Saturday, June 16, 2007

Who Is John Galt?

The presidential candidate who would undoubtedly be Ayn Rand's first choice (among the declared candidates) is generating a lot of buzz on the internet, reports WaPo. Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) is a constitutionalist and libertarian. He is against the ban on gay marriage, against the IRS, against the war in Iraq, and just about every other overstep of the federal government. He has refused to accept pork for his home district during his 20 years in Congress. This excites conservatives, libertarians, and local-government-ists:
"For a poor college student, [a donation to Paul of $100 is] a lot," said Porter, a lifelong Republican. "But I'm not supporting him because I think he could get the nomination. I'm supporting him because I think he can influence the national conversation about what the role of government is, how much power should government have over our lives, how much liberty should we give up for security. These are important issues, and frankly, no one's thinking about them as seriously and sincerely as Ron Paul."
If he's going to be a serious candidate (maybe for Vice President?), he needs to also highlight positive positions. Will he work to make trade free? Will he protect consumers from monopolies and trade unions? Does he support school choice? There are lots of solidly conservative proposals out there that stand to benefit Americans. Having a president who focused on those things instead of on spending money would be huge boon.

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