Let's start with religion. Ron Paul doesn't talk about religion much, which is to his credit. He'd rather debate issues of more relevance to running a country, like foreign policy or money or taxes.
He is socially conservative, however, and has taken a stance on various social issues such as abortion. In a campaign ad, he said:
Who are we to decide that we pick and throw one away and pick up and struggle to save the other ones? Unless we resolve this and understand that life is precious and we must protect life, we can't protect liberty.[1]
His stance on abortion is so set that he left his Episcopal church because they disagreed about it. Now, a Baptist church in Jackson, Texas, Paul's home town, says that he comes to their services whenever he can.[2]
Walking a tightrope
Here's the thing. Paul is a Libertarian. In a nutshell, this means the government should stay out of your business.
Paul has remarkably been able to stay true to his Libertarian philosophy but it conflicts with the conservative social values held by many right-wing Americans who might want to vote for Paul.
For example, conservatives think it should be illegal for gay people to get married. Well, being a conservative Christian, you would think Paul would agree. But in classic Libertarian fashion, Paul has said:
I don't think government should give us a license to get married. It should be in the church.[3]
The politics of Paul
An interesting thing about Ron Paul is that he cares for quite a bit more than just getting reelected–unlike most politicians.
As a result, he actually has detailed positions on a wide variety of political, not social, issues ranging from economics to fiscal policy to foreign engagements to taxes. For a great breakdown, go here.[4]
Basically, it's Libertarianism. The government should keep to itself. According to Paul:
The proper role for government in America is to provide national defense, a court system for civil disputes, a criminal justice system for acts of force and fraud, and little else.[5]
That means, the military would only be, like, 20 guys with knives. All drugs would be legal. There would be no federal reserve bank. Police would be drastically reduced. The list goes on.
Some people think Ron Paul is absolutely bat-shit crazy. But a growing number of Americans think he's makes more sense than any politician in a long time. One thing's for sure, with Ron Paul for president, things really would change.
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