Transcript
News Anchor: Well, the candidates last night did not just focus on President Obama or the economy. Listen to this exchange when Rick Santorum and Congressman Ron Paul mixed it up over Iran.
Ron Paul: Here we are building up this case just like we did with Iraq; build up the war propaganda. There was no Al-Qaida in Iraq and they had nuclear weapons and we had to go in, I’m sure you supported that war as well. It’s time we quit this, it’s trillions of dollars we’re spending on these wars.
News Anchor: Republican presidential candidate and Texas Congressman Ron Paul joins us now. Congressman, I want to read you a quote from Charlie Cook, the noted author of the Cook Political Report. He writes about you in the National Journal today, “Perhaps only Ron Paul had no need to prove anything; he has always marched to the beat of his own drum and runs a campaign more about promoting his libertarian views than winning the White House.” How do you respond?
Ron Paul: Well, I think it’s a pretty good position because I think you should go for the person who has principles and believes in them. If you noticed last night, most of the other candidates were all challenged for their flip-flopping, and rightfully so, they should be challenged. But I was never given a question about flip-flopping because they know where I stand. But it is true, if you’re a philosophic candidate, it can be just philosophy. It just happens that the philosophy of this country is shifting, and it’s shifting in the direction of the constitution, limited government, a foreign policy that is different, balancing our budget, having sound money. So I would say it’s coming together, the philosophy is coming together with the political change. And we’ve talked about this even 4 years ago, it was coined as a revolution, and it is an intellectual revolution, and I’m proud to be very much a part of it.
News Anchor: Our viewers ask better questions than I do, so let me get right to some of them, talking about where you stand. Don Peterson in Hemet, California wants to know, “Where does Mr. Paul stand on Israel? He seems to have dodged the question everything he’s been asked.”
Ron Paul: I disagree with him, because I don’t. We should be friends with Israel, and I don’t think we do a very good job at it. But I don’t think giving money to our friends is the right thing to do. I’m against all foreign aid, and if we cut out all the foreign aid today we would cut out 7 times more foreign aid from the enemies of Israel. But I wouldn’t give foreign aid to Israel. I want Israel to have their own national sovereignty. I don’t want them to depend on us either for the money which socializes their economy and they’re in financial trouble as well, and I don’t want them to depend on us to tell them how to draw up their peace treaties or what to do with their borders. So yes, we should have friendship with them, we should trade with them, but total dependence on United States and on our money is a bad risk for them because we’re in bankruptcy. We’re not going to be there forever, we are going to come home and I think their dependency on us is very, very harmful to them.
News Anchor: This question comes from John in Amana, Iowa and it relates to that argument that you got into with Senator Santorum: “When Iran has a nuclear weapon,” he asks, “and attacks Israel with it, how will President Paul respond?”
Ron Paul: Well, Israel has 300 of them, so you think Iran is going to attack them with a weapon that they don’t have? And our own CIA says that there is no concrete evidence that they’re actually building on it. So we are going to turn the world upside down and attack Iran because someday they might have a nuclear weapon. And yet our leaders talked to the Chinese as well as the Soviets when they had thousands and thousands of nuclear weapons. I don’t think it makes any sense to take on Iran and fight them, and that’s essentially what some people want to do, they say that we have to have another war. Even Robert Gates after getting out of the position of Secretary of Defense is saying, “Anybody who thinks we need another war needs their head examined.” And that’s the way I feel about it. The Iranians are a third-world nation, they don’t have an army or a navy of any sort, they don’t have intercontinental ballistic missiles, and a country that has all that oil in their country and they can’t even produce enough gasoline and they have to depend on importing gasoline, and we’re supposed to build up war fever and go to war over this? I don’t think for a minute that if they got those weapons, they would dare think about attacking Israel. Israel would take care of them, especially if they had no restraints from us, they would take care of them in minutes; it’s not going to happen, it’s all war propaganda.
News Anchor: Alright, on that topic, a writer named “Political Tool” says, “Here’s a question for Ron Paul; does he really believe letting Iran develop a nuke is okay? His isolationist ideas are fantasy.” Your response?
