As most of my friends and close family know, I’m a pretty active supporter of Ron Paul in the upcoming Republican primaries and then for President. I’ve been meaning to write a post about why for some time now, and I figured this record-setting day was as good a time as any.

As that link and his website explain, Paul has earned nearly $4 million today, more than any candidate has ever raised online in a day, ever. And more than any Republican candidate has raised in a day this election cycle. I’ve given over $200 to his campaign myself, and I’m planning to give more before too long.

There are a lot of reasons I support Ron Paul. First, here are a few reasons I don’t support anyone else:

Democrats:

• All are too liberal and socialist for me. I can’t support any of them.

Republicans:

• Giuliani: I think he’d be as disastrous for this nation as Clinton. He’s too liberal and I’m truly afraid his aggressive foreign policy would be a spectacular mistake.
• Romney: I don’t trust him. He’s the John Kerry of the Republicans and I get the impression everything he says is politically motivated. He’s a consummate politician and I’ve had enough of them.
• Thomson: He acts like a Reagan-esque conservative, but from what I’ve seen I don’t expect him to change things in Washington. He strikes me as another Bush.
• Huckabee: Besides Paul, Huckabee is my favorite candidate. But while I like what he has to say about moral issues, his record on spending is less than stellar and I just don’t think he’d be that different from Bush on a lot of issues.
• McCain, Tancredo, etc.: Too far behind in fundraising to have much of a shot anymore.

Now to clarify a few misconceptions about Paul:

• He’s not a pacifist. He simply opposes unconstitutional (undeclared) wars, nation-building (which Bush also opposed in 2000), and an aggressive foreign policy that tends to make more enemies than it defeats.
• He is a Republican. A lot of people dismiss him as “a Libertarian in Republican clothing” and act like he shouldn’t be running as a Republican. While he is very libertarian in a lot of ways, his overall platform is very much in line with traditional Republicanism: small government, a foreign policy that seeks to get out of wars started by democrats (Korea, Vietnam, etc.), free trade, etc.
• He’s not a 9/11-truther. The 9/11 Truth conspiracy movement suggests that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were an inside job to give Bush a reason to invade Iraq. While many of these people support Paul because of his promise to get out of Iraq, he in no way endorses or agrees with these nutjobs.
• He’s not crazy to suggest we could get by without an income tax. The US government had no income tax for its first 126 years and operated with revenue from tariffs, excise taxes and property taxes. Today, only 1/3rd of federal revenue is from income tax. If you subtracted that amount from the proposed budget for 2007, that would leave a sum greater than the budget in 2000. We were doing alright in 2000, weren’t we?
• He’s not an isolationist. While he doesn’t support nation-building, he does support trade and open communication and involvement with the rest of the world.

Ok, now for the main reasons I support him:

• Small government. Unlike everyone else on either side of the aisle, Congressman Paul has a consistent record of voting against any measure that would increase the government’s role beyond that which is outlined in the Constitution.
• Budget reform. Our government’s spending is out of control, with our debt in the trillions of dollars. Much of that debt is to foreign nations like China who let us continue to borrow because they need us for their economy. What happens when they don’t need us and they call in our debt? We need to drastically cut spending immediately if we’re ever going to balance the budget. Not to mention pay for the boomer generation’s social security.
• Free choice. Let Americans opt out of social security. Respect the rights of doctors to prescribe marijuana if it’s best for their patients. Heck, end the ridiculous drug war that creates a violent black market and costs taxpayers millions. Why not instead tax the stuff like we do tobacco and regulate its sale. It’d make it safer (cleaner and less potent) for those who still choose to take it, and make the streets safer for everyone else.
• Free speech. Don’t set precedents implying that the government has the right to regulate the internet.
• Secure borders. Paul supports repealing birthright citizenship since it encourages illegal immigration. He would also make enforcing border security a top priority and opposes any form of amnesty. We have laws for a reason. They should be upheld.
• Personal privacy. Repeal the patriot act and the dangerous precedent it sets for unwarranted search and eavesdropping. Should we really trust our government with that kind of power?
• Abortion. As a obstetrician who has delivered over 4,000 babies, Paul understands the issue of abortion and is adamantly against it. Abortion is not an issue of a woman’s right to do what she wants with her body, because it’s not her body. An unborn child is a human with rights, and Paul has introduced several bills to effectively overturn Roe v. Wade.
• Iraq. The Iraq war was undeclared and has failed to make Americans safer. Instead, it has again made us the aggressor in the middle east and has fueled more hatred for us than existed before. Saddam was a bad guy, but that didn’t give us the right to invade and replace him. This war is costing us billions of dollars and thousands of lives. It was a mistake to go, it’s a mistake to stay.
• Terrorism. Rather than declare war on a tactic, which is what “war on terror” is, Paul suggests we place bounties on the heads of those terrorists who threaten us. That’s how we dealt with pirates many years ago. It’s cheaper, encourages independent people and governments to cooperate and even do the dirty work for us, and puts the target on the people who are actually our enemies.

Paul is also a Christian, devoted husband, loving grandfather and a genuine, honest guy who’s in politics because he believes in the principals of freedom, not because he has a bloated ego or lust for power. I truly believe Ron Paul is our best bet for actually turning this country back in the direction that the founder’s envisioned. I also think he’s the Republicans’ best chance at beating Hilary. Paul has supporters from across the political spectrum, and he’s not another Bush. I’m convinced he’d win such a race in a landslide. Please help him get there by voting for him in the primaries, spreading the word and donating if you have the means. Thanks.