RON PAUL TROUNCES CHRIS MATHEWS, AGAIN

Topher Morrison
PurpleSerf.com
5/14/11

Ron Paul is constantly sucked into the same rhetorical trap time and time again.  The gotcha moment that every pundit loves to fabricate in order to malign those of the libertarian persuasion: "Yes or no.  Would you vote to legalize heroin?" as if the question is tantamount to a yes vote effectively enslaving millions of American children to a life of gang banging and drug addiction!  It is disingenuous and contradictory to the American experience of this well known opiate.  Posing this question is a base tactic that has been employed incessantly against Ron Paul by the left and the right to illicit a purely emotional reaction, in other words, a direct assault on critical thinking, pure and simple.  Dr. Paul, however, handily dealt with the ploy in the recent South Carolina debate when the Texas representative elicited massive applause and laughter much to the chagrin of Fox News moderator Chris Wallace.  

See Chris Mathews' Hardball interview below featuring the GOP debate.

Frances Martel of Mediaite.com recently boiled down the interview on Hardball to: "Thus Rep. Paul’s two biggest contributions to the 2012 campaign season so far have been a staunch defense of heroin and a repudiation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act."

Are we watching the same interview!?  Or perhaps a better question, do we live in the same country?  First, I saw a staunch repudiation of the drug war not a validation of heroin use!  Ending the farcical war on drugs is embraced by growing numbers of people across the United States as a failed and benighted mission that has eroded civil liberties, fostered a reckless police state, impoverished inner cities, romanticized drug dealing and its subsequent lifestyle through popular culture (video games, rap music, movies, TV shows, etc.), imprisoned larger segments of the population than in any other part of the world, corrupted countless foreign countries, and ultimately has wasted billions of tax payer dollars (my money!) and created incredibly detrimental distortions in the market place!  How many times do you have to see Scarface posters on MTV Cribs or in a college kid's dorm room before you want to tear your hair out?  This movie came out almost 30 years ago and now you can pick it up as a video game!  "The World is Yours", so go blow it up (all puns intended)!

Just another day in the barrio as Tony Montana.

As for the 1964 Civil Rights Act - its a non-issue.  Nobody is saying racism is good, no libertarian embraces that position.  As with any good legislation, however, there are bad elements weaved into the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  Namely, the precedent it set, which is so abhorrent to libertarians that it forces enterprise to engage in certain actions the state deems moral and therefore violates basic first amendment rights of voluntary association.  To Rachel Maddow, Chris Wallace, and Frances Martel's credit this intellectual exercise is for the most part too hard for the American public to wrap their collective heads around.  Politically this is an issue best left alone, rhetorically it requires demanding precision to negotiate, and in the end really doesn't get libertarianism anywhere except trashed in sound bytes all over the internet. 

In conclusion, Frances Martel has glossed over a treasure trove of topics mentioned in the Hardball interview including the wondrous worlds of raw milk (see health benefits), sound money, and the peace dividend this country could reap if we ended our empire.  She also glossed over the fact Ron Paul is turning into a veritable political powerhouse no doubt helping his son, ostensibly another libertarian, earn a senate seat, single handedly spawning the Tea Party movement, turning public opinion against the once obscure private federal reserve, and ushering in the possibilities of a peaceful and enduring re-revolution in this country based on the restoration of our constitution.  

Moreover, Martel grossly distorted who submitted what in this interview.  Chris Mathews injected the 2012 presidential debate with the drug war and the 1964 Civil Rights Act not Ron Paul, albeit the former is of great import.  Words have meaning Frances and to say that Ron Paul was responsible for bringing these issues up makes it seem as though Chris Mathews was on the Dr. No Show not the other way around.  The real issues Ron Paul brings up this election cycle and are the same ones he has brought up since his first presidential run in 1988: sound money, free markets, and a humble foreign policy - all qualities necessary to a strong and healthy republic. 


Check out Ron Paul's Fox News interview with Andrew Napolitano.