Rather Be Free
columnist: DigitalBob

Topic: Ron Paul
Ron Paul Only Conservative On Corn

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Ron Paul is the only presidential candidate that treats farmers with dignity as businessmen and as adults. He doesn't rob taxpayers to buy votes of farmers or anyone.

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by DigitalBob
(Libertarian)
Tuesday, January 1, 2008

When I was a kid, my dad gave me a 25-cent per week allowance.  That was cool.  I could buy some chewing gum occasionally.  Then I wanted a little more than that.  So I hit him up for more.  He told me, "let me think about it."  He made a phone call, and at 9 years old I mowed my neighbors lawn for 3 bucks.  When I turned 11, I got a paper route that paid 2 cents per advertising paper delivered.  I had a 200-paper route, which included businesses and 80 homes.  My allowance stopped as soon as I got my first check.  Four dollars looked a lot better anyway.

Thirty-some years later, I never felt good taking money I didn't earn.  I'm better off for it.  That is a conservative value.  You provide a good or service and get paid for it. 

However, when money gets taken out of my paycheck, I resent it.  And that is a conservative value too.

In an article I wrote yesterday, I explained why farm subsidies are unnecessary.  Whenever you give a man a fish, he doesn't appreciate it as much as when you teach him to fish.  Likewise, when you subsidize farming, it eats away at the farmers sense of self-worth, because it says that he isn't smart enough or productive enough to meet some government dictate.  It also robs the taxpayer to ensure that a farmer is profitable.  It's a bad policy all around.

I'd assumed that all the true conservative candidates understood the nature of markets and why subsidies are bad.  To my dismay there is only one candidate still in the race who opposes all farm subsidies, Ron Paul.  He is the only true conservative out there.  The rest mostly are pandering to the farm vote--with your tax dollars.

The Iowa Corn Growers Association puts out a voter's guide on all the presidential candidates.  It lists condidates positions on how farm-friendly they are.  That's code for how much pork they will roll the farmer's way.  The list of responses was compiled by Dec. 13. 

Ron Paul is true to his "Dr. No" moniker with regards to the following positions:

• No on Ethanol
• No on Farm Safety Nets
• No on Mississippi River Lock & Dam Upgrades
• No on Flood Loss Compensation

There were a couple issues that had marks of no or  "don't know/no reply".

How did the other Republican candidates do?  I've listed them in order from worst to best:

• Huckabee said yes to every program--not conservative.
• Romney said yes or "don't know" to every program--not conservative.
• Thompson said yes or "don't know" to every program -- not conservative.
• Hunter a few yes, but mostly "don't know" -- can't tell.
• Giuliani was mostly yes, one no, one "don't know" -- not conservative.
• McCain was about half and half -- moderate.
• Tancredo said no or "don't know" to every program -- conservative.

So that gives you Paul and Tancredo, and Tancredo isn't running anymore. 

For comparison, what about the Democrats?  With the exception of renewing trade authority, which most said no to, they were yes, with some "don't know".  There was not much difference between the positions of Huckabee, Romney, Thompson, Giuliani and the Democrats. 

It makes you wonder.  When a candidate says he's a "conservative"  does he mean "social conservative" or a "complete conservative"?

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2008 DigitalBob, all rights reserved.
Published: Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Last modified: Tuesday, January 1, 2008

The views expressed in this article are those of DigitalBob only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. DigitalBob is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.

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