Why Ron Paul Gets My Respect, But Not My Vote

Ron Paul is the kind of guy you want to cheer for. He is the proverbial underdog who has caught a huge wave of young energetic support. He is the Howard Dean of the 2008 campaign. In fact I sincerely admire the man and the fact that he has stuck to his convictions over his 20+ years in public service.

For those of you who don't know who this Ron Paul guy is, he is running for a the Republican nomination for President. He has run in the past under the Libertarian banner. He is a strict constitutionalist, favors no income taxes, getting out of Iraq and a return to the gold standard. Now you may ask why the traditionally liberal JD has any interest in the man. The reason is simple, he is a man of honor. This is something that is seriously missing from the capital these days, no matter what side of the isle you look.

His views may not be the same as mine, but he has had the same views for 20 years and has ALWAYS voted that way. He opposed the Iraq war from the beginning, and still does. He voted against the Patriot Act, and still opposes it. He has always said that the government is too large. This is such a rare quality in and of itself it deserves note. Besides that I like him because like me, he takes seemingly opposing viewpoints on issues and explains them as common sense. This is refreshing. I still cannot support the man, but I respect him more then anyone I plan on voting for.

I encourage anyone who finds his views attractive to go to his website and support him and find out more about him.

Thanks for listening. JD