Ron Paul Has Huge Cajones

I’ve been watching the Republican Univision debate broadcast from Miami — centro del universo anti-Castro — and he just went there:

We talked to Stalin, Kruschev, and Mao. We’ve talked to the whole world. Actually I believe we’re at a time where we ought to talk to Cuba, open travel with Cuba, trade with Cuba. We create the Castro’s and the [Hugo] Chavez’s of this world by interfering and creating chaos in their countries, and they respond by throwing out their leaders.*

Needless to say he was almost booed out of the building for this Bullworth moment.

The look on John McCain’s face during a cut-away — clenching his jaw to fight back the giggles — was absolutely priceless.

*The quote’s not quite exact as I’m having to re-translate the voiceover translation that is drowning out the original English answers.
-- Tim Dickinson

Comments

Andy | 12/10/2007, 4:45 pm EST

Well what do we have here then. A politician who stands up to a hostile crowd and tells them something they don’t want to here. Give me that piece of paper and let me sigh-up. I wasn’t a Paul supporter until I found out what he said last night. And you’re right - he has cajoles the size of beach balls.

Tim | 12/10/2007, 4:42 pm EST

Does anyone else think that John McCain looks like Glen Quagmire from “The Family Guy”?

Gene Trosper | 12/10/2007, 4:28 pm EST

Cuban embargo = colossal failure.

What exactly has been accomplished over these past years by punishing the citizens of Cuba??? A whole lot of nothing. An influx of American tourists and American dollars could have made a more positive change MUCH sooner than that damn embargo.

Dave | 12/10/2007, 4:11 pm EST

I have a framed copy of Rolling Stone November 9, 1967 VOL.I, No.I on my wall next to me as i write this. The cover is John Lennon in the movie “What did you do in the war, Daddy?” The irony as I look from the spirit of the magazine then to the one today is bitter and extreme.

Forty years ago we were engaged in an unjust war, but the spirit spreading through the country was fueled by the hope that fundamental change was possible, and the word “revolution” was used with excitement and optimism. And Rolling Stone was helping to carry the banner.

And now? Well, I suppose that since the magazine abandoned any pretense of challenging the establishment long ago, it’s time for a new medium to step in and pick up that banner. It’s called the internet, and it publishes itself. Welcome to the ashcan of history.

darryl | 12/10/2007, 4:07 pm EST

Cuba is one of the best places to visit. I wasn’t aware that American’s weren’t allowed to go there.

gorak | 12/10/2007, 4:03 pm EST

Ron Paul belives 9/11 was committed by terrorists. If you think he believes it was a conspiracy you need to stop drooling at the mouth and do some $%$#% research.

Matthew | 12/10/2007, 3:57 pm EST

‘First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, then you win.’
-M. Ghandi

Free Bubba | 12/10/2007, 3:55 pm EST

Ron Paul is the definition of meek. Meek means having the strength of a warrior, but the humility of a servant. Thus, he is the only man actually qualified for office, who will not only resist the temptations of power that can seduce most any man, but will speak and stand in the Truth! Viva el Freedom.

www.teaparty07.com

Puerto | 12/10/2007, 3:54 pm EST

Ron Paul stands his ground with correct principles. He doesn’t change just because a few people who do not know correct principle booed him. And John McCain should really show the public how he is by laughing away immaturely like a little kid with no respect.

Check Ron Paul for President!

Puerto | 12/10/2007, 3:54 pm EST

Ron Paul stands his ground with correct principles. He doesn’t change just because a few people who do not know correct principle booed him. And John McCain should really show the public how he is by laughing away immaturely like a little kid with no respect.

Check Ron Paul for President!

freecon | 12/10/2007, 3:46 pm EST

No to National ID. Screw 1984!

Peggy | 12/10/2007, 3:37 pm EST

I am constantly clenching my teeth to hold back my giggles whenever John McCain opens his mouth…what a bonehead.

Go Dr. Paul!!

Ron earns respect at debates | 12/10/2007, 3:30 pm EST

I was watching the debate at a bar down the street from the University of Miami where it was held. Ron did not tailor his message to the crowd, but instead stuck to his guns and he was both cheered and booed for it at different times. This courage, unadorned with slickness or even rhetorical flair, is why he has earned the admiration of so many even when they disagree with him. After the debate, Ron dropped by the bar and used the karoake microphone to give his thoughts about the debate to constant cheers. I’ve never seen this kind of youthful energy in a political campaign.

B Reyes | 12/10/2007, 3:25 pm EST

Ron Paul never backs away from his message.

The man is pure integrity.

You ALWAYS know where you stand with Ron Paul.

Wes | 12/10/2007, 3:02 pm EST

Tom, don’t feed the trolls.

When you copied ir-Rational’s rant, the flat formatting made it appear to a casual reader as if it was yours.

Ron Paul’s the man!

Tom | 12/10/2007, 2:53 pm EST

Rational | 12/10/2007, 9:58 am EST

Paul is a fool, and the internet is the only place his support appears to be substantial. Here are some real ‘truths’ for all of you basement dwellers:

1. Paul has zero chance. That’s good.

2. Voting ‘No’ is not policy.
3. 9/11 was not an inside job. Grow up.
4. Thank you for illuminating the fact that maybe the internet world is not as big of a factor for elections as it had seemed the past couple of years.
5. Enjoy your tinfoil hats.

You are a tool.

Nothing that you said is true. It is all just crap you heard in the news and you say we wear the tinfoil hats.

You have the sense of the chick from the View that thinks the earth is flat.
Stick your head back up your ass and hide until election day, then we will see who was right…

NH | 12/10/2007, 2:51 pm EST

AS if Rolling Stone is the place to get your political news and commentary.

That’s what made ME laugh the most….

Baron Munchausen | 12/10/2007, 2:50 pm EST

Ron Paul will be as great a President as Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln served only 1 term as a congressman before winning the Presidency. Paul has served 10 terms as a congressman. I think he will be 10 times as great as Lincoln.

He will have to be. Lincoln had one major issue, slavery. Paul has at least 10 major issues: national bankruptcy, overextended military, energy shortage, broken tax code, broken borders, crumbling infrastructure, sovereignty threat of North American Union schemers, restoration of civil liberties, an obese bureaucracy that has burst the limits of the Constituion, and failed foreign policy which has lost international good will.

I know he will have a lot of good help from We the People to pressure Congress and the Senate to solve these problems. Gridlock between two flocks of sheep butting heads over who gets to control the national pastures won’t be tolerated by the wild geese (see my earlier post on “wild geese vs. sheep”).

The nation survived thanks to Honest Abe, now We the People have a new leader, Honest Ron.

Tom | 12/10/2007, 2:37 pm EST

Definition of hypocrisy:

Last debate John McCain calls Dr. Paul an isolationist.

This debate John McCain defends isolating Cuba, while Dr. Paul says lets talk and trade w/ them.

John McCain has lost all credibility, it is a shame. He must be coming down w/ Alzheimers.

Tess | 12/10/2007, 2:24 pm EST

Ron Paul has and will always stand up for the Constitution Of The United States of America. He has my vote and support, listed below are the reasons why:

obeys the Constitution
will bring our military home now
smaller government
less taxes
balanced budget
illegal immigration issues

and so many other reasons, the list goes on.
Ron Paul will win, we the people will vote him in.

Freedom, baby | 12/10/2007, 2:20 pm EST

We STILL have an embargo on Cuba?

I thought embargos went away with sasparilla sodas.

Anonymous | 12/10/2007, 2:20 pm EST

We STILL have an embargo on Cuba?

I thought embargos went away with sasparilla sodas.

Mark | 12/10/2007, 2:11 pm EST

Finally, a politician that doesn’t hide behind lies to make himself look good.
Power to the People!
RON PAUL

John Tobak | 12/10/2007, 1:53 pm EST

Ron Paul speaks the truth no matter how many people boo him. That’s why he’s so popular. People don’t respect politicians who are always only telling them what they want to hear. The American people want the truth for once!

uiuc_grad | 12/10/2007, 1:42 pm EST

Dr. Paul is dead on. The ‘pubs have been trying to catalyze a revolt against Castro for generations and have not suceeded in making a dent in his armor. With the absence of firearms I have a very hard time seeing the GOP’s mission suceeding.

Padro De Gringo | 12/10/2007, 1:40 pm EST

If your running for president of the United States of America, and you choose to have a debate in Spanish,, then I don’t give a flying phuk what you said, your not talking to Americans, If you were, you’d be speaking English.
Let’s have the next debate in German, or Japanese, oh, I got it, let’s have the next debate in Arabic!!

Anonymous | 12/10/2007, 1:38 pm EST

> Does that mean McCain supports
> isolationism then?

No, it means he’s an idiot.

A puppet really can’t be an isolationist, that’s for the guy pulling the strings to decide.

Frank J. Gonzalez | 12/10/2007, 1:25 pm EST

Ron Paul Needs Allies in Congress!

Already having a deep passion for Ron Paul’s libertarian ideas all my life and actively involved in politics since the year 2000 when I first learned about him, I ran for U.S. House in Florida’s District 21 in both 2004 and 2006 against 16-year incumbent Lincoln Diaz-Balart. I earned 27% as a Libertarian in ‘04. I earned 41% as a “Ron Paul” Democrat in ‘06 with only $16,000 and against my opponent’s $1 Million. CNN did show me with 55% at 9:43pm on election night, but that’s a whole separate issue about election fraud that would take forever to explain.

In any case, because of my team of dedicated volunteers, we in Miami, FL have already done some of the groundwork in advance of Paul’s popularity explosion, including vocal opposition to the unethical, illegal and economically self-destructive embargo on Cuba.

To prove my dedication, I defied U.S. laws and decided to travel to Cuba almost seven years ago to get a glimpse of the country myself and to connect with my fully Cuban ethnic heritage. That was the moment when I realized what a lie we have been told and when I decided to greatly improve my Spanish to the point where I am now fluent again.

You want PEACE? TRADE FREELY. Don’t wage war. Nobody who has a successful business seeks to kill their clients. When goods and services cross borders, militaries and hostility do not.

In 2008, Dean Santoro will run as a Republican against Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and I will run as an independent–in my case, if Ron Paul wins the Republican nomination or decides to run as an independent). Our purpose is to “double-team” the incumbent.

But first, by jumping in the race as an independent, I will “run interference” against the Democrat who probably can’t win with me in the race too, because of my name recognition, and he/she will simply sit it out.

As a result, both Dean and I will be able to”double-team” the incumbent.

Though I will be on the ballot, I will be working to help Dean win his primary against Lincoln (and technically against me too). If he does, I will endorse his campaign and withdraw my candidacy and give him the general election victory as well, about 2 months in advance of the general election in November 2008!

If you’re reading this now, please cut, paste and forward it to all your family and friends.

It’s this kind of innovative strategizing that will make it impossible for the corrupt politicians to weasel their ways out of expulsion at last.

William | 12/10/2007, 1:20 pm EST

We did not create the Castro’s and Chavez’s of the world. The Caudillo, or strong man, has been around since the time of the conquistador in Central and South America. The rise of dictators to power happens cyclically because the people forget easily.

Mitch C | 12/10/2007, 1:13 pm EST

“The look on John McCain’s face during a cut-away — clenching his jaw to fight back the giggles — was absolutely priceless.”

