On one memorable occasion, the moderator finally (even reluctantly?) turned to an exasperated Dr. Ron Paul, the non-establishment candidate. Paul, obviously frustrated after listening to petty arguments about nothing important, thundered: "What about the Constitution?"
No one responded, of course, because the others knew they were ignoring the nation’s supreme law that every president must swear to uphold. They also knew that, if the Constitution were fully enforced as it should be, many of the programs they wanted to continue or newly enact would be considered unconstitutional.
In debate after debate, Ron Paul performed as the proverbial burr under the establishment’s saddle. This is precisely why he was repeatedly given so little attention during those supposedly open forums. Every time he had the microphone, more of the American voting public discovered that the other candidates stood either for nothing or for more harm.
Since the nomination of John McCain, reporters have asked Dr. Paul, a member of the Republican Party, if he intended to support the party’s nominee. McCain senior staff personnel even personally sought his endorsement. In his typically low-key manner, the Texas congressman declined to climb aboard the McCain bandwagon. It would be impossible, he insists, for him to support either of the two major candidates because of their similarly wrong stands. Dr. Paul then pointed to several issues that neither McCain nor Obama have bothered to mention, but that increasing millions of Americans stand shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Paul on. We mention only a few that the major party candidates are willing to ignore.
War Policy
Our nation should never be at war without a congressional declaration of war. Having invaded Iraq without the required declaration, and having conducted operations at great cost in lives, treasure, and world respect, the war should be ended promptly. And no war should ever be conducted without Congress formally declaring it.
Federal Spending
With an admitted debt just short of $10 trillion and unfunded obligations (Social Security, Medicare, etc.) swelling the actual indebtedness close to a staggering $100 trillion, there has to be a cessation of piling up more red ink along with a carefully laid out program to cancel or shrink numerous federal programs.
Presidential Power
During previous decades, and especially during the eight years of the George W. Bush administration, presidential power has grown ominously via the use of signing statements that alter congressional legislation, reliance on unconstitutional lawmaking via Executive Orders, and a willingness on the part of Congress to cede its legitimate authority to the president. The highest office in the land is becoming an imperial power base.
Interventionist Foreign Policy
Our nation’s leaders have adopted a foreign policy that has the United States meddling militarily and economically in the affairs of almost every nation on Earth. American forces are already stationed in over 130 separate nations. Foreign aid goes everywhere. Our diplomats and military are employed to force "democracy" on other lands that neither want it nor know how to operate with it. The mind-one’s-own-business attitude that formerly characterized America has been discarded.
Sound Money
Where the U.S. dollar was once considered worldwide as "good as gold," it is now facing serious erosion and looming repudiation. Enormous deficits and Federal Reserve-created inflation continue to rob the people of their savings. These twin scourges both threaten the very existence of freedom and seriously cloud the future for today’s young. A return to commodity money (gold or silver for instance), and a cancellation of the Federal Reserve’s grip on the nation’s economic life, would correctly treat these ills.
Personal Freedom
In the wake of terrorist attacks, new laws such as the ill-considered Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act have impacted freedom for all Americans. Meanwhile, the problem of illegal immigration remains unsolved.
Generally, the Democrat and Republican presidential candidates sidestep these fundamentally important issues. In a few cases, they offer policies that will worsen already serious problems.
In 1966, Georgetown University professor Carroll Quigley arrogantly indicated his awareness of a plan to continue the nation’s travails. In his monumental Tragedy and Hope, the man who tutored a young Bill Clinton stated:
The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can "throw the rascals out" at any election without leading to any profound or extensive shifts in policy.
The Quigley program has been played on the American people for decades. McCain and Obama offer no recommendations for a return to the kind of limited government and personal freedom that characterized America and made her the envy of the world. In 2008, however, Dr. Ron Paul awakened millions to the sinister game being played. He thereby provided hope that the future will see real change.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
