Politics

I've always been kind of into politics. Not to the point of watching CNN obsessively, but to the point of liking to know what the different candidates stand for. I didn't actually vote in the last election (I know, bad me) but that was because I'm from New York, didn't get the absentee stuff done on time, and there's no way Bush would have won in New York anyway. This time, however, I've even changed my party affiliation so I can vote in the primaries as that vote will certainly count for something.

I like Ron Paul. Many other candidates are just not all that good. Giuliani will take us to war with Iran if he wins, Clinton actually supports many of Bush's things like the war in Iraq, and I don't particularly like many other candidate's platforms. Obama's okay, but I really like Dr. Ron Paul. He sticks to his guns, doesn't flip flop for politics' sake, believes in smaller governments and so will be decreasing the amount of programs and things we currently pay taxes on, and will take the troops out of Iraq ASAP. Sure, he's against abortion, but that's because he's an obstetrician. He also believes in allowing the states to decide, so he's not for banning it, just for making it a state and not federal issue. I'm okay with that. I'm not really for abortion hardcore or anything, I just think that the choice should be available. People should live with their mistakes, but sometimes it just isn't possible to bring a child into this world, even if you're going to adopt it out right away. I also know people who have used it as their preferred form of birth control, and that is not right at all.

Anyway, back to the original point. Yesterday was Guy Fawkes Day. Guy Fawkes' Day? Is there supposed to be an apostrophe? Is is the day belonging to him, or just his name is the name of the day? Google will tell me...No, no apostrophe. Guy Fawkes Day. This guy wanted to blow up Parliament. He's for smaller governments. So is Ron Paul. So a bunch of his Internet fan club (he has a HUGE Internet following) decided that that day would be the perfect day for a fundraiser. Over 35,000 people donated to his cause, including Lee and I. Granted, we didn't donate much, but we donated. He made over 3.8 million dollars, breaking the record for the most money donated to a 2008 Republican presidential candidate. The record was Mitt Romney's, at 3.1 million, but Paul's supporters broke it. Pretty darn good for one of the ones the media hasn't decided to back.

He's mostly Libertarian, and ran under that party at one point. I agree a lot with Libertarian beliefs. The basis of this is that anything that doesn't need to be regulated by law shouldn't be. So if you're stupid enough to blow your own hand off with fireworks, crash your motorcycle without wearing a helmet, or drop the toaster into the bathtub, it's your own fault and you can't sue the manufacturer or anything, and the government allows you to make that decision instead of seat belt checks or helmet laws. Sobriety checks and speed limits? Needed, because you're not just controlling a couple thousand pound piece of machinery, you're also driving it in close proximity to others attempting to control their thousand pound pieces of machinery, and not everyone is paying as much attention as they should. So there needs to be some laws and government intervention. Not as much as there is sometimes though.

Anyway, I'm very impressed that Ron Paul has managed to raise the funds he has, and very impressed at the way he's running his campaign. He's going to be in Philadelphia this weekend, and I'm going to see. He's changed speaking venues due to the cost, and is using his supporters' money as wisely as he can. He's also conscious of his fans, changing his television ads after the Internets decided they were not so good. He may not be media savvy or as big-name as some like Giuliani, but his ideas are good and he has a huge following. All he needs to do is start turning some heads and getting his message out to the not-so-Internet-savvy crowd, and maybe he has a chance. I think it would be a very positive thing for this country. As long as Bush doesn't attack Iran and then invoke the part of the Homeland Security bill that says everything including elections gets put on hold due to the national state of emergency, becoming a dictator and causing the US to be even more hated and feared. Fingers crossed!