There's always trouble in the land, but all in all I personally feel pretty good about the future of America and the world at large. The country's doing okay, and we'll muddle through well enough whether we elect the giant douche or the turd sandwich.
But I'm not feeling near so good about my Libertarian Party, Ron Paul and the whole reputation that they are earning for the broader libertarian movement. Foolish blind ideological dogma has increasingly made us look like kooks with minimal connection to reality.
For starters, Ron Paul is a goddam disgrace. I voted for him in 1988 with the LP, but I was done with the thought of voting for him in the first debate of the 2008 contest where he uttered the word "blowback." It would be absolutely unacceptable to have a person talking such as the POTUS, for it would utterly destroy our credibility to even pretend to have a right to protect ourselves. It would amount to giving jihadists what Ayn Rand would call "the sanction of the victim."
Paul partisans would argue that it's not really that at all, that it's equivalent to explaining the motivation of a killer - not saying that they're right. College boys can parse that out to make it fall on the right side of the line. But that's just not going to matter. Al Qaeda will be not unreasonably saying, "Hey, your own president says 'They're over here because we're over there.'"
Policy aside, Ron Paul is a major personal disgrace. First, there are these really awful newsletters that Paul has published under various names over at least 30 years. I'd ignored passing mentions of such things until James Kirchik at The New Republic went to the effort of searching obscure university libraries and such to document the true depravity of this stuff that Ron Paul was putting out in his name. Not one or two little politically incorrect cracks, but really ugly white trash bigotry mixed with ugly conspiracy. I was particularly unimpressed with his 1994 Survival Report on "AIDS Dementia" which speculated among other things that gays don't really mind getting AIDS because they enjoy the attention they get for being sick.
I've been told not to talk, but these stooges don't scare me. Threats or no threats, I've laid bare the coming race war in our big cities. The federal-homosexual cover-up on AIDS (my training as a physician helps me see through this one.) The Bohemian Grove--perverted, pagan playground of the powerful. Skull & Bones: the demonic fraternity that includes George Bush and leftist Senator John Kerry, Congress's Mr. New Money. The Israeli lobby, which plays Congress like a cheap harmonica.Reading this solicitation letter for The Ron Paul Investment Letter, I'm not even sure that that's the worst part of just that stupid pitch letter.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Simon9
I thought personal attacks are NOT allowed. This entire piece by Barger IS a personal attack. And a poor one at that.
Barger really doesn't get the concept of "blowback"? He really doesn't understand WHY so many people resent the US at this point in history? Does he think things happen in a vacuum?
Only Ron Paul is addressing the issues. If Barger hasn't the wit to get it, he ought to just be honest and admit that. He needn't try to spread these ridiculous personal attacks on a man whose policies he can't factually disagree with.
And in that he's no different from the other angry little Ron Paul haters out there.
2 - JJ
Bipolar episode?
3 - markh
Nah. Didn't even bother finishing reading your lame essay.
4 - jaynh
Not convinced, sounds like a Hillery Lacky, What a waste of time!! Barger doesnt understand "blowback" and thinks america is in a great position,
Wake UP and look around, were headed for crisis!!
5 - Frank N Stein
This is why we need to institute IQ testing in order to vote.
6 - Kurtis
Hey Barger we've all sinned, it's forgiveness that's divine. I'm not going to hold something that happened years ago against somebody I agree with on everything else. Ron Paul is the ONLY politician that knows why this country is slipping to banana republic status and has the COURAGE to say so. As far as "blowback", I was saying myself twenty years ago if we kept messing around in the Middle East we would have terrorism in this country. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. You've got some wacky ideas if you think otherwise.
7 - DJ
Are you serious? Do you know how many scandals the Clintons have been in? Do you like how Hillery just laughs about her "baggage"? You know how antithema Socialism is to Liberty? Guess what? Obama and Hillery are both Socialists, so it's obvious you never were a Libertarian. McCain... well he'll be the fascist liberal the neo-cons can't wait to get, although will never have cause the Dems will beat him without a doubt.
It's ironic people can't forgive Ron Paul for failing to put enough supervision towards his multiple news articles, which he also publicly took personal resposibility for. This is the same guy who is friends of 20 years with Nelson Linder, NAACP Director in Texas. Yet when McCain publicly calls Asians gooks, nobody makes an uproar or demands an apology.
FYI - Yeah, vote for Hillery then. I just can't wait to pay for your medicals bills since you're obviously too inept to take care of your own self. Use my tax money to get an education while you're at it too.
8 - Carol
Curious. He's willing to blame every weirdo in the libertarian movement on Ron Paul and overlook every atrocity committed by Hillary Clinton....
9 - Dave
Al Barger's article is a disgrace. It's always funny when narrow-mindedness is on display like Barger's. What a hoot! Dr. Paul will be proven to be right when it's too late. The fake dollar will crash and the son of Cain or two other socialists like Obama and Clinton get in office.
10 - jj
Too much of that Mecical industrial complex? Get yourself some more of the Hillary stuff..When you finally wake up from that, you'll come back to free thinking and screaming, "I'm free!"
The Ron Paul republican message has open arms.
11 - Dave
What a Dumbass! Stick your head back into the sand... don't worry, us REAL Americans will make sure this country rights itself.
12 - Dr Dreadful
Oh, Al, look what you've started now. It's like you revel in the attention.
Priceless responses so far though.
Admit it - they've got you nailed. Yes siree. You're a shill for Hillary. Must have been calling her a 'giant douche' that gave the game away...
