Ron Paul

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by John J. Bulten (talk | contribs) at 20:01, 17 March 2008 (Links and copyedits; 2008 (candidate) -> two-time; correct mission of RLC and RLC/LC confusion (see my immed prev edits); restore 4Q07 (deleted by Tbacksha) as of ongoing importance). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Jump to navigation Jump to search
Ron Paul
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 14th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3 1997
Preceded byGreg Laughlin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 22nd district
In office
January 3 1979 – January 3 1985
Preceded byRobert Gammage
Succeeded byTom DeLay
In office
April 3 1976 – January 3 1977
Preceded byRobert R. Casey
Succeeded byRobert Gammage
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
SpouseCarolyn "Carol" Paul
ChildrenRonald "Ronnie" Paul, Jr.
Lori Paul Pyeatt
Randall "Rand" Paul
Robert Paul
Joy Paul-LeBlanc
Alma materGettysburg College
Duke University School of Medicine
ProfessionPhysician, politician
WebsiteRonPaul2008.com

Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul (born August 20 1935) is a Republican United States Congressman from Lake Jackson, Texas, a physician, and a two-time presidential candidate.

Originally from the Pittsburgh suburb of Green Tree, Pennsylvania, he studied at Duke University School of Medicine; after his 1961 graduation and a residency in obstetrics and gynecology, he became a U.S. Air Force flight surgeon, serving outside the Vietnam War zone. He later represented Texas districts in the U.S. House of Representatives (1976–1977, 1979–1985, and 1997–present). He entered the 1988 presidential election, running as the Libertarian nominee while remaining a registered Republican, and placed a distant third.

Paul has been described as conservative, Constitutionalist, and libertarian.[2] He advocates a foreign policy of nonintervention, having voted against actions such as the Iraq War Resolution, but in favor of force against terrorists in Afghanistan. He favors withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the United Nations, citing the dangers of foreign entanglements to national sovereignty. Having pledged never to raise taxes, he has long advocated ending the federal income tax, scaling back government spending, abolishing most federal agencies, and removing military bases and troops from foreign soil; he favors hard money and opposes the Federal Reserve. He also opposes the Patriot Act, the federal War on Drugs, No Child Left Behind, and gun control. Paul is strongly pro-life, and has introduced bills to negate Roe v. Wade, but affirms states' rights to regulate or ban abortion, rather than federal jurisdiction.[3]

While Paul was a leading 2008 presidential candidate in Republican straw polls, he saw substantially less support in landline opinion polls and in various primaries. Strong Internet grassroots support was indicated by his popularity as a web search term, his lead in YouTube subscriptions, and, on December 16 2007, the largest one-day fundraiser in U.S. political history, netting over $6 million in 24 hours through an independently organized effort.

Early life and education

Paul was born in Green Tree, Pennsylvania, to Margaret "Peggy" Paul (née Dumont)[4] and Howard Caspar Paul,[5] the second son of a German immigrant.[6] With an eighth-grade education, Howard co-owned Green Tree Dairy with his brothers Lewis and Arthur; the small-town truck farm stood just outside Pittsburgh. Paul was the third of five sons born during seven years in the Great Depression, and he shared one bedroom of their four-room house with his brothers William (the oldest), David, Jerrold, and Wayne. Paul began working at Harold's dairy at age five,[7] and later delivered newspapers, worked in a drugstore, and became a milkman upon reaching driving age.[8] One customer on his milk route was baseball legend Honus Wagner.[9]

Excelling in track and field, he graduated from Dormont High School in 1953 with honors. He had a best mark in the 100-yard dash of 9.7 seconds[10] at a time when the national high school record for that event was 9.4 seconds;[11] as a junior, he was the 220-yard dash state champion[12] and placed second in the 440-yard run.[8] He also was on the wrestling team, played football and baseball, and was student council president.[8][9] After surgery on a knee injury, he took up swimming as a form of therapy.

A major university offered Paul a full track scholarship, chancing he could regain his prior speed; he declined it, unwilling to involve the university in the risk himself.[13] Rather, he paid for his first year at Gettysburg College with saved newspaper-delivery, lemonade-sale, and lawn-mowing money; he later received a small academic scholarship.[8] He delivered mail and laundry in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; managed the college coffee shop ("The Bullet Hole") for one year; and joined the swim team. Inducted into the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity,[14] he served as pledge class president, house manager, and kitchen steward, planning and supervising cooks for all meals.[8][15] By his senior year, he was running track again; he set the then-third-best marks in college history in the 100-yard dash (9.9 seconds) and 220-yard dash (21.8 seconds).[16] He received his bachelor's in 1957, majoring in biology.[12]

Marriage and family

Rand Paul speaking at a Ron Paul rally.

