I hereby present proof that there is such a thing as a Republican politician who is neither an idiot nor particularly slimy.

Last week I was watching live proceedings from the U.S. House of Representatives, via C-SPAN. I was stricken by a speech given by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), which showed an admirably spirited and independent concern for the well-being of our country and the world, a rejection of a lot of the negative things the Republican party has come to stand for.

Now, don't take this as an all-out promotion of Rep. Paul's politics - I have some major disagreements with him, for example on the topic of immigration. But really, I'm impressed and inspired. Here's an excerpt:

I smell an expanded war in the Middle East, and pray that I'm wrong. I sense that circumstances [sic] will arise that demand support regardless of the danger and cost. Any lack of support, once again, will be painted as being soft on terrorism and al Qaeda. We will be told we must support Israel, support patriotism, support the troops, and defend freedom. The public too often only smells the stench of war after the killing starts. Public objection comes later on, but eventually it helps to stop the war. I worry that before we can finish the war we're in and extricate ourselves, the patriotic fervor for expanding into Iran will drown out the cries of, "enough already!"

Full speech: http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2006/cr040506.htm

Keep in mind guys, this isn't Ralph Nader or Howard Dean or Al Franken - this is a Republican congressman from Texas. All those of you who are U.S. citizens and old enough to vote should read the rest of this (do it for me? O_O ). Really. Make time. And it wouldn't hurt the rest of you either.

RD

P.S. Thank you StarWars.com filters for teaching me what a dirty word circumstances is.

Update: In light of recent news (like this) suggesting that the Bush administration is considering an attack on Iran, possibly even involving nuclear weapons, MoveOn.org is running a petition to assert that the American people are strongly against the use of nuclear weapons. I'm sure not all of you are big fans of MoveOn - they champion a lot of liberal causes - but this issue has nothing to do with liberal vs. conservative, or with party lines, and it's a great opportunity for us to pool our voices and make a statement. So, if you read Rep. Paul's speech and were moved by it, or if you're just, you know, against nuking people, I urge you to at least check out this petition:

http://political.moveon.org/dontnukeiran

[Cross-posted to my other blog and elsewhere.]