White House hopeful against war

Republican White House hopeful Ron Paul, courting Iowa voters who are key to his campaign, has called for a ‘ minding our own business’ US foreign policy and an end to ‘ perpetual war’ .

‘ No more wars unless you declare them, and fight them, and win them, and get them over with, because perpetual war is bankrupting our country,’ he told a cheering crowd of some 200 people packed into a civic centre room on Wednesday.

His well-organised, well-funded campaign, stocked with passionate young people, has vaulted him to the lead over better-known rivals like former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former House speaker Newt Gingrich.

‘ He could be the upsetting factor’ in the fight for the Republican nomination to take on President Barack Obama in the November 2012 elections, according to Dennis Goldford, a political scientist at Drake University in Iowa.

Paul’s appeal hinges on his unorthodox libertarian message, notably his devout calls for ending government involvement in the economy and his sharp criticisms of US overseas involvements – both military and in foreign aid.

‘ Every year we spend more and more money overseas. We spend it on foreign aid, and intervention, propping up dictators, fighting wars that we do not need to be fighting, and they drain’ the US treasury, he said.

Paul, who has called for slicing some $US500 billion from overseas spending, stated his approach ‘ was one time what Republicans

advocated, you know: Minding our own business and having a strong national defence’ .

Goldford stated Paul, who ran strong in Iowa in the 2008 presidential race, but came in fifth, has learned the lesson of that disappointing finish.

‘ Turnout is key, and while this is hard to quantify, you can state that enthusiasm times organisation equals turnout. The Paul people have enthusiasm and intensity, they also, this time, have organisation, which they did not have last time around,’ he told AFP.

But it’s unclear whether he will have ‘ staying power’ through the other early contests precisely because of his break with the party’s traditional foreign policy.

‘ Paul has been articulating the standard libertarian view that the US ought to get out of the rest of the world. This challenges the Republican national security brand,’ he said.

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Submited at Thursday, December 22nd, 2011 at 11:00 am on Politics by jessica
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