Running on Angry

As I read the title (and subtitle) of this article, I thought I was about to get into another long, wrong rant about how "ridiculous" it is that Ron is running for president...

To my surprise, however, is is a very well written article that takes him very seriously. It is long, but it's worth the read. Here are a few quotes:

...because of some of his more paranoid followers--who could be found at the Mountain View rally passing out scare-pamphlets about the impending union of the U.S. and Mexico, or wearing T-shirts that read, "9/11 was an inside job"--pundits have tended to dismiss Paul's candidacy as nothing more than a laughable footnote to the larger race. But as a reminder that candidates are not their fringe followers, and that pundits are not always the smartest people in the room, it's worth considering how some of the country's best and brightest technology minds responded to Paul's pitch at Google.

Elliot Schrage, Google's vice president for global communications and public affairs... asked how many employees in the Google auditorium--a youngish crowd, lots of different races--had relied on student loans to get through school. A huge number of hands shot up. Paul joked: "The philosophical question is, do I lose all your votes because I don't support student loans, or do I get your votes because I don't want you to pay social security?"

He then explained the deeper reasoning behind his opposition to a wildly popular program like federal student loans. "The moral question," he said, "is, why should people who don't get to go to college subsidize your education [with their taxes]? I mean, it's just not fair." That's pure Paul: seeing his political philosophy through to its logical conclusions, even if it might seem like career suicide. He starts with an unflinching premise--in this case, a severely limited view of the role of the federal government in evening out social inequities--and lets everything else proceed from there.

Voters also clearly gravitate toward his candor and consistency; just as people once respected Bush's stubbornness, even if they disagreed with him on some big issues, many now seem to like Paul's unwavering connection to his core beliefs, and his willingness to follow those beliefs wherever they lead, even if they lead him into disagreements with people who might otherwise want to vote for him.

It's a rare attribute in an era filled with adjustable politicians.

Anyway, here's the link to the article.