Why Ron Paul should be in some president’s cabinet
I have said throughout this Republican presidential primary that I do not believe Ron Paul will win the nomination. That said, I do think he will be in the race until the end because of his loyal supporters and fund-raising prowess. He might well finish second, and most likely no worse than third, in number of delegates to this summer’s GOP convention. That kind of success would merit more than a nice speaking time slot in Tampa and a few relatively meaningless planks on the party’s platform.
Should the eventual nominee, whoever it is, defeat Barack Obama in November, he ought to appoint Paul to his cabinet.
Which cabinet position? Whichever one that president-elect wanted to eliminate or dramatically shrink.
That’s not a way of pulling a fast one on the man who more than one wag has deemed America’s Grandpa (i.e., he says some things that sound wise, and some other things that make you think, Oh, there goes crazy ol’ grandpa again!). I intend it as a compliment.
Of all people whom a president could appoint to the cabinet without having to worry that he’d resort to petty bureaucratic fights to protect his turf, it would be Paul. Can you imagine what the man would do with the instructions to reduce his budget and work force as much as possible? He could be America’s version of Maurice McTigue, whose government-cutting exploits down under I’ve mentioned before.
Assuming he finished the job in less than a four-year term, I’d then appoint him to the next on my list of agencies to cut.
I don’t know if Paul would take the job(s), but he said he isn’t running for re-election to Congress and certainly has a passion for limiting government. If he were up for it, a Republican president ought to be, too.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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136 comments Add your comment
Dusty
January 27th, 2012
4:12 pm
HillBilly D
I am not sure that an opinion journalist has to be biased. “Bias” is that which prevents unprejudiced consideration according to Webster, If a journalist is truly honest in his considerations, can he then be called biased? Can he not decided that one side is better than the other in his considerations?
I would say biased in journalism is one who, without consideration, presents only one view. He may be biased for money or politics or both but he will not fairly present a considered view of both sides. A synonym for biased has to be dishonest.
Linda
January 27th, 2012
4:13 pm
Any opinion writer should type in italics, except Kyle who isn’t slanted enough. There’s another opinion writer who should type upside down.
saywhat?
January 27th, 2012
4:21 pm
Ron Paul can be the Cabinet Secretary of the Department of Fail.
carlosgvv
January 27th, 2012
4:24 pm
Josh – 2:26
You seem to have it exactly backwards. Govt. regulations keep Big Business in line. Paul and others like him want as little Govt. as possible. This suits Business exactly since regulations, such as those that require safe foods and medicines, cost them money. Money means everything to them. Your health and well-being mean nothing to them.
Jay
January 27th, 2012
4:25 pm
Idiots love to say things like “Ron Paul want’s to legalize heroin and get rid of the FDA! We will have Cocaine back in Coca Cola and unsafe prescription drugs!” Noooooo, he wants to let states make their own laws (does anyone seriously think that even California is going to legalize heroin?) and get rid of government “oversight” which has failed us miserably. If you don’t think it has, then turn on the TV and watch all the prescription drug ads which warn of side effects worse than the condition they treat. My father died of congestive heart failure brought on by one such drug; he would’ve been better off just taking the insulation for his diabetes! These drugs were all rubber stamped by the FDA! In their rush to “protect us all” foolish liberals will empower the biggest, most corrupt and heavily armed corporation of them all – government!
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
January 27th, 2012
4:26 pm
Real Athens, what’s your problem with newspapers selling advertising?
They don’t write themselves, you know. It takes people and people do this kind of stuff for money. Get it?
Streetracer
January 27th, 2012
4:26 pm
To somebody upthere around 3:00
I like your Twain quote, and will offer another.
“Do”t say the world owes you a living. It owes you nothing. It was here first.”
Hillbilly D
January 27th, 2012
4:27 pm
Dusty
I’d disagree with you on bias. None of us can look at everything with 100% objectivity, that means the way we look at those things is skewed to a certain extent. Bias doesn’t necessarily have to be overt. In the example of a news director, bias can be just in deciding what is a story and what isn’t. Something I think is very important, he may not think is important at all. That’s a result of both of our inherent biases. Many times, those who present only one view, don’t even realize their doing it. How many times have you seen a poston a blog or a talking head on TV that starts out, “we all believe…….”? We don’t all believe anything. Everybody is biased, in my opinion, including me; just some more than others. It’s the ones in the major media who present themselves that present themselves as unbiased, that I trust the least.
