Ron Paul

Ron Paul is certainly one of the more intriguing characters in the US Congress. He is a true Libertartian (actually he ran for President once on a Libertarian Party ticket) who wears the free market thinking of the Austrian School of Economics on his sleeve. He speaks well and has marketed himself effectively on the internet. I tend to agree with him on many economic issues (although I am not a liberatarian) however I find his foreign policy arguments to be shortsighted and dangerous especially in a world where the necessity of a strong US as a counterwight to Islamofascism and other anti-democracy ideologies is vital. In a sense his position is a throwback to Republican Isolationism of the 1920s-1930s (although he may not be as extreme as Pat Buchanan on this issue). As someone who aligns himself to some extent with the policies of FDR and Truman (especially Truman) I cannot endorse Paul. I also disagree with his Pro-Life stance. He does however make sense in his opposition to affirmative action.