A lot of people seem to think a fully-backed currency is “crazy” for some reason, but they can never explain why. Backing currencies (and other reserve notes) with only fractional reserves creates artificial liquidity which is (according to Austrian theory) by far the main source of inflation, a steady, subtle invisible tax, which transfers money from poor people to rich people 24 hours a day. No other candidate even seems to understand the issue.

Also, RP is extremely anti-war and anti-torture, two huge points with me.

He is very opposed to any amendment outlawing gay marriage, but proposes to leave it up to individual states (it is unclear how workable this is, but it’s the position we’re in now, with the recent Iowa decision.)

He stupidly voted for the useless border fence, but strongly opposes tying human rights to citizenship, which is the current law. An illegal immigrant would not be deprived of due process, etc. just because of their legal status under his plan. This sounds ok to me, but how often does the “fence” half of a plan get implemented and the “protecting rights” half not?

I can envision scenarios in which some of RP’s goals synergetically promote those of the neocons, even though he hates them. This is a danger from all Democratic nominees, too, excepting probably Kucinich and Gravel (both of whom, like RP, are unlikely to get nominated.)

It is hard for me to care about anything David Duke says. Just because some policy would benefit both me AND people I don’t like is enough to avoid it? That’s silly. Duke likes Paul because of gun rights and opposition to illegal immigration. He might also think that Paul’s anti-federal-reserve stuff is “code language” for teh Joos, but this is ridiculous to economists.

I would no more consider Duke’s opinion than I would the opinion of a dogmatic Marxist (there’s a couple around still!) who would consider me personally to be hopelessly insane due to my religious beliefs. But even stupid racist demagogues should have their rights and earnings protected, they are humans.

Certainly all other candidates besides Kucinich, Gravel, or Paul are completely unacceptable to me, due to their comfort with violence, war, and the abrogation of human rights.

so, that’s my 0.02! Any anti-war, anti-torture candidate can get my vote, and the most important thing in American politics now is to fuck up the neocons, so I’m voting Republican (for Paul) for the primary and almost certainly whoever is the Democratic nom for the main. If the corrupt GOP ever lets RP win the nomination, I’ll be gobstopped.

Huge amount of info, plus articles by him, so you can decide on any particular issues you might be interested in:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/

Go soul search into the question of whether you would like your America to absorb more of European political ideology or less; his tendencies sounds like a mix of Fogh-Rasmussen (PM in Denmark) and Sarkozy (President of France) - in areas it appears to me that implicating the post haste, desperate measures of the aformentioned - where there might be other, better long-term solutions. I am about to vote on the local elections on Monday, where our consistuency candidates have been dramatically unwilling to differ in the least aspect, except the packaging - makes me grumpy because the ideologies they represent has absolutely no influence on local politics, so I might as well just buy a button or a t-shirt instead. Oh, the “alternative” is to vote for the “we forgot to disband our political party” Reds (Communist Party)
-cough. ANYWAYS, Good Luck for the Elections, Jeremy.