While at Dormont, schoolmate Carol Wells had asked Paul to escort her to a sweet-16 Sadie Hawkins party, which was their first date. They kept in touch while attending colleges in different states. Over a 1956 park picnic before his senior year at Gettysburg, Paul proposed marriage to Wells; the couple were wed on February 1 1957, at Dormont Presbyterian Church before 300 guests.[8][17]

They have five children, who were baptized Episcopalian:[9] Ronnie, Lori, Rand, Robert, and Joy. There are eighteen grandchildren.[18] Three children are also doctors:[19] Robert specializes in family practice; Joy in ob/gyn like her father; and Rand in eye surgery, in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Rand is also founder of Kentucky Taxpayers United and often speaks on Paul's behalf.[20][21] Paul supported his children during their undergraduate and medical school years, preventing their participation in federal student loans because the program was taxpayer-subsidized. He has rejected a Congressional pension for the same reason.[22][23]

Carol compiled recipes and photos from the large Paul family into a cookbook, originally for 14th district constituents.[19] The book reached five editions and inspired a family "Recipe of the Week" on Paul's Congressional campaign website.[24][25]

He spends as little time in Washington as possible,[26] usually going home to Lake Jackson on weekends to avoid "Potomac fever".[27]

Military service and medical career

Paul considered becoming a Lutheran minister like two of his brothers[10] (Jerrold has a doctorate in counseling and attended Princeton Seminary; David pastors Trinity Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan).[7][13] Instead he decided to pursue a medical degree at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, attaining it in 1961. He interned and began residency training, both in internal medicine, at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit (1961–1962);[28] Carol meanwhile ran a dance school in their basement and raised collies.[8]

The medical training was soon interrupted when he received a draft notice and entered the U.S. Air Force during the Cuban Missile Crisis.[29] He remained in the military during the early years of the Vietnam War.[30] He served active duty as a flight surgeon from 1963 to 1965, attending to the ear, nose, and throat problems of pilots in South Korea, Iran, Ethiopia, and Turkey, but was never sent to Vietnam. Based out of Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Paul achieved the rank of captain[9][31] and obtained his private pilot's license.[15] The experience of performing physicals on helicopter pilot candidates, at a time when he saw many copters being shot down, deeply affected Paul; he later considered his indirect association with Vietnam as a catalyst for his rejection of interventionist foreign policy.[32]

Paul received a higher wage from the Air Force than during his initial residency, $700 per month;[33] he joked that he was "fantastically rich".[15] While in San Antonio, he also moonlighted three nights a week in a local church hospital's emergency room for $3 per hour, and became involved with Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign.[13] He then served in the Air National Guard while completing his residency (1965–1968), having switched to ob/gyn at the University of Pittsburgh.[34] His residency research into causes of pregnancy toxemia was subsequently published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

He moved to Surfside Beach, Texas, on July 3 1968, and eventually delivered more than 4,000 babies.[35] Assuming the practice of a retiring doctor in Lake Jackson, Texas, in a single day, Paul became the only ob/gyn doctor in Brazoria County,[15] reportedly delivering 40–50 babies a month and frequently busy with surgery.[26] His practice refused Medicare and Medicaid payments; he worked pro bono, arranged discounted or custom-payment plans for needy patients,[23] or otherwise "just took care of them".[36]

Early Congressional career

During his early days, Paul was influenced by Friedrich Hayek’s Road to Serfdom, which led him to read many works of Ayn Rand and Ludwig von Mises while still a medical resident in the 1960s. He came to know economists Hans Sennholz and Murray Rothbard well, and credits to them his interest in the study of economics. He clearly remembers August 15 1971, when President Richard Nixon closed the "gold window" by implementing the U.S. dollar's complete departure from the gold standard, as the day he realized what the Austrian school economists wrote was coming true.[32] That same day, the young physician decided to enter politics, saying later, "After that day, all money would be political money rather than money of real value. I was astounded."[26]

First campaigns

Inspired by the monetary crisis he saw predicted by the Austrian school, Vietnam War funding, rampant inflation, and wholesale welfare,[15] Paul became a delegate to the Texas Republican convention and a Republican candidate for Congress. Incumbent Robert R. Casey defeated him in the 22nd district; Democrats won 1974 heavily. When President Gerald Ford appointed Casey to head the Federal Maritime Commission, Paul won a 1976 special election to fill the empty seat. Paul lost some months later in the general election, to Democrat Robert Gammage, by fewer than 300 votes (0.2%), but defeated Gammage in a 1978 rematch and won new terms in 1980 and 1982.

File:Ron Paul and Ronald Reagan in 1976.jpg
Paul led the Texas delegation to nominate Ronald Reagan for president in 1976; (left to right) Paul, Jack Fields, and Reagan aboard Air Force One.

Paul was the first Republican representative from the area;[37] he also led the Texas Reagan delegation at the national Republican convention.[37] His successful campaign against Gammage surprised local Democrats, who had expected to retain the seat easily in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Gammage underestimated Paul's support among local mothers: "I had real difficulty down in Brazoria County, where he practiced, because he'd delivered half the babies in the county. There were only two obstetricians in the county, and the other one was his partner."[38]

House of Representatives

Paul was the first member of Congress to propose term limits legislation in the House,[39] where he also declined to attend junkets or register for a Congressional pension while serving four terms.[40] His chief of staff (1978–1982) was Lew Rockwell.[41] In 1980, when a majority of Republicans favored President Jimmy Carter's proposal to reinstate the draft, Paul argued that their views were inconsistent, stating they were more interested in registering their children than they were their guns.[39] He also proposed legislation to decrease Congressional pay by the rate of inflation; he was a regular participant in the annual Congressional baseball game;[37] and he continued to deliver babies on Mondays and Saturdays during his entire 22nd district career.[26]

During his first term, Paul founded a think tank, the Foundation for Rational Economics and Education (FREE).[42] Also in 1976, the foundation began publication of the first monthly newsletter connected with Paul, Dr. Ron Paul's Freedom Report.[43] It also publishes monographs, books, radio spots, and (since 1997) a new series of the monthly newsletter, Ron Paul's Freedom Report, all of which seek to create a greater public awareness of the principles of limited government.

