I see there is a good editorial on UC Irvine's site. Since it is Orange County Republican oriented I thought I would paste it here.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. This has been a tough one though as quite a few people have lost loved ones over the weekend.

Andy

http://www.newuniversity.org/checkDB.php?id=6337

Why Ron Paul? Let Me Count the Ways
By Christopher George
I recently registered as a Republican for the first time and cringed when I did. It isn’t that I hate Republicans or what they say or stand for, but the idea of identifying myself with a group that has, for 10 years, eroded and compromised the principles that they espouse regularly on right-wing news outlets left a bitter taste in my mouth. I had originally intended to reregister as an Independent from my previous registration as a Libertarian, but I decided to go Republican. Why? Ron Paul. But why Ron Paul? It isn’t the man—it’s the idea.

I hear regularly that we need the federal government to run our health care, run our schools, tell us what what we are allowed to do, invade foreign nations to impose our idea of democracy, decide for us whether or not we can smoke pot, regulate alcohol and tax us as much as they need and/or want in order to do all these things. Why do we need these things? Why can’t we help ourselves, take responsibility and live charitable lives without such an intrusive government? The answer is that we can.

The reason we have such an imposing government is due to our inability to cope with reality and consequences. Someone overdoses on a narcotic: start a prohibition. Someone can’t pay for health insurance: universalize it. Someone gets shot: ban guns. We elect George W. Bush, become dissatisfied with his policies and clamor for more Al Gore in our lives. This sort of reactionary policy may sound alright in these contexts, but where does it end? How about: someone chokes on a piece of broccoli? Should we ban broccoli? When is it that we will begin to take responsibility for ourselves? If you forget to chew your food, you may choke. If you drink too much alcohol, you may have some health problems.

On the other side of the argument, if you work hard and invest well, you should receive the monetary benefits of your actions. These are the consequences of our actions and instead of trying to remove them from the picture, we should embrace them and try to avoid negative outcomes.

As a supposed “long-shot,” Ron Paul embraces the idea of freedom and self-responsibility on which the United States was founded (if you need a refresher, I recommend you check out the Declaration of Independence). However, time and again, I am given objections to his ideas as being too radical. Are they really that radical? I guess so, but why do we call them radical? Because they are different? Because we haven’t been exposed to them before? Because they do not fit the status quo? The greatest revolutionists, the greatest philosophers and the most brilliant minds have been radicals. So why are we so afraid of change? To the so-called “liberals,” how is it that you can call yourselves “liberal” while still embracing the progression of the socialistic status quo? There is nothing new about socialism, majority tyranny and big government. And to the so-called “conservatives,” you embrace the idea of free markets, but hold to the idea of the income tax and imperialism like there is no alternative.

I am not going to claim that I agree with all of Paul’s policies. I would like to see some real proactive environmental policy, and I don’t think Paul has a real understanding of how serious some of our current consumption trends and their impact on our health are. However, he understands the concept of environment as economists do: in terms of property. While most politicians dither trying to hammer out the correct amount of carbon coupons, Ron Paul understands that pollution is something that can be fixed efficiently by assigning and protecting property rights.

I can’t say that Ron Paul is the perfect candidate for you or even for me and he would be the first to admit this. He knows the bounds of human ability and it is this knowledge that he uses when advocating individual liberty. No central government can decide better than you, what is best for you.

Ron Paul will let you decide for yourself. Isn’t this the most important thing? If we are told what to eat, when to sleep, what medicine to take, who to worship and where we can work, what is the point in living? Do we for some reason yearn to be empty vessels, devoid of meaning with an automated life? Or do we want freedom? Self-determination? Options? Success and failure? Autonomy? Let the miser live his secluded and empty life. Let’s let philanthropists help everyone they receive satisfaction from helping. Let’s let ourselves live a real life with real problems and real successes. Paul provides us with the opportunity to reclaim ourselves from the tyranny that humanity and individuals have been fighting forever. We need Paul to get rid of the corruption, to get rid of the lies and to restore the integrity of this country. With Paul, there is hope for this country, the future of this country and the future of humanity. I urge every Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative, libertarian, constitutionalist, freedom-fighter and apathetic to Google “Ron Paul” and find out what this Republican candidate for president is all about.

Christopher George is a third-year economics major.