Former Libertarian Party presidential nominee (1988), long-term Republican congressman, and 2008 and 2012 GOP libertarian insurgent Ron Paul sees no meaningful differences among Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and the remaining Republican candidates.
"It's super-nationalistic populism versus socialism," Paul tells CNN, talking about the Republican and Democratic frontrunners. But he's not done yet, either. When asked if he'd be endorsing any of the other remaining GOP candidates, he says no way and even throws a particular barb in the general direction of fellow Texan Ted Cruz: "Some of the top candidates want to carpet-bomb the world. A libertarian can't endorse this authoritarian approach."
Paul also had harsh words for Bernie Sanders, despite seeming agreement on a non-interventionist foreign policy:
"He's a big voter for militarism, but had one vote he could brag about," Paul said describing Sanders and his vote against the Iraq War. "He's an authoritarian of a different color, but Trump is a super authoritarian."
Over the past decade or so, I'd wager than Ron Paul has generated more libertarians than any other single figure. When I joined the staff of Reason way back in 1993, most people I encountered had been turned on by encountering works by Milton Friedman, Ayn Rand, and perhaps Robert Heinlein. F.A. Hayek and Ludwig von Mises, maybe, and some by Murray Rothbard, but that last trinity was definitely much smaller than the first (and this is only in terms of individuals; publications such as Reason and groups such as Cato, IHS, and FEE arguably played a bigger role than any individual in creating "new" libertarians).
"It's super-nationalistic populism versus socialism," Paul tells CNN, talking about the Republican and Democratic frontrunners. But he's not done yet, either. When asked if he'd be endorsing any of the other remaining GOP candidates, he says no way and even throws a particular barb in the general direction of fellow Texan Ted Cruz: "Some of the top candidates want to carpet-bomb the world. A libertarian can't endorse this authoritarian approach."
Paul also had harsh words for Bernie Sanders, despite seeming agreement on a non-interventionist foreign policy:
"He's a big voter for militarism, but had one vote he could brag about," Paul said describing Sanders and his vote against the Iraq War. "He's an authoritarian of a different color, but Trump is a super authoritarian."
Over the past decade or so, I'd wager than Ron Paul has generated more libertarians than any other single figure. When I joined the staff of Reason way back in 1993, most people I encountered had been turned on by encountering works by Milton Friedman, Ayn Rand, and perhaps Robert Heinlein. F.A. Hayek and Ludwig von Mises, maybe, and some by Murray Rothbard, but that last trinity was definitely much smaller than the first (and this is only in terms of individuals; publications such as Reason and groups such as Cato, IHS, and FEE arguably played a bigger role than any individual in creating "new" libertarians).
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