http://dmiessler.com/blogarchive/ron-paul-is-not-a-great-candidate-were-just-so-in-love-with-him-that-were-not-paying-attention

Ron Paul is Seriously Flawed as a Candidate; We’re Just So in Love With Him That We’re Not Paying Attention

First off, let me just say that I am a major Ron Paul supporter. I’ve blogged about him, spammedpromoted him to friends and family, and even put a Ron Paul 2008 bumper sticker on my car (I don’t do bumper stickers). I’ve been resisting the call to write this piece for some time now, but I can resist no longer.

It’s time for us, as Paul supporters, to stop pretending his ideological flaws do not exist. We are ignoring his extreme and illogical views because we’re so smitten by his good ones. This is a problem. Our ability and/or willingness to logically evaluate him as a complete candidate is being overridden by our surprise and appreciation for his views on foreign policy and personal freedom.

In short, we’re so in love with him that we’re focusing only on his positives while ignoring the negatives.

Not only will his weaknesses get him thrashed during a primary, but we need to have a serious discussion about whether or not he’s too extreme to serve as president. Here are the main positions that trouble me:

* He Doesn’t Believe in the Separation of Church and State

The Founding Fathers envisioned a robustly Christian yet religiously tolerant America, with churches serving as vital institutions that would eclipse the state in importance. Throughout our nation’s history, churches have done what no government can ever do, namely teach morality and civility. Moral and civil individuals are largely governed by their own sense of right and wrong, and hence have little need for external government.

This is the real reason the collectivist Left hates religion: Churches as institutions compete with the state for the people’s allegiance, and many devout people put their faith in God before their faith in the state. Knowing this, the secularists wage an ongoing war against religion, chipping away bit by bit at our nation’s Christian heritage. Christmas itself may soon be a casualty of that war. — Ron Paul, from The War on Religion

* He’s Not For Federally Supported Public Education
He wants “the community” to provide education to the public. He regularly mentions churches when asked about how this will come about. He spoke at Google recently and he was asked at least once how the poor are supposed to get an education if the government doesn’t provide one free of charge. He has no good answer. He admits there will be inequality but says that it’ll be better than what we have now. I disagree.
* Yeah, That Means No College Loans
He didn’t get any loans to go to college and he doesn’t think you should either. Again, he doesn’t think the government should be involved with education. Many of the people in the room he was speaking to at Google used college loans to make it to Google in the first place.
* He’s Not For National Health Care
Again, not the role of government. His basic view is that the market will find a way. He openly admits that many people will fall through the cracks, but he responds to that by saying that it’ll be better than what we have now. Does this seem hopelessly optimistic to anyone but myself?
* He’s Against Abortion and Would Like to See Roe vs. Wade Overturned

As an obstetrician who has delivered over 4000 children, I have long been concerned with the rights of unborn people. I believe this is the greatest moral issue of our time. The very best of the western intellectual tradition has understood the critical link between moral and political action. Each of these disciplines should strongly inform and support the other.

I have become increasingly concerned over the years that the pro-life movement I so strongly support is getting further off track, both politically and morally. I sponsored the original pro-life amendment, which used a constitutional approach to solve the crisis of federalization of abortion law by the courts. The pro-life movement was with me and had my full support and admiration.

Those who cherish unborn life have become frustrated by our inability to overturn or significantly curtail Roe v. Wade. — Ron Paul from a House of Representatives Speech

* He Doesn’t Believe The Evidence for Man-Made Global Warming Is Convincing
He regularly says things such as, “I think it [the case for man-made global warming] is overblown.”, and “There’s still debate on the issue.” Overblown? What part of the massive IPCC study where the thousands of climatologists from 130 countries agreed on the matter does he disagree with or not understand? It is precisely this type of anti-logic that I find disturbing.

The bottom line is that he’s way off-base just like the other candidates, but on different issues. He simply takes things too far. We’re endorsing him because we’re infatuated with his views on foreign policy and personal freedom. We’re in love with the fact that someone will speak out against the stupidity that is the current status quo. But is that enough? Can we still back him if he’s utterly lacking in other important areas? Where’s the line?

My point is that we have to look at the entire candidate. His overwhelming belief that “the market” will somehow make everything o.k. is naive at best, and more accurately delusional. Does anyone truly believe that if we remove the safeguards that provide for the poor and uneducated that everything will somehow work itself out? I do not.

I think the government should provide certain things for us in the absence of other options. I think public education is one. I think health care is another. I think we can leverage private industry to make this happen and to keep it efficient, but to just pull the guarantee out of it completely is irresponsible and foolish. We can’t just let the weak fend for themselves.

I pains me to have to write this, and I am not going to stop supporting him. I am not taking the sticker off of my car. I am not going to stop talking about Ron Paul’s campaign or about how he’s igniting the political interest of so many young voters. I’m going to keep talking about his positives. But in the back of my mind I’m secretly hoping that he’ll get the message that his more extreme views will destroy not only him but his ability to help our ailing country.

Please wake up, Dr. Paul. We need you at full strength.: