To be fair, Paul has a lot of campaign issues that make sense to left-leaning college students. He wants to immediately withdraw the troops from Iraq, reduce government intrusion, end the drug war and stop pre-emptive military foreign policy. Michigan Campaign Coordinator Amy Hagerstrom, said most of the 37,000 Internet donations have been for $100 or less; not big bucks from lobbyists. It’s impressive, especially for a Republican. That said, there are a lot of issues I’m not sure most college voters care enough about, or are even aware of. The word ‘libertarian’ isn’t just something hip to call yourself to separate you from last season’s ‘liberal’ or ‘conservative.’

I’m not sure newly political hipsters realize how significantly Paul proposes we reduce government. Of course after President Bush’s Caligula-esque reign of overspending and intrusive policy, people like it when you say “weaken government.”

Drastically reducing government responsibility and spending doesn’t just mean pulling its controlling hands from programs, but it potentially means pulling the arm away altogether; resulting in the destruction of helpful, albeit imperfect, government programs.

Part of Paul’s plan to reduce government spending is by reducing taxes. In fact, he has voted to abolish the personal income tax which, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s monthly report, makes up around 45 percent of the government’s income. Sounds great, except when you consider abolishing the income tax will give by far the most money back to the rich who don’t need it. Anyone who has taken macroeconomics learns the predominant view that the rich save more while the poor — whose expenses are largely tied up in food and bills — spend virtually all of their money.

Paul assures that this money won’t be needed because it will be pre-empted by reduced government spending. While the phrase “government spending” sounds terrible, it’s what funds programs that, according to an analysis by Gary Shilling, provide significant income to more than half of all Americans. Many government programs exist to keep the poor — who are unable to climb out of poverty because of unequal distribution of funding — from living in even worse conditions than they already are. About 19 million Americans get food stamps, 2 million get subsidized housing and 5 million get education grants according to Shilling’s research. Further privatization will only cause more class disparity — hardly a value espoused by my friends supporting Paul.

He also is anti-abortion and has proudly taken steps to abolish Roe v. Wade and leave abortion’s legality to the state. I’ll leave the bulk of the abortion debate to readers, but consider that a recent World Health Organization global study found that abortion rates are roughly the same in countries where abortion is illegal and countries where abortion is legal. The only difference, says the report, is that illegal abortions tend to be unsafe. It’s a prospect that could leave a lot of young would-be mothers in a tight spot if their state doesn’t allow abortions and they have no way of traveling to another.

The 72-year-old has voted in favor of drilling for oil in Alaska, wants to remove us from the United Nations, opposes embryonic stem-cell research, opposed family planning aid abroad and voted to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, a project that would cost taxpayers more than $1 billion. Paul’s policies are still too radical for independents, too moderate for conservatives and too libertarian for most liberals.

If you’re going to support a long shot, why not vegan Democrat Dennis Kucinich? He’s the only Democrat in favor of socialized health care, and he’s got all the qualities lefties love in Paul but none of the conservative positions they normally can’t stand. Am I in the dark, or is Paul just the next cool thing, after Facebook.com and Ugg boots?

Drew Winter is a State News columnist and an English junior. Reach him at winterdr@msu.edu.