Rethinking Ron Paul on the right

Is Paul still a longshot? Yes, but so were George McGovern, Jimmy Carter, and Gary Hart.

In my mind, I keep hearing, "Howard Dean, Howard Dean."

Since Paul is a libertarian, I had always just assumed that he was pro-choice, so imagine my surprise when I read "The right of an innocent, unborn child to life is at the heart of the American ideals of liberty. My professional and legislative record demonstrates my strong commitment to this pro-life principle. In 40 years of medical practice, I never once considered performing an abortion, nor did I ever find abortion necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman." (http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/life-and-liberty/)

My interest in Ron Paul's candidacy has certainly gone up considerably. Anti-war and anti-abortion - he's already got the two biggest issues down.

One major beef with Ron Paul is the federal income tax. Instead of income taxes once a year, based on how much you earn, he supports raising the National Sales Tax for all of America. He claims to be against raising taxes, but just look at the numbers and how it affects the average citizen. The current sales tax in Chicago is 9%. You get a hamburger at McDonalds, buy a snickers bar at Walmart, you pay 9% in taxes. Ron Paul wants to raise that number to 23%. Who is the primary consumer that this will affect? The middle and poor class. They're the consumers and would have to pay 14% more for everything. The tax is flat for everyone, but should you pay the same tax rate as some guy who makes 6-7 digit figures every year? While everyone else gets in the ass in sales tax, Ron Paul and his buddies don't have to pay a cent in income taxes for their percentage of income they earned that year.

I hope he gets the nomination, to send a message if nothing else. But I don't think he'll make it, and it's mainly because he doesn't have the right personality. I didn't realize this until I saw him in a YouTube clip where he was having a heated exchange with Bill O'Riley. He looked exasperated. It's true that O'Riley is a jerk, but presidents have to handle situations like that without losing their composure.

We have a state sales tax in Pa. but food and clothing are exempt, since they are necessities. If there was a national sales tax a similar limitation could be imposed. Also if you look at the "Fair Tax" plan and other versions, there are exemptions and/or rebates for low income families.

The people who would oppose such a tax are, in general, those who see the income tax not as a way to collect money for the government to perform its services, but as a method of redistributing wealth.

But I agree with Paul in that cutting spending is far more important than changing the tax code, abysmal as it may be.