Sad to See Richardson Drop Out

It seems that I am destined to never support a winning candidate.

I was just looking over this Utah for Richardson blog. We didn't post very much, did we. It kind of fizzled
out after April.

It was good to share support for a common candidate. The thing that drew me to Richardson was his honesty and his opposition to the Iraq war. I'm not convinced that either Hillary or Obama will end this war. But I hope that Obama wins. Edwards seems charismatic, but I admit that I haven't learned enough about him... I read Obama's book and I like it.

But I am now throwing my support behind Ron Paul. The Iraq war (actually, foreign policy in general) has always been my biggest issue in this election. In case you are wondering how I can be a Richardson supporter one day and a Paul supporter the next, I would like to spell it out.

I have never been partisan, because I think that the issues that separate parties are trivial compared to the very real issues of life and death that politicians all too often ignore. While I may not fully agree with the social programs of the democrats (healthcare, welfare, gun control, etc.) because of economic principles I believe in, no nation has ever failed because of trying to take care of it's own people. Great nations fall by over extending themselves, making more enemies than friends, and most of all, because of corruption, pride, and arrogance.

I do not agree with all of Ron Paul's libertarian views (but as I study more and more of them I find myself agreeing more and more). But he is the antithesis of corruption. I don't want as extensive a social safety net as some Democrats propose, and I don't want a total lack of one like most Libertarians propose. But I find that I can agree with Ron Paul because he is a Federalist. He advocates a small federal government with little control over internal issues in the States. If my home state wanted to be socialist and the neighboring state wanted to be totally libertarian a Ron Paul Presidency would have no problem
with that as long as the socialist State adhered to the US Constitution and did not use federal funds in it's state programs.

Along with that, the only issue that Ron Paul would have complete control over as President would be the deployment of troops. Every other program would have to be pushed through Congress. Ron Paul (now that Richardson in out) is the only candidate on either side that is committed to bringing our troops home and ending this insane war.

If Ron Paul drops out, Mitt Romney wins the R nomination, and Barack Obama wins the D nomination, I will probably vote for Barack Obama. But honestly, I don't think that any Republican except for Paul stands a chance against the Democrats this election (unless Hillary wins, in which case they might just because she is so polarizing).

Anyway, I will spare you a longer post. If you want to know more about Ron Paul see his site at www.ronpaul2008.com

Best Regards,
Russel Fugal