Paul Says Israel Is Too Much Trouble

Republican Presidential Candidate, Ron Paul, thinks that Israel is not worth all the trouble it causes.  Can he be so callous?  Do the people who testify that these are his opinions, have an axe to grind with the candidate?

Read the article and let us know what your opinion is.  Thanks.

Conservative Tom

Ron Paul wishes Israel didn't exist'

Yitzhak Benhorin - Arutz-7,  December 26th, 2011

WASHINGTON – Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul negates Israel's right to exist, Eric Dondero, who served as a senior aide to the 76-year-old Texas congressman for over 12 years, said on Monday.

In a blog posted in Rightwing News, Dondero said that while Paul was, in his opinion, neither a racist nor an anti-Semite, he is very much anti-Israel.

“I worked for the man for 12 years (and) I never heard a racist word expressed towards Blacks or Jews come out of his mouth… I can categorically say that I never heard anything out of his mouth, in hundreds of speeches I listened to over the years, that could be called, anti-Semite,” he writes.

But according to Dondero, the elderly congressman “wishes the Israeli state did not exist at all.”

The congressman's former aide insists in his blog that Paul expressed the controversial sentiment “numerous times in our private conversations.”

Paul's view, he said, “is that Israel is more trouble than it is worth, specifically to the America taxpayer. He sides with the Palestinians, and supports their calls for the abolishment of the Jewish state, and the return of Israel, all of it, to the Arabs.”

Following Dondero's statement, Executive Director of Republican Jewish Coalition Matthew Brooks said that the former senior aide's blog “simply confirmed what we already know – Paul is against the Jewish State of Israel.”

Brooks had previously called Paul's views on Israel “misguided and extreme.” He was also excluded from a Republican presidential candidates' panel hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition in November.

Ron Paul Post #2--His Plans for Taxes, Spending and Social Security

The following post discusses the Paul plans for taxes, spending and Social Security.  These are some of his less known positions and it is important we get a full understanding of the man who could be the Republican Candidate for President.

Some of his ideas are close to those expressed by Herman Cain (cutting spending) and Perry (elimination of departments) but Paul puts them all together.  What is your opinion?  We want to hear from you.

Conservative Tom

Paulonomics: Ron Paul’s plans for taxes, spending and Social Security

By Zachary Roth | The Ticket – 56 mins ago

AP Photo/Eric Gay, Pool

If you know anything about Ron Paul's economic views, it's probably that he's not a big fan of the Federal Reserve system, or that he loves the gold standard. But those are hardly the only noteworthy planks in his platform. The Republican congressman from Texas, who now looks to have a real chance of winning the Iowa caucuses in less than two weeks, also wants to abolish five Cabinet departments, drastically lower corporate taxes, and allow younger workers to opt out of the Social Security system.

Here are they key components of Paul's economic plan, "Restore America," released in October:

Spending: Paul proposes cutting $1 trillion from the federal budget during his first year in office, and balancing the budget by his third year. He would do this in part by eliminating five cabinet departments: Energy; Housing and Urban Development; Commerce; Interior; and Education. (Paul has not offered specifics on what would happen to some of the functions currently performed by the departments he wants to abolish--maintaining our nuclear weapons, administering our intellectual property system, and conducting the Census, for instance.)

He would also scrap the Transportation Security Administration, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, eliminate corporate subsidies, end foreign aid, and return most other federal spending to 2006 levels.

Paul says he would cut the federal workforce by 10 percent, and accept a presidential salary of $39,336- roughly equal to what the average American makes. The president currently makes $400,000.

Paul, who opposes almost all American military intervention overseas, also says he would save money by ending foreign wars.

Taxes: Paul has said in the past that he'd like to abolish personal income tax rates, but his plan doesn't suggest that. It does propose lowering the corporate tax rate to 15 percent, from 35 percent. And it would extend the Bush tax cuts and eliminate the estate tax. Paul's campaign has said elsewhere that he supports eliminating the capital gains tax, which, as we've written, would be a boon for, among others, private-equity managers on Wall Street.

Regulation: Like most of his rivals, Paul would repeal President Obama's health care law. He would also get rid of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law intended to increase regulation of Wall Street. And he'd scrap Sarbanes-Oxley, the corporate governance law passed in the wake of the Enron scandal.

