organization is "not authorized under the constitution," and those responsibilities "should be done through voluntary groups."
And on eliminating the Energy Department, Paul was asked who would control nuclear waste. He said the Defense Department would take care of those responsibilities.
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I have never understood WHY, these anti-gubment yahoo's make their living off of the same gubment they despise?
If you have fond memories of 1901 - make sure to vote for this old coot!
Psst. Feisty. Think he actually preferred the year 1854, but don't tell anybody!
Can somebody explain the meaning of a "shrunk Government" to these chumps. Do they really understand that if you shrink Government you'll invariably shrink the USA economy? Meanwhile, this same government created their own jobs.
Me either, Feisty and Pen24. They claim to hate government while making their living off it. Rick Perry talks about President Obama, and GOP candidates as being "insiders" when Perry has been a Texas politician for 26 years gladly accepting that taxpayer-funded check with open arms. Did Perry ever attempt to decrease the size of Texas government? Nope, not once. What a bunch of hypocrits.
Ron Paul made his living off of delivering babies as a physician. He has proposed if elected president that he would take a salary of about $30,000 (don't remember the exact number)- the same as the average American. He has refused to sign up for a government pension as a Congressman to avoid receiving government money. He is serving the American people for just that- as a public service.
Fiesty,
I've read many of your posts and I think I have yet to see one that talks about Obama's achievements rather than Republican bashing.
Could you please offer up some material as to why Obama has earned a second term?
Thanks.
I would be happy to...
Here a just a few from his first year 2009;
You're welcome!
Did I mention how PROUD I am of OUR President?
eliminating wasteful spending? I'm fairly certain that we spent $100,000 last year to teach Africans how to properly wash their genitals. Simply passing a bill doesn't always make things better. Both our president and our congress are failing us now. All incumbents should be voted out, regardless of affiliation.
Thank you Feisty.
You may know that I haven't made my mind up yet about who to vote for. I don't care about race, sex, color, creed, religion, political label. They can be white, black. brown, red, yellow or green.
I just want someone who will make decisions based on the needs of the people and not the desires of the rich.
I just want someone with a vision and a plan to get this country headed in a good direction (there is no "right" direction, only better).
I just want someone who will do the right thing.
I'm not sure I've seen that someone yet including Obama. Let's see how things go between now and November.
I do know one thing, however, I am NOT voting for anyone that has signed Grover's pledge even if they did it with good intentions in mind. We CANNOT, under any circumstances, have politicians in positions of power that answer to lobbyists. They answer to us, the people, and it seems they have forgotten that somewhere along the way.
As a progressive, that is all I can ask...
Amen to THAT!
I would add, we absolutely need to remove the gridlock currently gripping Congress!
There was a time where compromise wasn't a dirty word!
Thank you for your thoughtful response!
I wish you a Happy, Healthy & Peaceful 2012!
Hope to see you around! ;o)
Well, I guess if you are going for isolationism, you best have something for the defense department to do. Seems, though, being in charge of nuclear waste doesn't really fit what the armed services should be doing, but, hey, who needs to be prepared for a country's defense. All those other countries will leave us alone, right Dr. Paul?
"...you best have something for the defense department to do"
DOD could monitor the consumption of raw milk, I guess.
That, and keep the udders clean, of course.
How do you clean an udder?
And, Dr. Paul would be very disappointed in me. I kinda like living by NOT drinking raw milk.
Paul's just another giant, mutant pistachio nut, me thinks
I'm guessing a guy like Ron would clean the udders the same way we used to get a drink of water when we were kids outside playing: Right straight from the faucet, of course!
(oooh.....why is this converstation making me long for Sarah what's-her-whozis up in Alaska??)
phine: "How do you clean an udder?"
Okay, you piqued my curiosity. Here's one way I wouldn't have thought of:
http://www.mlive.com/rockford/index.ssf/2011/12/belmont_students_advance_in_le.html
God bless those homeschooled kids! They will save America!
Wow! The things these homeschooled children learn! I am speechless.
Small government would fail for the United States and our people. You can't have small government and be a big player in the world.
Mark and Domenico, Nice to see you on Martin Bashir's show today.
phinephancy, as the United States has increased its military presence around the world following 9/11, so have the attacks on America. Pre 9/11, only about 10% of suicide attacks were on Americans, now 90% of them are. Our presence in other countries only provokes people. You may not like me, but chances are you aren't going to do a whole lot about it. However, if I move into your house and start blowing up your dining set and shooting your cats, you're going to do something about it.
I agree lisa!
They were looking good - weren't they?
Thanks for the anniversary wishes over on FT's!
also, there is a very large difference between isolationism and non-intervention. North Korea practices isolationism. Switzerland practices non-intervention.
I know how to properly clean an udder, it's common knowledge when you work on a dairy farm, I also know how to shovel manure, fork grain, stack hay bales, clean stables.
What, doesn't everyone know these things?
