Ron Paul, American Hero

I will not pretend to be an impartial observer of the Presidential race. I fully support Ron Paul, have donated to his campaign, and will be voting for him both in the Massachusetts primary and the general election, even if I have to write him in. That said, I will try to be honest in my analysis of other candidates, offering praise in the rare occasion they merit some.
Why Ron Paul? Simply put, he is the rarest of creatures, an honest politician. He has fought consistently for 30+ years for free markets, personal liberty, and less government. If you have never heard of him, I won't bother to give you his life story and stance on every issue, check them out for yourself at his official site.

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

I first heard of Ron Paul during the inexorable march to war in 2002-2003. While virtually every Republican and many Democrats were beating the war drum, Dr. Paul was bravely and eloquently speaking out against going into Iraq. His speeches warning of the consequences of an undeclared, undefined war against an enemy with no ties to 9/11 now read like a glimpse into the future. Here are a few of his speeches from the house floor.

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/articles/64/statement-opposing-the-use-of-military-force-against-iraq/

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/articles/65/before-we-bomb-iraq/

If these were the only speeches Ron Paul had ever made, I would still consider him a hero. However he has made a career out of principled opposition to the cowardly groupthink that plagues Washington, D.C. Dozens of times he has been the lone "no" vote against unconstitutional, liberty-destroying, bills passed by our cowardly Congress. He is not perfect, no man is, but he still comes closer to the kind of legislator the Founding Fathers envisioned for this country than anyone else in Congress.

Sorry for the gushing post, but I wanted to have a positive start to the blog, as undoubtedly most of my posts will deal with my overall hatred of our government.