Monetary Policy: Paul has written a book called "End the Fed," but his plan calls only for auditing the central bank--something he's been trying to do as a legislator. He also would push "competing currency legislation"--meaning he wants individuals to be able to use alternative currencies to the dollar, including gold and silver. The idea is to reduce the federal government's control over the monetary supply.

Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid: Paul says he wouldn't scrap Social Security and Medicare. His plan "honors our promise to our seniors and veterans," meaning that those currently in the programs could stay in them. But he would like to allow younger workers to opt out of the Social Security system and the payroll taxes it imposes--although the details of how he would accomplish this are unclear.

"Dr. Paul is committed to fully funding Social Security and Medicare while we work a transition to allow young workers the freedom to save for their own retirement," Jesse Benton, the national chairman of Paul's presidential campaign, told Yahoo News.

Benton implied that the Social Security and Medicare payments for current retirees--paid for by payroll taxes on younger workers under the current system--would be provided by radically reducing the American military footprint around the globe, along with other cuts. "It will require cuts elsewhere, but we can save hundreds of billions of dollars a year by bringing troops home, ending foreign welfare and overseas nation building and providing a stronger national defense here at home," Benton said. "If we cut and work hard, we can take care of our seniors who rely on their Medicare and Social Security."

In its basic outline, Paul's plan shares several common features with those of his Republican rivals. All support extending the Bush tax cuts, and most want to lower the corporate tax rate. Newt Gingrich, Jon Hunstman, and Rick Perry would scrap the capital gains tax. And a desire to cut government spending is almost a requirement for entry into the Republican field.

If Paul's profile in the race continues to rise, he'll likely be required to fill in some of the plan's details, which remain vague. Extending the Bush tax cuts and cutting the corporate tax rate by more than half would make it difficult to balance the budget in three years, even by eliminating five Cabinet departments and cutting waste. The only feasible way to do so would be large cuts to the three big drivers of government spending: Social Security, Medicare, and the military.

Ron Paul Post #1

Today I am posting two Ron Paul commentaries.  The first follows and the second will be posted in a couple minutes.
We are doing this as a service to our readers. Ron Paul seems to be gaining traction and running a very good campaign.  Will he eventually be the candidate, no one can say so at this time, but he definitely will be one of the last in the field.
The main reason is that his followers are believers. They love the man and what he stands for.  My major concern is will they vote for someone else should he not get the nomination. Again, a question that has no answer at the time.
We will be watching and want your input.Conservative Tom

Ron Paul's brilliant Iowa campaign

By Brent Budowsky - 12/21/11 10:21 AM ET

I try to be a little ahead of the media curve, especially regarding Ron Paul. For today I want to make one major point, which is that his campaign in Iowa is one of the most brilliantly run campaigns I can remember.

I have emphasized his organizational ability to identify and get out the vote as well as the strong loyalty among his supporters. I would add a very significant dimension, which is that Ron Paul has a first-rate staff that has organized a first-rate campaign on multiple levels.

I do not know his staff, but the result is clear. The quality and timing of his television ads, his multi-dimensional message, his targeting of voters outside normal political channels, his sequencing of various aspects of the campaign simultaneously and the high level of professionalism of his campaign structure are all exceptional.

I will have more about this soon. I suspect that ultimately the way the Paul campaign in Iowa is being run will be compared to the way Obama's Iowa campaign was run in 2008 in terms of the pure mechanisms of running a caucus campaign. It would not shock me if the results in 2012 compared to 2008 have Paul playing the role of Obama, Mitt Romney playing the role of Hillary and mostly likely Gingrich but possibly one of the other conservatives instead playing the role of Edwards (from a purely results point of view).

I tip my hat to the professionalism of the Ron Paul campaign organization.