Thanks for showing us what immature morons both the writer and McCain are.

cajones | 12/10/2007, 12:56 pm EST

my roommate’s family is from Cuba. Castro went to high-school with his grandfather and they fled leaving their businesses behind. the problem with upholding sanctions and travel restrictions is that they validate Castro’s regime instead of working around it through individual trade. Moronic, despotic troublemakers become irrelevant when the people are in charge.

Gabriel M | 12/10/2007, 12:44 pm EST

I am first generation Cuban American. No matter what the intentions of the embargo some 40 years ago, its effectiveness and failure as a policy have been solidified. Until an entire generation has died without returning to their homeland, maybe a younger and more democratic generation can support a different policy not blindly supported by pride and resentment.

I support Dr. Paul 100% on this issue, and on many more. It is amazing that a congressman from Texas and I share many of the same beliefs. Maybe it has something to do with the principles this country was founded upon, the liberty which was promised as an immigrant, powerful enough in meaning alone for my family to abandon everything we had.

Gabriel Marti

Libertad | 12/10/2007, 12:21 pm EST

Viva Ron Paul! Viva la rEVOLution!

Desiree | 12/10/2007, 12:18 pm EST

Ron Paul rocks!!! He had me at “constitution”

Elaine McKillop, Esq. | 12/10/2007, 12:15 pm EST

Ron Paul is the only honorable man in Washington. Living in Miami and having nieces and nephews that are half Cuban it is a shame that they have not had the opportunity to see the country of there grandparents and visit with their relatives. Ron Paul is right. End a policy that has failed, and reunite the families that have suffered from this isolationist stand.

Elaine McKillop, Esq. | 12/10/2007, 12:15 pm EST

Ron Paul is the only honorable man in Washington. Living in Miami and having nieces and nephews that are half Cuban it is a shame that they have not had the opportunity to see the country of there grandparents and visit with their relatives. Ron Paul is right. End a policy that has failed, and reunite the families that have suffered from this isolationist stand.

USA Investor | 12/10/2007, 12:15 pm EST

Let us in Paul! LET US IN!

Jack D. | 12/10/2007, 12:01 pm EST

I think what the Cubans don’t understand is that if all of the sudden commercial flights started landing in Cuba and hotels started going up and people started mingling between countries that it would become harder and harder for any regime to do bad things to their people. Right now it is a sheltered society and the govt can do anything it wants with total impunity. People need to start using their brains and realize that if the people of the world would mingle more and get to know each other better then we would all be more inclined to to force our governments to stop using us to kill each other. This is how Ron Paul thinks and why I will vote in the primary for the first time ever.

Tony | 12/10/2007, 12:00 pm EST

Truth in the face of ridicule. The sign of a brave man. And certainly one of few politicians who would dare not to pander. The truth is Cuba was a criminal hotbed before Castro. For those who can’t bother to read, watch Godfather II, that is more or less what Cuba was before Castro. Corruption and criminals, a haven for the decadent. Like it or not. Castro rose to power because of this, because he was fighting this exploitive system.When governement gets that bad, the people will accept any alternative. Personaly, knowing the corrupt system before Castro, I always wonder at those who fled from Castro, those who were wealthy before Castro, how much moral clout can they bring, considering what the pre-Castro elite were doing. And I can’t help but wonder how someone who believes 9/11 was an inside job can be against a candidate who is an outspoken opponent of such duplicity. That’s really irrational.

Brad | 12/10/2007, 11:58 am EST

But you failed to mention that after Ron Paul started explaining his position, many of those boos became cheers.

www.ronpaul2008. com
www.teaparty07.com

PatrickThomasHenryJefferson | 12/10/2007, 11:56 am EST

It’s sad irony that Ron Paul is excoriated for championing Constitutional concepts and axiomatic tenets of Jefferson and Madison. Dr. Paul is an iconoclast only because the others have sold out the Constitution. Balanced budget, non-intervention, smaller government, personal liberty, states’rights…have once again become radical ideas.

Alec | 12/10/2007, 11:49 am EST

McCain is never *not* clenching his huge malformed jaws. McCain should have to sit in the corner and repeat “they will follow us home” 100 times.

Jed Clampett | 12/10/2007, 11:27 am EST

Tell’em how the boar ate the cabbage Ron, don’t let them tell you it was a sheep and it was eating lettuce.

ServingOverseas | 12/10/2007, 11:26 am EST

Ron Paul is transparent, honest and logical. As president, he will make a great ambassador with clear principles and a kind of impeccable style we haven’t seen for a long looooooong time.

Robert | 12/10/2007, 11:23 am EST

Congressman Dr. Ron Paul is exactly right! We caused the instability in the countries in question, so why should we punish the people of those countries with embargo’s and sanctions? Only the people suffer with those methods - not the dictators. Ron Paul DOES have huge cajones - for speaking the unmitigated truth.

defensefoundation@gmail.com | 12/10/2007, 11:17 am EST

Ron Paul has our support!!!

Denise Marhoefer

The Defense Foundation For Children USA

Miracles Of Hope Network

Wildboar | 12/10/2007, 11:15 am EST

Please join us in Boston on December 16th for a Tea Party! It’s time to support Liberty! Go Ron Paul!

Ryan | 12/10/2007, 11:06 am EST

Ron is right!

O'le | 12/10/2007, 10:58 am EST

Become part of the r3VOLution at ronpaul2008 or
teaparty07dotcom

Honor our founders this December 16th by remembering the Boston Tea Party.

Ron and DK are the only PEACE candidates running for President.

Killary and Gouhliani will expand the destruction in the mid-east.

Chris | 12/10/2007, 10:51 am EST

Ron Paul 2008! Hope for America!

James | 12/10/2007, 10:47 am EST

Why doesn’t anyone mention the tremendous cheering to questions before and after this one question for Mr Paul?

Or the fact that Rudy was almost “booed out of the building” when he said he was better then Dr Paul when his turn came up?

David | 12/10/2007, 10:47 am EST

Mi espousa es Cubana(Cuban wife) and this is a sticking point between us. She is completely opposed to lifting the sanctions against Cuba. Her father fled the country in the early 1960’s after his counter revolutionary force(32 men) were gunned down by Castro’s secret military police, he was the only survivor.

As someone who has first hand knowledge, these people will NEVER accept Ron Paul’s stance on this issue and it will be a deal breaker for their support. This is unfortunate because Ron Paul is absolutely right on this issue. Open up trade, normalize relations and the people of Cuba themselves will want to get rid of Castro. The more we sanction them the more we push them into Fidels arms.

DM | 12/10/2007, 10:41 am EST

As a Cuban-American Ron Paul supporter, one thing I can say is that no one can ever dare accuse him of pandering after that.
My grandfather came with his family (including my mother) soon after the revolution when he knew Castro was communist.
I have long supported the embargo on various levels, but I do have to at least give it to Dr. Paul, that the Embargo has been a failure. I’m not saying I support normalized relationships with communist Cuba, but clearly something should be done differently.
I think there is a difference between having communist dictatorships 90 miles off your coast vs half way around the world though, enough to perhaps justify military action. We spend a lot of money maintaining an infrastructure designed to deal with a continuous influx of refugees, which with our current policy, has no end in sight. Kennedy wouldn’t have been wrong to actually go for it with the Bay of Pigs invasion, for the same reason that we’ve been to Haiti twice in the last 20 years - stability in OUR region of the world by preventing situations that lead to mass numbers of refugees.

Dan Warner | 12/10/2007, 10:41 am EST

Ron Paul did the same thing at his google interview. He told a huge crowd of people who went to college with student loans, that it was imoral to steal money from people who could never afford to go to college so THEY could go to college.

Ron Paul has more integrity in his little finger than the whole bunch of the dems and repubs combined!

Marc Holt | 12/10/2007, 10:32 am EST

I live and work in Thailand. I am a Brit/Australian. But I admire Ron Paul so much that I have added his banner to my blog at www.aardvarkzone.com/holtblog/ and if you want to send him some money, you can do that on my blog too. Get out there and vote. The whole world (well, the sensible people in the world anyway) are all rooting for Ron Paul. He’s the only hope America and the world has today.

Go Ron! | 12/10/2007, 10:25 am EST

This is why Ron Paul rocks. He is the only candidate that can turn “Amerika” back into America!

Slice D | 12/10/2007, 10:11 am EST

RP has more balls, more heart, and more brains that all the others (in both parties) combined. I wouldn’t even consider voting for any of them.

John Nowlin | 12/10/2007, 10:08 am EST

Our policy with Castro, reminds me of a fable.

The Wind and the Sun were arguing over who was stronger. Seeing a man walking along, the sun proposed a test to see who could remove his coat. So the sun hid behind a cloud while the wind blew and blew. The man only wrapped himself more tightly in his coat. After the wind gave up, out comes the sun, shining warmly on the man, who soon not only removes his coat, but all his clothes and goes swimming.

We have been blowing on Cuba for 45 years and all Castro has done is wrap the country in more communist misery. It is time to shine the warmth of Liberty, Free Markets and Private property on Cuba! They’ll joyfully toss Castro off and start swimming with the rest of the world.

ray | 12/10/2007, 10:04 am EST

Dr. Paul is amazing! Get the word out that we finally have a truthful politician who will save the USA! How can so many ignore history!? It favors truth and Ron Paul is man of TRUTH!

Rational | 12/10/2007, 9:58 am EST

Paul is a fool, and the internet is the only place his support appears to be substantial. Here are some real ‘truths’ for all of you basement dwellers:

1. Paul has zero chance. That’s good.

2. Voting ‘No’ is not policy.
3. 9/11 was not an inside job. Grow up.
4. Thank you for illuminating the fact that maybe the internet world is not as big of a factor for elections as it had seemed the past couple of years.
5. Enjoy your tinfoil hats.

Tom | 12/10/2007, 9:53 am EST

What everyone above me said.

I’m voting in the primaries and my guess would be that he would actually get more than 70% of his supporters to turnout for them.

Robert | 12/10/2007, 9:48 am EST

Telling the truth is always better then pandering to the uninformed.

Way to go Ron Paul!

Christopher Thurow Sr | 12/10/2007, 9:21 am EST

The REAL isolationists:

McCain
Giul iani
Huckabee
Romney
Thomps on

Andy | 12/10/2007, 8:45 am EST

The Guiliani-McCain foreign policy:

Bomb Iraq.
Bomb Iran.
Bomb North Korea.
Bomb Cuba.
Bomb Venezuela.
Bomb anybody else who disagrees with us.

Rollo | 12/10/2007, 8:25 am EST

Obviously, the citizens in those oppressed countries don’t realize the US had a hand in creating these dictators. If any booing should be done, it should be done against American foreign policy.

Lucia Schmitz | 12/10/2007, 8:24 am EST

IT’S COJONES YOU INTELECUAL!!!!!

Lucia Schmitz | 12/10/2007, 8:21 am EST

It’s COJONES, YOU ID
I’m from Argentina and had he been in any university in Latin America, he would cheered and applauded.
As far as Mc Cain goes, total lack of class and he wants to run for president.
Go Ron Paul, you are the Winston Churchill of the USA!!!!

JohnKing | 12/10/2007, 8:12 am EST

Ron Paul is courageous for stating the truth.

He is also smart, the television audience goes well beyond the Cubans-Hate-Castro contigent that was in the room.

Cubans are actually a very small (but vocal) part of the larger Hispanic electorate and truth be told, most other Hispanic groups don’t like Cubans anyway.

Darel | 12/10/2007, 8:10 am EST

Well you have to love a guy who speaks the truth and does not change his tune based on the crowd. I suppose the rest of the crowd has not considered recent history.

