Ron Paul, einn sex Republikana sem er á móti stríðinu í Írak

Ég hef alltaf haft gaman af því að fylgjast með Ron Paul, sem er í þingliði Republikana frá Texas - aðallega vegna þess að Paul er alvöru frjálshyggjumaður - og þó hann sé fulltrúi republikana á þingi hafa þeir jafn mikið gagn af honum og eins og hann væri á þingi fyrir Málfundafélag Maóista. Þar að auki eru ekki mjög margir alvöru ídeólógískir þingmenn á Bandaríkjaþingi - flestir veifa ídeólógískum flöggum, en eru, þegar allt kemur til alls fyrst og fremst í valdabisness. Frægastur þeirra er auðvitað Tom DeLay, sem var í þingliði Texas, ásamt Paul, og segir sagan að það hafi ekki farið neitt of vel með þeim. Reyndar hataðist nánast öll frjálshyggjudeild Republikanaflokksins við 'the hammer'.

Ég skil samt ekki ennþá af hverju menn eins og Paul eru í þessum hörmulega stjórnmálaflokki sem Republikanaflokkurinn er - allavegana undir núverandi forystu er þessi flokkur eins fjarri því að vera lógískt heimil frjálshyggjunnar og Málfundafélag Maóista!

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"Saving the GOP from itself: Congressman fights to restore party's  traditions" 

By SAMANTHA LEVINE | HOUSTON CHRONICLE

June 15, 2006

WASHINGTON - It's not that Rep. Ron Paul, one of only six Republicans publicly against the war in Iraq, is estranged from the party, he said Thursday, it's that the party is estranged from its ideals. "The Republican leadership is not in sync with Republican traditions" that have historically valued a non-interventionist foreign policy, said Paul, the Lake Jackson lawmaker who voted against the 2002 resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq.  

Even Bush, Paul noted, had once been critical of former President Clinton's involvement of U.S. troops in Kosovo and Somalia. "Now, I think Republicans have slipped and become more like Democrats," Paul said Thursday. "Not only have they drifted into a conflict overseas, but it was a pre-emptive war." "I am doing my best," Paul added, "to save the Republicans from themselves."

The nine-term lawmaker is a Republican by registration and a Libertarian by philosophy. He is known for voting against most legislation on the grounds that it oversteps constitutional limits. His comments came as the House debated a GOP resolution that linked support for the Iraq war with support for the global war on terror.

Paul, who represented Galveston and a suburban/rural swath of southeast Texas, deemed the proceedings little more than a political sham designed to bully members of Congress into backing the war. The American people "will see through it as a resolution with no substance," he said. "It's pretty clear that the country is much more in my camp now. They are not happy with Iraq."

The resolution essentially advocates "endless war and endless occupation," Paul said. He tried unsuccessfully to persuade GOP leaders to include in the debate consideration of a resolution that would pressure Bush to develop a plan to bring troops home.

Paul has little hope that the United States will succeed in spreading democracy in Iraq as long as U.S. forces remain in the struggling nation. "Our presence there is one of the sources of the problem," he said. "Occupation rallies the (opposing) troops and undermines any overtures towards the West."

Like the rest of the House, Paul is up for re-election this fall. He faces Democratic cattleman Shane Sklar of Edna, a former congressional aide. Paul said his anti-war stance gets a good deal of support from Democrats and Independents in his district, though some Republicans question his loyalty to the GOP. "I don't think about what's best for the Republican party," Paul said. "I think about what is best."