Daniel Hannan Rocks CPAC and Digs Ron Paul

I had a few minutes to interview Daniel Hannan, one of the few genuine conservatives in the European Parliament, at CPAC before I sped off to catch my flight home from Washington D.C. Now that I think about it, I actually missed that flight out of Baltimore! Spending a few minutes with Mr. Hannan was well worth it!

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Aaron:   In the last four years, have you seen a change in the political landscape (from Ron Paul’s influence)?

Hannan:  Definitely. I mean, he almost single-handedly has taken ideas which were “fringe ideas” and he’s made them mainstream.  Or at least he’s made them ideas that have to be addressed within the mainstream. I’m thinking particularly about the disastrous record of the Federal Reserve and the possibility of taking away the monopoly of money from government.

The only thing that I would say to any Ron Paul supporters is “please think hard about taking those ideas back out of the mainstream. He’s (Ron Paul) kept them very carefully within the cadre of the Republican party and, as a result of that, everyone is talking about it. You know, we haven’t gotten to the stage where everyone agrees yet, but it’s gone from being a fringe idea to being a reasonable and respectable idea. If you launched a third party candidacy it would go back to the fringe again.

Daniel Hannan went on to indicate that he would likely have voted for Ron Paul in the CPAC straw poll–mentioning his support for Ron Paul in 2008. Recently, Mr. Hannan defended Ron Paul’s foreign policy from some childish attacks on Sean Hannity’s radio show. Hannity quickly ended the interview. (Another clip.)

Daniel Hannan’s Full CPAC speech:

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