“The more I listen to Ron Paul the more I think he actually despises this country” -Austin Petersen
Austin Petersen has emerged as one of the frontrunners for the Libertarian Party nomination, campaigning as a son of the Ron Paul revolution who hopes to bring conservative leaning libertarians into the tent in order to create a broad enough coalition to win the Libertarian nomination. Petersen has been fairly articulate in the debates, arguing that he will be the man to bring on significant numbers of Republican voters should Donald Trump be the Republican nominee. Petersen boasts of his credentials in working for Judge Andrew Napolitano and founding The Libertarian Republic. That being said, Petersen’s campaign may run into some trouble if this incendiary audio gets out within the liberty grassroots.
In July of 2014 Petersen stated that Ron Paul sounded like he hates America as a response to an AP article which stated Paul was defending Russia. Petersen also stated that he thought Ron Paul was using the same tactics as those who defended the Soviet Union in order to defend the actions of a big government overseas (that being Russia). He said that Ron Paul’s rhetoric sounded like Soviet apologia, and asked why he would want to sound like he was defending a big government overseas. Petersen’s comparison of Ron Paul’s non interventionist foreign policy to Soviet style propaganda is sure to inflame liberty voters who have largely viewed Petersen as a close alternative to Paul.
Petersen goes on to implicitly reject the notion that the war on terror finds its roots in blowback from our foreign policy. Petersen states that the more you delve into foreign policy the more you realize that there are in fact people who hate us for our freedoms, and that the actors in the current “war on terror” are an example of this. He claims that Ron Paul blames the United States whenever something wrong happens overseas, and that “when you start sounding like Soviet apparatchiks or real America hating socialist liberals then you have a problem”. He believes that Paul’s rhetoric will lead to people thinking that libertarians hate America, due to Paul’s constant incorrect (in his view) blaming of the United States for every problem.
These revelations will bring up questions as to whether those of us who did invest money and time into the Ron Paul campaign in 2008 and/or 2012 should invest our time and money in Petersen’s campaign. I would ask Petersen what he believes was the primary cause of 9/11? I’d ask him whether he believes ISIS hates us for our freedoms or our interventionist policies? Does he believe it is a defense of a thuggish regime to defend the notion of not intervening against them? Finally, I would ask if he would apologize to Dr Paul for saying he sounds like he hates America. Dr. Paul has brought more people to the ideas of liberty than anybody in the modern history of this country. If Mr Petersen wants to be a Libertarian standard bearer he can start by giving our movements greatest champions the respect they deserve.
This guy’s a nut.
Not a libertarian. Probably a troll.
The Neo-Cons have shilled themselves in everywhere. The only hope for an Anti-War President is Sanders.
Lol good joke he’s just as hawkish as anyone.
How so? I cant stand his economics, but I don’t believe he is war hawk at all.
Voted multiple times to fund the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, never once has mentioned drone oversight and still wants to keep troops in Afghanistan. Also he has never once talked about actually decreasing the military budget or bringing any troops home.
Sanders is an economic disgrace. We don’t want an “anti-war” president. Pacifism is silly. We want a steady hand at the wheel.
The United States of America was established by the most rational constitution ever pinned. The Bill of Rights establishes my patriotism for this great land. If it were honored as it should be, other countries all over the world would emulate it. But with a government that has morphed into a warring imperialistic power that has distorted its essence, my love has become jaded.
Why does ISIS hate us? Because they practice a religion that is hell bent on conquering the world and has been since it emerged 1400 years ago. Which is why helping to remove secular strongmen in the middle-east was a mistake.
Wow screw this Peterson guy. Im voting for John Mcafee
Screw the LP, it’s a waste of time.
Almost as much as the GOP
All the parties are a waste of time.
The GOP has gotten great candidates like Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Thomas Massie, Justin Amash, Ron Paul, Mick Mulvaney elected.
Who has the LP ever had elected to federal office in its 40 years as party?
Hint: ZERO.
This statement is a disqualifier for many of us.
Listen to the podcast linked, the entire “article” and headline are hyperbole to the point of lying.
Uh did anyone even listen to the podcast? Or did they just read this article and take it out of context?
The way U.S. has been doing does look WRONG.
Holy shit, could you be any more dishonest? Austin isn’t even my guy for the LP, but none of these “quotes” can be attributed to AP or even Ron Paul. He’s commenting on what these stories are and speculating to what they mean.