COMMENTARY | Either oblivious of the date's foreboding history or intentionally committing what may be his last act of defiance, Texas Congressman Ron Paul chose Friday the 13th to officially announce his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination. Appearing on ABC's Good Morning America, he explained his decision to run for a third time, saying "the time is right" because "more people" agree with his positions, reports CNN. Unfortunately for Paul, when it comes to some of those positions, recent polls say otherwise.
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll revealed that Americans prefer to keep Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security programs just the way they are. Regardless of the fact that most Americans oppose even modest reductions to these benefits, Paul said if he were elected president he would eliminate them completely. Whether or not you personally agree that "the time is right" for this change, if Paul insists on maintaining his plans of taking away these popular entitlement programs, he must overcome the formidable challenge of convincing an unwilling majority to let him.
Just prior to the first Republican presidential debate, Paul held first place among GOP candidate hopefuls with an impressive 30 percent of the votes. Following the debate, a Zogby poll placed Paul third behind New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (who isn't even running) and a new kid on the political block from Georgia by the name of Herman Cain. A CNN poll puts Paul at fifth.
One possible contributor to Paul's poll struggles may be his opinion that drugs should be legalized across America. In an utterly awkward presentation, Paul argued that using heroin is equivalent to the freedom to pray and practice religion and that liberty must be defended "across the board," according to the Washington Post. In a country where the majority still lean toward conservative social values, according to Gallup, perception of Paul's idea for an American narcotics free-for-all will do his present presidential aspirations considerably more harm than good.
The third strike against Paul is his campaign to close Guantanamo Bay. While presidencies are rarely won or lost based upon a candidate's positions on foreign policy, the fear that trying Guantanamo terrorists on American soil will invite more attacks "over here" makes this a domestic concern. While his altruistic promise is favored by some, a recent poll by Rassmussen shows that 58 percent of Americans believe the facility should remain open.
While Paul insists the detainees should be tried for war crimes in civil court, 60 percent of American voters prefer they be tried by military tribunal. Against Paul's claims, it is wrong for the United States to continue to detain known terrorists when there is insufficient evidence to convict them; 49 percent of voters disagree.
While threatening to shut down the entitlement programs that fund the majority of current nursing home services, Paul has yet to explain how those dependent elderly and their families are supposed to economically accommodate and survive that drastic change. Of Paul's plans to close Guantanamo and bring terrorists to America for civil trials, he has yet to explain its feasibility. Obama promised the same things during his presidential campaign. Two and a half years into his presidency, after learning what he did not know as a candidate, despite the signing of an executive order, Obama has curiously abandoned enforcement of that promise.
Where the three-time presidential candidate believes "more" Americans support his positions, just as it has proved detrimental to the aspirations of previous political candidates, Ron Paul's continued denial of where the majority of Americans stand on economic, domestic and social concerns may ultimately be his final undoing.
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