In defense of Ron Paul

By Clarence C. Daugherty

Mona Charen's Nov. 19 column needs to be set straight. Her implying that Ron Paul was a borderline kook was a piece of innuendo that she probably thought would cause some timid sous to deny their support of Paul. Nobody wants to be branded a kook or weirdo.

Let's examine the distortions of truth in which she has indulged.

She has explicitly named and numbered why she thinks Paul is unworthy to be a candidate for president.

1. "Ron Paul is inconsistent. His principles are somewhat elastic."Charen said Paul railed against President Bush for his assault on civil liberties. Yet when asked in a debated if Scooter Libby deserved a pardon, he said no. "He doesn't deserve one because he was instrumental in leading the Congress and the people to support a war that we didn't need to be in." Evidently, Charen didn't do her homework. Paul also said Libby didn't deserve a pardon because Libby "was convicted of a crime."

Paul is not inconsistent. In fact, he is more consistent in his beliefs than any of his opponents, Democrat or Republican.

2. "Ron Paul is historically challenged." He argues that "by embracing isolationism, he fits within a Republican tradition of Eisenhower and Nixon who stopped the wars in Korea and Cambodia."

Charen is way off target. Paul has made it clear that he is no isolationist. Quite the contrary. He wants to close our military bases in foreign countries and bring our soldiers home. This is not isolationism. It is an indication that we will not interfere in other nation's domestic affairs. It would also save dollars that our military spends. That money could be used for our domestic needs. Like our Founding Fathers, he wants fair and free trade with foreign countries but with no entangling alliances. That is not isolationism.

3. "Paul is unserious." "Suggesting that you will eliminate the IRS, the CIA, the FBI and other government agencies within weeks of taking office is unridiculous."

Paul knows to start within weeks is one thing, but complete within weeks is another and is not feasible. This is another twist of the truth by Charen.

4. "Paul is too cozy with kooks and conspiracy theorists." "Ron Paul's newspaper column was carried by the American Free Press." This newspaper is independent and not controlled by the elitists' mainstream media. "Paul has appeared on Alex Jones' radio program." This program is much denigrated by the rich and powerful. "He is a favorite candidate of a number of racists neo-Nazi Web sites. He accepted a campaign donation of $500 from Don Black, the proprietor of Stormfront.org" and a former officer of the Ku Klux Klan. This is a favorite tactic of guilt by association when no creditable evidence can be found. These individuals have been branded as kooks and conspiracy theorists because they are independent thinkers and do not accept the elitists' efforts to make the U.S. subordinate to the U.N. and its one-world government.

Ron Paul is an authority on the Constitution and votes no on any bills he feels are unconstitutional. He understands fiat currency and how the Federal Reserve uses the system to inflate our economy. This hidden tax goes into the pockets of the already wealthy elitists who control the Fed. It is a burden to every American family.

Paul is the only candidate who really understands the Constitution's restraints of the federal government.

The Constitution is the bulwark of our freedoms, which we have lost by the machinations of Congress, the president and the courts.

Yes, Ron Paul is by far the best candidate for the presidency. I will vote for him.

Clarence C. Daugherty resides in Chaffee, Mo.