The more I think about it, the more it looks like Ron Paul might be the Presidential candidate for me. If this sounds crazy, refer back to my Presidential Priorities post a few weeks ago in which I laid out my main criteria for supporting a candidate.

Priority #1:  Abortion.  Does the candidate have a solid pro-life history and would I trust him to appoint judges to the Supreme Court that would overturn Roe v. Wade?

Ron Paul’s history says yes to both.  He’s been against abortion his whole career.  Even though he’s pretty much a libertarian, he defines life as beginning at conception and views it the same way I do - the government needs to protect your freedom as its highest priority.  Banning abortion does that.  I need to find out more about his position on states’ rights in the abortion debate.

Priority #2:  Taxes and spending.  Paul is by far the best popular candidate in both categories, now that Sam Brownback (supported the flat tax) is out.  He wants to eliminate the IRS and even views the income tax as superfluous, an invention of the 20th Century.  He wants to eliminate useless government programs like welfare and even trim down foreign aid.  You won’t find a better low-tax candidate capable of being elected.

Priority #3:  The Space Program.  Not surprisingly, Paul wants to eliminate NASA (along with the IRS, FEMA, etc.) and open up space to the private sector.  I have mixed feelings about this.  Part of me says “that’s fine, the private sector RULES!”  The other part says “space exploration isn’t ready for private-dominated exploration.”  The only way to find out is to test it.

What I’m saying here is that you have to separate the media hype about polls and electability and support the person who closely aligns with your values.  That’s what Democratic representation is built on.