Question

[Zed]

Every time someone Mentions Ron Paul "Somebody" (at least one person) has to start in with claiming he is a loon to one degree or another.

I would like to know why, and where their proof is to support this conclusion.

No Opinions, Baseless accusations or Flame wars Please.

That said, Lets Get to it.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

i think its more some of those folks who    some are in need of medication     badly

[BridgeRunner]

I'm sorry, I don't necessarily form my opinions based on proof, nor do I have to.  Sometimes the opinions of people I respect, in combination with my own perceptions, are more than sufficient to draw conclusions.  

Probably the most off-putting thing about the entire Paul issue is that his followers tend to be haranguing and argumentative, often without a whole lot more information than some of the more rapid and uninformed Obama supporters at the height of the election.  While the Obama messiah phenomenon is bizarre and frightening, the Paul messiah phenomenon merely reminds me of sidewalk doomsday prophets in New York.  just kinda' pitiful, really.

[Zed]

I'm sorry, I don't necessarily form my opinions based on proof, nor do I have to.  Sometimes the opinions of people I respect, in combination with my own perceptions, are more than sufficient to draw conclusions.  

Probably the most off-putting thing about the entire Paul issue is that his followers tend to be haranguing and argumentative, often without a whole lot more information than some of the more rapid and uninformed Obama supporters at the height of the election.  While the Obama messiah phenomenon is bizarre and frightening, the Paul messiah phenomenon merely reminds me of sidewalk doomsday prophets in New York.  just kinda' pitiful, really.

So let me get this strait, you think that because a "tiny minority" of his supporters were loons makes him a loon?

[MicroBalrog]

As far as I can understand, the whole thing has three bases in reality:

1. RP attracted support from what I charitably refer to as the 'screwed-up-wing of the Republican Party'. That's a fact.

2. RP had always had loud, outspoken libertarian/paleocon views and refused to yield an inch on them.

3. A lot of conservatives don't really want to have a radical turn towards the Constitution and individual rights. THey're happy to tinker with the system. As such they've persuaded themselves that tinkering with the system is the only way to go, and people who want to live free within their lifetime are crazy. Compounded with points 1 and 2 it results in a really potent brew.

[grampster]

He had a really funny voice.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

It's because Ron Paul can go from being lucid to daft and back again so fast, and without ever realizing it.  It makes him appear unstable.  

Combine that with the incredible idiocy of some of his policy positions, his vocal and rabid followers, and his inability to grasp how the political process works.   All in all, it forms a picture of a man who has (or used to have) a great mind, but who is also just a little cracked.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

So let me get this strait, you think that because a "tiny minority" of his supporters were loons makes him a loon?

In my observation, what you call a "tiny minority" actually comprises Ron Paul's strongest base of support.

[BridgeRunner]

So let me get this strait, you think that because a "tiny minority" of his supporters were loons makes him a loon?

Sir, I did not anywhere use the phrase a "tiny minority".  I am not sure why you seem to be quoting me having done so.

And no, that is not what I said at all.

Messianic cults as applied to politics are bad.  Messianic cults that are small and applied to politics are both bad and pitiful.  The messianic cult of Paul was small not because a small proportion of his followers are nuts, but because a small percentage of Americans are/were his followers.

Do what you want with your capitalization, but please don't quote me unless you're actually quoting me. 

[MicroBalrog]

Combine that with the incredible idiocy of some of his policy positions, his vocal and rabid followers, and his inability to grasp how the political process works

Absolutely every politician on Earth has some positions I consider daft.

The thing is, any rational human being would balance the daft against the sane.

his inability to grasp how the political process works

You keep referencing that.

The guy has been smart enough to get a real good education, get elected to Congress multiple times, and write several books on the state of the Republic which happen to hit the mark more often than not. Yet you claim he's been rubbing elbows with lobbyists, Representatives, Presidents, and Senators for years on end and is still unaware of the political process.

I do not really doubt you per se - I have limited knowledge of Ron Paul outside of reading his books and speeches and the bills he sponsors, as well as the writings of some guys who know him. So I'm asking you how this expresses himself.

[K Frame]

This, I'm afraid, isn't going anywhere but real ugly real fast.