I haven’t written anything here for a longish time: in general, I look to this site for information, and have no interest in the navel-bashing that goes on continually amongst those who, for no apparent reason, think they have the answer(s). Lately, however, I’ve been intrigued, just a little, by the “conversation”, here and elsewhere, about Ron Paul’s relevance to liberalism (or however you want to put it --- the essence of the argument continues to elude me).
A disclaimer: people tend to call me a liberal, so, occasionally, I call myself one. That said, I’m not particularly interested in labels, which is why I’m happy to live in a state that doesn’t require strict party identification. What I really am is a reasonably highly-educated grouch with a well-developed intolerance for bullshit (and enough advanced degrees in generating it to be reasonably astute at detection).
Now, what strikes me about the whole argument is that it indicates not so much an ideological/philosophical divide on the left, as naivete verging on culpable gullibility. The real question, in my eyes, has nothing to do with whether or not Ron Paul is right about this or that; it has more to do with the apparent ease with which putative liberals can get their minds around the concept of supporting someone who has been, is, and always will be, a crank, so far out to lunch he can’t even read the menu. In order to advocate paying attention to this guy, you have to accept the premise that his world view overall, and his judgment, have any sensible connection with reality; and, well, pardon me, but I can’t.
I’m scarcely an “Obot”. Indeed, if I were polled, I would probably have to be honest, and go with “not satisfied”, because I think Obama has muffed a number of opportunities, as well as rolling over and playing dead on way too many occasions. That said, I’m not above accepting that I could be dead wrong, and that he may have played his hand as well as it could be played. I’m also pretty sure that he comes down significantly to the right of me on a number of issues, although I suspect that a lot of these positions are informed by his assessment of what the country will accept, not by what his ideals might prescribe. Will I vote for him again? In a field of liars, nuts and fuckwits…..uh, I think that would be a “YES!”