[Peace-discuss] Ron Paul...

[Carl G. Estabrook]

Dean Baker, Co-director, Center for Economic and Policy Research :

The better question is whether the media will allow Paul to raise  
serious questions about the nature of this country's foreign policy. I  
recall watching one of the Republican presidential debates in 2008  
where the moderator asked whether the president could unilaterally  
take military action against Iran.

Mayor Giuliani answered first and gave a characteristic Giuliani  
answer to the effect of the president can do whatever he wants. Gov.  
Romney then gave a conditional this and that answer, and then said  
that if the question was one of constitutional authority, you would  
have to call in the lawyers.

At that point, Paul jumped in and said that you don't need to call in  
the lawyers, you just need to read the constitution; Article 1,  
Section 8 says that Congress has the power to declare war.

This is the sort of refreshing alternative perspective that Paul  
brings to the debate. Paul also was instrumental in forcing the Fed to  
disclose the identity of the banks who received trillions of dollars  
in subsidized loans at the peak of the financial crisis. Federal  
Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and most of the political  
establishment insisted that this information had to be kept secret.

It would be really great if the media would give some attention to  
Paul's ideas and allow the public to make judgments for itself rather  
than planning how to punch him out if it happens to be the case that  
the voters in Iowa take him seriously.