The main stream media talking heads have consciously and deliberately ignored Congressman Ron Paul’s lofty finish in the Ames, Iowa, Straw Poll. When they do stoop to mention him, it is done derisively based primarily on his response to a Thursday night debate question. He was chided, and then asked about his position regarding the acquisition of nuclear weapons by the Iranian government. Dr. Paul, in essence, responded that we (the United States) should do nothing. He went on to state that starting another endless war with a nation that has no meaningful air force or capable missile delivery system would be folly. Media eyebrows were lifted, heads were shaking the negative, and Congressman Paul’s platform opponents chuckled. “There’s that crazy old guy suggesting that we not intervene. What’s wrong with him?”
Historically, Americans are “doers.” When we have confronted a problem or a barrier, we have leapt to action and corrected it. Sadly, today, when we face a perplexing issue, we spring into action and demand that the government “do something.” This attitude resembles the night-time cries of a two-year old asking Mommy and Daddy to get the monster from under the crib. Neither cry for a solution is based on reality. There is no monster under the bed, and government is notoriously incompetent and costly. So we come to Iran….controlled by the mullahs and fronted by that little wacko…they are building a nuke. On at least two separate occasions their developmental progress has been drastically damaged…by computer hacking and by the untimely deaths of key project engineers. Nevertheless, the politicians, the media and some of the people plaintively cry, “Do something.” When Iraq was supposedly amassing and improving weapons of mass destruction, President Bush did something. We’re still there, and our people are still dying because of roadside bombs, booby traps and lethal insurgents.
Many people, public and private, have expressed dismay or revulsion with Dr. Paul’s stance toward Iran. They animatedly remark that the Iranians (their leaders) want to destroy the U.S. of A. so we cannot, we must not allow them to possess a nuclear device. They appear to have forgotten that the Soviet Union threatened to “bury” us, and they had a massive nuke arsenal (many components of which are floating on the world-wide black market). China has nuclear weapons. North Korea (no friendly chums there) is armed with the bomb. We ourselves presented the Islamic-based government of Pakistan with nukes to offset Indian development, and many of the Pakistani leaders are bloodthirsty fundamentalists. So given the myriad of potential threats from around the entire globe, doesn’t it seem more reasonable to perfect the defensive shield that President Reagan started and subsequent presidents have allowed to wither? Given that the threats are so numerous and varied, a comprehensive defensive posture with massive retaliatory capabilities is much more sensible than attacking a country without an air force and negatively disrupting the region more than we have done so far.
Although Congressman Paul’s critics are dismissive of his position, none of them have countered with a comprehensive plan for dealing with Iran other than the one that has been a failure for thirty to sixty years. Yes, that’s true political and media leadership. Government must “do something” even if it is the same failed wasteful policy of the past several decades. They appear to suggest that another 20 or 30 year war with significant loss of life, multiple guard and reserve deployments, and trillions of taxpayer and BORROWED dollars is the right way to go. You see, they’ll be “doing something.” Yes, they will be doing everything other than their constitutional duty. They will waste so many of our resources—human, financial—while allowing our defensive system to degrade further. As Einstein so pithily observed, “insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result.” We have danced this dance since the end of World War II….and here we are queuing up for another round on the floor.
Knowing that a hornets’ nest is hanging in a backyard tree is one thing. Poking it with a stick is something else. Dr. Paul’s views about adherence to the Constitution and his dismay with the Federal Reserve’s mismanagement of our monetary system are widely known and are becoming more popular. People are beginning to understand that our fiscal and financial houses are in disarray. They are beginning to recognize too that there must be some limits on government, or it would become too large and too oppressive. Those were the reasons for devising the Constitution in its final form---preserve individual liberty by curtailing government intervention in our lives. It is from his constitutional principles that Dr. Paul rejects imperialist behavior by our elected officials. Give Congress or the Administration the authority and power to conduct “police actions” or warfare at will and the people’s ability to restrain an out-of-control government is dangerously eroded. Despotic regimes have used war and perceived threats as rallying points to unite the people around the government and to thwart opposition within the nation. Why should our professional career politicians be any different? “Wag the Dog” was a fictional film with a realistic scenario.
Bottom line for me as I review the GOP Presidential Primary field is that ONLY ONE candidate has taken his oath to the Constitution seriously enough to stay true to it. Only one candidate has been willing to stand firm on principle while being ostracized and ridiculed…even when time has proven that he was correct regarding the monetary system and constitutional abuses. Only one candidate does not reflect the “American Idol” version of slick career politicians that have led our nation to the brink of collapse. Voters can find multiple reasons for supporting or rejecting a particular candidate. I pray and hope they think it through….I have. It’s time to “do something” to stop the madness. Doing the same old things in the same old ways will not get the job done.
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