I snuck away from home for lunch today and attended the last in the Des Moines University's 'A Healthy Discussion' series, which entailed getting presidential candidates to get specific about their platforms on health care. Today was Ron Paul's turn to speak to the packed room, and being a physician (people are far-past pedantic about calling him 'Dr. Paul' here) was a distinct advantage in a room filled primarily with medical students and faculty.
The questions were rather direct, asking about how individuals can afford chronic care without a government entitlement apparatus and the like. Ron is an advocate for dismantling the FDA (which met with considerable applause) and letting market dynamics and private watchdog organizations do the same job as is the case with automobiles and electronics.
In a recent Ames presentation, Ron summed up his message pretty well with three simple bullet-points: "First: I dont want to run your life. We all have different values. I wouldn't know how to do it, I don't have the authority under the Constitution, and I don't have the moral right. Second: I don't want to run the economy. People run the economy in a free society. And Third: I don't want to run the world...We don't need to be imposing ourselves around the world."
The message seems to be resonating pretty well with the Internet public, as Dr. Paul won the MySpace virtual primaries for the Republican candidate, as well as leading the current Facebook politics poll.
3.5 hours to departure to my local caucus location. Look for more photos and play-by-play (at least in twitter) during the actual event.
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Tags: Politics
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