Why True Conservatives Should Support Ron Paul

The GOP 2012 Presidential Nomination race is consuming nearly all of the news sources I turn to and I have used these past 2 weeks to acquaint myself intimately with all of the candidates still in the race and their platforms, histories, you-name-it. In all the research and support-searching, I always come back to Ron Paul. It saddens me though, when I check facebook and see which candidates my similarly conservative friends are supporting. Most of them are supporting any other GOP candidate EXCEPT for Ron Paul. Yes, *gasp* some of them are even supporting Romney; a blatant liberal-in-conservative-clothing candidate. But enough of that, my criticisms of some of the other candidates can wait until another post (I also intent to address the whole "electability" debate in a later post), I want to dedicate THIS post to a list of reasons why Conservatives (especially evangelical conservatives) should not be afraid to support Ron Paul.

Note: These reasons are in no particular weighted order

1) Pro-life:

As an MD, Ron Paul delivered over 4,000 babies and said the following about abortion:

“As an O.B. doctor of thirty years, and having delivered 4,000 babies, I can assure you life begins at conception. I am legally responsible for the unborn, no matter what I do, so there’s a legal life there. The unborn has inheritance rights, and if there’s an injury or a killing, there is a legal entity. There is no doubt about it.” Interestingly, Ron Paul set up his own private practice and often lowered fees for lower-income patients rather than accept Medicare or Medicaid.

2) Pro-Constitution:

No other political candidate in at least the last 20 years has espoused so firm a belief in the Constitution of the United States of American than Ron Paul. Conservatives love the Constitution, but I fear that many conservatives who find themselves supporting candidates who do not uphold the Constitution, do so out of lack of understanding of what is actually written in the Constitution. Additionally, many evangelical conservatives have been fooled into thinking that to oppose the liberal left, we need to promote a type of political philosophy that simply takes the liberal philosophy and plugs in a bunch of conservative values. For instance, where the liberals want gay rights, the conservatives want a marriage amendment. Personally, I am in favor of a marriage amendment, but I also realize after pouring over the Constitution that legislating those areas are not in the "job description" of the Constitution. Our Founding Fathers NEVER intended for the Constitution to become anything other than laws and amendments that protect and defend liberty.


3) Pro-Israel:

Yes, despite what you hear from conservative news sources who do not take the time to actually listen to what Ron Paul is saying, Ron Paul is in fact in favor of Israel's sovereignty. So much so, that he wants the U.S. to stop trying to control all of Israel's moves. Benjamin Netanyahu (Israel's prime minister, and a man that many evangelical conservatives support) himself even spoke to Congress last year and said, "My friends, you don't need to do nation-building in Israel. We're already built. You don't need to export democracy to Israel. We've already got it…No one knows what this path consists of better than you. Nobody."

Last year Ron Paul said, "We should respect Israel's sovereignty and not try to dictate her policy from Washington." Essentially, no one believes in Israel as much as Ron Paul. With regard to the issue of foreign aid, Ron Paul also pointed out that he would promote cutting off aid to all of the Arab nations, and shocker! Guess what? They receive 3 times the support level that Israel receives...

4) Personal/Family Life

Ron Paul has been faithfully married to his wife, Carol, for 55 years. He has 5 children and several grandchildren. Additionally, Ron Paul served during the Vietnam war as a flight surgeon- he received draft notice but volunteered instead since he could then be placed in a role where his medical experience was helpful. As a Baptist, I find this last point especially heartwarming. Ron Paul grew up Lutheran but later became a church-going Baptist and has professed to a personal relationship with Christ.

He said, "for those who have asked, I freely confess that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior, and that I seek His guidance in all that I do."

and then he qualifies by saying,

"I’d rather my views and my convictions and my faith be shown by my actions rather than [by] what I say… also, the part in the bible about not showing off… we’re instructed to pray quietly …[and] not to play big fanfare. I’m trying to strike something in between there; where I’m not bashful and ashamed of it, at the same time I don’t want to look like others who …look to get votes because they were willing to say and do something in public."

That last quote should speak volumes to evangelical conservatives wondering who to support. If you want a godly man in office who is not a "faker" and will not try to "market" God like He's just another political position (*cough* Santorum *cough* Palin, *cough*), there should be no doubt in your mind that Ron Paul deserves your vote.

Expect to see a more in-depth post about Ron Paul's position on state's rights (and how it relates to all of the above) in a later post.