On the House Banking Committee, Paul blamed the Federal Reserve for inflation,[35] and spoke against the banking mismanagement that led to the savings and loan crisis.[9] The U.S. Gold Commission created by Congress in 1982 was his and Jesse Helms's idea, and Paul's commission minority report was published by the Cato Institute in The Case for Gold;[32] it is now available from the Mises Institute, to which Paul is a distinguished counselor.[44]

In 1984, Paul chose to run for the U.S. Senate instead of re-election to the House, but lost the Republican primary to Phil Gramm.[45] He returned to full-time medical practice[35] and was succeeded by former state representative Tom DeLay.[46] In his House farewell address, Paul said, "Special interests have replaced the concern that the Founders had for general welfare. Vote trading is seen as good politics. The errand-boy mentality is ordinary, the defender of liberty is seen as bizarre. It's difficult for one who loves true liberty and utterly detests the power of the state to come to Washington for a period of time and not leave a true cynic."[41]

1988 presidential campaign

Further information: United States presidential election, 1988

In the 1988 presidential election, Paul defeated activist Russell Means (an Oglala Lakota) to win the Libertarian nomination for president.[9] Though an early adopter of Reagan, Paul criticized the unprecedented deficits incurred under Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush, Paul's opponent.[40] On the ballot in 46 states and the District of Columbia,[47] Paul placed third in the popular vote with 432,179 votes (0.5%),[48] behind Bush and Michael Dukakis.[49] Paul was kept off the ballot in Missouri, and received votes there only when written in, due to what the St. Louis Post-Dispatch called a "technicality".[50]

As the "Libertarian standard bearer",[51][52] Paul gained supporters nationwide who agreed with him on many positions—gun rights, fiscal conservatism, homeschooling, and abortion—and won approval from many who thought the federal government was misdirected elsewhere. This nationwide support base encouraged and donated to his later campaigns.[26] 2008 campaign chair Kent Snyder first worked for Paul on the 1988 campaign—when U.S. Senator John McCain told him, "You're working for the most honest man in Congress."[13][19]

Paul said he sought more during his presidential run than reaching office—he spread his libertarian ideas, often to school and university groups regardless of vote eligibility: "We're just as interested in the future generation as this election. These kids will vote eventually, and maybe, just maybe, they'll go home and talk to their parents."[47] He traveled the country for a year speaking about issues such as free market economics and the rising government deficits:[51] "That's why we talk to a lot of young people. They're the ones who are paying these bills, they're the ones who are inheriting this debt, so it's most likely these young people who will move into this next generation in government."[53]

After the election, Paul continued his medical practice until he returned to Congress.[9][54] He also co-owned a coin dealership, Ron Paul Coins, for twelve years with Burt Blumert, who continued to operate it after Paul returned to office.[55][56] He spoke multiple times at the American Numismatic Association's 1988 convention.[55]

Paul worked with FREE on such projects as establishing the National Endowment for Liberty, producing the At Issue public policy series that aired on Discovery Channel and CNBC,[42] and continuing publication of Dr. Ron Paul's Freedom Report. Based on mastheads, in 1985 Ron Paul & Associates (RP&A), Inc. (minority-owned by Paul), also began publishing The Ron Paul Investment Letter[57] and The Ron Paul Survival Report;[26][58] it added the more controversial Ron Paul Political Report in 1987.[59] In 1992, RP&A earned $940,000 and employed Paul's family as well as Lew Rockwell and seven other workers.[60]

Later Congressional career

Paul's Congressional portrait.

Campaigns

Further information: Texas's 14th Congressional district

1996 campaign

In 1996, Paul was re-elected to Congress after a tougher battle than he had faced in the 1970s. Since the Republicans had taken over both houses of Congress in the 1994 election, Paul entered the race hopeful that his Constitutionalist goals of tax cuts, closing agencies, and curbing the UN would have more influence,[61] but he quickly concluded "there was no sincere effort" toward his goals.[15] The Republican National Committee focused instead on encouraging Democrats to switch parties, as Paul's primary opponent, incumbent Greg Laughlin, had done in 1995. The party threw its full weight behind Laughlin, including support from House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Governor George W. Bush, and the National Rifle Association. Paul responded by running newspaper ads quoting Gingrich's harsh criticisms of Laughlin's Democratic voting record 14 months earlier.[40] Paul won the primary with support from baseball pitcher, constituent, and friend Nolan Ryan (as honorary campaign chair and ad spokesman) and tax activist Steve Forbes.[9][26]

Paul's Democratic opponent in the fall election, trial lawyer Charles "Lefty" Morris, received assistance from the AFL-CIO, but Paul's large contributor base outraised Morris two-to-one, giving the third-highest amount of individual contributions received by any House member (behind Gingrich and Bob Dornan).[62]

While Paul was able to paint Morris as a tool of trial lawyers and big labor, Morris ran numerous ads about Paul's advocacy of federal drug law repeal, and about the "Ron Paul" newsletters,[26] some of which had contained derogatory comments concerning race and other politicians, making them a public issue for the first time.[63][64] Particularly, after the Los Angeles riots of 1992, the Political Report—alluding to a contemporary scientific study finding that "of black men in Washington ... about 85 percent are arrested at some point in their lives"[65][66]—proposed "that 95% of the black males in Washington DC are semi-criminal or entirely criminal", and stated that "the criminals who terrorize our cities ... largely are" young black males, who commit crimes "all out of proportion to their numbers".[67] Paul's campaign replied at the time that voters might not understand the "tongue-in-cheek, academic" quotes out of context, and rejected Morris's demand to release back issues; Paul went on to win the election in a close margin. It became the third time Paul had been elected to Congress as a non-incumbent.[9]