;-0)
At least he didn't say NU CLUR!!
Nu Clur or No Clue? I get the two confused.
Y' gots to say it like a REAL God-fearin' 'Mare-can';
Noo-ka-lur.
There, see?
DBO
Oh, thank you. I didn't have my 'Mare-can dick shun airy handy!
I think it's nuke-q-ler according to Bush 43, Palin and Perry. Why is it only republican candidates have such trouble saying nuclear, bet they can't spell it either.
"Paul responded by telling the man he served five years in the military, voted against the wars, and receives more donations from members of the military than all other candidates combined."
Really? The last time I sent a donation to a candidate, I don't remember any box I had to check off to indicate my military status.
This is as bad as the Perry claim on the earlier thread about the woman who said "they" were denying her cancer treatment because of Obamacare.
Doesn't ANYONE ever ask these candidates to back up any of these assertions?
JoAnne, when you have a guy like Chris Matthews - making MILLIONS of dollars a year - on tv saying Newt Gingrich looks like a car bomber, then we can all just forget about it. What in god's name kind of comment is that to be saying on tv?
He's the same guy who said GWB deserved to be on Mt. Rushmore. And of course we had Arianna Huffington reporting that President Obama can't connect with people - this she said while sailing on a yacht somewhere in the Mediterranean I believe.
This is basically the state of our media.
It's THAT bad. Everywhere.
Pat, the Internet will save us. You can learn more in the comments section of FR than in a year's subscription to Time.
Or from the udderly clean homeschoolers (sorry, but that was a great link).
Pat -
I could almost give people like Matthews and Huffington a pass because they're presumably "commentators" as opposed to reporters or journalists. Though don't ask me to explain in any detail just what the exact difference is anymore.....
And don't you love on Chris Matthew's show that the opposition rolls on and on with untrue statements - that have already been debunked - and Matthews just says "yea"? Where's the follow up questions Chris? Thank god for Al Sharpton, Ed Schulz, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell. I'm beginning to wonder about Chris, I think his book tour has gone to his head. And always comparing JFK (whom I loved) to BHO (whom I also love) and finding fault in comparison. Why doesn't he freaking compare JFK to Bush or Clinton or Bush or any of the other dynastic politicians falling around out there. Why only with BHO who has had the worst of the worst foisted upon him with 16 seconds to fix it!!
That's the trouble, JoAnne, even the press sits back and lets the lies fly without a word of protest or a question asked. And we wonder why voters are misinformed?
Cathy M, Matthews is so focused on his own thoughts and interrupting guests that I doubt he hears a word they say. At times he's okay but I pretty much have stopped watching him for the reasons you mention.
Pat---don't be too hard on Matthews---he was trying so hard to find a way to tie a reference to Gingrich to a plug for his JFK book!
Maybe Chris should change the name of his show to "Slow Pitch Soft Ball". Hardball sure isn't working for him. Whether he's a "commentator" or an "entertainer" or an "analyst" or what he considers himself to be - a "journalist", he should at least make some effort at contradicting what have been proven to be lies. Or at the very least, make them define their talking points.
Cathy M I hope you did not just call Al Sharpton a journalist. I just spit coffee all over my keyboard. I have to send that to my brother who is a newspaper editor for his laugh of the day or maybe the year.
JoAnn, maybe you haven't donated recently. From Ron Paul's website on the donation form:
"Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in a calendar year."
The exact same words appear on Barack Obama and Newt Gingrich's donations sites.
These appear on Mitt Romney's:
"Federal law requires us to obtain and report your occupation and the name of your employer. If you are not employed, please enter None."
Granted, it doesn't ask for your military status, but if you are in the military, that would be your employer, correct?
Chris Matthews' show to me is nothing but inside the beltway nonsense. At least with Rachel, Rev. Al, Lawrence and Keith, I feel like they're trying to connect with their audience. To open up our minds to all the crap that's out there. I don't see that and have never seen that w/Chris. He just goes with the nonsense time and time again.
He's more about image than about facts. He always was. There is zero reporting on his program, just gossip. From Fineman and Rendell especially.
And for that he is paid millions of dollars. He is part of the media. Anyone with a program like that is a part of the media.
But like I have always said, it makes no difference to Chris who is elected. He's very wealthy and can afford to have a job that deals in shallow misinformation. He's been doing it for years.
He won't be hurt if Romney is elected. Only the working people will be. That is as obvious as the noses on our faces.
Anthony -
Thanks for the information. That explains the people who can afford to donate $200 or more to a political campaign, but what about the rest of us?
obviously it is only required for donations over $200, but I would assume most put that information down regardless. Most of the forms have that note as fine print and make it appear as though the information is required no matter the size of the donation. I read fine print, but let's be honest- most people don't.
It is every donation or purchase at Dr Pauls site Please help him out lets end these wars....
