“They tried to ignore him in the beginning, but they simply can’t anymore” Jack Hunter, a conservative journalist and official Ron Paul surrogate noted in an exclusive Sandbox interview. He is referring to the Republican underdog candidate Ron Paul. The Republican party has tried with all of its might to silence the voice of Representative Paul during the early 2012 primary race, but try as they might the voice of the Union is louder and Paul’s campaign is gaining steam each and every day.

“Recent polls show that somewhere between 70 and 80 percent of Americans disapprove of the 10 year war in the middle east. Based on that figure, Paul IS on the side of the American people.” Hunter suggested. The narrative presented by media outlets and the Republican party establishment, however, presents Dr. Paul as a fringe character whose views are “outside the mainstream of every decent American,” as Newt Gingrich recently said. Many outlets within the Republican party have gone so far as to call him “crazy.” Far from being “crazy,” however, many of Paul’s political stances have long roots in conservative politics, opinions only recently abandoned by the neo-conservatives of the Republican party.  This sense of historical conservatism sets Ron Paul apart from others at the republican table. The conservative world is full of neo-conservative vocalizations that seem to overshadow and forget the conventional wisdom on which the party was build. Ron Paul brings these truths to the forefront of his political platform.

For instance:

Ron Paul wants to eliminate departments within the federal bureaucracy.

Ronald Reagan clearly shared Paul’s viewpoints. “Since the implementation of the Department of education in 1980, cost has gone up and test scores have gone down. That’s just the facts.” Hunter stated. “Ron Paul realizes that.”

Ron Paul believes revenues will only increase if taxes are cut.

“[Congressman Paul] would sign the fair tax bill if it came across his desk as President,” Hunter added. However, he sees an overall cut being the most beneficial to the economy. Paul’s much-derided proposal to eliminate the bureaucracy of the IRS is only a means to the simplified tax code necessary for economic expansion.  A simplified tax structure placing less of a burden on the economy is hardly a contentious theory.

Even Democrat John F Kennedy agrees.

Ron Paul believes we need to focus on a healthy economy and a stable dollar to promote private sector jobs for the unemployed.

President Nixon was also very concerned with the dollar. Stabilizing the dollar is one of the most important issues to Paul. Without it, he does not see a drop in the unemployment rate or a long-term remedy for the problems recent college graduates have in finding work and paying off daunting student loan bills. Hardly a crazy idea.

Ron Paul does not wish to be in foreign entanglements like the war in the Middle East. Besides the majority of voters that are on Ron Paul’s side, the war is another way the United States is playing ‘big brother’ to the world. “Congressman Paul agreed in retaliating after the attack of 9/11, he does not support our presence there ten years later” Hunter commented. His positions on international affairs may have done more to feed the attack ad machine than any other position, but there is little radical in the idea.  Despite attempts by the Republican establishment to label him as an isolationist, Paul knows that economic growth without participating in the global economic community is an unrealistic goal.  He just thinks America can maintain its economic power without wasting the wealth we create on expensive wars.

Ron Paul wants to cut defense spending, because of its negative impact on the economy.

President Eisenhower shared some of his same ideology. “We spend 1.2 trillion dollars a year on ‘defense’ costs” Jack Hunter exclaimed. “The war on terrorism is kind of like the democrats’ war on poverty- winning is defined by how much money we pour into it.”

However the Republican party and its proponents may feel, voters should consider the facts before voting in this primary election. Ron Paul has a strong grass-roots following because of his enduring conservative opinions which, while they may lie outside of the narrow official platform of the Republican party, are within the mainstream of American voters. His strength lies in his ability to stand out from the often plastic  Republican narrative, says Hunter. “There is tea party former candidate Bachmann, the rootin-tootin texan Perry, the wall street guy Romney… but no Ron Paul. I don’t say this often, but he is absolutely right and almost everyone out there is absolutely wrong.”