I think Paul is making history with this grass roots support. I also think it has jump started changes within the gop. For example our GOP meetings usually only have 30-40 who attend but since this past summer they have climbed to over 100 and most are Paul supporters. The Mitt and Rudy supporters of the room are always the ones who belittle Paul supporters even in a crowd filled with Paul supporters.

We are seeing changes!

Darel | 12/10/2007, 8:10 am EST

Well you have to love a guy who speaks the truth and does not change his tune based on the crowd. I suppose the rest of the crowd has not considered recent history.

I think Paul is making history with this grass roots support. I also think it has jump started changes within the gop. For example our GOP meetings usually only have 30-40 who attend but since this past summer they have climbed to over 100 and most are Paul supporters. The Mitt and Rudy supporters of the room are always the ones who belittle Paul supporters even in a crowd filled with Paul supporters.

We are seeing changes!

Michael Toth | 12/10/2007, 8:00 am EST

Don’t laugh, just listen to Ron Paul. You’ll like what you here.
Show your support. Search ebay for Ron Paul t-shirts and wear them every where.
We know he’s the best, now convince the rest.
We need to get people outside of the internet interested.

Dr. Paul cured my hopelessness.

freedomjoyadventure | 12/10/2007, 7:47 am EST

Ron Paul has more honor and integrity, and bigger cojones than all the other candidates put together.

He’s the only one who consistently upholds and defends the Constitution.

dstanfield | 12/10/2007, 7:37 am EST

Ron Paul 2008! Let’s band together and get the message out there. Donate your time and money. Place Dr. Paul’s name on your car and in your yard. Talk about him at work and amongst friends and family. It is time for sleepy, apathetic America to WAKE UP!

Mike | 12/10/2007, 7:28 am EST

Amazing. The sheer fact that the past 45 years of crap hasn’t worked. And these Cubans are still so bitter at Castro. You would think they would care more about visiting family over there then about getting their property back. I mean you have to be doing decently well to be at the debate. Why not try something new!

JimBelbuck | 12/10/2007, 6:11 am EST

Ron Paul is correct on this issue. I have great respect for the man. He says what people like McCain dare not think. And for doing so, he deserves every American’s personal support in his candidacy for President.

James | 12/10/2007, 6:01 am EST

I don’t see how the author is smearing Ron Paul.

If Ron alienates the benefactors of our ridiculous policies, then so be it. There are for more people who have had enough. rEVOLution!

Captain Obvious | 12/10/2007, 5:53 am EST

I just watched the tape — it’s hilarious.

*Every single person in the United States who believes the current Cuba policy is a good idea was in that room.*

It was like watching the end of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Totally heroic.

Linda Ronstadt | 12/10/2007, 5:44 am EST

Son grandes.
Son peludos.
Y Rudy no puede dejar que tocarlos.
- Cojones de mi Pablo

Linda Ronstadt | 12/10/2007, 5:40 am EST

Son grandes.
Son peludos.
Y Rudy no puede dejar de tocarlos.
-Cojones de Senor Paul

professor aaron | 12/10/2007, 5:32 am EST

I noticed that they moved Ron Paul closer to the middle of the stage. He should be standing in the middle like the beacon of hope and integrity that he is. I have sat up and taken notice and if I have then a great many more like me have. viva Ron Paul!

Sean | 12/10/2007, 5:13 am EST

Congrats to Rolling Stone for this border-line smear piece. Who does Ron Paul think he is for actually making sense? Way to go Rolling Stone! Way to put Ron Paul back in his place! Go McCain!!! Let’s start what the neo-cons (big government liberals) call World War IV

Anonymous | 12/10/2007, 5:06 am EST

Normalize relations with Cuba???
Cam’t Ron Paul see the embargo is working? A little time is all it needs, its only been 40 something years, Cuba is about to crumble under the pressure.
Same with Iraq, give it a few more decades, all in good time…
Stay the course, red or blue, who cares…?
Or wake up and enjoy a little tea on December 16th.
Don’t let it be said you did nothing during these critical times.

Baron Munchausen | 12/10/2007, 4:54 am EST

The 2008 election isn’t about Democrat versus Republican.

It is really a contest between sheep and wild geese.

Both sheep and wild geese like to dine on green grass.

Sheep need a shepherd to guide them to green pastures. The shepherd controls his sheep so that he can either fleece them or make mutton stew. The sheep are chased around by the shepherd’s yapping border collies.

Wild geese can find the next green pasture on their own. The wild geese poop on the shepherd’s head and elude his collies as they take flight to fly in a V for victory formation with the Ron Paul blimp.

The cackling of the wild geese is rising in a deafening crescendo as they prepare to darken the skies and blot out the sun on the coming election days to vote for Ron Paul. They will manage this phenomenal feat without air traffic controllers (the FAA could learn a thing or two from these wild geese.)

They have a tried and true flight plan, the U.S. Constitution.

In the debate today, Ron Paul showed us he is the wildest of the wild geese. A few loud boo’s can’t knock him off course. He will be as great a President as Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln served only 1 term as a congressman before winning the Presidency. Paul has served 10 terms as a congressman. I think he will be 10 times as great as Lincoln.

Lorenz | 12/10/2007, 4:51 am EST

simply amazing - the truth hurts

Michael Staton | 12/10/2007, 4:39 am EST

Go Ron Paul. Kick everyone else out. Whenever I read about what conservatism is, I think I’m conservative. And then I look at these nitwit fanatics who expand the government and pander to special interests and run up pork barrel and I think: I’d rather vote democrat. Ron Paul is the only republican worth voting for.

Nikos Leverenz | 12/10/2007, 4:35 am EST

Ron Paul has co-authored a bill with Barney Frank for YEARS to lift the Cuban embargo, which only serves to fortify Castro’s grip on power. As such, the embargo fails to move toward its chief objective: to place pressure on Castro by increasing the suffering of ordinary Cubanos (at least those not receiving “los dolares de EE UU,” i.e., our own fiat money, from those living stateside).

Like so many other issues, those in a decision making capacity are letting the discrete voices of a few trump the ignorance of most and the real human toll on many. Yes, people are having a hard time in Cuba, but they are neither in the Castro regime nor have a supply of dollars at the ready.

Oregonian For Ron Paul | 12/10/2007, 4:07 am EST

“Truly his cajones are large and spendid!”
LMAO!
Amazing set he has got working for him indeed.

Legalize Ron Paul!!!!

L. A. Dietz | 12/10/2007, 3:56 am EST

Re. Univision’s debate the Miami Herald’s poll shows a Ron Paul landslide at 88% with 191 votes out of 222.

11:11 | 12/10/2007, 3:53 am EST

Florida is full of Cubans and Cuban Americans. They have a vendetta against Castro. Their political influence in Florida is outrageous, and often down right criminal. No surprise they would boo. A handful of Cubans prevents ALL Americans from exercising their right to travel where they choose.

Joby | 12/10/2007, 3:45 am EST

A candidate who is not afraid to stand his line in any environment.

Finally.

RP 2008.

Klutometis | 12/10/2007, 3:43 am EST

Ron Paul has the guise of Jimmy Stewart, but the violent verity of Parsifal.

Dave | 12/10/2007, 3:38 am EST

Huge cajones indeed. I call them “Truth Cajones”.

Ron Paul just makes sense. He’s honest and candid.

If you wanted to make friends and have a good, respected standing in the world, would you do it with a menacing glare or with an honest smile? We aren’t going to make friends with every country in the world, but it does us no good to be on bad terms with anyone. While you can’t likely be on good terms with everybody, it doesn’t mean you have to make enemies with them.

Ed Wood | 12/10/2007, 3:33 am EST

Did they boo him because they just did not understand what he said? I think so. Ron Paul should be our next president, no doubt! Everyone, do what you can!

JR | 12/10/2007, 3:31 am EST

RON PAUL!

Texas Little El | 12/10/2007, 3:29 am EST

Rep. Paul spoke truth tonight.

If having an embargo against Cuba has been so successful for the past 45 it really should work now….

The rest of the republicans have put their cards on the table and have lost the game. The only way for Rep. Paul to lose these arguments is for them to cheat.

The War on Drugs didn’t work. The War in Iraq didn’t work and the NIE Report confirms it.

Voting democrats into office didn’t stop the war or remove soldiers from the field of battle. Yet when the British troops leave Basra, the violence diminished 90%.

Republicans were supposed to reduce the size of government but under Bush, it increased 5.9% on average year after year, the largest increase in American history.

I know in some ways we are a nation of idiots, but like Albert Einstein said “Insanity is defined as doing the same thing, over and over expecting a different result”

Think its time to stop the insanity?

RP 2008

anon | 12/10/2007, 3:26 am EST

does he have huge cajones because he has huge cojones?

Ed | 12/10/2007, 3:21 am EST

If you look at the polling numbers right now, they’re incredibly low across the board comparatively. Clinton is sitting in the 40% range in just about every poll, except for Iowa, where she’s down in the mid-20’s in some (not all). The Republicans, on the other hand, are swamped in the mid-low 20’s for the front runners, and the teens for the field. Giuliani is leading the field with an average of 24%, with the next challenger, Huckabee at 16%.

Here’s an analysis based on what someone put together at the Ron Paul forum…

Assume from the current polls per 100,000… And estimate a slightly higher than normal–but uniform–turnout. Turnout in 2000 was something like 8.1%, and in 2004 only 6.6%. I’m being generous with the 15%.

Candidate - percent likely voters * percent turnout * 100,000 = votes

Mitt Romney 33% * 15% * 100,000 = 4950
John McCain 18% * 15% * 100,000 = 2700
Rudy Giuliani 16% * 15% * 100,000 = 2400
Ron Paul 8% * 70% * 100,000 = 5600
Mike Huckabee 5% * 15% * 100,000 = 750
Fred Thompson 4% * 15% * 100,000 = 600
Tom Tancredo 1% * 15% * 100,000 = 150
Unsure 14% * 15% * 100,000 = 2100
Other 1% * 15% * 100,000 = 150

The end values are per 100,000 people, so remember to take those values and multiply by how ever many 100,000 people there are.

I have Ron Paul at 70% turnout. Maybe that’s a little high… But if you make it 40%, he’s still registering a strong second place finish… which is the point here. In this weak field, all Ron Paul has to do is CONTEND to justify fighting this thing out to the National Convention. (I would add that I believe RP’s polling numbers to be soft numbers, particularly in caucus states. Polling in caucus states has been notoriously dubious over the years because there’s no way to account for all of the field variables).

I’ll be suprised if any Republican garners more than 33% of the vote, leaving the door wide open for Paul to make the case to keep his campaign open.

Leon | 12/10/2007, 3:20 am EST

Clearly the boo-birds would prefer an Operation Venezuelan Freedom, with Shock-and-Awe, and carpet bombing of Caracas. Amazing.

They may just get their wish.

Rich | 12/10/2007, 3:08 am EST

I love this guy! Tell us what we need to know, not just what we want to hear. He got my lazy ass registered to vote in primary.

Mikey Walkusky | 12/10/2007, 2:48 am EST

Ron Paul just speaks common sense. How is he not more popular? This is ridiculous. Too bad when he tells the truth regarding the history of U.S. policies, he is booed. Oh well, it’s still attention I guess.

RonPaulistheMan | 12/10/2007, 2:37 am EST

Read Dr. Paul’s book, “A Foriegn Policy of Freedom”. It’s composed of select speeches in front of congress from 1976 to 2006. It combined with his voting record is a true window into his thought process and belief.