That's just plain idiotic - the military has nuclear weapons, so Paul thinks they must be well-equipped to control all the nuclear waste from our power plants. How exactly does that shrink government? Seems like it just shifts the responsibility from one department to another. Only now you have to enlist in order to don a hazmat suit!
Ursula,
Actually the Military, the navy in particular has the most modern and secure nuclear waste processing facilities in the world. (13 nuclear powered aircraft carriers and approx. 50+ nuclear powered submarines) They process more nuclear waste in one year than all the power reactors in the country do in five years.
There isn't a single reason the Navy could not handle the nuclear waste issue. And makes the most sense of any alternative.
It certainly would be nice if some of the anti-government, anti-regulation candidates were asked tough questions by either someone in the crowd or the press. You know, like which regulations would they eliminate? Airline safety, airline pilots could be forced to fly 14 hours or more without sleep? What about clean water and air, food or drug regulations, vehicle safety?
If as Paul and the others suggest, they eliminate the Commerce Department--what would that mean for the country? Would we allow high-tech, state of the art data to be shipped anywhere in the world by any company with no questions asked, perhaps to Iran or North Korea? Whatever we make, just ship it anywhere for profit; never mind the potential for harm to the US. It would be simple for those countries to buy a product, dismantle it and figure out how to build it or to take that technology and create something dangerous from it. What about the State Department? Why not eliminate it, too? Afterall, it controls what military industrial complex weapons can be shipped and to whom. That "yellow cake from Niger", go for it.
If the Department of Education is eliminated, that mean Texas or Alabama or Oklahoma or any other state no longer has to meet minimum educational requirements in basic education? They could just teach religion and intelligent design instead of science, math; they could teach their version of history as opposed to actual history.
Some ideas may sound really great when sold as part of "reducing the size of government" but when the small government advocates get down to specifics, which they have yet to explain to anyone, such as eliminating the military or allowing drug manufacturers to produce anything they wish even if it causes death, that is another story. It would be so nice if the perveyors of elimination explained exactly what that would mean to all those cheering crowds. My guess is that a large percentage would say thanks, but no thanks.
Oh, Jody, don't you know, the Republican primary is just entertainment? It's like "West Wing" for Republicans. It's not real.
Amy, I know, it sure is entertaining but geez, why doesn't someone ask the obvious questions. You're wrong about The West Wing though, it was an intelligent show; there's not much intelligent thinking going on with some of these GOPers.
I loved the West Wing---never missed an episode. Even the evil Republicans on that show never acted as bad as the "real" ones.
The problem with a guy like Ron Paul is that the no regulation stuff sounds good but in reality it doesn't work. And the fact that he doesn't know better is scary.
Guys, I love ya all dearly, but, lets be real, he is not talking deregulation, has said nothing about deregulation, what he is talking about is removing and downsizing redundant agencies primarily. Yes is is talking about eliminating some agencies and the necessary functions being consolidated into a smaller more efficient agency.
Paul's foreign policy is almost as scary as obama's
Scary? What there to be scared of Dr. Paul belives we should be friendy and trade with all nations. He believes all people are created equal and endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights. You must hate the muslim people or are so scared of there religion. Dr. Paul is Christian he has Faith and believes in JUST war. Declared by the people thru the Congress. Go in and WIN the War and come HOME. No interferance in other countries, no Empire building or Nation building no Warfare Welfare ( money to other countries) Money from our poor to there rich dictators. What's there to be scared for Just Thank God we have someone with sanity and still believes in the American people.
Ron Paul is the best choice for America moving forward. As he mentioned, we can't police the world and create a welfare state at the same time. It's one or the other. Preferably neither (which is Dr. Paul's choice), but if we have to choose, I'll take care of my own people first every time.
you MSNBC must hire DUMMY'S ARE US to comment here. THERE IS NOT AN INTELLEGENT COMMET or reasoning only foo foo talk. Wasted a few minute reading this stuf. Can't you edit the conversation to the subject of the articile. Thank You
When talking about Ron Paul, if you like him or not, one thing is certain. His positions have not changed and he has consistently voted what he is saying. I don't really think that is a bad thing either. At least when you vote you know what you are going to get.
Personally I think some of his foreign policy is not very well thought out. At least what I've read and heard on the news.
I like many of his thoughts for domestic policy. What's wrong with trying to make a the current government we have smaller? We have many departments in the government that overlap and/or duplicate responsibilities. I don't think closing all of the departments he has stated is good but an honest look at them is needed.
The counter to a president like Mr. Paul would be a legislative branch that could actually function unlike our current house and senate. The GOP is not fond of him nor the democratic party. Either way if Mr. Paul was elected maybe they could actually agree on something lol!
Dr. Paul has never taken Medicaid for his patients. He doesn't partisipate in retirement or many other benefits from the Congress. He returns all unused Office funds back to the Gov. Budget Office at the end of the year the only congressman that does. Maybe you should look up the real facts about Dr. Paul then you would understand why we are so Gun Ho for him.