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3 Reasons Why Ron Paul Will Never, Ever Be President
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 16, 2011
Modified Aug 17, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 16, 2011
Modified Aug 17, 2011
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Sure he may have charmed a few of us by forcefully opposing the Iraq war and the bogus premise behind it, but is there any other reason to pay even the slightest bit of attention to Paul's presidential campaign? Paul finished a mere 152 votes behind Iowa straw poll winner Michele Bachmann, but no one seems to be giving him the press he deserves. Paul's campaign manager tells Politico, "We think people are missing a very big story here." Probably not! Here are three (of many) reasons why Ron Paul will never, ever be elected president.
He's too old. Not to sound ageist here, but after electing Barry "Get Those Grass Stains Out On My Abs" Obama, it's going to be tough for America to go back to being led by an elderly (Paul is 75) white dude. Blame HDTV, people!
Abolish the IRS! Paul wants to get rid of the income tax, and the IRS altogether. Despite the fact that many of today's preeminent politicians do quite well opposing any and all tax increases, Paul's position is not an asset. Even Grover Norquist's goons want a flat tax. How would we pay for things without an income tax, Mr. Paul?
Well that’s always the question, we might look at our history, I think there is a good many years we didn’t have an income tax other than for a brief period under Lincoln, we didn’t have an income tax until 1914, and we did quite well. But the question isn’t so much how you do it, it’s how much do you want to pay for? If you want a welfare system, if you want the entitlement system to continue, if you want corporate welfare, the military industrial complex and foreign adventurism and policing the world, you can’t do it, not only do you need the income tax, you need to borrow, you need to print the money, so it’s an attitude about government and I think the most important question that we have to ask, is what should the role of government be?
Alrighty, time machine back to the 19th century—good answer!
He's just like all the other lackluster Republican candidates. For all his libertarian quirks and criticisms of his own party, Paul is essentially no different than all the other GOP candidates when it comes to working with Democrats to fix what ails us (except when weed is involved, God bless him). His status as "Dr. No" makes him equally as obstructionist as other members of the GOP, and he spews the same garbage about "repealing Obamacare" as they do.
Most tellingly, when asked by Bret Baier at the most recent Republican debate if any of the candidates would have accepted a debt-ceiling compromise that favored deficit cuts to higher taxation 10 to 1, all of the candidates, Paul included, raised their hands to signal that they'd walk away.
Jon Stewart & The Daily Show feel that Paul isn't getting his due from the media, and while their dismissal of the candidate is jarring, Paul tends to poll well when his fervent supporters can help him. Run Ron, Run! We'll see you in 2016.
The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10cIndecision 2012 - Corn Polled Edition - Ron Paul & the Top Tierwww.thedailyshow.com
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Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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