Miss Havisham | 12/10/2007, 2:36 am EST

I think the more people hear Ron Paul debate, the more they like him.

He’s a thinker.

Free | 12/10/2007, 2:08 am EST

The Republican Party wants to put a band aid on a country having a heart attack. Ron Paul can stop the bleeding and bring us back from near death. Our country needs a check up from the neck up and the problem is driven by our politicians who have lost their way. Most forms of media take their marching orders from these lost politicians who will do or say anything maintain their control. Let the doctor cure us with his keen insight. We need to take care of our own nation before it flat lines. As an atheist, I pray that our nation elects Ron Paul to lead us into recovery. Remember no matter how much darkness the main stream media spews, you can’t extinguish Ron Paul’s flame burning in the hearts of Americans. Why is the media so afraid of letting a valid candidate speak? People may hear his message of freedom? They ended slavery for a reason. May the souls of those who misinform our nation be cleansed so one day they may rest in peace. Support the brightest light, register now REPUBLICAN and VOTE for RON PAUL in the primary.

Dave | 12/10/2007, 2:07 am EST

Here I am, a citizen of a supposedly free country, the USA, yet if I choose to visit Cuba my own government forbids it and can imprison me upon my return. That’s thanks to the politicians who are “protecting” our birthright of Liberty by destroying it. I’m voting for a true statesman. Ron Paul is my choice.

FreeFallN | 12/10/2007, 2:06 am EST

The Republican Party wants to put a band aid on a country having a heart attack. Ron Paul can stop the bleeding and bring us back from near death. Our country needs a check up from the neck up and the problem is driven by our politicians who have lost their way. Most forms of media take their marching orders from these lost politicians who will do or say anything maintain their control. Let the doctor cure us with his keen insight. We need to take care of our own nation before it flat lines. As an atheist, I pray that our nation elects Ron Paul to lead us into recovery. Remember no matter how much darkness the main stream media spews, you can’t extinguish Ron Paul’s flame burning in the hearts of Americans. Why is the media so afraid of letting a valid candidate speak? People may hear his message of freedom? They ended slavery for a reason. May the souls of those who misinform our nation be cleansed so one day they may rest in peace. Support the brightest light, register now REPUBLICAN and VOTE for RON PAUL in the primary.

Grant Devereaux | 12/10/2007, 2:03 am EST

Ron Paul has got to stop making common sense statements. Has anyone even thought about what a Ron Paul Presidency would do to hedge fund managers? Oil Companies? Blackwater? Halliburton? The military industrial complex would lose everything if we allowed peace in the world. For God sake, don’t make us use the Saudis again to terrify you people into giving up more of your wealth and civil rights.

Ron Paul - stop making the rest of the candidates look like blooming idiots! It’s downright un-American!

AC Green | 12/10/2007, 2:01 am EST

I’m surprised that a largely Hispanic audience would be critical of the desire to normalize relations with Cuba. The embargo has only divided families between those who can escape and those who can’t. The Castro brothers will only be around another 10 years at most, so why not start paving the way toward normalcy? We have a lot of baggage when it comes to Cuba, but it’s time for a fresh approach. We haven’t exactly convinced them to drop Communism, so why not try something new?

David | 12/10/2007, 1:59 am EST

Ron Paul does not pander to ANY group. His consistently is impressive, for 30 years he has had the same views and stuck to his guns all the way. Let’s get rid of the IRS, get them troops outta Iraq, and get this country back in shape. Our country is sick right now but Dr. Paul has just the right remedy.

RJ | 12/10/2007, 1:57 am EST

What is so wrong about talking to Cuba?

Luke | 12/10/2007, 1:55 am EST

The only real man who stands for what he believes in ALL the time. Ron Paul would work wonders for this country buried in debt. Cuba would change if free Americans traveled there and spread the word of freedom simply by showing off our success. Ever wonder why all those boats try so hard to get to Florida from Cuba?
Vote for Ron Paul!

Tim | 12/10/2007, 1:53 am EST

I love the booing. It grabs attention.

We humans are curious creatures and a politician speaking truth to a hostile crowd is a once in a lifetime thing.

People won’t forget this. It will be hard-wired into their brains.

They’ll remember the Good Doctor and give him another hearing.

Karl Rove | 12/10/2007, 1:50 am EST

The same crowd cheered loudly when he said we need to come out of Iraq and cease intervening in the affairs of other countries. So they are in effect saying, “we love non-intervention, but not in our backyard… Jack”
Beautiful!

Hell yea | 12/10/2007, 1:43 am EST

That’s right Paul’s got big balls. If this country doesn’t wake up en mass and vote this TRUE leader into office then we’ll all be fleeing to central and south america looking for jobs and the proverbial shoe will be on the other foot.

Chris | 12/10/2007, 1:33 am EST

Ron Paul is a master of trapping his opponents. Monday morning his legions will be all over the broken logic of McCain and the anti-Castro crowd.

NCMarc | 12/10/2007, 1:26 am EST

I also noticed he got a large portion of applause for other views like NO national id card and keeping with the rule of law.

My grandmother is from Cuba. She came here on July 4, 1914 and had to stay on Ellis Island.

She agrees with Ron Paul on this issue. If we were to open up to castro, he’d be a different person. Why do we trade with China? They are communist. But they are rapidly becoming the most productive country in the world.

There’s just some logic that needs to be looked at.

And you know you want some of those fine Cubans, right?

rafael | 12/10/2007, 1:25 am EST

Fritz, your wit is brilliant! I’d like to see McCain’s inconsistent positions juxtaposed in a youtube clip.

Louis Nardozi | 12/10/2007, 1:22 am EST

Truly his cajones are large and spendid! It makes all those other politicians SO MAD that he says YOU should be free to run your OWN life instead of having the government run it for you. See, that’s why Dr. Paul’s vision of government costs SO much less than other versions - he assumes we WANT our own life that WE can say what to do with. You know, all those schemes other candidates have for “helping” people in various ways - by killing their families (Iraq) or putting them in prison (people who need pain pills for chronic pain) or, you know, maybe taking their property (taxes) and giving it to some other people who THE GOVERNMENT thinks needs it more… you get the picture. Oh, it makes them so MAD that you ould have the TEMERITY to think that you could actually run your own LIFE! (insert hissy fit) Pardon me ladies and gentlemen I must compose myself… Look guys I’m 47 years old. I have voted in every election I could but I never spoke out for a candidate before. Don’t laugh but I really believe I can fulfill my life’s purpose by speaking for Dr. Paul now. If you fact check him on factcheck.org THERE ISN’T ANYTHING THERE. For EVERY candidate there’s something there. But not for him, what does that say?

Fritz | 12/10/2007, 1:20 am EST

Does that mean McCain supports isolationism then?

teaparty07.com | 12/10/2007, 1:20 am EST

Ron Paul hasn’t tailored his views to anyone in the past 30 years - why should anyone expect him to do so tonight?

He is the most consistent candidate running, basing all his views on the Constitution. It’s a shame that that’s looked down upon in our country today.

The ones that should be booed are the ones that do talk out of both sides of their mouth to please the crowd they’re talking to.

That’s not the type of person I want running our country. Ron Paul speaks the truth, even when it’s painful to hear.

Brent | 12/10/2007, 1:19 am EST

I assume that was an anti-Chavez/Cuba crowd. I think most Hispanics would like to see open talks and less isolation. Ron Paul is a leader.

DenisL | 12/10/2007, 1:17 am EST

Ron Paul speaks the truth in a simple straight forward way.
Clearly the Cuban embargo, which has gone on for 40+ years, has not worked. Isn’t it time to try something new? Ron Paul has been called a lot of things but being a coward is not one of them, as you say the only ones who comes close to the “cajones” he has are in my opinion McCain and Kucinich, the rest are a bunch of pandering wimps telling people what they think they want to hear. How about for a change voting for the guys with “cajones”?

dodsworth | 12/10/2007, 1:15 am EST

Ron Paul does not pander. He is in a class all by himself in this respect. McCain’s girlish snickering in the background provides a stark contrast to Paul’s mature approach.

FUN'MENTAL A basket of old things and bucket lists January 29, 2023

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Women Always seem to get it right....

(this is a criticism of Chomsky's latest by the Pullitzer prize winner Samantha Powers. I find it a fair appraisal, unlike the crazies that go overboard in either praise or loathing, ALL men! It seems to me that only women are capable of objectivity nowadays. Shame on us!)

HEGEMONY OR SURVIVAL
America's Quest for Global Dominance.
By Noam Chomsky.
278 pp. New York: Metropolitan Books/ Henry Holt & Company. $22.

ince Sept. 11, 2001, Americans have been heard to exclaim -- with varying degrees of shame, bewilderment and indignation -- ''Why do they hate us?'' The response tends to fall between two extremes. Bush administration officials say, in essence, they hate us for who we are. As President Bush has put it, ''They hate progress, and freedom, and choice, and culture, and music, and laughter, and women, and Christians, and Jews and all Muslims who reject their distorted doctrines.'' At the opposite end stands the M.I.T. professor Noam Chomsky. ''Why do they hate us?'' Chomsky asks in ''Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance.'' ''Because of you and your associates, Mr. Bush, and what you have done.''

Revered and reviled, Noam Chomsky is a global phenomenon. Indeed, if book sales are any standard to go by, he may be the most widely read American voice on foreign policy on the planet today. With the United States increasingly suspect around the world -- a recent Gallup poll found that 55 percent of citizens in Britain thought the United States ''posed a threat to peace,'' while a June BBC survey found that 60 percent of Indonesians, 71 percent of Jordanians and even 25 percent of Canadians viewed the United States as a greater threat than Al Qaeda -- the appetite for Chomsky's polemics is only increasing. It is but one testament to America's diminished standing that his most recent book, ''9-11,'' a slight collection of interviews (largely conducted via e-mail), was published in 26 countries and translated into 23 languages, finding its way onto best-seller lists in the United States, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan and New Zealand. And at home, as mainstream dissent dissipated in the wake of 9/11, a new generation of disgruntled critics has turned to Chomsky for guidance.

''Hegemony or Survival'' is a raging and often meandering assault on United States foreign policy and the elites who shape it. Drawing upon case after historical case of violent meddling (Iran, Cuba, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Kosovo, etc.), Chomsky argues that the Bush administration's war on terrorism builds upon a long tradition of foreign interventions carried out in the name of ''liberation'' or ''counterterror,'' of special interests run amok and of disdain for international institutions that dare to challenge American hegemony. ''It is only natural,'' he writes, ''that state policy should seek to construct a world system open to U.S. economic penetration and political control, tolerating no rivals or threats.''

Chomsky finds the Bush administration new in only two ways: the crassness of its motives is far more transparent, and it is now playing for far higher stakes. ''Over the years, tactics have been refined and modified,'' Chomsky writes, ''progressively ratcheting up the means of violence and driving our endangered species closer to the edge of catastrophe.'' Unless American statesmen stop ranking hegemony above survival, he says, our 100,000-year-old experiment in human life may well be doomed.

For Chomsky, the world is divided into oppressor and oppressed. America, the prime oppressor, can do no right, while the sins of those categorized as oppressed receive scant mention. Because he deems American foreign policy inherently violent and expansionist, he is unconcerned with the motives behind particular policies, or the ethics of particular individuals in government. And since he considers the United States the leading terrorist state, little distinguishes American air strikes in Serbia undertaken at night with high-precision weaponry from World Trade Center attacks timed to maximize the number of office workers who have just sat down with their morning coffee.

