Palin and Paulians?
Writing by abuhatem on Friday, 29 of August , 2008 at 4:17 pm
Right now the coalition of Ron Paul supporters on the blogosphere, both libertarians and traditionally minded antiwar conservatives, seem to be praising the Palin pick. And apparently, Palin gave an interview to MTV News in February praising Ron Paul:
He’s a good guy, he’s so independent, independent of the party machine. I’m like “Right on, so am I.”
Lew Rockwell’s blog, the former congressional Chief of Staff to Ron Paul says the following on Palin:
Sarah Palin is smart, articulate, attractive, pro-life, and pro-gun, and was even a Buchananite in 1996. Her political career has been based on fighting Republican corruption. Her ratings as Alaska governor are very high. She has a compelling life story, as they say. Her husband is one-quarter Yupik Eskimo. They have five children, including one with Down’s syndrome, whom they refused to abort. Palin will bring the whole Republican base home, and some Independent and Democratic women.
Pat Buchanan said on MSNBC that she was his favorite pick although she was a risky choice for McCain. In fact, Buchana told journalists at The Nation“It’s great for the base. I’m pretty sure she’s a Buchananite!” (Although he also said “she just isn’t ready to be commander-in-cheif” as well as “this is the biggest political gamble in U.S. history). The Daily Paul blog even recommended her as a potential running mate for Ron Paul last September.The American Conservative, my favorite magazine, does not seem to be so pleased with her however. Michael Dougherty, on The American Conservative’s blog writes:
Like Bobby Jindal or Mark Sanford, I considered Sarah Palin a promisingly conservative, likable, and reform-minded governor. I wished desperately to spare her (and them) from association with the bellicose and ideological foreign policy of Bush-McCain.
Very conservative (and antiwar) Taki’s Magazine’s Sniper Tower blog also shows signs of giving Palin a chance:
I must say that my first impression of Palin is very positive–she’s from outside the Beltway and looks like a straight shooter. I’m going to start reading up on her, and I’m very much inclined to give her a chance.
The Liberty Maven a pro-Ron Paul (and now Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr) blog also gives some lukewarm - but cautious - praise of Palin:
McCain and his expert campaigners have selected someone who the Ron Paul faithful singled out as a potential running mate for Dr. Paul should he magically win the GOP nomination. She has a great conservative record of cutting spending and demanding ethics in government although she is no stranger to alleged ethics violations herself.. When the Alaskan legislature voted to not fund the implementation of REAL ID Act, Governor Palin acquiesced by not vetoing nor signing the bill. The effect being that Alaska has now rejected the federally mandated REAL ID. TheACLU even praised Palin for her inaction. McCain is a vocal supporter of REAL ID and an assortment of federal legislation that pretends there is no 10th amendment to the Constitution.
While Liberty Maven laments over the fact that Palin will now endorse the overtly militant and interventionist policy of McCain, he does see some good over Palin’s selection:
However, there is some potential good with her selection. It arguably could demonstrate that McCain has seen the kind of support Ron Paul received and is trying to move more to the “Old Right” (or more towards libertarianism ever so slightly). Perhaps he is trying to mitigate Bob Barr’s spoiler potential. These arguments are quite a bit of a reach. Palin is no libertarian, but she certainly has a history of supporting more libertarian notions than McCain. I suspect her future statements will reveal her as straying further from the libertarian mindset.
What’s more, the Politico reports that Palin’s husband and son are independents and NOT republicans.However, neoconservatives seem to be extremely happy with the McCain selection - meaning that whatever good Palin might have on domestic policy is nullified on her soon-to-be overtly militant foreign policy. Bill Kristol has praised the pick, the blogs over at Commentary Magazine are ecstatic over it, and so is the National Review. Paraphrasing Bill Kauffman you cannot be a social conservative and support a war which tears apart families and leads to deaths of innocent people. And to paraphrase Ron Paul, you can’t be a fiscal conservative and support war spending which increases taxes, unbalances budgets, and hence destroys the economy. I am skeptical about this Palin pick, but no matter how good she might be - the fact is McCain is horrible, and thus I am still hoping for an Obama victory in November (not sure if I will actually vote for him however).
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