SoConsForRudy.com Is Being Shut Down -- Here's Why

I had chosen Rudy Giuliani as my candidate of preference because I appreciated his experience as the executive of a large, complex, and diverse population center (New York City) and his successes in reducing taxes, spending, crime, and improving many of the city's functions. Importantly, I also felt that he was electable.

On May 15, 2007, I watched the FOX News Republican presidential debate in Columbia, South Carolina, during which a candidate that I knew little about, Texan Congressman Ron Paul, asserted that our federal government needed to rethink its foreign policy, particularly in relation to the Muslim world, because it resulted in negative unintended consequences (what the CIA calls "blowback"), such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Rudy Giuliani assertively responded that such an explanation was "absurd," and demanded that Dr. Paul revoke his statements.

Of course, Dr. Paul refused, and the next day, he held a press conference, in which he gave Mr. Giuliani a reading list of reputable books that supported the blowback theory of 9/11: "The 9/11 Commission Report," by the 9/11 Commission, "Blowback" by Chalmers Johnson, "Dying to Win," by Robert Pape, and "Imperial Hubris," by Michael Scheuer.

While I initially agreed with Mr. Giuliani, Dr. Paul's views intrigued me so much that I couldn't help but look deeper into them. I spent much of my summer free time delving into studies of US-Mideast history, American foreign policy, Islamic terrorism, and Constitutional law, and I obviously made a point to read the four books Dr. Paul had prescribed.

As I began to more clearly understand the Constitutional limits of the federal government, the history of the Middle East, and the effects of our federal government's foreign policy, I began to realize that much of what Dr. Paul had said was indeed true. The final straw was Dr. Paul's own book, entitled "A Foreign Policy of Freedom," which is a collection of his most important speeches on foreign policy in Congress over the past three decades. As I read the book, I came to see how Congressman Paul's continually prescient warnings and advice concerning American foreign policy was vindicated time and time again, while his colleagues continued to laugh him off. It was almost like reading about a biblical prophet, repetitively warning a nation to turn away from its wrongdoings, while the nation responded with only persecution and dismissal, and then over and over reaped the fruits of its wrongdoings.

After seeing how Dr. Paul was absolutely right about foreign policy, and about several other important issues to boot (e.g. the need for a sound monetary policy--see Austrian school of economics), I could no longer deny what I knew to be right. It was tough for me, because as a grassroots activist I had invested time, energy, and money into Rudy Giuliani's campaign, and I recognized the odds of Dr. Paul actually being elected were slim. However, I decided I had to follow my conscience, and I sealed my commitment with my first donation to the Ron Paul for President campaign in October of 2007.

Once again, Congressman Paul is warning our nation of an impending economic and military disaster, that is coming as the result of fiscal irresponsibility and an overgrown, unconstitutional foreign policy. I only hope that this time, we listen.

Yours in a newfound respect for liberty and the Constitution,

Josiah Schmidt