It is inconceivable, in Chomsky's view, that American power could be harnessed for good. Thus, the billions of dollars in foreign aid earmarked each year for disaster relief, schools, famine prevention, AIDS treatment, etc. -- and the interventions in Kosovo and East Timor -- have to be explained away. The Kosovo and Timor operations' prime achievement, he writes, was to establish the norm of resort to force without Security Council authorization. On this both the Kosovars and the Timorese, whose welfare Chomsky has heroically championed over the years, would strongly disagree.

''Survival or Hegemony'' is not easy to read. Chomsky's glib and caustic tone is distracting. He relies heavily upon quotations, but rarely identifies the speaker or writer. The endnotes supply more frustration. Bill Clinton's humanitarian rationale for the Kosovo war was ridiculed ''by leading military and political analysts'' in Israel, we are told, but the citation leads only to an earlier book by Chomsky himself. When he agrees with a claim, Chomsky introduces it with the word ''uncontroversially'' or credits it to ''distinguished authorities.'' Those who don't share his viewpoint don't simply disagree; they are the ''prevailing intellectual culture'' or the ''educated classes.'' This is a thinker far too accustomed to preaching to an uncritical choir.

Often he meets official falsehoods with exaggerations of his own. President Clinton, he says, ''was flying Al Qaeda and Hezbollah operatives to Bosnia to support the U.S. side in the ongoing wars.'' And ''radical Islamists'' have taken over in Kosovo, leading to a ''Taliban phenomenon.'' These are far-fetched claims that he doesn't adequately back up.

But for all that is wrong with ''Hegemony or Survival,'' reading Chomsky today is sobering and instructive for two reasons. First, his critiques have come to influence and reflect mainstream opinion elsewhere in the world; and second, the radicalism of the Bush administration has laid bare many of the structural defects in American foreign policy, defects that Chomsky has long assailed.

Much blood was shed in the last century by United States forces or proxies in the name of righteous ends. Because every state justifies its wars on the grounds of self-defense or altruism, Chomsky is correct that any ''profession of noble intent is predictable, and therefore carries no information.'' He is also right to object to the historical amnesia that American statesmen bring to their dealings with other states. He seethes at the hypocrisy of Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and Colin Powell, who invoked Saddam Hussein's 1988 gassing attacks in order to help justify the recent war, but who did not see fit to explain why the Reagan administration (which they served as senior officials) doubled its aid to Hussein's regime after learning of the gassings.

Chomsky also denounces the dependence of foreign policy elites on special interests. With African agriculture ravaged by American farm subsidies, with Israeli settlements unchallenged by Washington's elites and with campaign contributors to both parties landing mammoth paybacks in overseas contracts, it is certainly well past time to sound the alarm.

And it is essential to demand, as Chomsky does, that a country with the might of the United States stop being so selective in applying its principles. We will not allow our sovereignty to be infringed by international treaty commitments in the areas of human rights or even arms control, but we demand that others should. We rebuff the complaints of foreigners about the 650 people who remain holed up in Guantanamo kennels, denied access to lawyers and family members, with not even their names released. Yet we expect others to take heed of our protests about due process. We have ''official enemies'' -- those whose police abuses, arms shipments and electoral thefts we eagerly expose (Zimbabwe, Burma, North Korea, Iran). But the sins of our allies in the war on terror (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel, Pakistan, Russia, Uzbekistan) are met with ''intentional ignorance.'' Although he is typically thin on prescriptions, Chomsky offers ''one simple way to reduce the threat of terror: stop participating in it.''

Chomsky is wrong to think that individuals within the American government are not thinking seriously about the costs of alliances with repressive regimes; he is also wrong to suggest that it would be easy to get the balance right between liberty and security, or democracy and equality -- or to figure out what the hell to do about Pakistan. But he is right to demand that officials in Washington devote themselves more zealously to strengthening international institutions, curbing arms flows and advancing human rights. ''It is easy to dismiss the world as 'irrelevant,' or consumed by 'paranoid anti-Americanism,' '' he writes, ''but perhaps not wise.''

Samantha Power is the author of '' 'A Problem From Hell': America and the Age of Genocide,'' winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction.

Ron Paul Has Huge Cajones

I’ve been watching the Republican Univision debate broadcast from Miami — centro del universo anti-Castro — and he just went there:

We talked to Stalin, Kruschev, and Mao. We’ve talked to the whole world. Actually I believe we’re at a time where we ought to talk to Cuba, open travel with Cuba, trade with Cuba. We create the Castro’s and the [Hugo] Chavez’s of this world by interfering and creating chaos in their countries, and they respond by throwing out their leaders.*

Needless to say he was almost booed out of the building for this Bullworth moment.

The look on John McCain’s face during a cut-away — clenching his jaw to fight back the giggles — was absolutely priceless.


*The quote’s not quite exact as I’m having to re-translate the voiceover translation that is drowning out the original English answers.
-- Tim Dickinson

More National Affairs, Cuba, Ron Paul


Comments

Andy | 12/10/2007, 4:45 pm EST

Well what do we have here then. A politician who stands up to a hostile crowd and tells them something they don’t want to here. Give me that piece of paper and let me sigh-up. I wasn’t a Paul supporter until I found out what he said last night. And you’re right - he has cajoles the size of beach balls.

Tim | 12/10/2007, 4:42 pm EST

Does anyone else think that John McCain looks like Glen Quagmire from “The Family Guy”?

Gene Trosper | 12/10/2007, 4:28 pm EST

Cuban embargo = colossal failure.

What exactly has been accomplished over these past years by punishing the citizens of Cuba??? A whole lot of nothing. An influx of American tourists and American dollars could have made a more positive change MUCH sooner than that damn embargo.

Dave | 12/10/2007, 4:11 pm EST

I have a framed copy of Rolling Stone November 9, 1967 VOL.I, No.I on my wall next to me as i write this. The cover is John Lennon in the movie “What did you do in the war, Daddy?” The irony as I look from the spirit of the magazine then to the one today is bitter and extreme.

Forty years ago we were engaged in an unjust war, but the spirit spreading through the country was fueled by the hope that fundamental change was possible, and the word “revolution” was used with excitement and optimism. And Rolling Stone was helping to carry the banner.

And now? Well, I suppose that since the magazine abandoned any pretense of challenging the establishment long ago, it’s time for a new medium to step in and pick up that banner. It’s called the internet, and it publishes itself. Welcome to the ashcan of history.

darryl | 12/10/2007, 4:07 pm EST

Cuba is one of the best places to visit. I wasn’t aware that American’s weren’t allowed to go there.

gorak | 12/10/2007, 4:03 pm EST

Ron Paul belives 9/11 was committed by terrorists. If you think he believes it was a conspiracy you need to stop drooling at the mouth and do some $%$#% research.

Matthew | 12/10/2007, 3:57 pm EST

‘First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, then you win.’
-M. Ghandi

Free Bubba | 12/10/2007, 3:55 pm EST

Ron Paul is the definition of meek. Meek means having the strength of a warrior, but the humility of a servant. Thus, he is the only man actually qualified for office, who will not only resist the temptations of power that can seduce most any man, but will speak and stand in the Truth! Viva el Freedom.

www.teaparty07.com

Puerto | 12/10/2007, 3:54 pm EST

Ron Paul stands his ground with correct principles. He doesn’t change just because a few people who do not know correct principle booed him. And John McCain should really show the public how he is by laughing away immaturely like a little kid with no respect.

Check Ron Paul for President!

Puerto | 12/10/2007, 3:54 pm EST

Ron Paul stands his ground with correct principles. He doesn’t change just because a few people who do not know correct principle booed him. And John McCain should really show the public how he is by laughing away immaturely like a little kid with no respect.

Check Ron Paul for President!

freecon | 12/10/2007, 3:46 pm EST

No to National ID. Screw 1984!

Peggy | 12/10/2007, 3:37 pm EST

I am constantly clenching my teeth to hold back my giggles whenever John McCain opens his mouth…what a bonehead.

Go Dr. Paul!!

Ron earns respect at debates | 12/10/2007, 3:30 pm EST

I was watching the debate at a bar down the street from the University of Miami where it was held. Ron did not tailor his message to the crowd, but instead stuck to his guns and he was both cheered and booed for it at different times. This courage, unadorned with slickness or even rhetorical flair, is why he has earned the admiration of so many even when they disagree with him. After the debate, Ron dropped by the bar and used the karoake microphone to give his thoughts about the debate to constant cheers. I’ve never seen this kind of youthful energy in a political campaign.

B Reyes | 12/10/2007, 3:25 pm EST

Ron Paul never backs away from his message.

The man is pure integrity.

You ALWAYS know where you stand with Ron Paul.

Wes | 12/10/2007, 3:02 pm EST

Tom, don’t feed the trolls.

When you copied ir-Rational’s rant, the flat formatting made it appear to a casual reader as if it was yours.

Ron Paul’s the man!

Tom | 12/10/2007, 2:53 pm EST



Ron Paul will be as great a President as Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln served only 1 term as a congressman before winning the Presidency. Paul has served 10 terms as a congressman. I think he will be 10 times as great as Lincoln.

He will have to be. Lincoln had one major issue, slavery. Paul has at least 10 major issues: national bankruptcy, overextended military, energy shortage, broken tax code, broken borders, crumbling infrastructure, sovereignty threat of North American Union schemers, restoration of civil liberties, an obese bureaucracy that has burst the limits of the Constituion, and failed foreign policy which has lost international good will.

I know he will have a lot of good help from We the People to pressure Congress and the Senate to solve these problems. Gridlock between two flocks of sheep butting heads over who gets to control the national pastures won’t be tolerated by the wild geese (see my earlier post on “wild geese vs. sheep”).

The nation survived thanks to Honest Abe, now We the People have a new leader, Honest Ron.

Tom | 12/10/2007, 2:37 pm EST

Definition of hypocrisy:

Last debate John McCain calls Dr. Paul an isolationist.

This debate John McCain defends isolating Cuba, while Dr. Paul says lets talk and trade w/ them.

John McCain has lost all credibility, it is a shame. He must be coming down w/ Alzheimers.

Tess | 12/10/2007, 2:24 pm EST

Ron Paul has and will always stand up for the Constitution Of The United States of America. He has my vote and support, listed below are the reasons why:

obeys the Constitution
will bring our military home now
smaller government
less taxes
balanced budget
illegal immigration issues

and so many other reasons, the list goes on.
Ron Paul will win, we the people will vote him in.

Freedom, baby | 12/10/2007, 2:20 pm EST

We STILL have an embargo on Cuba?

I thought embargos went away with sasparilla sodas.

Anonymous | 12/10/2007, 2:20 pm EST

We STILL have an embargo on Cuba?

I thought embargos went away with sasparilla sodas.

Mark | 12/10/2007, 2:11 pm EST

Finally, a politician that doesn’t hide behind lies to make himself look good.
Power to the People!
RON PAUL

John Tobak | 12/10/2007, 1:53 pm EST

Ron Paul speaks the truth no matter how many people boo him. That’s why he’s so popular. People don’t respect politicians who are always only telling them what they want to hear. The American people want the truth for once!

uiuc_grad | 12/10/2007, 1:42 pm EST

Dr. Paul is dead on. The ‘pubs have been trying to catalyze a revolt against Castro for generations and have not suceeded in making a dent in his armor. With the absence of firearms I have a very hard time seeing the GOP’s mission suceeding.