Later campaigns

In 1998 and again in 2000, Paul defeated Loy Sneary, a Democratic Bay City rice farmer and former Matagorda County judge,[26] by running ads warning voters to be "leery of Sneary."[27] Paul accused Sneary of voting to raise his pay by 5%, increasing his travel allotment by 400% in one year, and using increased taxes to start a new government bureaucracy to handle a license plate fee he enacted. Sneary's aides said he had voted to raise all county employees' pay by 5% in a cost-of-living increase. Paul countered that he had never voted to raise Congressional pay.[61][68] In both campaigns, the national Democratic Party and major unions had continued targeting Paul with heavy spending.[26]

In 2001, Paul took "moral responsibility" for the comments printed in the "Ron Paul" newsletters, telling Texas Monthly magazine that they were written by unnamed contributors and did not represent his views.[69] He said newsletter remarks referring to U.S. Representative Barbara Jordan (calling her a "fraud" and a "half-educated victimologist" whose "race and sex protect her from criticism") were "the saddest thing, because Barbara and I served together and actually she was a delightful lady." The magazine defended Paul's decision to protect the writer's confidence in 1996, concluding, "In four terms as a U.S. congressman and one presidential race, Paul had never uttered anything remotely like this."[26]

An online grassroots petition to draft Paul for the 2004 presidential election garnered several thousand signatures.[70] On December 11 2001, he told the independent movement that he was encouraged by the fact that the petition had spread the message of Constitutionalism, but did not expect a White House win at that time.[71] Further prompting in early 2007 led him to enter the 2008 race.

Unlike many political candidates, Paul receives the overwhelming majority of his campaign contributions from individuals[72] (97% in the 2006 cycle), and receives much less from political action committees (PAC's) than others, ranging from 2% (2002) to 6% (1998).[73] The group Clean Up Washington, analyzing from 2000 to mid-2006, listed Paul as seventh-lowest in PAC receipts of all House members; one of the lowest in lobbyist receipts; and fourth-highest in small-donor receipts.[74] He has the lowest PAC receipts percentage of all the 2008 Republican presidential candidates.[75][76]

Paul continued to be re-elected to Congress, starting his tenth term in January 2007.[77] In the March 4 2008, Republican primary for his Congressional seat,[78] he defeated Friendswood city councilman Chris Peden,[79] obtaining 70.18% of the vote.[80]

Relationship with district

After 2003 Texas redistricting, Paul's district is larger than Massachusetts,[81] with 675 miles (1,100 kilometers) of Gulf of Mexico coastline between Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas, covering some 22 counties. Even so, Paul opposes programs like federally funded flood insurance (typically supported by coastal and rural representatives) because it requires those outside flood zones to subsidize those within, but prohibits those within from choosing their own insurers. In an overwhelmingly rural region known for ranching and rice farms,[32] Paul opposes farm subsidies because they are paid to large corporations rather than small farmers.[82] Despite his voting against heavily supported legislation like farm bills, Paul's devotion to reducing government resonates with 14th district voters:[26] in a survey, 54% of his constituency agreed with his goal of eliminating the U.S. Department of Education.[83]

Paul has shifted hundreds of millions of dollars into his home district by conveying constituents' earmark requests to committee, such as for Texas shrimp promotion, but he routinely votes against most spending bills returned by committee.[48][84] Earmarks permit members of Congress, rather than executive branch civil servants, to designate spending priorities[85] for previously authorized funds directed otherwise.[84] Paul compared his practice to objecting to the tax system yet taking all one's tax credits: "I want to get their money back for the people."[86]

Paul also spends extra time in the district to compensate for "violat[ing] almost every rule of political survival you can think of".[26] He often logs over 300 miles (500 kilometers) daily, and is famous for attending civic ceremonies for veterans, graduates, and Boy Scouts, often accompanied by his grandchildren. His staff helps senior citizens obtain free or low-cost prescription drugs through a little-known drug company program; procures lost or unreceived medals for war veterans, holding dozens of medal ceremonies annually; is known for its effectiveness in tracking down Social Security checks; and sends out birthday and condolence cards.[26][84]

In 2001, he was one of only eight doctors in the House; even fewer had continued to practice while in office. He is occasionally approached by younger area residents to thank him for attending their births.[26]

Legislation

Main article: Legislation sponsored by Ron Paul

Paul sponsors many more bills than the average representative, such as those that impose term limits, or abolish the income tax[87] or the Federal Reserve; many do not escape committee review. He has sponsored successful legislation to prevent eminent domain seizure of a church in New York, and a bill transferring ownership of the Lake Texana dam project from the federal government to Texas. By successfully amending other legislation, he has also barred funding for national identification numbers, funding for federal teacher certification,[26] International Criminal Court jurisdiction over the U.S. military, American participation in any U.N. global tax, and surveillance on peaceful First Amendment activities by citizens.[88]

In March 2001, Paul introduced a bill to repeal the 1973 War Powers Resolution (WPR) and reinstate the process of formal declaration of war by Congress.[89] Later in 2001, Paul voted to authorize the president, pursuant to WPR, to respond to those responsible for the September 11, 2001, attacks.[90] He also introduced Sunlight Rule legislation, which requires lawmakers to take enough time to read bills before voting on them,[91] after the massive Patriot Act was passed within 24 hours of its introduction. As one of six Republicans to vote against the Iraq War Resolution, Paul (with Oregon representative Peter DeFazio) also sponsored a resolution to repeal the war authorization in February 2003. Paul's speech, 35 "Questions That Won't Be Asked About Iraq",[92] was translated and published in German, French, Russian, Italian, and Swiss periodicals before the Iraq War began.[84]

