Ron Paul

Representative Ron Paul

Ronald Ernest Paul, MD (born August 20, 1935), a physician and Texas politician, is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 14th Congressional District (map) and a former Presidential Candidate of the United States Libertarian Party. First elected to Congress as a Republican in the 22nd District in 1976, he served through 1984, and then retired due to his support for the concept of term limits for congressmen. After his failed presidential bid in 1988, Paul returned to Congress in 1996 — again elected as a Republican, but against the wishes of the local party, who had backed Paul's primary opponent, the incumbent Democratic representative who had switched party affiliation. He is a member of the John Birch Society.

Paul professes a limited government paleolibertarian ideology (a libertarian ideology mixed with some social conservatism). His regular votes against almost all proposals for government spending, initiatives, or taxes, and his frequent dissents in otherwise unanimous votes, have irritated some of his Republican colleagues and have earned him the nickname "Dr. No".

Biography

Ron Paul was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Dormont High School, Dormont, Pennsylvania 1953. He received his B.A. from Gettysburg College (1957) and M.D. from Duke University School of Medicine (1961). He did his internship and residency training at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan from 1961 to 1962. He was a flight surgeon in the United States Air Force from 1963 to 1965. He went on to complete Obstetrics and Gynecology training at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1965-1968, and in 1968 he and his wife Carol moved to Surfside Beach, Texas.

He became a delegate to the Texas state Republican convention in 1974. He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for election to Congress in 1974 against entrenched liberal Democrat Robert R. Casey. When Casey was appointed head of the Federal Maritime Commission by President Gerald Ford, a special election was held in April 1976 to replace him. Paul won that election, lost six months later in the general election to Democrat Robert A. Gammage, then defeated him in a 1978 rematch. He went on to be re-elected in 1980 and 1982. He was the first congressman to propose term limit legislation for the House of Representatives. In 1984, citing his term limits proposal, he did not seek reelection to the House, although he unsuccessfully contested the Republican primary for Senate. He was succeeded by Tom DeLay, a now prominent Republican congressman. From 1985 he returned to medical practice as an OBGYN.

In 1988, Dr. Paul won the nomination of the Libertarian Party for the U.S. Presidency. He placed third in the popular vote (with 0.3% of the total), behind George H. W. Bush and Michael Dukakis.

In 1996, Paul was again elected to the House as a Republican. Mainstream Republican Party figures backed the incumbent, Greg Laughlin, a Democratic representative who had switched parties in the wake of the Republican takeover of Congress. Laughlin attempted to portray Paul's views as extreme and eccentric, but Paul won the primary and went on to win the general election.

Leaders of the Texan Republican Party made similar efforts to defeat him in 1998, but he again won the primary and the election. The Republican congressional leadership then agreed to a compromise: Paul votes with the Republicans on procedural matters and remains nominally Republican in exchange for the committee assignments normally due according to his seniority. This is arguably similar to the deal that Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont has with the Democratic Party (though Jeffords was elected as a Republican and is now officially independent). Paul was convincingly re-elected in 2000 and 2002. He was elected unopposed in 2004 to his ninth term in the Congress. He is a member of the Republican Liberty Caucus.

Political affiliations and support

Ron Paul joined the Libertarian Party as a lifetime member, a status which he appears never to have renounced. Though a Republican congressman, Paul remains on good terms with the Libertarian Party and has addressed its national convention as recently as 2004.

Libertarian Party spokesman George Getz said that thousands of libertarians across the United States donate money to Ron Paul's campaign funds. Campaign disclosures reveal that 71.4% of contributions to Paul's coffers come from outside his home state of Texas. [1] Unlike many political candidates, Paul receives the overwhelming majority of his campaign contributions (92.5% in 2004) from individuals. [2]

Views

His economic views oppose nearly all government intervention in the market. He criticizes the United States' intervention in Iraq and what he charges is the use of the war on terror to curtail civil liberties. He supports the abolition of the income tax, most Cabinet departments, and the Federal Reserve, and favors the legalization of marijuana and American withdrawal from the United Nations. He also endorses a non-interventionist foreign policy and defederalization of the healthcare system, opposes the death penalty and abortion, and is strongly opposed to a military draft. He has voted against amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage and also against an amendment to prohibit flag-burning. He has also broken with his party by voting against the Patriot Act in 2001 and again in 2005. Paul's campaign slogan for 2004 was "The Taxpayers' Best Friend!" [3].

John Berthoud, president of the National Taxpayers Union, an organization that promotes lower tax rates, has said, "Ron Paul has always proven himself to be a leader in the fight for taxpayer rights and fiscal responsibility... No one can match his record on behalf of taxpayers." He is frequently considered an advocate of small business. Jack Harris, president of the National Federation of Independent Business, has said, "Congressman Ron Paul is a true friend of small business....He is committed to a pro-small-business agenda of affordable health insurance, lower taxes, tort reform, and the elimination of burdensome mandates." [4]

His base of support has been among conservative Republicans, but after 9/11 he has gained some strong support from liberal Democrats in central Texas due to his consistent, principled opposition to the war in Iraq. As an example of this shift, the Austin Chronicle newspaper, a liberal, alternative weekly newspaper in Austin, Texas described his views as erratic in 2000 [5]. After 9/11 though, the Chronicle took a much more favorable view of Paul, praising him for his strong principled opposition to the war in Iraq.