Padro De Gringo | 12/10/2007, 1:40 pm EST

If your running for president of the United States of America, and you choose to have a debate in Spanish,, then I don’t give a flying phuk what you said, your not talking to Americans, If you were, you’d be speaking English.
Let’s have the next debate in German, or Japanese, oh, I got it, let’s have the next debate in Arabic!!

Anonymous | 12/10/2007, 1:38 pm EST

> Does that mean McCain supports
> isolationism then?

No, it means he’s an idiot.

A puppet really can’t be an isolationist, that’s for the guy pulling the strings to decide.

Frank J. Gonzalez | 12/10/2007, 1:25 pm EST

Ron Paul Needs Allies in Congress!

Already having a deep passion for Ron Paul’s libertarian ideas all my life and actively involved in politics since the year 2000 when I first learned about him, I ran for U.S. House in Florida’s District 21 in both 2004 and 2006 against 16-year incumbent Lincoln Diaz-Balart. I earned 27% as a Libertarian in ‘04. I earned 41% as a “Ron Paul” Democrat in ‘06 with only $16,000 and against my opponent’s $1 Million. CNN did show me with 55% at 9:43pm on election night, but that’s a whole separate issue about election fraud that would take forever to explain.

In any case, because of my team of dedicated volunteers, we in Miami, FL have already done some of the groundwork in advance of Paul’s popularity explosion, including vocal opposition to the unethical, illegal and economically self-destructive embargo on Cuba.

To prove my dedication, I defied U.S. laws and decided to travel to Cuba almost seven years ago to get a glimpse of the country myself and to connect with my fully Cuban ethnic heritage. That was the moment when I realized what a lie we have been told and when I decided to greatly improve my Spanish to the point where I am now fluent again.

You want PEACE? TRADE FREELY. Don’t wage war. Nobody who has a successful business seeks to kill their clients. When goods and services cross borders, militaries and hostility do not.

In 2008, Dean Santoro will run as a Republican against Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and I will run as an independent–in my case, if Ron Paul wins the Republican nomination or decides to run as an independent). Our purpose is to “double-team” the incumbent.

But first, by jumping in the race as an independent, I will “run interference” against the Democrat who probably can’t win with me in the race too, because of my name recognition, and he/she will simply sit it out.

As a result, both Dean and I will be able to”double-team” the incumbent.

Though I will be on the ballot, I will be working to help Dean win his primary against Lincoln (and technically against me too). If he does, I will endorse his campaign and withdraw my candidacy and give him the general election victory as well, about 2 months in advance of the general election in November 2008!

If you’re reading this now, please cut, paste and forward it to all your family and friends.

It’s this kind of innovative strategizing that will make it impossible for the corrupt politicians to weasel their ways out of expulsion at last.

William | 12/10/2007, 1:20 pm EST

We did not create the Castro’s and Chavez’s of the world. The Caudillo, or strong man, has been around since the time of the conquistador in Central and South America. The rise of dictators to power happens cyclically because the people forget easily.

Mitch C | 12/10/2007, 1:13 pm EST

“The look on John McCain’s face during a cut-away — clenching his jaw to fight back the giggles — was absolutely priceless.”

Thanks for showing us what immature morons both the writer and McCain are.

cajones | 12/10/2007, 12:56 pm EST

my roommate’s family is from Cuba. Castro went to high-school with his grandfather and they fled leaving their businesses behind. the problem with upholding sanctions and travel restrictions is that they validate Castro’s regime instead of working around it through individual trade. Moronic, despotic troublemakers become irrelevant when the people are in charge.

Gabriel M | 12/10/2007, 12:44 pm EST

I am first generation Cuban American. No matter what the intentions of the embargo some 40 years ago, its effectiveness and failure as a policy have been solidified. Until an entire generation has died without returning to their homeland, maybe a younger and more democratic generation can support a different policy not blindly supported by pride and resentment.

I support Dr. Paul 100% on this issue, and on many more. It is amazing that a congressman from Texas and I share many of the same beliefs. Maybe it has something to do with the principles this country was founded upon, the liberty which was promised as an immigrant, powerful enough in meaning alone for my family to abandon everything we had.

Gabriel Marti

Libertad | 12/10/2007, 12:21 pm EST

Viva Ron Paul! Viva la rEVOLution!

Desiree | 12/10/2007, 12:18 pm EST

Ron Paul rocks!!! He had me at “constitution”

Elaine McKillop, Esq. | 12/10/2007, 12:15 pm EST

Ron Paul is the only honorable man in Washington. Living in Miami and having nieces and nephews that are half Cuban it is a shame that they have not had the opportunity to see the country of there grandparents and visit with their relatives. Ron Paul is right. End a policy that has failed, and reunite the families that have suffered from this isolationist stand.

Elaine McKillop, Esq. | 12/10/2007, 12:15 pm EST

Ron Paul is the only honorable man in Washington. Living in Miami and having nieces and nephews that are half Cuban it is a shame that they have not had the opportunity to see the country of there grandparents and visit with their relatives. Ron Paul is right. End a policy that has failed, and reunite the families that have suffered from this isolationist stand.

USA Investor | 12/10/2007, 12:15 pm EST

Let us in Paul! LET US IN!

Jack D. | 12/10/2007, 12:01 pm EST

I think what the Cubans don’t understand is that if all of the sudden commercial flights started landing in Cuba and hotels started going up and people started mingling between countries that it would become harder and harder for any regime to do bad things to their people. Right now it is a sheltered society and the govt can do anything it wants with total impunity. People need to start using their brains and realize that if the people of the world would mingle more and get to know each other better then we would all be more inclined to to force our governments to stop using us to kill each other. This is how Ron Paul thinks and why I will vote in the primary for the first time ever.

Tony | 12/10/2007, 12:00 pm EST

Truth in the face of ridicule. The sign of a brave man. And certainly one of few politicians who would dare not to pander. The truth is Cuba was a criminal hotbed before Castro. For those who can’t bother to read, watch Godfather II, that is more or less what Cuba was before Castro. Corruption and criminals, a haven for the decadent. Like it or not. Castro rose to power because of this, because he was fighting this exploitive system.When governement gets that bad, the people will accept any alternative. Personaly, knowing the corrupt system before Castro, I always wonder at those who fled from Castro, those who were wealthy before Castro, how much moral clout can they bring, considering what the pre-Castro elite were doing. And I can’t help but wonder how someone who believes 9/11 was an inside job can be against a candidate who is an outspoken opponent of such duplicity. That’s really irrational.

Brad | 12/10/2007, 11:58 am EST

But you failed to mention that after Ron Paul started explaining his position, many of those boos became cheers.

www.ronpaul2008. com
www.teaparty07.com

PatrickThomasHenryJefferson | 12/10/2007, 11:56 am EST

It’s sad irony that Ron Paul is excoriated for championing Constitutional concepts and axiomatic tenets of Jefferson and Madison. Dr. Paul is an iconoclast only because the others have sold out the Constitution. Balanced budget, non-intervention, smaller government, personal liberty, states’rights…have once again become radical ideas.

Alec | 12/10/2007, 11:49 am EST

McCain is never *not* clenching his huge malformed jaws. McCain should have to sit in the corner and repeat “they will follow us home” 100 times.

Jed Clampett | 12/10/2007, 11:27 am EST

Tell’em how the boar ate the cabbage Ron, don’t let them tell you it was a sheep and it was eating lettuce.

ServingOverseas | 12/10/2007, 11:26 am EST

Ron Paul is transparent, honest and logical. As president, he will make a great ambassador with clear principles and a kind of impeccable style we haven’t seen for a long looooooong time.

Robert | 12/10/2007, 11:23 am EST

Congressman Dr. Ron Paul is exactly right! We caused the instability in the countries in question, so why should we punish the people of those countries with embargo’s and sanctions? Only the people suffer with those methods - not the dictators. Ron Paul DOES have huge cajones - for speaking the unmitigated truth.

defensefoundation@gmail.com | 12/10/2007, 11:17 am EST

Ron Paul has our support!!!

Denise Marhoefer

The Defense Foundation For Children USA

Miracles Of Hope Network

Wildboar | 12/10/2007, 11:15 am EST

Please join us in Boston on December 16th for a Tea Party! It’s time to support Liberty! Go Ron Paul!

Ryan | 12/10/2007, 11:06 am EST

Ron is right!

O'le | 12/10/2007, 10:58 am EST

Become part of the r3VOLution at ronpaul2008 or
teaparty07dotcom

Honor our founders this December 16th by remembering the Boston Tea Party.

Ron and DK are the only PEACE candidates running for President.

Killary and Gouhliani will expand the destruction in the mid-east.

Chris | 12/10/2007, 10:51 am EST

Ron Paul 2008! Hope for America!

James | 12/10/2007, 10:47 am EST

Why doesn’t anyone mention the tremendous cheering to questions before and after this one question for Mr Paul?

Or the fact that Rudy was almost “booed out of the building” when he said he was better then Dr Paul when his turn came up?

David | 12/10/2007, 10:47 am EST

Mi espousa es Cubana(Cuban wife) and this is a sticking point between us. She is completely opposed to lifting the sanctions against Cuba. Her father fled the country in the early 1960’s after his counter revolutionary force(32 men) were gunned down by Castro’s secret military police, he was the only survivor.

As someone who has first hand knowledge, these people will NEVER accept Ron Paul’s stance on this issue and it will be a deal breaker for their support. This is unfortunate because Ron Paul is absolutely right on this issue. Open up trade, normalize relations and the people of Cuba themselves will want to get rid of Castro. The more we sanction them the more we push them into Fidels arms.

DM | 12/10/2007, 10:41 am EST

As a Cuban-American Ron Paul supporter, one thing I can say is that no one can ever dare accuse him of pandering after that.
My grandfather came with his family (including my mother) soon after the revolution when he knew Castro was communist.
I have long supported the embargo on various levels, but I do have to at least give it to Dr. Paul, that the Embargo has been a failure. I’m not saying I support normalized relationships with communist Cuba, but clearly something should be done differently.
I think there is a difference between having communist dictatorships 90 miles off your coast vs half way around the world though, enough to perhaps justify military action. We spend a lot of money maintaining an infrastructure designed to deal with a continuous influx of refugees, which with our current policy, has no end in sight. Kennedy wouldn’t have been wrong to actually go for it with the Bay of Pigs invasion, for the same reason that we’ve been to Haiti twice in the last 20 years - stability in OUR region of the world by preventing situations that lead to mass numbers of refugees.

Dan Warner | 12/10/2007, 10:41 am EST

Ron Paul did the same thing at his google interview. He told a huge crowd of people who went to college with student loans, that it was imoral to steal money from people who could never afford to go to college so THEY could go to college.

Ron Paul has more integrity in his little finger than the whole bunch of the dems and repubs combined!

Marc Holt | 12/10/2007, 10:32 am EST

I live and work in Thailand. I am a Brit/Australian. But I admire Ron Paul so much that I have added his banner to my blog at www.aardvarkzone.com/holtblog/ and if you want to send him some money, you can do that on my blog too. Get out there and vote. The whole world (well, the sensible people in the world anyway) are all rooting for Ron Paul. He’s the only hope America and the world has today.

Go Ron! | 12/10/2007, 10:25 am EST

This is why Ron Paul rocks. He is the only candidate that can turn “Amerika” back into America!