Paul says his fellow members of Congress have increased government spending by 75% during George W. Bush's administration.[93] After a 2005 bill was touted as "slashing" government waste, Paul wrote that it decreased spending by a fraction of one percent and that "Congress couldn't slash spending if the members' lives depended on it."[94] He said that between 2001 and early 2004 he had voted against more than 700 bills intended to expand government.[95]

Paul has introduced several bills to apply tax credits toward education, including credits for parental spending on public, private, or homeschool students (Family Education Freedom Act); for salaries for all K–12 teachers, librarians, counselors, and other school personnel; and for donations to scholarships or to benefit academics (Education Improvement Tax Cut Act).[96] In accord with his political positions, he has also introduced the Sanctity of Life Act, the We the People Act, and the American Freedom Agenda Act.[97]

Affiliations

Paul serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee (having been on the Western Hemisphere and the Asia and Pacific subcommittees); the Joint Economic Committee; and the Committee on Financial Services (as Ranking Member of the Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology subcommittee, and Vice-Chair of the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee).[98]

Paul was honorary chair of, and is a current member of, the Republican Liberty Caucus, a political action committee which describes its goal as electing "liberty-minded, limited-government individuals".[99] Paul also hosts a luncheon every Thursday as chair of the Liberty Caucus, composed of 20 members of Congress.[9] He is a founding member of the Congressional Rural Caucus, which deals with agricultural and rural issues, and the 140-member Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus.[100] He remains on good terms with the Libertarian Party and addressed its 2004 convention.[101] He also was endorsed by the Constitution Party's 2004 presidential candidate, Michael Peroutka.[102]

Paul was on a bipartisan coalition of 17 members of Congress that sued President Clinton in 1999 over his conduct of the Kosovo war. They accused Clinton of failing to inform Congress of the action's status within 48 hours as required by WPR, and of failing to obtain Congressional declaration of war as specifically required in the Constitution. Congress had voted 427–2 against a declaration of war with Yugoslavia, and had voted to deny support for the air campaign in Kosovo. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that since Congress had voted for funding after Clinton had actively engaged troops in the war with Kosovo, legislators had sent a confusing message about whether they approved of the war. Paul said that the judge's decision attempted to circumvent the Constitution and to authorize the president to conduct a war without approval from Congress.[103]

2008 presidential campaign

Main article: Ron Paul presidential campaign, 2008
Ron Paul at the Free State Project's Liberty Forum.
Ron Paul being interviewed the day of the New Hampshire primary in Manchester.

"Pleasantly surprised" by his exploratory committee's findings, Paul formally declared his candidacy for the 2008 Republican nomination on March 12 2007, on C-SPAN.[29][104] His campaign has very strong grassroots support, as reflected in dozens of wins in GOP straw polls, his lead in web searches and YouTube subscriptions, and several record-breaking fundraising events. Contributions came largely from individual donors,[105][106][107][108][109] due significantly to a robust online presence and supporters' creative use of viral marketing.[110] Supporter-organized moneybomb fundraisers netted $4.3 million on November 5[111] and $6.0 million on December 16; the latter was widely regarded as the single largest one-day fundraiser in political history.[112] Paul raised more than any other Republican candidate in fourth-quarter 2007.[113] Paul's name has long been a top web search term as ranked by Technorati,[114] and he has led other candidates in YouTube subscriptions since May 20 2007.[115]

Though projections of 2008 Republican delegate counts have varied widely, Paul's count has consistently been third among the three candidates remaining after Super Tuesday. According to CNN[116] and the New York Times,[117] through Super Tuesday, Paul had received 5 delegates in North Dakota, and was projected to receive 2 in Iowa, 4 in Nevada, and 5 in Alaska based on caucus results, totaling 16 delegates. However, Paul's campaign claimed at least 42 delegates as of February 6th based on the same results, including delegates from Colorado, Maine, and Minnesota.[118]

In the January 22 Louisiana caucus, Paul placed second behind John McCain, but uncommitted delegates outnumbered both candidates' pledged delegates, since a registration deadline had been extended to January 12.[119] Paul claimed to have the greatest number of pledged Louisiana delegates who had registered by the original January 10 deadline, and formally challenged the deadline extension and the Louisiana GOP's exclusion of voters due to an outdated list;[120][121] he projected 3 Louisiana delegates. The Super Tuesday West Virginia caucus was won by Mike Huckabee, whose state campaign coordinators reportedly arranged to give 3 Huckabee delegates to Paul in exchange for votes from Paul's supporters.[122] Huckabee has not confirmed this delegate pledge.[123]

Paul's preference votes in primaries and caucuses began at 10% in Iowa and 8% in New Hampshire; on Super Tuesday they ranged from 25% in Montana and 21% in North Dakota and Washington, to 3% in several states.

Newsletter controversy

On January 8, the day of the New Hampshire primary of the 2008 presidential campaign, The New Republic published a story by James Kirchick about the newsletters published by Ron Paul.[124] The story quoted mostly from Paul's newsletters published between 1989 and 1994, and stated that the writings showed "an obsession with conspiracies, sympathy for the right-wing militia movement, and deeply held bigotry." Kirchick noted that the newsletter article previously quoted by Charles Morris had also referred to African-American rioters as "barbarians" and suggested that the riots only stopped when it came time for "blacks to pick up their welfare checks". Other issues gave tactical advice to local militia groups and advanced various conspiracy theories.[125][126] The newsletter articles were often written in the first person and included personal greetings supposedly written by Paul himself.[127]

Responding to Kirchick's story in a press release, the Paul campaign disavowed the quotations, attributing them to writers working on the newsletters while Paul practiced medicine full time.[60] Paul "never uttered such words and denounced such small-minded thoughts," saying Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks were personal heroes because they stood for individual rights, and that he had spoken highly about Parks in a 1999 floor speech in the House of Representatives.[128] The Paul campaign took the position that the Kirchick story was a "rehash" of the decades-old Morris attack.

