Why do Tech Guys Like Ron Paul?

So, I've been thinking about this for a long time. Why do nerds like Ron Paul so much? It's seemed like that to me for a while. Nerd havens like digg.com even sorta prove it, and of course his dominance of the online world is as well a good sign that the tech-savvy harbor nothing but love for the man.

Heck, his recent donor records basically seal the deal for me. An EETimes article pointed out that Google employees are the top donors, Microsoft's in the top 5, and a bunch of other tech companies are up there too.

Heck, I'm a geek, and I would quit my job and go volunteer for the guy full time if he got the nomination (If you're my wife and reading this, of course I wouldn't, honey, that's called hyperbole).

But here's my theory why: If you're a computer guy, and especially if you read and write code, your world revolves around a core set of rules. The way you handle ambiguity is, you get rid of the ambiguity. You focus on a problem, and logically figure out how to fix it, based on well known discoverable rules.

Ron Paul, if you haven't heard of him, comes back to the Constitution with every argument. You can fit his philosophy on a postage stamp: "Follow the Constitution. Let the markets and the people govern themselves." From this he extrapolates his views. We shouldn't be in Iraq because Congress didn't declare war as the Constitution states. The federal government should never be involved with things like Education, Health Care and market manipulation because it infringes on people's liberty and the Constitution doesn't state it.

You could argue that he adheres to his interpretation of the Constitution, and that's probably the best argument to take to him. But I'd say even though he may take his interpretation to an extreme, he most definitely thinks about the Constitution when making a call as a legislator more than anyone else. We hear stuff from our leaders like "Is this right for America?" What we don't ever here is "Do I have the right, as an elected official, to use tax dollars for this purpose?"

That kind of cold logic tickles the nerd side of my brain. I can go out and use rules like that to form opinions on issues. I have not doubt what a Ron Paul would think about certain problems as President. Computers, and nerds, just don't get nuance.

And I like that he's a goofy grandpa.