The Club for Growth has released its white paper on Ron Paul. Perhaps surprisingly,
their assesment of the most libertarian Republican presidential
candidate is mixed.
The Club praises Paul's record on taxes as "excellent" and
points to his reliable opposition to big-ticket spending items. But
the group also says the Texas congressman is "living in a fantasy
world" when he supports free trade in theory but opposes trade
deals, and they accuse him of making the "perfect the enemy of the
good" on spending and tort reform as well.
It's a fair criticism -- Paul has voted against worthy
government-cutting bills that didn't go far enough in his view, an
approach he doesn't take with taxes (he has never voted against a
tax cut on the grounds that the IRS would remain in place). But in
the earmarks section, the Club neglects to mention that Paul
usually votes against the final appropriations bill containing the
earmarks. Criticizing the spending record of a congressman who
votes against most appropriations bills, No Child Left Behind, and
the Medicare prescription drug benefit because of some earmarks
really does seem to be making the perfect the enemy of the
good.
topics:
Taxes, Trade, Earmarks, Medicare