In an e-mail message regarding his soon-to-be-released story, Kirchick made the following statement: "I don’t think Ron Paul is a homophobe; I’m just cynical and enjoy getting supporters of political candidates riled up."[129]

In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Paul asserted that racism is incompatible with his beliefs and that he sees people as individuals, not as part of collectives. He also dismissed the attack as an attempt to accuse him of racism by proxy, claiming that he has collected more money among African-Americans than any other Republican candidate. Blitzer told Paul that he was "shocked" by the newsletters, because they did not seem to reflect "the Ron Paul that I've come to know, and the viewers have come to know" over the course of several interviews during the campaign.[130]

Nelson Linder, president of the Austin chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), defended Paul. "Knowing Ron Paul's intent, I think he is trying to improve this country but I think also, when you talk about the Constitution and you constantly criticize the federal government versus state I think a lot of folks are going to misconstrue that....so I think it's very easy for folks who want to to take his position out of context, and that's what I'm hearing."[131]

Reporting for Reason magazine, contributing editor Matt Welch found numerous references to the newsletters in news coverage of the 1996 race, many of which he said Paul defended.[132] For instance, Welch points out an Austin American-Statesman article in which Paul's campaign defends the claim that "only about 5 percent of blacks have sensible political opinions." On January 14, The New Republic published more selections from the newsletters.[133] The new selections included a March 1987 and an April 1988 issue of The Ron Paul Investment Letter, which listed Paul as editor.[134][135]

In a January 16 report for Reason, Julian Sanchez and David Weigel uncovered evidence that Lew Rockwell was involved with the newsletters. According to the report, an unnamed source in the Paul campaign and Timothy Wirkman Virkkala, former managing editor of Liberty magazine, acknowledged Rockwell's role in authoring the letters. The report cited sources claiming that the inflammatory and racist rhetoric in the newsletters were a deliberate strategy designed to improve revenues.[60]

Political positions

Main article: Political positions of Ron Paul
Paul at the 2007 National Right to Life Convention in Kansas City, Missouri, June 15, 2007.

Paul's views can best be summarized as libertarian, favoring less government involvement in people's lives. His nickname "Dr. No"[26] reflects both his medical degree and his consistent insistence[136] that he will "never vote for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution."[35][137] Paul adheres deeply to Austrian school economics, opposing fiat money and the Federal Reserve;[38] he has authored six books on the subjects, and displays pictures of classical liberal economists Friedrich Hayek, Murray Rothbard, and Ludwig von Mises (as well as of Grover Cleveland)[48] on his office wall.[22][138]

The only candidate in the 2008 presidential race to earn an A+ rating from Gun Owners of America, Paul has been a lead sponsor of legislation in congress attempting to restore individual Second Amendment rights.[citation needed]

Paul's foreign policy of nonintervention[139] made him the only 2008 Republican presidential candidate to have voted against the Iraq War Resolution in 2002.[140][141] He advocates withdrawal from the UN and NATO for reasons of maintaining strong national sovereignty.[139][142] He supports free trade, rejecting membership in NAFTA and the World Trade Organization as "managed trade". He supports tighter border security and ending welfare benefits for illegal aliens,[143] and opposes birthright citizenship and amnesty[144]; he voted for the Secure Fence Act of 2006. He voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks,[90] but suggested war alternatives such as authorizing the president to grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal targeting specific terrorists.

Paul regularly votes against almost all proposals for new government spending, initiatives, or taxes;[27] he cast two-thirds of all the lone negative votes in the House during a 1995–1997 period.[26] He has pledged never to raise taxes,[35][145] and states he has never voted to approve a deficit budget. Paul would abolish the individual income tax by scaling back the federal budget to its 2000 spending levels.[87][146] Rather than taxing personal income, which he says assumes that the government owns individuals' lives and labor, he prefers the federal government to be funded through excise taxes and/or uniform, non-protectionist tariffs.[147] He would eliminate most federal government agencies, calling them unnecessary bureaucracies.[148] Paul is also vocal in his opposition to inflation, arguing that the longterm erosion of the dollar's purchasing power arises from its lack of commodity (such as gold) backing, which would restrain excess "printing" of money and consequent devaluation. Paul says he "wouldn't exactly go back on the gold standard,"[149] but would push to legalize gold and silver as legal tender and remove sales taxes on them, so that gold-backed notes (or other types of hard money) and digital gold currencies[150] can compete on a level playing field with fiat Federal Reserve notes, allowing individuals a choice whether to use "sound money" to protect their purchasing power or to continue using fiat money.[151] He advocates gradual elimination of the Federal Reserve central bank for many reasons, believing that economic volatility is decreased when the free market determines interest rates and money supply.[152] He favors allowing workers to opt out of Social Security to "protect the system for everyone."[153]

