Current Events

Re: Ron Paul on Daily Show - 9/26/11

limitgov — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:51:54 GMT

here's a nice recap from the LA Times: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2011/09/late-night-ron-paul-talks-to-jon-stewart-about-the-media-free-market.html

Full-time comedian and part-time serious journalist Jon Stewart switched into Walter Cronkite mode Monday night for a lengthy talk with Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul.

The first part of the interview was largely devoted to a discussion of the news media, which so far has not taken Paul's candidacy very seriously. The congressman suggested the lack of interest in his campaign had to do with fear. "Some people don't want to hear the message because it's a threat," he said. "Some people don't understand what freedom is all about."

In the second segment (posted below), Stewart pivoted from media analysis to a wonkier discussion of Paul's libertarian ideology. Specifically, he asked Paul why government regulation of business is such a terrible thing. "Wouldn't you rather have people regulating that are accountable to voters rather than corporations who are only accountable to shareholders?" he wondered.

Paul cited the example of the real estate crash as example of government regulation gone bad. "The regulators got bailed out, the middle class lose their jobs and their houses. All this desire to trust in the government to make sure that big corporations won't hurt them actually is a backfire on them," he said.

Paul then took his argument one giant step further, claiming that "the regulations are much tougher in a free market because you cannot commit fraud, you cannot steal, you cannot hurt people" and "in a true libertarian society you have to be responsible."

Stewart politely expressed skepticism about the idea that unbridled, unregulated capitalism might be more humane than a regulated market. "It's hard for people to know the history of the Industrial Revolution to feel like that is anyway not a pipe dream," he said.

"It's been tried, it's never been perfect," Paul replied, but mostly dodged the question. "But has socialism and authoritarianism ever been perfect? It's horrible. You lose all your freedom that way."

Stewart pushed him on the point. "Is that our choice? Is our choice authoritarianism and tyranny and sort of a free market that we must trust?"

Invoking a number of metaphors, Paul essentially argued that, no, there isn't a choice: Regulation inevitably leads to oppression. "I think if you plant a seed it tends to grow. I used to never be able to get away with telling one of my patients, a woman that comes in and she's pregnant, 'Don't worry about it, it's a touch of pregnancy.' It doesn't work that way. If you get government involved there tends to be growth. A little bit of income tax, 1%, before you have a monster out there."

Re: Ron Paul on Daily Show - 9/26/11

James — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 09:00:49 GMT

He should have distinguished between corporatism and the free market, should have unequivocally responded in the negative when asked if his ideas "had ever been tried before", should have pointed out that Jon Stewart and everyone else is currently a slave of the private Federal Reserve system that Ron Paul is so against, should have explained how the shareholders of said system are the large corporate commercial banks... Should have made it clear that America is currently enslaved by corporations to the greatest conceivable extent, and that taking away the power you have given them in the form of Washington DC's revolving doors is not going to make things worse.

You are slaves of corporations now! A corporation is a fictional legal concoction only made possible by an underlying monopoly on force in a position to grant monopolies/letters of marque/patents/charters. Barring what "shareholders" or co-owners can conceivably contract in terms of each other and the rest of the world, a "corporation" is an inherently statist concept.

But I suppose it isn't easy being an honest politician. People get confused when the language has been rendered almost useless with double-think.

Ron Paul on Daily Show - 9/26/11

limitgov — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 03:22:17 GMT

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-september-26-2011/exclusive---ron-paul-extended-interview-pt--2

I think Jon Stewart would come around much quicker if someone could explain to him in clear, easy to understand, detailed terms why free market would not equal big corporations enslaving us.

I would be scared to if I thought that was the alternative.

Re: Ron Paul on Daily Show TOMORROW

John James — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:48:18 GMT

Not sure what you mean. Paul has been on the Daily Show exactly two times: once in 2007, and once in 2009...and this will make once in 2011. One appearance every two years is not exactly what I would call "a lot"...and certainly not more than other outlets. Even if you consider "airtime" to be how much he is mentioned, it's still no comparison. I'm pretty sure he's actually appeared on the major news networks more than he's been mentioned on Jon Stewart's show.

Seriously, just search Paul's name on Youtube. (This is not of course to say he gets equal coverage, or comparable treatment in the media...he doesn't, as Stewart and essentially everyone else admits. But that doesn't mean he doesn't get interviewed.)

(jump it to 2:25)

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Re: Ron Paul on Daily Show TOMORROW

DanielMuff — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 03:55:32 GMT

I find it fitting that RP gets more airtime on Jon Stewart than on dying MSM outlets.

Ron Paul on Daily Show TODAY

John James — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 02:56:27 GMT

Tune in for Paul's 3rd appearance on the show Monday @ 11PM ET/10PM CT on Comedy Central