Kevin : Well written and informative article ; no wonder it is getting a lot of hits. But about Paul and foreign policy, his positions are really off the charts as far as conservatives are concerned. I listened to a number of debate post mortems the last couple of days and the consensus view is that for all the good he did for himself the first half of the debate, he threw it all away the second half. His supporters are committed and are not going anywhere. However, his foreign policy views make it impossible for him to make significant gains anywhere else. Especially not among Evangelicals, who are about half of the Republican base. And while Jews are a small % of Republicans they are an important part of the picture in other ways, and any "soft on Iran" views go over with them like a lead balloon. What continues to amaze me is how he still will not bring himself to become informed about Islam. He knows just about nothing on the subject. Worse, he aligns himself with Grover ( never met a Muslim he did not like ) Norquist. There is, you know, a now fairly significant faction among conservatives who are strongly critical of Islam. Included are Pamela Geller, David Horowitz, Steve Emerson, etc, and they have a growing constituency. Paul seems to be oblivious to this entirely. Has he read even one critical ( or any ) book about Islam ? To ignore this weakness in his campaign is not a good idea. Billy 12/18/2011 9:10:55 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
Hi Billy: This article received over 16,000 page views, 310 Likes and climbing. _http://www.examiner.com/independent-in-manchester/ron-paul-wows-crowd-on-to night-show-with-jay-leno_ (http://www.examiner.com/independent-in-manchester/ron-paul-wows-crowd-on-tonight-show-with-jay-leno) I agree with this article that Paul is very liberal (much more than me) on this issue. Some of the Paul supporters were unhappy with his characterization of Bachmann as a hater. Kevin Christian Post > _Politics_ (http://www.christianpost.com/politics/) |Sun, Dec. 18 2011 11:18 AM EDT Ron Paul on Bachmann: She Hates Muslims By _Amanda Winkler_ (http://www.christianpost.com/author/amanda-winkler/) | Christian Post Texas Congressman Ron Paul went on the attack against his GOP presidential rival, Michele Bachmann, claiming that the congresswoman has a bad case of “Islamophobia. (http://www.christianpost.com/topics//) ” “She hates Muslims,” Paul said on NBC’s “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” on Friday. “She wants to go get ‘em.” The “go get ‘em” phrase was in response to Bachmann’s hardline policy stance against the suspected Iranian nuclear program. Paul did not elaborate on his claims. However, his comments follow a stark foreign policy disagreement between the two rivals that was displayed on the debate stage the night before. Paul, a self-proclaimed libertarian and non-interventionist, urged that the U.S. government take a softer, more diplomatic approach to _Iran_ (http://www.christianpost.com/region/iran/) . Bachmann took issue with Paul’s stance during the _Iowa_ (http://www.christianpost.com/region/iowa/) debate, saying he underestimates the threat of Iran. "I think I have never heard a more dangerous answer for American security than the one that we just heard from Ron Paul," Bachmann said. Her response sparked solid applause from the audience. Paul’s comments appeared to catch The Tonight Show audience off-guard. Up until now, Paul has been quiet on the personal attacks. Bachmann is in Iowa today and told ABC News that she rejects Paul’s comments. “Of course I don’t hate Muslims,” Bachmann said. “That’s an absolutely outrageous statement.” “With all due respect to my colleague, I think Ron Paul would make a very dangerous president because he doesn’t understand this threat,” Bachmann continued telling ABC. Paul also commented on the other GOP candidates while on The Tonight Show. He called Mitt Romney a “nice guy” who should remain as a governor, noted that Newt Gingrich should run for speaker of the House again and said Rick Santorum can’t stop talking about gay people and Muslims. Paul spent the remainder of his time with Leno discussing his more libertarian views. His nickname, Dr. No, is derived from his opposition for more federal government and regulation. Leno asked Paul if he was against seatbelt laws. “I’m in favor of seat belts, not seatbelt laws,” Paul quipped. Leno then asked Paul who his favorite president was. President Grover Cleveland, according to Paul, because “he loved to veto bills.” -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