Ron Paul Leads In Iowa

If you had asked us a year ago if Ron Paul would be leading the polls in Iowa at this time, we would have wondered what type of cigarettes you had been smoking!  However, we have heard rumors that the move was on and now we are seeing the first headlines. The following article seems to confirm him leading the other Republicans. 
Will he continue to lead the pack, only time will tell. Will the press now focus on him? Will Gingrich or Romney be second? Interesting questions and few answers.
However, as we have said many times before, we are impressed with the dogged determination shown by Dr. Paul. He has stayed in the fight, continuing to stay with the ideas that he as espoused for years, never suggesting a third party run and has started to win over converts.  
Should he win the Republican candidacy, my concern is that he will be painted as "Goldwater II" ready to do all sorts of "wacky" things (for example, cutting off of foreign aid to most if not all countries, ending the Fed) that the population does not want. The press will jump onto this bandwagon with both feet and a lot of ink.
Of course, it is a long way until the convention and we are still at the starting line and as we have seen, a lot of contenders don't make it around the first lap of the race.  Will Paul be one of those? Let's wait and see.

Ron Paul is the front-runner in Iowa

By Brent Budowsky - 12/19/11 04:17 PM ET

We are now seeing some polls showing Ron Paul in the lead in Iowa. He will outperform his poll numbers because his support is very committed and organized. The Republican establishment is beginning to panic. Having ignored Ron Paul, Republican establishment figures are joining hands in a desperate attempt to save Mitt Romney and attack Ron Paul. I do not feel so lonely in the major media today, giving Dr. Paul the respect he earned a long time ago!

Isn't it amazing? Ron Paul could not get the time of day from the major media or GOP leaders. Now the armada of attack dogs has focused on Paul.

This changes by the day. We will see what tomorrow brings. For today, I say:

Ron Paul is the front-runner in Iowa!

Paul Proposes Major Cuts

Today on NBC's Meet the Press reiterated  his statement that is reproduced below. Although we disagree with the candidate on some of his isolation-ship ideas, his fiscal ideas are the tough medicine that the country needs if we are not going to become another Greece.

For all the anger against S&P by politicians and media commentaries, it appears as if the other major rating agencies (Moody's and Fitch) are ready to join in downgrading the creditworthiness of the country.  Is anyone in the Administration or in Congress listening?  Or is their tin ear ignoring the warning bells?

It will take drastic cuts of the type Representative Paul is proposing if we are to right the ship of state. The changes will be short term painful, however, if we don't, the result will be unimaginable. If you want to know what it might look like, imagine the worst condition and multiply it by ten times.

So if we are to do the right thing, major changes in government agencies and programs must be made. Will we demand that of our leadership or will we await the inevitable? It is your decision.

Here is the article:

Paul Will Eliminate $1 Trillion, Cut Presidential Salary By $360,664

October 18, 2011 by Sam Rolley 

UPI.COM

President Ron Paul would drastically cut Federal spending in his first year, according to his “Restore America” plan.

GOP Presidential candidate Ron Paul in a recent email to supporters said that he has been given only 18 minutes, 47 seconds to speak during the past three debates; mainstream ignorance of the candidate may end with his Monday release of a budget plan announcing about $1 trillion in specific Federal budget cuts.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Paul’s plan calls for the massive cuts to be made during his first year in office along with the elimination of five cabinet-level  agencies and the lowering of corporate tax rates from 35 to 15 percent.

The candidate’s “Restore America” plan is focused on drastically reducing government reach to spur American business growth. This will be accomplished in part by repealing Obamacare, last year’s Wall Street regulations law and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Paul also calls for a 10 percent reduction in the Federal workforce which may be achieved by eliminating the Departments of Education, Commerce, Energy, Interior and Housing and Urban Development.  He also calls for a 30 percent budget cut to the Environmental Protection Agency, a 40 percent cut to the Food and Drug Administration, slashed Pentagon funding for foreign wars and completely eliminating spending on foreign aid, according to POLITICO.

The Congressman from Texas also wants to see programs like Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, food stamps, family support programs and the children’s nutrition program block-granted to the States and removed from mandatory Federal expenditures. In regard to Social Security, his campaign says that the plan “honors our promise to our seniors and veterans, while allowing young workers to opt out.”

In his plan, Paul also ensures voters that he is not going to make massive Federal budget cuts while living like a fat cat politician. He plans to reduce the Presidential salary from $400,000 yearly to $39,336 a year, which the plan says is “approximately equal to the median personal income of the American worker.”