Paul's supporters say he is willing to take unpopular positions in order to defend what he regards as constitutional limited government. He has been criticized at times for his voting record, being the only dissenting vote against giving Rosa Parks and Mother Theresa the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor; According to Texas Monthly, "When he was criticized for voting against the medal [for Parks], he chivied his colleagues by challenging them to personally contribute $100 to mint the medal. No one did, of course. At the time, Paul observed, 'It's easier to be generous with other people's money.'" In a speech on June 25, 2003, criticizing giving Tony Blair a Medal of Honor, Paul said, "These medals generally have been proposed to recognize a life of service and leadership, and not for political reasons - as evidenced by the overwhelming bi-partisan support for awarding President Reagan, a Republican, a gold medal. These awards normally go to deserving individuals, which is why I have many times offered to contribute $100 of my own money, to be matched by other members, to finance these medals [6]." Texas Monthly awarded him the "Bum Steer" award for voting against a congressional honor for cartoonist Charles Schulz.

On Industrial Hemp

Paul believes in the legalization of industrial hemp. Paul supported HR 3037 "to amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana, and for other purposes".[7] This bill would have given the states the power to regulate farming of hemp. The measure would be a first since the national prohibition of industrial hemp farming in the United States.

Support for the gold standard

In many public speeches Paul has called for the re-introduction of the gold standard, the effect of which would require the United States Government to make large purchases of gold and to issue currency only to the extent of its ownership of gold. Ron Paul supports the gold standard because currency inflation increases consumer prices [8] [9].

Economist Murray N. Rothbard, a student of economist Ludwig von Mises, has written,

This plan (for the gold standard), essentially the one advocated by Congressman Ron Paul (R.-Texas), would return us speedily to something akin to the best monetary system in U.S. history...[10]

He has also called for the removal of all taxes on gold transactions. [11] In 2002 he proposed legislation abolishing the Federal Reserve Board, enabling "America to return to the type of monetary system envisioned by our Nation's founders: one where the value of money is consistent because it is tied to a commodity such as gold." [12]

Paul's personal financial disclosures reveal extensive private investments in gold and silver, through equities and warrants in companies including Newmont, IAM Gold, Barrick Gold, Golden Star Resources, Golden Cycle Gold Corp, Pan American Silver, Great Basin Gold, Eldorado Gold, Freeport McMoran Gold & Copper, Apollo Gold Corp and Placer Dome. [13]

District and contact information

The 14th congressional district of Texas stretches from the Gulf Coast in Galveston and Chambers counties almost to Corpus Christi; north through Victoria; and east through Jackson and Wharton counties toward Houston. It includes western parts of Fort Bend county, then slopes south through Brazoria county.

• Washington: 203 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515. Phone Number: (202) 225-2831
• Lake Jackson, Texas: 122 West Way, Suite 301, Lake Jackson, TX 77566. Phone Number: (979) 285-0231
• Victoria, Texas: 312 S Main Street, Suite 229, Victoria, TX 77901. Phone Number: (361) 576-1231
• Galveston, Texas: 601 25th Street, Suite 216, Galveston, TX 77550. Phone Number: (409) 766-7013

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Ron Paul

• Official web site of Congressman Ron Paul
• Congressman Ron Paul's Republican Campaign Site
• Rep. Ron Paul's Column for Antiwar.com
• Texas Observer Interview with Rep. Ron Paul An Anti-War Republican!
• Audio: A Texas Republican Comes Out Against the War in Iraq A Talk with U.S. Rep. Ron Paul
• National Taxpayers Union Honors Ron Paul as one of 29 Congressman who are "Taxpayer's Friends"
• Commentary by Rep. Paul on U.S. policy in the Middle East
• Ron Paul archives on LewRockwell.com
• Political profile of Ron Paul

References

• Gwynne, Sam (Oct. 1, 2001). Texas Monthly.
• Bernstein, Alan (May 23, 1996). Newsletter excerpts offer ammunition to Paul's opponent; GOP hopeful quoted on race, crime. The Houston Chronicle, p. A33.

	Texas Congressional Delegation serving in the 109th United States Congress
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Representative(s)	Louie Gohmert (R), Ted Poe (R), Sam Johnson (R), Ralph Hall (R), Jeb Hensarling (R), Joe Barton (R), John Culberson (R), Kevin Brady (R), Al Green (D), Michael McCaul (R), Mike Conaway (R), Kay Granger (R), Mac Thornberry (R), Ron Paul (R), Rubén Hinojosa (D), Silvestre Reyes (D), Chet Edwards (D), Sheila Jackson Lee (D), Randy Neugebauer (R), Charlie Gonzalez (D), Lamar S. Smith (R), Tom DeLay (R), Henry Bonilla (R), Kenny Marchant (R), Lloyd Doggett (D), Michael C. Burgess (R), Solomon P. Ortiz (D), Henry Cuellar (D), Gene Green (D), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D), John Carter (R), Pete Sessions (R)
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