In a move that will be sure to inflame many libertarian-minded freedom lovers everywhere, or which could be seen as further proof that our guy may just pull out the Republican nomination, a Libertarian Party candidate has filed to run against my man Ron Paul in his home congressional district in Texas. The head of the Libertarian Party Texas, who reveals that he has donated $800 to Ron Paul’s campaign himself, begs people not to contact him during the Christmas season to complain (probably should have had the guy wait until afterwards then, huh?)
The filer, an immigration attorney named Eugene Flynn, explains:
“I agree with Ron Paul about 80% of the time. The problem is the other 20% is the most important to me, that is, immigration… Ron Paul offers no way to allow those illegally in the U.S. to get right with the law. Instead he wants to spend more and more money to create bigger bureaucracies to secure our borders to protect us from needed workers… We need a guest worker program NOW! One way to help get it is to defeat the (immigration) restrictionists such as Ron Paul.”
Hmm, that concern over a legal path to immigration wouldn’t have anything to do with Flynn being an immigration attorney who presumably advises said immigrants on these legal paths?
My thoughts:
- This is further proof to those who say that Ron Paul is a Republican, not a libertarian. This could help him in that vein as far as the GOP goes.
- Eugene Flynn may just be counting on Ron Paul getting the GOP nomination and not even running for Congress again, but for the whole enchilada– leaving the race wide open. Apparently, a Democrat hasn’t even bothered to file for the general election yet, Ron Paul’s seat is so safe.
- What does the Cato Institute have to say?
As for my position on the issue, it’s glaringly obvious that the only reason this is Flynn’s #1 issue is because he’s an immigration attorney. He doesn’t even live in RP’s district– he lives in Dallas. Sure, an eventual guest worker program would be nice when our economy is better, but for now, we do need a fence and we do need to get rid of subsidies and handouts for illegal immigrants, which encourage them to come here (one big component of this is birthright citizenship, which I believe should be abolished for those not legally here in the first place). Once we do that and see a return to sound money and free market economics, our economy will be booming and everyone will be begging to institute a guest worker program for all our new businesses, or perhaps we can just allow people to come freely and not subsidize them. But, it’s going to be difficult to get the Democrats to let go of their precious subsidies for what is becoming their most important voting base. So, it will be difficult and that’s what everyone needs to focus on right now.
Tags:Ron Paul 14th Congressional district, Ron Paul libertarian, Ron Paul Eugene Flynn, Libertarian candidate files Ron Paul congressional district
Of course it’s his number one issue because he’s an immigration attorney. If you spent practically all of your adult life immersed in a single subject, wouldn’t you have strong opinions on that subject and, quite possibly, deem that subject the most important and pertinent issue in a discussion on governmental policy?
Full disclosure: I’m his son, and I was a Christmas Vacationer for Ron Paul in Iowa.
Eugene Flynn
December 30th, 2007
Fantastic! I was wary because his email address was defeatronpaul@something.com, which seemed quite hostile.
I hope that Ron Paul goes to the White House and your dad can take his district!
libertariangirl
December 31st, 2007
LG, I have to give you credit … you’re getting some serious interest on your page, aren’t you? Eric Dondero, Eugene Flynn’s son … the biggest celebrity-type I’ve got was Earl Dodge’s son.
Kudos to you.
Wickle
January 1st, 2008
Thanks, Wickle! Actually, Tom Hanks and Jay Leno stop by regularly, but they just haven’t made comments yet…
I have seen Elizabeth Edwards make some appearances on a few blogs, perhaps she’ll find her way over here.
libertariangirl
January 2nd, 2008
Wow! I thought you were a liberal (in the original sense, as in Mises, Hayek, Rothbard, &c, or “libertarian” like you americans like to say, but I don’t like the term ‘coz it sounds like people who try to liberate others and I don’t believe anyone can liberate people, except themselves). I agree with almost everything that you say but this immigrant issue give me the creeps. Everyone that has learned a lil’ economics knows that workes are factor of production like any other (as capital and land). In a true liberal — read libertarian — world, there would be no fences because there is no frontiers. A business should be free to decide who we wants to hire and is entirely his decision to ponder about the trade-off between the price of the worker and the quality. Immigration restriciont is protectionism — worker force subsidies — and should be banned in any true liberal/libertarian world as frontiers, countries, polices and everything that is part of a state. I hope one day you become a true libertarian. Read Hayek’s “Road to Serfdom” to understand where protectionism, subsidies, government and central plannig (laws as part of planning) leads to. Of course you’re entitled to support a nationalist working force barriers law — I think everyone should be allowed to support everything –, just don’t call yourself libertarian, but the opposite.
Bruno Della Motta
July 29th, 2008
Hey Bruno. Of course I know all that, and if every country was in on it, open borders would be the way to go. It benefits everyone.
However, just having the United States open and no other country doesn’t move us more towards open borders. It would be better if welfare was not available to illegal immigrants who might move for the sake of it rather than for jobs. You can’t have open borders when you have welfare, that’s basic economics (unless everyone has the exact same system, of course).
Get the whole world in on it, and I’m fine with it. But until the EU lets me in without a visa, there’s no reason that Mexican immigrants should be allowed in the United States without one. That’s not free and open borders anyway.
libertariangirl
July 29th, 2008