Not all Republicans are created equal

Last Friday Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul appeared on Real Time With Bill Maher. Reason has the clip.

Paul presented his ideas well, spoke candidly, and refused to dodge questions. And Maher thanked him for it by treating him like a wingnut.

The high points of Paul's interview:

1. Eliminate the CIA. The agency's missteps and adventures worldwide cause anti-American sentiment and actually make us more unsafe.
   
2. The civil war was unnecessary. "Every other major country of the world was able to get rid of slavery without a civil war. So the civil war wasn't fought over slavery, the civil war was fought over unifying and making a strong centralized state."
   
3. Global warming. The jury is still out on the evidence, although we should cut back on automobile emissions and stop oil company subsidies.
   
4. Eliminate the FAA as a government agency. The September 11 hijacking plot is the perfect example. Private airline traffic administration might have allowed guns in airplane cabins, and the profiling necessary to keep potential hijackers off the planes.
   
5. The Walter Reed scandal is "a demonstration of what government run medicine will be like." Paul also briefly floated a sort of government-funded voucher proposal for veteran health.

His ideas are controversial and principled, well-thought and intriguing. They speak for themselves, and most of them are vacant from the current national dialogue. The clip also provides the quote of the day, courtesy the host himself, Bill Maher:

"I've always thought I was a libertarian, but I'm Chairman Mao compared to you."

You know? I've never agreed with him more.