Students For Liberty Against Ron Paul on Crimean Crisis

Former Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) has been
outspoken about his views on the crisis in Crimea, where a recent
referendum transferred the peninsula from Ukrainian to Russian
control. Paul, known for not holding back
when he believes in something, is undoubtedly used to being

criticized. This time the backlash might hit a little closer to
home, though: Students For Liberty (SFL) has come out against Paul
for his views on Crimea.

Alexander McCobin, an SFL co-founder, issued a
statement warning that Paul should not be seen as “wholly
representative of the libertarian movement” and that he “gets it
wrong when he speaks of Crimea’s right to secede.”

Paul has expressed support for the secession,
arguing in an op-ed last week that the Crimean push was all
about “self-determination.” He brushed aside the Russian military
presence as insignificant enough to warrant scare quotes when
describing the “occupation.”

McCobin doesn’t buy that. He writes:

Make no mistake about it, Crimea was annexed by Russian military
force at gunpoint and its supposedly democratic “referendum” was a
farce. Besides a suspiciously high voter turnout with legitimate
international observers, the referendum gave Crimeans only two
choices — join Russia now or later.

He also describes Paul’s stance as “too simplistic” and
“fail[ing] to see the larger picture” of Russia’s significant human
rights violations. McCobin ended by expressing support for Paul’s
son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who has taken a more critical stance on
Russia.

A different SFL representative
assured Buzzfeed that none of this is to say
that the organization supports American military intervention in
the situation.

Although Paul is not directly affiliated with SFL, the group has
in the past
expressed warm feelings for and worked to advance ideas
proposed by the libertarian movement’s most recognizable voice.