JF McNamara
January 27th, 2012
4:28 pm
Kyle was hired to be biased. The job title was for a conservative blogger.
Linda
January 27th, 2012
4:28 pm
Is it true that all green companies who get govt. loans, subsidies & grants go bankrupt? I have a new product that saves electricity in the use of clothes dryers. Now, I’m afraid to ask for a govt. handout.
BTW, it’s a green umbrella.
Don't Tread
January 27th, 2012
4:28 pm
“Paul and others like him want as little Govt. as possible.”
You and other socialists like you want as much government as possible. More government=less freedom.
Michael H. Smith
January 27th, 2012
4:30 pm
Ron wouldn’t take a cabinet post and he is running to shape the party platform with at least some of his agenda. He knows he can’t win the Presidency but he will have some influence this time around I feel sure of it. Some of his positions are too far out, while others are in lock step with the Constitution.
Karl Marx
January 27th, 2012
4:35 pm
You seem to have it exactly backwards. Govt. regulations keep Big Business in line.
ROFL… a fine job Barney Frank and Chris Dodd did with FM FM…and a masterful job Obribetaker’s energy department did with the Green Energy companies you tool.
Real Athens
January 27th, 2012
4:37 pm
Got it? I used to do it. Editors were always quick to never offend advertisers, hence, bias or censorship based on revenue.
You do know that Tiberius was a megalomaniacal, insane (from ingesting lead) pedophile whose insanity brought about the end of the Roman empire.
That and Christianity. Read Suetonius.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/6400/6400-h/6400-h.htm
Linda
January 27th, 2012
4:37 pm
Conservatives love govt. more than liberals. We love the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution & the Bill of Rights, exactly word for word, exactly like they were written. We believe in legal amendments as provided for in the Constitution. We honor all three bodies of law.
Conservatives also love America. We honor our flag & our pledge of allegiance & wish our school children knew what they were & the history of this greatest country in the world.
Road Scholar
January 27th, 2012
4:39 pm
Medicine cabinent?
Put him in charge of all super pacs…Who thought that these were a good idea?
Dusty
January 27th, 2012
4:42 pm
HillBilly D
I believe that you are correct. Nobody is perfect. Therefore everybody must be biased.
But we must change the definition of bias if we go with that. If I think the USA is the best country in the world, I am biased because no country is without fault and therefore the USA cannot be the “best’.
But. if that is my opinion after considering all that I know about other countries, am I biased? If I say “Other countries have faults but I believe the USA has the least.” am I less biased?
PS..I looked up “bias” in the thesaurus and it gave 25 different meanings to “bias”. Covers a lot of unpleasant things.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
January 27th, 2012
4:43 pm
Did you “do it” for free, Real Athens?
I thought not.
And the moniker “Tiberius” comes from something else entirely, not that your childish attempt to insult me did so.
Real Athens
January 27th, 2012
4:45 pm
Linda:
Quit being a simpleton.
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/11/introduction-to-government-subsidies.asp#axzz1khIAZCpA
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/11/how-governments-influence-markets.asp#axzz1khIAZCpA
There is no such thing as a “free” market, not for a very long time.
Real Athens
January 27th, 2012
4:47 pm
OK, “something else entirely”. No, I didn’t do it for free. I chose not to do it because of the reasons I stated.
My intent was not to insult, only to educate.
Odis
January 27th, 2012
4:48 pm
@ Texas Kev – Actually the Justice Department under President Obama has taken a stand on the drug war when the fought for and changed the sentancing guidelines so that offenders charge with possession of crack cocaine (mostly blacks) receive the same type of sentance as people charge with cocaine possession (mostly white). Historically individuals who had been conviced of some sort of crack cocaine possession were sentanced more harshly. But I also think there is no easy solution for the drug war. I do think that we as a country should continue to go after the dealers and pushers and continue to sound the alarm over the dangers of drugs.