Ron Paul: I’m not an isolationist, I’m a free-trader. The isolationist are the ones who won’t even trade with Cuba, and they’re the ones who want to put on sanctions, they want to isolate these countries and they always use sanctions. So I think that’s wrong, our founders advised us that we trade with people and be friends with as many as are willing to accept our friendship. And we’re doing the opposite, we get involved in these entangling alliances, we go to war under NATO and the United Nations. And, like I said, there are nuclear weapons all over place over there. If you’re an Iranian, I’m sure you would say, “Oh, it’s in our best interest, we ought to gain some respect because if we have a weapon, maybe they might not attack us.” But they’re surrounded by nuclear weapons; Israel, India, Pakistan, China, United States, Russia; they all have these nuclear weapons and they barely think about it. When they try to enrich for peaceful purposes, they get condemned for it. So yes, there’s a lot of bad people over there, there’s a lot of violent people around the world, but believe me, the Iranians don’t have a tradition of sending troops and invading countries 6000 miles from their shores and occupying another country. Matter of fact, they’re pretty respectful of their borders and the wars they got into in the 1980s was because we instigated the Iraqis to go into Iran. So I would say a good assessment of that would give you a better appreciation of their position.
News Anchor: Alright, Congressman, we have time for a couple more questions.
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ron paul is a complete kook. If, God forbid, he wins the Republican nomination, i will vote for and financially support Obama.
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anarchist:
I just love “kooky”, “insane”, “demented” Dr. Ron Paul to death! I suppose that makes me wild and crazy; you damned straight it does!
Louisiana Creole
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@anarchist
100%
If the current contenders and the current administration are ‘sane’ and Ron Paul is a ‘complete kook’.. then i rather have him run the asylum.
When the crazies run the asylum (current GOP candidates ex RP and current administration), the ONLY SANE person (RP) will look kooky.
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@Libertarian777 @anarchist
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@Libertarian777
Very well said!!!!! I really enjoy reading your
Comments.
Louisiana creole
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is that a green screen behind him haha because everyones just ignorning him and the camera
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The media treats Ron Paul badly because of his stances on the Middle East and Israel. The media is OWNED by jews, and they shaft Ron to punish him. Think about it. . . The candidates who get the most attention are the ones who show the most support for Israel.
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Who hates Jews more? Arabs or Nazis?
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Wait, so he’s not an Israeli dog?
I see why the Republicans and Democratics don’t like him.
Unfortunately for him, he’ll never get that Zionazi support every US president needs. Seems like US will always be IsraHELL’s whorish mother.
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Was it me or did this dumb ass news reporter ask the same question twice? If you didn’t like the first answer don’t ask Ron Paul a second time your just going to look even dumber. Not hard for this guy.
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Really disgusting how many times he has to explain isolationist vs non-interventionist, what is wrong with these morons who keep asking the same questions over and over? Ron Paul does not use big words.
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Ron Paul is a smart man, it’s sad that others don’t see this. He is saying exactly what the American public have been saying since the beginning of the war on terror. Get out and leave the middle east alone!
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Ron’s fucking hardcore
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so many fat people…shape up America!!
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Ron Paul always has the most vocal support in debates, the most support in internet and straw polls, and he had the most donations from single contributors in the last election. And yet all this popular support added up to a dismal performance in the 2008 election. People need to start asking themselves if American democracy hasn’t become a giant charade.
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It’s time to cut foreign aid, end the Feds, bring the troops, defend the Constitution, and mind our own business! RON PAUL is not an AIPAC employee!
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As an Israeli I am not against Ron Paul however I don’t feel he has the right understanding of the Muslim mentality. Iran is building a Nuclear Bomb make no mistake, nobody is threatening Iran. Saddam is dead, Iran has no enemies, they don’t need a Nuke. It would be dangerous for the world, they believe that by Nuking Israel they will bring in the Islamic messiah. We are dealing with Crazy Ayatollah, it is dangerous. I support Iran’s people who want freedom from the Ayatollah.
