One of the most fascinating things, for me as a Brit, about engaging with American politics is that all political issues are filtered in the media through an extraordinarily crass Left vs. Right paradigm.
Left and right are not the two paradigms of American politics. They are the two flavors of only one.
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The so-called “radicals” like Paul and Kucinich who appear through the old left-right filter to be so different, are more importantly defined by what they have in common — a principled attempt to protect American Constitutional rights that, while radical in 1776, should not even be up for discussion today.
Of the men I’ve mentioned, the darling of Constitutionalists today is Ron Paul. He has so far out-raised all of the potential GOP candidates for 2012, even while many of the MSM continue to conduct their polls (among likely Republican voters) often times without even including his name. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I know it means something, and I like it. 
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