Paul strongly supports Constitutional rights, the right to bear arms, deregulation of the Internet (including thorough opposition to Net Neutrality, though he later softened this stance[154][155][156]), jury nullification,[157] and habeas corpus for political detainees.[158] Civil liberties concerns have led him to oppose the Patriot Act[159][160], a national ID card[161][162], federal government use of torture[163], domestic surveillance[160], presidential autonomy[163], and the draft[164][165][166][167]. Citing the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, and the lack of federal murder statutes -- devolving murder to be state and local offences, Paul defers to states' rights to decide how to regulate social matters not directly found in the Constitution.[168] Paul calls himself "strongly pro-life,"[169] "an unshakable foe of abortion,"[170] and believes regulation of medical decisions about maternal or fetal health[171] is "best handled at the state level."[172][173] (He says his years as an obstetrician lead him to believe life begins at conception;[174] his pro-life legislation, like the Sanctity of Life Act, is intended to negate Roe v. Wade for ethical reasons and to get "the federal government completely out of the business of regulating state matters.")[175][176] He also opposes federal regulation of the death penalty,[172] of education,[177] and of marriage. He has voted against federal funding of joint adoption by unmarried couples (including same-sex adoption); he also supports revising enforcement of the military "don't ask, don't tell" policy to focus on disruptive behavior and include members with heterosexual as well as homosexual behavior issues.[178][179] As a free-market environmentalist, he defers to private property rights in relation to environmental protection and pollution prevention.[180] He also opposes the federal War on Drugs[181][182][183], wishing to leave the decision on whether to regulate or deregulate drugs, including medical marijuana, to the states[184]. Paul advocates for the elimination of federal involvement and management of health care[185], which he argues would allow prices to drop[186] due to the fundamental dynamics of a free market[187].

Books and articles authored

  • Paul, Ron; Hayashi, Terry; Pardo, Victoriano; and Fisher, Edwin (1969). "Evaluation of Renal Biopsy in Pregnancy Toxemia". Obstetrics and Gynecology. 34. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: 235–241. Retrieved 2007-12-13.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Paul, Ron (1981). Gold, Peace, and Prosperity: The Birth of a New Currency (PDF). Lake Jackson, Tex.: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
  • Paul, Ron, and Lehrman, Lewis (1982). The Case for Gold: a Minority Report of the U.S. Gold Commission (PDF). Washington, DC: Cato Institute, September 1982; Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2007. ISBN 0932790313. Retrieved 2007-07-30.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Paul, Ron (1983). Abortion and Liberty. Foundation for Rational Economics and Education. ISBN 0912453028.
  • Paul, Ron (1983). Ten Myths About Paper Money. Lake Jackson, Tex.: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education.
  • Paul, Ron (1984). Mises and Austrian Economics: A Personal View (PDF). Auburn, Ala.: Ludwig von Mises Institute. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
  • Paul, Ron (1987). Freedom Under Siege: The U.S. Constitution After 200 Years (PDF). Lake Jackson, Tex.: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education; Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
  • Paul, Ron (1990). Challenge to Liberty: Coming to Grips with the Abortion Issue. Lake Jackson, Tex.: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education.
  • Paul, Ron (1991). The Ron Paul Money Book. Plantation Publishing.
  • Paul, Ron (2000). A Republic, If You Can Keep It. House of Representatives.
  • Paul, Ron (2002). The Ron Paul – Liberty In Media Awards – 2001. Jersey City, New Jersey: Ron Paul – Liberty In Media Awards. ISBN 1893958841.
  • Paul, Ron (2004). The Ron Paul – Liberty In Media Awards – vol. 3 - 2003. Jersey City, New Jersey: Ron Paul – Liberty In Media Awards. ISBN 1893958-24-8.
  • Paul, Ron (2007). A Foreign Policy of Freedom. Lake Jackson, Tex.: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education. ISBN 0912453001.
  • Paul, Ron (2008). Pillars of Prosperity. Auburn, Ala.: Ludwig von Mises Institute.
  • Paul, Ron (2008). The Revolution: A Manifesto. New York, NY.: Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 0446537519.