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Your God never said your people should return to that land, thats a deliberate misinterpretation of the Covenant. And being landed immigrants doesnt grant you sovereignty. absurd. at this point palestinians only wish to be able to live without your encroachment and restrictions, its your fear of violence that gives way to more violence. you should learn to adopt the views of Jesus on such matters (and im not a Christian).
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and while that would be nothing new in reference to most history, when put under the lights of a supposedly peaceful people in a time when we as a species were attempting to learn the lessons from what Nazi Germany inflicted upon the world, this hypocrisy goes far beyond the norm. Israel should be moved and your government disbanded. Let a peaceful community of Jewish people reinstall your governmet on neutral land, end of problems. If you are the chosen people, act like it.
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my sincere condolences to you on your friend by the way. very sad indeed
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a right to that land. In the case of Israel, the blockade and de facto embargo to Gaza is a literal act of war. as they have no technology and no way of tracking military targets, while at the same time the Israeli army act like stormtroopers, i can understand ( but not condone) their frustration and firing into civilian targets. they have no method of reconnaisance. you back a proud people into a corner and starve em and they get desperate. Israel should be relocated somewhere neutral, period
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this is just historical fact. any other view is a misrepresentation of the events surrounding the inception of Israel. Israel should have been founded in Nova Scotia or some such place for christs sake. not smack in the middle of Holy Land. its insult to injury and Empire hedging on our part. Israel is the checker that advanced and became a queen. now it thinks it can waylay anyone in the region that presents even a marginal threat to them. its absurd, and they are hypocrits to think they have..
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as im sure your well aware. zionists believe that the land is handed to them by God himself and ignore the pretenses under which they were handed to them. In the modern age its not wise for Nato to decide arbitrarily based upon zionist belief ( which isnt an accurate interpretation of the “Covenant” by the way), and a sympathy for what they went through during the holocaust. They were landed immigrants and then proceeded to war and bulldoze their way to extend borders and commit genocide.
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my God this reporter is so “unbiased”…only Israel and Iran in focus…is this the only problem America is facing?
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Look read history global banks start wars. At times they sell the two sides, arms loans rebuild they enslave the people with debt and taxes . Its a global tactic in the banking system………………Ron Paul 2012
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Ron Paul is the only patriot that Americans possess!!! yes Israel must leave America!!!
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If Iran was planning to bomb the U.S. they wouldn’t make it out of the driveway. That being said they could destroy Israel and Israel is shaking in its boots. Rich Zionists flood our congress and senate with funds in return for support of Israel. Now it has just become “they are a democracy we stand with Israel as Americans and Christians.” Well I am a Christian and I cut them loose.
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What a guy.
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“anybody who thinks we need another war needs their head examined”
lol that kind of offensive yet brilliant stuff is what i was missing from ron paul ..
way to go !! he can speak more clear about how dumb alot of the mainstream is
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why are theses assholes focused on iran having a bomb or not??? WHO CARES…if they did fine…and if they DID want to attack the US then cross that bridge then BUT these current intellects are SPECULATING basing their fears on WHAT IFS and NOT ON FACTS…get a grip america. it is war-mongering.
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Iran isn’t really a “third world nation” but Ron Paul is 100% right…..
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As an Israeli, I support Ron Paul!
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Who cares if Iran gets a nuke. They have 1 to our several thousand. Also, if you want to bitch about “spreading democracy” and preventing nuke development, then how about we attack North Korea! It has plenty of nukes and, frankly, the place is stark fucking evil! And I mean EVIL.
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If iran will develop nucklear power it will also risk USA not only Israel, the islamic regin is more crazy then russia or china
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Not even Israel’s defense minister Ehud Barack thinks that Iran poses a threat to their existence. It seems that Israel supporters in America are more freaked out about Iran then actual Israelis.
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Please support Ron Paul..spread the word to friends and family.. the media will try to ignore him…but we the people are Ron’s last chance to get the election. HE WILL PUT AN END TO SPENDING TRILIONS ON WARS and that will be more good news for americans..more money to create jobs
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People get ready, there’s a train a coming.
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Ron Paul is brilliant!!!
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Ron Paul is brilliant!!!
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