For this blog post, I would like to inform everyone about an awesome event that is coming to Penn State. Ron Paul and Barney Frank will be doing a debate at Penn State. This event is called the Great Debate, and it will be held this coming Monday, April 27. It will be in the Schwab Auditorium at 8 pm, and students are able to get tickets still on Friday on the ground floor of the HUB as long as you bring your Penn State ID.

This event is hosted by the Penn State College Democrats and Penn State College Republicans. I am involved with one of these organizations, and last semester, I was able to meet Tom Wolf through it. If anyone has any interest in politics, I highly recommend getting involved with one because it’s a great, easy, and fun way to stay informed, and there is truly a club for every political affiliation. Through these organizations, I was able to meet and feel closer to candidates that I support. Additionally, the Schreyer Honors College is hosting it as well, and our very own Dean Brady will be moderating.

The Great Debate between Ron Paul and Barney Frank is definitely going to be an interesting one. Ron Paul is a Republican former representative from Texas. He is currently retired, but he was a candidate for the US Presidential election twice. You may remember him from the 2008 election, where he ran against Republicans such as John McCain and Mitt Romney and Democrats such as Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. I remember I enjoyed watching the debates during this time because Ron Paul would always present the most interesting opinions. At the core, Ron Paul is labeled a Republican, and that is what he ran under in the 2008 election. When he started his political career in the mid 1970s, he was very conservative. However, he started to affiliate with the Libertarian Party instead. According to the Libertarian National Committee, the Libertarian Party believes in minimal government and maximum freedom, but it accommodates a wide range of views. In general, people who are fiscally conservative but socially liberal may occasionally align with libertarian views. The Libertarian Party is the currently the third largest party in the nation, and, although he is retired, Ron Paul is definitely seen as one of the largest figureheads of Libertarianism. In recent years, Paul has identified himself as a Constitutionalist rather than a Libertarian. Regarding this, he has said, “In Congress I took an oath to uphold the Constitution, not the Republican platform.” His Constitutionalist/libertarian views were definitely apparent during the debates in 2008, and likely the Great Debate coming here on Monday. Additionally, his son, Rand Paul, is currently running for President in 2016. Rand and Raul hold very different views (Rand is much more conservative), but I am curious to see if he mentions or promotes his son at all on Monday.

On the other hand, we have Barney Frank, who was a Republican Representative for Massachusetts from 1981 until he retired in 2013. He is most widely known for being a prominent gay politician, and he was the first person to publicly come out while in Congress. He identifies as a Democrat, and he is a strong advocate for social justice and civil rights, especially for the LGBT community. He said, “I do have things that I would like to see adopted on behalf of LGBT people: they include the right to marry the individual of our choice; the right to serve in the military to defend our country, and the right to a job based solely on our own qualifications.” Additionally, he has a very bold stance, titled “Frank’s Rule,” where he maintains that he will out any closeted gay politician that harms the LGBT community. He said, “I think there’s a right to privacy. But the right to privacy should not be a right to hypocrisy. And people who want to demonize other people shouldn’t then be able to go home and close the door and do it themselves.” To be honest, I was not as familiar with Barney Frank as I am with Ron Paul, but through some casual research, I felt that these actions really speak about his character and ideals.

Overall, I think this will be an excellent and thought-provoking debate, and I am really excited. At first, I was really excited for Ron Paul because I have casually followed him since he ran for President in 2008. Although I identify more as a democrat, Ron Paul is one of my favorite conservatives, and I love hearing his opinions. Additionally, after learning more about Barney Frank, I am equally excited to hear his perspective as well. I like that neither of them are the traditional cookie cutter Democrat or Republican. I’m excited to hear the perspectives of those who branch out and follow something slightly different. In conclusion, the two summaries about the people speaking at the Great Debate are meant to give a surface description as well as some core values that they hold close to them. The descriptions did not necessarily go in depth with any of their policies or specific ideas. However, I am sure their opinions and views will come out clearly during the Great Debate on Monday.