Friday, May 6, 2011

Republican Presidential Debate

Last night, I had trouble going to bed, and ended up watching almost the entire Republican presidential primary debate. While many supposed heavy-weights were absent, the actual debate was an interesting presentation of the potential diversity in Republican thought.

There was Tim Pawlenty, a front runner; Herman Cain, the African-American pizza-guy; Rick Santorum, the social conservative; and Ron Paul and Gary Johnson, the libertarians.

Not unsurprisingly, I found Ron Paul  and Gary Johnson the most interesting candidates. As a theorist, I find their uniform small government stance on both fiscal and social issues, ummm, how do I put it, more self-consistent?.

For example, when asked about gay marriage or prostitution, Ron Paul said a small federal government had no business regulating social aspects of life. Governments should not tell people how to live. I wonder how such positions will play with Republican primary voters.



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