Monday, November 3, 2008

Pulling the Lever for Ron Paul

The two year campaign ends tomorrow. I have already voted here in my home state of Louisiana during the early voting period. Here in Louisiana, the ballot access laws are looser than other states, giving third party and independent candidates the opportunity to get on the ballot without overly burdensome requirements.

Among those on the ballot here is Ron Paul, who was placed on the ballot by a group called the Louisiana Taxpayers Party. I proudly voted for him.

My reasons are straightforward:
1) Ron Paul is pro-life.
2) Ron Paul supports a foreign policy of non-intervention and supports international friendship over aggression.
3) Ron Paul supports serious federal spending cuts and reasonable monetary policies based on gold and silver.
4) Ron Paul supports ending government spying through the PATRIOT Act, the REAL ID Act and domestic surveillance by the National Security Agency and ending military internment at Guantanamo Bay.

There are two major positions of Ron Paul I take issue with. I oppose his lack of support for universal health care coverage and his support for free trade. In our current political environment however, I voted for Ron Paul because of his simple devotion to the principles of our Constitution. While his positions may seem radical to some, they have a much firmer foundation in our constitutional history than our "serious," "mainstream" candidates.

Whatever happens tomorrow, Christians must continue to be people of prayer active in the public square. As Cardinal Jean Danielou, S.J. put so well in his book Prayer as a Political Problem: "There can be no radical division between civilization and what belongs to the interior being of man; there must be a dialogue between prayer and the pursuit and realization of public policy. In other words, there can be no civilization where prayer is not its representative expression."

Mason Slidell

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good for you for voting for Ron Paul. This may be your last chance in history to do so; I don't believe he'll be running again in 4 years. You should always vote your conscience.

I personally have no issues with any of his stances. They all make 100% sense to me. A person like him only comes along once in a blue moon...