Thanks to Charles Goyette for this from Lloyd Grove in The Daily Beast:
Reagan White House budget guru David Stockman talks to Lloyd Grove about the dangers of ignoring the deficit, why Bernanke, Geithner, and Summers must be fired ASAP—and his support for Ron Paul.
…Which means: Get out of Afghanistan and Iraq right away—the same prescription touted by renegade Republican congressman Ron Paul.
“I’m totally in agreement with Ron Paul,” Stockman says. “I don’t think he can be elected president, but I think he’s the only guy who really understands monetary policy, economic policy, the proper role of the state, the proper role of the U.S. in the world. On the other hand, the world is changing pretty dramatically before our eyes. I wouldn’t rule out anything right now. But if you asked me who is speaking truth to power, it’s Ron Paul.”
When I worked for Ron in in the House, one of his closest allies was the brilliant Michigan congressman David Stockman, especially on the draft and other civil liberties issues. Since then, Dave has taken the Ron Paul path all the way, against central banking and the empire, and for Austrian economics, and good for him! He is also a member of the Wall Street establishment, so these are interesting days indeed.
UPDATE from Jim Brownfield:
2:30 pm on July 12, 2010It was the day after I read Stockman’s book, “The Triumph of Politics: Why the Reagan Revolution Failed,” that I joined the Libertarian Party and remained a Libertarian until I rejoined the Republican Party to vote for Ron Paul in the primary in 2008. I was already a philosophic libertarian, but it was Stockman’s book that proved to me Republicans weren’t. I remembered the “public” version of most of the stories he recounted, and I knew his versions of the stories were true because it made all the pieces fall into place for me.
It’s out of print now, and in reading it, you have to read past Stockman’s obvious anger at his treatment during his OMB years, but should Ron Paul win the presidency in 2012, Stockman’s book should be required reading for everyone in Ron’s administration.