I know Ron Paul doesn’t even want the government to do that, and he favors legalizing drugs, but I think that’s an even worse position than the country current position on combating drugs. I basically think that RP is unfit to be commander in chief.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
January 27th, 2012
4:48 pm
Baghdad Joe Biden: Dems Will Win Back House
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
January 27th, 2012
4:49 pm
Yeah, right, Real Athens.
Hillbilly D
January 27th, 2012
4:53 pm
Dusty
As you probably know, I never paid much attention to what’s in the dictionary.
carlosgvv
January 27th, 2012
4:55 pm
Karl Marx – 4:35
Because some liberals don’t always get it right, you condemn all liberals. At the same time, you praise your bought and paid for conservatives. Big Business and the Republicans love simple tools like you.
carlosgvv
January 27th, 2012
4:57 pm
Don’t Tread – 4:28
It’s clear you know little or nothing about Socialism. Please get some education before posting here again since the only thing you are accomplishing is making a fool of yourself.
Karl Marx
January 27th, 2012
5:02 pm
Enter Baghdad Joe Biden: Dems Will Win Back House
Biden reminds me of Jimmy Carter’s brother Billy except more useless. He’s like that relative at Thanksgiving that you have to psyche yourself up to tolerate for an hour. What a buffoon. I think he and the a$$ hole from the Ed Show were separated at birth.
your comments here
Rafe Hollister
January 27th, 2012
5:02 pm
Well if William Jefferson Gingrich wins it is obvious what Dr Paul will be assigned with, liasion with the Lunar colony.
Don't Tread
January 27th, 2012
5:05 pm
“It’s clear you know little or nothing about Socialism.”
I know enough about it to determine that socialism and freedom are incompatible ideologies, and I happen to like my freedom. You like socialsm, fine. There are plenty of other countries that operate on that system…go try one.
Karl Marx
January 27th, 2012
5:08 pm
you praise your bought and paid for conservatives
So you think Obama is the people’s champion? Why don’t you investigate how much money wall street is throwing to his campaign rube. So I guess that you think he will take the money then stick it to them?
Linda
January 27th, 2012
5:09 pm
Obama has dropped his hopey changie thingie (for obvious reasons). His new strategy is called Kill-A-Terrorist-A-Week Thingie. There’s a toll free number you can call if you know where a terrorist can be located. If your information leads to a killing, you have a choice of prizes: a windmill, a solar panel, a car battery or a wad of food stamps.
(The solar panels are from Solyndra & the batteries are from Ener I, both bankrupt after govt. handouts.)
Dusty
January 27th, 2012
5:10 pm
Well, Hillbilly D,
I guess we are not biased. We considered all things and agreed to disagree. (I think so.) How ’bout that!!
Now I go to look in my refrigerator without bias. Whatever is there is what they get! Almost dinner time!
Real Athens
January 27th, 2012
5:11 pm
Dusty: Maybe look up this definition?
“Description of Straw Man
The Straw Man fallacy is committed when a person simply ignores a person’s actual position and substitutes a distorted, exaggerated or misrepresented version of that position. This sort of “reasoning” has the following pattern:
Person A has position X.
Person B presents position Y (which is a distorted version of X).
Person B attacks position Y.
Therefore X is false/incorrect/flawed.
This sort of “reasoning” is fallacious because attacking a distorted version of a position simply does not constitute an attack on the position itself. One might as well expect an attack on a poor drawing of a person to hurt the person.”
Dusty
January 27th, 2012
5:15 pm
Linda,
Jonah Goldberg of the National Review ripped Obama’s address up one side and down the other. He thought it was a disaster. He makes his case quite well..
GT
January 27th, 2012
5:17 pm
When Obama wins he may do it too. Ron Paul is not a party man, he is one of the few that is consistent on the points he makes and some of those ideas are very good. I think it would be a smart move by O to appoint Paul and I think Paul is mature enough to take the offer without compromising his principles. Obama has had Republicans in his administration from the very beginning. Why not Ron Paul?
Jefferson
January 27th, 2012
5:17 pm
Why should anyone belive the GOP has changed from spend and borrow, and growing the gov’t, like the last time they were in complete power?
WHY??
