George Stephanopoulos’ Sunday morning GOP debate saw the candidates spar over abortion rights and immigration policy. Stephanopoulos, for the most part, did a decent job trying to get the candidates to distinguish themselves from each other, but talking points and partisan rhetoric conveniently got in the way. One candidate who has got a lot of coverage following the debate has been the old-school conservative candidate Ron Paul.
Texas congressman Ron Paul has made waves from his staunchly anti-war stance, from the right. He boldly states that we should bring the troops home because it’s unconstitutional and against our national interest. Although most admit Paul is a long shot, he has gotten a lot of attention for his frank assessment of the President’s policies.
Post-debate coverage saw the press swarming Paul. MSNBC‘s Joe Scarborough had him on his morning program to discuss Paul’s surging popularity on the internet. Scarborough discussed the abandonment of Big Government by the Republican Party and let Paul explain his fiscally conservative position. Fox News, however, has a different approach as Big Story attempted to tie Congressman Paul in with Alex Jones and the 9/11 conspiracy theorists. Paul relented however, denying the crazies’ theories.
Paul may be a long shot and his positions may be unpopular, but his common sense approach is refreshing and more importantly he exposes the other candidates weaknesses. The rest of the GOP field is entangled with special interests and institutions like the religious right and the military industrial complex. What Ron Paul gives us is a good dose of honesty.