Slice D | 12/10/2007, 10:11 am EST

RP has more balls, more heart, and more brains that all the others (in both parties) combined. I wouldn’t even consider voting for any of them.

John Nowlin | 12/10/2007, 10:08 am EST

Our policy with Castro, reminds me of a fable.

The Wind and the Sun were arguing over who was stronger. Seeing a man walking along, the sun proposed a test to see who could remove his coat. So the sun hid behind a cloud while the wind blew and blew. The man only wrapped himself more tightly in his coat. After the wind gave up, out comes the sun, shining warmly on the man, who soon not only removes his coat, but all his clothes and goes swimming.

We have been blowing on Cuba for 45 years and all Castro has done is wrap the country in more communist misery. It is time to shine the warmth of Liberty, Free Markets and Private property on Cuba! They’ll joyfully toss Castro off and start swimming with the rest of the world.

ray | 12/10/2007, 10:04 am EST

Dr. Paul is amazing! Get the word out that we finally have a truthful politician who will save the USA! How can so many ignore history!? It favors truth and Ron Paul is man of TRUTH!

Rational | 12/10/2007, 9:58 am EST

Paul is a fool, and the internet is the only place his support appears to be substantial. Here are some real ‘truths’ for all of you basement dwellers:

1. Paul has zero chance. That’s good.

2. Voting ‘No’ is not policy.
3. 9/11 was not an inside job. Grow up.
4. Thank you for illuminating the fact that maybe the internet world is not as big of a factor for elections as it had seemed the past couple of years.
5. Enjoy your tinfoil hats.

Tom | 12/10/2007, 9:53 am EST

What everyone above me said.

I’m voting in the primaries and my guess would be that he would actually get more than 70% of his supporters to turnout for them.

Robert | 12/10/2007, 9:48 am EST

Telling the truth is always better then pandering to the uninformed.

Way to go Ron Paul!

Christopher Thurow Sr | 12/10/2007, 9:21 am EST

The REAL isolationists:

McCain
Giul iani
Huckabee
Romney
Thomps on

Andy | 12/10/2007, 8:45 am EST

The Guiliani-McCain foreign policy:

Bomb Iraq.
Bomb Iran.
Bomb North Korea.
Bomb Cuba.
Bomb Venezuela.
Bomb anybody else who disagrees with us.

Rollo | 12/10/2007, 8:25 am EST

Obviously, the citizens in those oppressed countries don’t realize the US had a hand in creating these dictators. If any booing should be done, it should be done against American foreign policy.

Lucia Schmitz | 12/10/2007, 8:24 am EST

IT’S COJONES YOU INTELECUAL!!!!!

Lucia Schmitz | 12/10/2007, 8:21 am EST

It’s COJONES, YOU ID
I’m from Argentina and had he been in any university in Latin America, he would cheered and applauded.
As far as Mc Cain goes, total lack of class and he wants to run for president.
Go Ron Paul, you are the Winston Churchill of the USA!!!!

JohnKing | 12/10/2007, 8:12 am EST

Ron Paul is courageous for stating the truth.

He is also smart, the television audience goes well beyond the Cubans-Hate-Castro contigent that was in the room.

Cubans are actually a very small (but vocal) part of the larger Hispanic electorate and truth be told, most other Hispanic groups don’t like Cubans anyway.

Darel | 12/10/2007, 8:10 am EST

Well you have to love a guy who speaks the truth and does not change his tune based on the crowd. I suppose the rest of the crowd has not considered recent history.

I think Paul is making history with this grass roots support. I also think it has jump started changes within the gop. For example our GOP meetings usually only have 30-40 who attend but since this past summer they have climbed to over 100 and most are Paul supporters. The Mitt and Rudy supporters of the room are always the ones who belittle Paul supporters even in a crowd filled with Paul supporters.

We are seeing changes!

Darel | 12/10/2007, 8:10 am EST

Well you have to love a guy who speaks the truth and does not change his tune based on the crowd. I suppose the rest of the crowd has not considered recent history.

I think Paul is making history with this grass roots support. I also think it has jump started changes within the gop. For example our GOP meetings usually only have 30-40 who attend but since this past summer they have climbed to over 100 and most are Paul supporters. The Mitt and Rudy supporters of the room are always the ones who belittle Paul supporters even in a crowd filled with Paul supporters.

We are seeing changes!

Michael Toth | 12/10/2007, 8:00 am EST

Don’t laugh, just listen to Ron Paul. You’ll like what you here.
Show your support. Search ebay for Ron Paul t-shirts and wear them every where.
We know he’s the best, now convince the rest.
We need to get people outside of the internet interested.

Dr. Paul cured my hopelessness.

freedomjoyadventure | 12/10/2007, 7:47 am EST

Ron Paul has more honor and integrity, and bigger cojones than all the other candidates put together.

He’s the only one who consistently upholds and defends the Constitution.

dstanfield | 12/10/2007, 7:37 am EST

Ron Paul 2008! Let’s band together and get the message out there. Donate your time and money. Place Dr. Paul’s name on your car and in your yard. Talk about him at work and amongst friends and family. It is time for sleepy, apathetic America to WAKE UP!

Mike | 12/10/2007, 7:28 am EST

Amazing. The sheer fact that the past 45 years of crap hasn’t worked. And these Cubans are still so bitter at Castro. You would think they would care more about visiting family over there then about getting their property back. I mean you have to be doing decently well to be at the debate. Why not try something new!

JimBelbuck | 12/10/2007, 6:11 am EST

Ron Paul is correct on this issue. I have great respect for the man. He says what people like McCain dare not think. And for doing so, he deserves every American’s personal support in his candidacy for President.

James | 12/10/2007, 6:01 am EST

I don’t see how the author is smearing Ron Paul.

If Ron alienates the benefactors of our ridiculous policies, then so be it. There are for more people who have had enough. rEVOLution!

Captain Obvious | 12/10/2007, 5:53 am EST

I just watched the tape — it’s hilarious.

*Every single person in the United States who believes the current Cuba policy is a good idea was in that room.*

It was like watching the end of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Totally heroic.

Linda Ronstadt | 12/10/2007, 5:44 am EST

Son grandes.
Son peludos.
Y Rudy no puede dejar que tocarlos.
- Cojones de mi Pablo

Linda Ronstadt | 12/10/2007, 5:40 am EST

Son grandes.
Son peludos.
Y Rudy no puede dejar de tocarlos.
-Cojones de Senor Paul

professor aaron | 12/10/2007, 5:32 am EST

I noticed that they moved Ron Paul closer to the middle of the stage. He should be standing in the middle like the beacon of hope and integrity that he is. I have sat up and taken notice and if I have then a great many more like me have. viva Ron Paul!

Sean | 12/10/2007, 5:13 am EST

Congrats to Rolling Stone for this border-line smear piece. Who does Ron Paul think he is for actually making sense? Way to go Rolling Stone! Way to put Ron Paul back in his place! Go McCain!!! Let’s start what the neo-cons (big government liberals) call World War IV

Anonymous | 12/10/2007, 5:06 am EST

Normalize relations with Cuba???
Cam’t Ron Paul see the embargo is working? A little time is all it needs, its only been 40 something years, Cuba is about to crumble under the pressure.
Same with Iraq, give it a few more decades, all in good time…
Stay the course, red or blue, who cares…?
Or wake up and enjoy a little tea on December 16th.
Don’t let it be said you did nothing during these critical times.

Baron Munchausen | 12/10/2007, 4:54 am EST

The 2008 election isn’t about Democrat versus Republican.

It is really a contest between sheep and wild geese.

Both sheep and wild geese like to dine on green grass.

Sheep need a shepherd to guide them to green pastures. The shepherd controls his sheep so that he can either fleece them or make mutton stew. The sheep are chased around by the shepherd’s yapping border collies.

Wild geese can find the next green pasture on their own. The wild geese poop on the shepherd’s head and elude his collies as they take flight to fly in a V for victory formation with the Ron Paul blimp.

The cackling of the wild geese is rising in a deafening crescendo as they prepare to darken the skies and blot out the sun on the coming election days to vote for Ron Paul. They will manage this phenomenal feat without air traffic controllers (the FAA could learn a thing or two from these wild geese.)

They have a tried and true flight plan, the U.S. Constitution.

In the debate today, Ron Paul showed us he is the wildest of the wild geese. A few loud boo’s can’t knock him off course. He will be as great a President as Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln served only 1 term as a congressman before winning the Presidency. Paul has served 10 terms as a congressman. I think he will be 10 times as great as Lincoln.

Lorenz | 12/10/2007, 4:51 am EST

simply amazing - the truth hurts

Michael Staton | 12/10/2007, 4:39 am EST

Go Ron Paul. Kick everyone else out. Whenever I read about what conservatism is, I think I’m conservative. And then I look at these nitwit fanatics who expand the government and pander to special interests and run up pork barrel and I think: I’d rather vote democrat. Ron Paul is the only republican worth voting for.

Nikos Leverenz | 12/10/2007, 4:35 am EST

Ron Paul has co-authored a bill with Barney Frank for YEARS to lift the Cuban embargo, which only serves to fortify Castro’s grip on power. As such, the embargo fails to move toward its chief objective: to place pressure on Castro by increasing the suffering of ordinary Cubanos (at least those not receiving “los dolares de EE UU,” i.e., our own fiat money, from those living stateside).

Like so many other issues, those in a decision making capacity are letting the discrete voices of a few trump the ignorance of most and the real human toll on many. Yes, people are having a hard time in Cuba, but they are neither in the Castro regime nor have a supply of dollars at the ready.

Oregonian For Ron Paul | 12/10/2007, 4:07 am EST

“Truly his cajones are large and spendid!”
LMAO!
Amazing set he has got working for him indeed.

Legalize Ron Paul!!!!

L. A. Dietz | 12/10/2007, 3:56 am EST

Re. Univision’s debate the Miami Herald’s poll shows a Ron Paul landslide at 88% with 191 votes out of 222.

11:11 | 12/10/2007, 3:53 am EST

Florida is full of Cubans and Cuban Americans. They have a vendetta against Castro. Their political influence in Florida is outrageous, and often down right criminal. No surprise they would boo. A handful of Cubans prevents ALL Americans from exercising their right to travel where they choose.

Joby | 12/10/2007, 3:45 am EST

A candidate who is not afraid to stand his line in any environment.

Finally.

RP 2008.

Klutometis | 12/10/2007, 3:43 am EST

Ron Paul has the guise of Jimmy Stewart, but the violent verity of Parsifal.

Dave | 12/10/2007, 3:38 am EST

Huge cajones indeed. I call them “Truth Cajones”.

Ron Paul just makes sense. He’s honest and candid.

If you wanted to make friends and have a good, respected standing in the world, would you do it with a menacing glare or with an honest smile? We aren’t going to make friends with every country in the world, but it does us no good to be on bad terms with anyone. While you can’t likely be on good terms with everybody, it doesn’t mean you have to make enemies with them.

Ed Wood | 12/10/2007, 3:33 am EST

Did they boo him because they just did not understand what he said? I think so. Ron Paul should be our next president, no doubt! Everyone, do what you can!

JR | 12/10/2007, 3:31 am EST

RON PAUL!

Texas Little El | 12/10/2007, 3:29 am EST

Rep. Paul spoke truth tonight.

If having an embargo against Cuba has been so successful for the past 45 it really should work now….

The rest of the republicans have put their cards on the table and have lost the game. The only way for Rep. Paul to lose these arguments is for them to cheat.