Linda
January 27th, 2012
5:20 pm
The same criteria used to obtain a mortgage (that caused the deep recession) AND the same criteria used today under the Obama adm. to obtain food stamps AND the cause of global warming are all the same thing: breathing.
Rafe Hollister
January 27th, 2012
5:23 pm
Seriously, I think Dr Paul should chair a Boles/Simpson style committee on how we make health care more affordable and available. He is right, when he says government is the reason healthcare continues to become more expensive and unavailable to the average person.
Dusty
January 27th, 2012
5:26 pm
Real Athens 5:11
Are you calling me a “straw man”? No way. I am IRON WOMAN. Your convoluted collection of connived connotations is conspiratory! So there!
Now IRON WOMAN goes to cook delicious dinner (That’s a biased statement). Back to the classroom for you, Athens You just flunked out.
the original and still the best John Galt
January 27th, 2012
5:31 pm
I wouldn’t count Ron Paul out of the race just yet. Several of the Federal departments and agencies won’t need new management at all if he’s elected, since they will be going away.
He’s waking up thousands upon thousands of Americans who are tired of the same old Statist status quo.
And, besides that, he’s the only candidate who can beat The Messiah Barack The Chosen One. Newt can’t, and neither can Mitt.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
January 27th, 2012
5:31 pm
“Why should anyone belive the GOP has changed from spend and borrow, and growing the gov’t, like the last time they were in complete power? ”
Maybe $15 TRILLION in debt?
More importantly, why do you believe that anyone can’t change their way of doing things given a change in the underlying situation?
laura
January 27th, 2012
5:34 pm
Josh, why do you say these things about Ron Paul??? Have you truly researched this or are you believing mainstream media? It takes a lot of work to research the candidates and see through the media. I have found that Ron Paul is the only honorable candidate. Make sure that you research and rely on good resources for information. There is a lot of garbage out there.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
January 27th, 2012
5:34 pm
John Galt, that’s a lot of hope in your last comment.
Paul hasn’t come close to winning a single primary, his numbers are flat, and he polls lower than Mitt and Newt on a national basis. We know you like him, but objectively, how do you come to your conclusions regarding any movement by him in this race?
Real Athens
January 27th, 2012
5:39 pm
Dusty:
My suggestion for your studies had absolutely nothing to do with your gender and everything to do with the fallacies of your “bias” conundrum instigated with Hillbilly D (which I hope is a nod to the first Dwight Yoakam record). The straw man argument (as it’s referred) is one that is often bandied about by contributers to these OP blogs.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Enjoy your supper and remember that iron is an essential ingredient in every developing woman’s diet.
Karl Marx
January 27th, 2012
5:43 pm
He is right, when he says government is the reason healthcare continues to become more expensive and unavailable to the average person.
Umm, malpractice insurance, illegals not paying for starters….
Real Athens
January 27th, 2012
5:44 pm
John Galt: Though I revile Ayn Rand and the hypocrisy that defined her as well as the idea that her “novels” have any basis in real life or society, I have said before (and will surely again), an honest conversation/debate between Ron Paul and Barack Obama is one that would do this country a lot of good.
ragnar danneskjold
January 27th, 2012
5:47 pm
Great idea. EPA? Agriculture? HUD? HHS? Homeland Security? Paul could be highly useful. Anything but defense.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
January 27th, 2012
5:52 pm
reader110: If Paul really believe in limiting government, why does he support the pro life movement whose sole purpose is telling women what they should do with their bodies?
————————-
Because the pro-life movement isn’t telling women what they should do with their bodies. They’re opposed to what women do with the unborn child when they kill it.
If you’re opposed to having a child, don’t get pregnant. Duh.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
January 27th, 2012
5:55 pm
“an honest conversation/debate between Ron Paul and Barack Obama is one that would do this country a lot of good.”
————————–
A debate between Obozo and ANYONE who could contrast American ideals with Obozo’s anti-American, anti-capitalism, anti-private-property liberal fascist ideology of hatred would do this country a lot of good.
Linda
January 27th, 2012
5:56 pm
Real@4:45, Don’t even try to engage me in a conversation when you start out by calling me a name like a play yard bully. You are hopeless & helpless, totally unworthy of my time. Just leave me alone.