Liberal Democrat

Liberal Democrat
Individual Freedom For Everyone

Thursday, April 28, 2011

The Young Turks: Cenk Uygur- Representative Ron Paul: 'End Medicare, Social Security & Medicaid?'

Source:The Young Turks- TYT's Cenk Uygur, talking about Libertarian Representative Ron Paul, on MSNBC.

"Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) speaks with MSNBC host Cenk Uygur about why he voted against the Ryan budget and what programs he'd like to cut. Ron Paul Admits He's cut Social Security & Medicare if elected President." 


Ron Paul is a member of the wrong party: he's not a Conservative, he's not a fan of the Christian-Right or Neoconservatives, or a fan of any other authoritarian movement. He's a Libertarian, he's not a Conservative-Libertarian or a Liberal-Libertarian or a Socialist Libertarian. He's a real-life Libertarian who believes the Federal Government should only perform the services that are laid out in the 10th Amendment. 

Representative Paul is an isolationist on foreign policy and believes that America should only use our military to protect us when we are under attack. He believes these what he calls civil wars are unconstitutional and the welfare state and highway system (to use as examples) are unconstitutional, because they aren't laid out in the Constitution. He believes America shouldn't be involved in the United Nations or any of these other international organizations, because he believes we lose some of our independence to be members of them. 

Ron Paul is not a Conservative or a Republican or a Liberal. He's someone who believes in maximize freedom and responsibility for the individual as long as they aren't hurting anyone else with their freedom. Liberals believe in maximize freedom as well, but we aren't against eliminating things like the Medicare or Social Security. But reforming them in order to save them. 

Ron Paul is against the welfare state and what he calls the warfare state. With America getting involved in what he describes as civil wars. Ron Paul seems to have moderated his positions on the welfare state for practical reasons. Probably believing that since they are popular, politically it's not possible to eliminate them. So what we should do instead is privatize them, a similar position that the House GOP Leadership is now taking. Which I believe is a fair position but goes too far. 

I mean do we really want to see Medicare and Medicaid become private for-profit health insurance companies, with all the abuses that have come from that industry before the Affordable Care Act of 2010? There's a consensus that doesn't want that to happen. Do we really want to as a country see Social Security privatize, especially with the Stock Market crash of 2008 where people's savings and retirements got wiped out, that led to the Great Recession, that we're just starting to recover from? I believe there's a consensus in America that doesn't want that either. 

Ron Paul not to put him down, because I do have a lot of respect for him as a Liberal on social issues, except we clearly disagree on the War on Drugs where yes, I'm for legalization but with taxation and regulation of marijuana and treat it like alcohol and tobacco, but I'm certainly not in favor of legalizing cocaine, heroin and meth, because these aren't innocent crimes but crimes that effect the health care costs for everyone, when they can't pay for their health care costs as a result of their addiction, but I would like to see drug addicts in rehabilitation, not incarceration. 

Ron Paul to me represents why I'm a Liberal and not a Libertarian, because I do believe in maximize freedom but I also believe in a limited safety net that can help people who need it, help themselves by empowering them. And you need a limited safety net to do that. 

The main reason I respect Ron Paul is, because you would have to see the label on the tv screen. You know the graphics, where it says Ron Paul U.S. Rep. from Texas to know that he's a politician. And you would have to see the R to believe he's a Republican, by the way, because ideologically he doesn't fit into that party anymore. 

Representative Paul is a deep breath of fresh air, a true citizen politician, who says what he believes, unlike a lot of politicians in Washington today. And for that I have a lot of respect for Ron Paul.