13 - NH
How many times do we have to tell bloggers on this site to STFU?
Ron Paul is the ONLY candidate who is NOT a disgrace to this country.
Learn, love it, live it.
Moron!
14 - Al Barger
But Frank N Stein- If we had IQ testing for voting, we'd have a LOT less votes for Ron Paul. I mean, how dumb do you got to be to think that Paul-bots descending like a toothless version of brown-shirts to harass and villify anyone who disagrees with them is going to get you votes?
Particularly, how you think being crappy like this with staunch libertarians such as me is going to get you votes. Perhaps you might put down the kool-aid for a minute and consider that there might actually be something wrong when the supposed "libertarian" candidate so thoroughly alienates someone like me.
And y'all can shut up your pussy whining about my "personal attacks" on Ron Paul. I'm not criticizing him for irrelevant personal behavior. He's publishing really crazy, stupid, bad things and trying to legitimize the Birchers. Those are totally legitimate public actions for which to criticize an elected public official. As my hero Michael Corleone would say, it's nothing personal. It's just business.
Jaynh- No, I'm not saying the country is in GREAT shape, but I'm an optimist by nature. But the point here is that if that we'd REALLY be screwed if somehow the Birchers and various NAMBLA lobbyists and 9/11 conspiracy schmucks took the wheel. That'd be far worse than EVEN HILLARY FRICKIN' CLINTON. Also, the wake-up-sheeple theme ain't impressing any mentally healthy adults - though obviously any rational person would realize that the Jews and the Trilateral Commision are conspiring with the communists to crash the dollar while the Negroes take over. Whatever.
Also, Simon9 back at comment #1 is re-inforcing my original point about blowback. In truth, despite claims to the contrary as I carefully explained in the original piece, Paul and his supporters like Simon are saying that we brought it on ourselves. If you want to have THAT debate, then address it straight up rather than pretending that these words and arguments don't mean what they clearly do. Paul says we brought it on ourselves. I say HELL NO.
By the way, readers interested in my idea of a pro-constitution libertarian message for contrast can consult my 2004 campaign archive.
15 - zingzing
al: "Paul says we brought it on ourselves. I say HELL NO."
now, you know i'm no paul supporter. and he has said and done some stupid things. some of his principals are okay. his supporters are little rabid dogs in need of a good swatting/euthanasia. that's neither here nor there.
but... he's right about blowback. it is, without a doubt, our policy and actions in the middle east that got the terrorists all riled-up. you think they did it just for fun? you think they didn't have a reason (no matter how fucked up it was)?
why do you think the terrorists did it then, if not because of our interventionist and money(oil)-grubbing ways?
saying that it was our actions that lead to the terrorists decision to take action of their own, of course, isn't saying that we deserved it, it's just recognizing the cause and effect nature of the issue.
16 - Dr Dreadful
"What a Dumbass..."
"please do us all a favor and quit writing blogs..."
"How many times do we have to tell bloggers on this site to STFU?"
Ah, insults and attempts to silence dissent. The sure signs of an argument lost.
Such grace. Yep - behavior like this sure makes me want to support Ron Paul...
17 - TAO
And you are in the Libertarian Party why Al? So because Mary Ruwart actually defends freedom and liberty for all, she is somehow not a libertarian? You're rant and people like you, are the people who put the LP to shame, not Dr. Ruwart.
18 - Raddlog
You sir, are an idiot.
You are also nowhere near being a Libertarian.
Don't worry about the Government, they're here to help, right?
Dumbass.
19 - Scott
Oh my gosh, this is insane. And three pages of it! All easily refutable! Wow!
All I'm going to say is Libertarians and Hillary Clinton are complete opposite. How you can go from one to the other without having some sort of mental problem is mind-boggling.
It's actually saddening to see how the minds of so many people work. I don't understand how it's so rare for people to actually execute a rational thought process.
20 - devildogmre
Ineffective arguements. Ineffective post.
21 - Dave Nalle
You people are NOT getting it here. It's not Al Barger's libertarianism which puts him at odds with Ron Paul, it's his sound grounding in reality and common sense. It is possible to agree with Paul on every major political issue and still find his positions on fringe ideas horrific. I know I do.
That said and although I agree wholeheartedly with the concerns about Paul, I'm not buying the support for Hillary, sounds like a poor excuse to join Limbaugh's 'Operation Chaos' to me.
Dave
22 - Lee Richards
Al, I see none of your critics who are willing or able to address your specific statements about Paul's slide into the mud, or the strange drift of the LP you document.
Until they do, I commend you on your analysis and interesting read. This year, even more than most, it's the lesser of 2 or 3 evils.
23 - Clavos
zing #15,
but... he's right about blowback. it is, without a doubt, our policy and actions in the middle east that got the terrorists all riled-up. you think they did it just for fun? you think they didn't have a reason (no matter how fucked up it was)?
Perhaps, to some degree. But radical Islamists have had it in for Westerners for centuries now.
Remember the Barbary Pirates?
24 - Dr Dreadful
True, Clav. But it's not the radical Islamists who are strapping bombs to themselves and flying airliners into things. It's their footsoldiers: young men who are far easier to recruit and brainwash in an atmosphere of poverty, Western intervention and Israeli regional hegemony, all of which they perceive to be keeping them down.
25 - Baronius
Al - This article is well-written, well-argued, and informative. Nice work.
DJ - As near as I can tell, there is no such word as "antithema", at least as you used it. You've combined "anathema" and "antithetical". The actual word antithema is architectural jargon.