The War on Drugs didn’t work. The War in Iraq didn’t work and the NIE Report confirms it.

Voting democrats into office didn’t stop the war or remove soldiers from the field of battle. Yet when the British troops leave Basra, the violence diminished 90%.

Republicans were supposed to reduce the size of government but under Bush, it increased 5.9% on average year after year, the largest increase in American history.

I know in some ways we are a nation of idiots, but like Albert Einstein said “Insanity is defined as doing the same thing, over and over expecting a different result”

Think its time to stop the insanity?

RP 2008

anon | 12/10/2007, 3:26 am EST

does he have huge cajones because he has huge cojones?

Ed | 12/10/2007, 3:21 am EST

If you look at the polling numbers right now, they’re incredibly low across the board comparatively. Clinton is sitting in the 40% range in just about every poll, except for Iowa, where she’s down in the mid-20’s in some (not all). The Republicans, on the other hand, are swamped in the mid-low 20’s for the front runners, and the teens for the field. Giuliani is leading the field with an average of 24%, with the next challenger, Huckabee at 16%.

Here’s an analysis based on what someone put together at the Ron Paul forum…

Assume from the current polls per 100,000… And estimate a slightly higher than normal–but uniform–turnout. Turnout in 2000 was something like 8.1%, and in 2004 only 6.6%. I’m being generous with the 15%.

Candidate - percent likely voters * percent turnout * 100,000 = votes

Mitt Romney 33% * 15% * 100,000 = 4950
John McCain 18% * 15% * 100,000 = 2700
Rudy Giuliani 16% * 15% * 100,000 = 2400
Ron Paul 8% * 70% * 100,000 = 5600
Mike Huckabee 5% * 15% * 100,000 = 750
Fred Thompson 4% * 15% * 100,000 = 600
Tom Tancredo 1% * 15% * 100,000 = 150
Unsure 14% * 15% * 100,000 = 2100
Other 1% * 15% * 100,000 = 150

The end values are per 100,000 people, so remember to take those values and multiply by how ever many 100,000 people there are.

I have Ron Paul at 70% turnout. Maybe that’s a little high… But if you make it 40%, he’s still registering a strong second place finish… which is the point here. In this weak field, all Ron Paul has to do is CONTEND to justify fighting this thing out to the National Convention. (I would add that I believe RP’s polling numbers to be soft numbers, particularly in caucus states. Polling in caucus states has been notoriously dubious over the years because there’s no way to account for all of the field variables).

I’ll be suprised if any Republican garners more than 33% of the vote, leaving the door wide open for Paul to make the case to keep his campaign open.

Leon | 12/10/2007, 3:20 am EST

Clearly the boo-birds would prefer an Operation Venezuelan Freedom, with Shock-and-Awe, and carpet bombing of Caracas. Amazing.

They may just get their wish.

Rich | 12/10/2007, 3:08 am EST

I love this guy! Tell us what we need to know, not just what we want to hear. He got my lazy ass registered to vote in primary.

Mikey Walkusky | 12/10/2007, 2:48 am EST

Ron Paul just speaks common sense. How is he not more popular? This is ridiculous. Too bad when he tells the truth regarding the history of U.S. policies, he is booed. Oh well, it’s still attention I guess.

RonPaulistheMan | 12/10/2007, 2:37 am EST

Read Dr. Paul’s book, “A Foriegn Policy of Freedom”. It’s composed of select speeches in front of congress from 1976 to 2006. It combined with his voting record is a true window into his thought process and belief.

Miss Havisham | 12/10/2007, 2:36 am EST

I think the more people hear Ron Paul debate, the more they like him.

He’s a thinker.

Free | 12/10/2007, 2:08 am EST

The Republican Party wants to put a band aid on a country having a heart attack. Ron Paul can stop the bleeding and bring us back from near death. Our country needs a check up from the neck up and the problem is driven by our politicians who have lost their way. Most forms of media take their marching orders from these lost politicians who will do or say anything maintain their control. Let the doctor cure us with his keen insight. We need to take care of our own nation before it flat lines. As an atheist, I pray that our nation elects Ron Paul to lead us into recovery. Remember no matter how much darkness the main stream media spews, you can’t extinguish Ron Paul’s flame burning in the hearts of Americans. Why is the media so afraid of letting a valid candidate speak? People may hear his message of freedom? They ended slavery for a reason. May the souls of those who misinform our nation be cleansed so one day they may rest in peace. Support the brightest light, register now REPUBLICAN and VOTE for RON PAUL in the primary.

Dave | 12/10/2007, 2:07 am EST

Here I am, a citizen of a supposedly free country, the USA, yet if I choose to visit Cuba my own government forbids it and can imprison me upon my return. That’s thanks to the politicians who are “protecting” our birthright of Liberty by destroying it. I’m voting for a true statesman. Ron Paul is my choice.

FreeFallN | 12/10/2007, 2:06 am EST

The Republican Party wants to put a band aid on a country having a heart attack. Ron Paul can stop the bleeding and bring us back from near death. Our country needs a check up from the neck up and the problem is driven by our politicians who have lost their way. Most forms of media take their marching orders from these lost politicians who will do or say anything maintain their control. Let the doctor cure us with his keen insight. We need to take care of our own nation before it flat lines. As an atheist, I pray that our nation elects Ron Paul to lead us into recovery. Remember no matter how much darkness the main stream media spews, you can’t extinguish Ron Paul’s flame burning in the hearts of Americans. Why is the media so afraid of letting a valid candidate speak? People may hear his message of freedom? They ended slavery for a reason. May the souls of those who misinform our nation be cleansed so one day they may rest in peace. Support the brightest light, register now REPUBLICAN and VOTE for RON PAUL in the primary.

Grant Devereaux | 12/10/2007, 2:03 am EST

Ron Paul has got to stop making common sense statements. Has anyone even thought about what a Ron Paul Presidency would do to hedge fund managers? Oil Companies? Blackwater? Halliburton? The military industrial complex would lose everything if we allowed peace in the world. For God sake, don’t make us use the Saudis again to terrify you people into giving up more of your wealth and civil rights.

Ron Paul - stop making the rest of the candidates look like blooming idiots! It’s downright un-American!

AC Green | 12/10/2007, 2:01 am EST

I’m surprised that a largely Hispanic audience would be critical of the desire to normalize relations with Cuba. The embargo has only divided families between those who can escape and those who can’t. The Castro brothers will only be around another 10 years at most, so why not start paving the way toward normalcy? We have a lot of baggage when it comes to Cuba, but it’s time for a fresh approach. We haven’t exactly convinced them to drop Communism, so why not try something new?

David | 12/10/2007, 1:59 am EST

Ron Paul does not pander to ANY group. His consistently is impressive, for 30 years he has had the same views and stuck to his guns all the way. Let’s get rid of the IRS, get them troops outta Iraq, and get this country back in shape. Our country is sick right now but Dr. Paul has just the right remedy.

RJ | 12/10/2007, 1:57 am EST

What is so wrong about talking to Cuba?

Luke | 12/10/2007, 1:55 am EST

The only real man who stands for what he believes in ALL the time. Ron Paul would work wonders for this country buried in debt. Cuba would change if free Americans traveled there and spread the word of freedom simply by showing off our success. Ever wonder why all those boats try so hard to get to Florida from Cuba?
Vote for Ron Paul!

Tim | 12/10/2007, 1:53 am EST

I love the booing. It grabs attention.

We humans are curious creatures and a politician speaking truth to a hostile crowd is a once in a lifetime thing.

People won’t forget this. It will be hard-wired into their brains.

They’ll remember the Good Doctor and give him another hearing.

Karl Rove | 12/10/2007, 1:50 am EST

The same crowd cheered loudly when he said we need to come out of Iraq and cease intervening in the affairs of other countries. So they are in effect saying, “we love non-intervention, but not in our backyard… Jack”
Beautiful!

Hell yea | 12/10/2007, 1:43 am EST

That’s right Paul’s got big balls. If this country doesn’t wake up en mass and vote this TRUE leader into office then we’ll all be fleeing to central and south america looking for jobs and the proverbial shoe will be on the other foot.

Chris | 12/10/2007, 1:33 am EST

Ron Paul is a master of trapping his opponents. Monday morning his legions will be all over the broken logic of McCain and the anti-Castro crowd.

NCMarc | 12/10/2007, 1:26 am EST

I also noticed he got a large portion of applause for other views like NO national id card and keeping with the rule of law.

My grandmother is from Cuba. She came here on July 4, 1914 and had to stay on Ellis Island.

She agrees with Ron Paul on this issue. If we were to open up to castro, he’d be a different person. Why do we trade with China? They are communist. But they are rapidly becoming the most productive country in the world.

There’s just some logic that needs to be looked at.

And you know you want some of those fine Cubans, right?

rafael | 12/10/2007, 1:25 am EST

Fritz, your wit is brilliant! I’d like to see McCain’s inconsistent positions juxtaposed in a youtube clip.

Louis Nardozi | 12/10/2007, 1:22 am EST

Truly his cajones are large and spendid! It makes all those other politicians SO MAD that he says YOU should be free to run your OWN life instead of having the government run it for you. See, that’s why Dr. Paul’s vision of government costs SO much less than other versions - he assumes we WANT our own life that WE can say what to do with. You know, all those schemes other candidates have for “helping” people in various ways - by killing their families (Iraq) or putting them in prison (people who need pain pills for chronic pain) or, you know, maybe taking their property (taxes) and giving it to some other people who THE GOVERNMENT thinks needs it more… you get the picture. Oh, it makes them so MAD that you ould have the TEMERITY to think that you could actually run your own LIFE! (insert hissy fit) Pardon me ladies and gentlemen I must compose myself… Look guys I’m 47 years old. I have voted in every election I could but I never spoke out for a candidate before. Don’t laugh but I really believe I can fulfill my life’s purpose by speaking for Dr. Paul now. If you fact check him on factcheck.org THERE ISN’T ANYTHING THERE. For EVERY candidate there’s something there. But not for him, what does that say?

Fritz | 12/10/2007, 1:20 am EST

Does that mean McCain supports isolationism then?

teaparty07.com | 12/10/2007, 1:20 am EST

Ron Paul hasn’t tailored his views to anyone in the past 30 years - why should anyone expect him to do so tonight?

He is the most consistent candidate running, basing all his views on the Constitution. It’s a shame that that’s looked down upon in our country today.

The ones that should be booed are the ones that do talk out of both sides of their mouth to please the crowd they’re talking to.

That’s not the type of person I want running our country. Ron Paul speaks the truth, even when it’s painful to hear.

Brent | 12/10/2007, 1:19 am EST

I assume that was an anti-Chavez/Cuba crowd. I think most Hispanics would like to see open talks and less isolation. Ron Paul is a leader.

DenisL | 12/10/2007, 1:17 am EST

Ron Paul speaks the truth in a simple straight forward way.
Clearly the Cuban embargo, which has gone on for 40+ years, has not worked. Isn’t it time to try something new? Ron Paul has been called a lot of things but being a coward is not one of them, as you say the only ones who comes close to the “cajones” he has are in my opinion McCain and Kucinich, the rest are a bunch of pandering wimps telling people what they think they want to hear. How about for a change voting for the guys with “cajones”?

dodsworth | 12/10/2007, 1:15 am EST

Ron Paul does not pander. He is in a class all by himself in this respect. McCain’s girlish snickering in the background provides a stark contrast to Paul’s mature approach.