I was challenged in a comment to my prior posting about Sharron Angle being a Ron Paul libertarian. Let’s examine the facts:
Try this from her preamble:
The rule of law is America’s foundation. The oath of office, to protect and defend the constitution, is a sacred trust. Sharron Angle honors both the law and the oath and will reject back door deals and closed secret meetings.
And this:
The practice of legislators voting for unconstitutional laws has fostered cynical voter apathy and has underscored the corruption that is pervasive throughout America’s government. Sharron Angle’s work in the Nevada State Legislature demonstrates that she has a reputation of her word being her bond. One specific example is the vote Sharron Angle cast against the split roll property taxes that violated Nevada’s constitutional uniform and equal property tax provision. Sharron Angle’s vote was the only vote cast for the protection of the Nevada Constitution.
Finally:
Sharron Angle’s overall political philosophy is that proper government exists only by the consent of the governed and government must be restrained from intruding into the freedoms of its citizens. In the Nevada State Legislature, Sharron Angle consistently fought for smaller and more efficient government, traditional values, lower taxes and the right of the people to vote and petition.
We libertarians are constitutionalists. Ron Paul supports the return of the Republic to its constitutionalist origins. So far so good…
Sharron Angle’s position on Social Security is identical to Paul’s: Protect the seniors but give young people a choice to opt out. Paul told the Florida GOP at its debate in 2007 that very thing. She also wants to defund Obamacare.
On taxes and spending, Angle is virtually the same as Paul:
As your U.S. Senator, Sharron Angle will introduce legislation in line with her economic policy of:
- - Pay back the deficit
- - Cut back on spending, taxation and regulation
- - Take back the economy by defunding ObamaCare
- - Auditing the “Fed” (Federal Reserve)
- - Abolishing the 67,000-pages of IRS code
- - Making the capital gains and death tax cuts permanent
Ron Paul calls for auditing the Fed, abolishing the income tax, paying back the deficit etc. She’s in line here.
Angle does discuss the war on terror in terms some libertarians are wary of. She calls for sanctions against nations that support terrorism. Cong. Paul did vote to give Presdient Bush authority to go into Afghanistan to capture bin Laden. She also strongly supports Israel. So libertarians do not and Cong. Paul to my regret declined to support Israel’s protective action against the flotilla. This is one area where we need to re-examine our position. As a follower of Christ, I must support the people of His covenant with Abraham.
Sharron Angle is strongly against illegal immigration and seeks to reduce it by stopping the subsidizing of illegal immigration. She says this:
Sharron Angle opposes amnesty proposals, which send a ruinous signal that breaking the law is acceptable in the United States. “Illegals” must be discouraged from living comfortably within the U.S. borders. This can be achieved by eliminating access to benefits for non-citizens and anyone living in the U.S. illegally.
That is much farther than I would go but it is consistent with Ron Paul’s position of denying birthright cirtizenship to the children of illegals. As I said before, I am terribly conflicted about this issue. But it’s in keeping with Cong. Paul’s positions.
Angle supports Nevada’s Right to Work law, is pro-life, supports the Federal Marriage Amendment, the Second Amendment rights of Americans, a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, and wants to abolish the Federal Department of Education (Tarkanian did nto expressly say that).
All of those positions either reflect the letter or the spirit of what Ron Paul has tried to do. Paul opposed the Federal Marriage Amendment but supported a tougher DOMA with no federal court jurisdiction to overturn it. the FMA only seeks to prevent unelected judges from imposing their will on the people in states like Iowa and Massachusetts.
Ron Paul supporters should get involved in their local tea party movement. We have a chance to do something not just talk about it. Support good candidates like Sharron Angle.
Article written by: Elwood "Sandy" Sanders
About Elwood Sanders
Elwood "Sandy" Sanders is a Hanover attorney who is an Appellate Procedure Consultant for Lantagne Legal Printing and has written ten scholarly legal articles. Sandy was also Virginia's first Appellate Defender and also helped bring curling in VA! (None of these titles imply any endorsement of Sanders’ views)
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