References

  1. ^ "Ron Paul Background". Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life: Religion & Politics '08. Pew Research Center. September 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Baldwin, Chuck (2007-11-06). "An Appeal To My Fellow Pastors". NewsWithViews.com. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
  3. ^ Paul, Ron (2003-06-04). "Pro-Life Action Must Originate from Principle". Congressional Record. U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
  4. ^ Hinckley, David. "Margaret (Peggy) Dumont". GEDview. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  5. ^ Reitwiesner, William Addams. "The Ancestors of Ron Paul". Wargs. Retrieved 2007-05-20.
  6. ^ Sanders, Eli (2007-08-09). "Running on Angry". Stranger. Eli Sanders. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  7. ^ a b Roelofs, Ted (2007-10-19). "One brother in pulpit, another seeks White House". Grand Rapids Press. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Paul, Carol (2007-03-16). "The American Dream - Through the Eyes of Mrs. Ron Paul". Daily Paul.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Caldwell, Christopher (2007-07-22). "The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medicare Candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul". New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  10. ^ a b "Profile: Republican Ron Paul". Seattle Times. 2007-07-29. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
  11. ^ "Alameda Sprinter Rates with Greatest Prep Runners". Alameda Times-Star. 1954-05-24. Retrieved 2007-12-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ a b Wereschagin, Mike (2007-06-17). "Presidential candidate Ron Paul drawing diverse crowds". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  13. ^ a b c d Treul, Dan (2007-11-06). "An Interview with Ron Paul's Brother: Spreading the Good News (But Not From the Pulpit)". Off the Bus. Huffington Post. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  14. ^ "Past Order of Achievement Award Recipients". Lambda Chi Alpha. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  15. ^ a b c d e f Barrick, Chris (November 2007). "Ron Paul's Presidential Bid". Cross and Crescent. Lambda Chi Alpha. Retrieved 2007-11-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Gettysburg Men's Track & Field: All-Time Top Ten Outdoor Performers". Gettysburg College. 2007-06-01. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  17. ^ Stritof, Sheri, and Stritof, Bob (2007-07-25). "Carol and Ron Paul Marriage Profile". About.com. Retrieved 2007-11-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Message from Ron Paul". Ron Paul 2008. 2007-09-20. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  19. ^ a b c Blakeslee, Nate (2007-08-01). "The Elephant in the Room" (subscription). Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  20. ^ Pyeatt, Matt (2007-05-24). "The First Family???". Daily Paul.
  21. ^ "Dr. Rand Paul: Upcoming Events". Ron Paul 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  22. ^ a b Dougherty, Michael Brendan (2007-06-18). "Lone Star: Maverick Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul finds that being right is the one thing his party won't forgive". American Conservative. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ a b Burton, Danielle (2007-03-23). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Ron Paul". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  24. ^ "Ron Paul Family Cookbooks". Food Company Cookbooks. 2007-05-30. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  25. ^ "From the Desk of Carol Paul". Committee to Re-Elect Ron Paul 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Gwynne, Sam C. (2001-10-01). "Dr. No". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  27. ^ a b c Copeland, Libby (2006-07-09). "Congressman Paul's Legislative Strategy? He'd Rather Say Not". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ "Paul, Ronald Ernest". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. U.S. Congress. Retrieved 2007-05-20.
  29. ^ a b "Congressman Ron Paul Announces Presidential Run while taking LIVE calls on C-SPAN!" (video). the Hill. Capitol Hill Broadcasting Network. 2007-03-20. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  30. ^ Brockwell, Ian (2007-07-15). "Ron Paul — A True Patriot!". American Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  31. ^ "Representative Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul (TX)". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  32. ^ a b c d "In Defense of our "Unalienable Rights"". J. Taylor's Gold & Technology Stocks. 2000-05-11.
  33. ^ "Ron Paul, M.D. Speaks on Health Care". Dartmouth Review. 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  34. ^ "Congressman Ron Paul — "Fighting For Our Country"". Committee to Re-Elect Ron Paul 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  35. ^ a b c d e "About Ron Paul". Ron Paul 2008. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ Liebowitz, Sarah (2007-09-30). "Many Awakenings: Ron Paul is as surprised as anyone at the near messianic zeal he inspires". Concord Monitor. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
  37. ^ a b c "The Ron Paul Story". YouTube. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  38. ^ a b Goodwyn, Wade (2007-10-07). "Paul Has Long Drawn Support from Unlikely Places". The '08 Candidates' First Campaign. National Public Radio. Retrieved 2007-10-23. Cite error: The named reference "npron70s" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  39. ^ a b "The Libertarian Congressman Is Back". Wall Street Journal. 1997-01-13. p. A18. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
  40. ^ a b c Beiler, David (1996-06). "Paul vs. Laughlin — Ron Paul's campaign against Representative Greg Laughlin". Campaigns and Elections. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  41. ^ a b Berlau, John (1997-01-10). "Insight on the News".
  42. ^ a b "Introduction to FREE and NEFL". Foundation for Rational Economics and Education. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
  43. ^ Paul, Ron, attrib. (1978). "The absence of force and toleration of others is the key to peace and prosperity" (PDF (reprint)). Dr. Ron Paul's Freedom Report. 3 (4). Foundation for Rational Economics and Education. Retrieved 2008-02-13. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  44. ^ "The Presidential Field: Ron Paul". Washington Post. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
  45. ^ Rudin, Ken (2007-07-26). "National Public Radio".
  46. ^ "Members and leaders of the Texas Legislature". Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  47. ^ a b "Now for a Real Underdog: Ron Paul, Libertarian, for President". New York Times. 1988-10-17.
  48. ^ a b c Will, George F (2007-02-18). "A Cheerful Anachronism". Newsweek. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  49. ^ "1988 VOTE: The Final Word". New York Times. 1988-12-29.
  50. ^ "IF YOU DON'T LIKE BUSH OR DUKAKIS . . . LIBERTARIAN CANDIDATE OFFERS COMMON-SENSE POLICIES FOR AMERICA". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1988-11-07.
  51. ^ a b "The perils of punditry: The US election campaign". Economist. 1988-11-05. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
  52. ^ Attlesey, Sam (1988-09-04). "Warning: Political Campaigns set to Tackle Texas". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
  53. ^ "Interview with Ron Paul, 1988" (video). 1988. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
  54. ^ Doherty, Brian (1999). "Eminentoes: A principled maverick" (subscription). American Spectator. 32 (11). Retrieved 2008-02-13. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  55. ^ a b Doyle, Al (2007-07-23). "Presidential candidate Paul passionate over hard money: Texas legislator once ran investment coin firm" (PDF). Coin World. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  56. ^ Taylor, Jay (2006-03-17). "Congressman Ron Paul Talks About Gold, Oil & the Economy". J. Taylor's Gold & Technology Stocks. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  57. ^ No byline (1986). ""Conservatives" Join Trilateral Commission" (PDF (reprint)). The Ron Paul Investment Letter. 2 (12). Ron Paul & Associates. Retrieved 2008-02-13. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  58. ^ No byline (1994-11-15). "Our 10th Year!" (PDF (reprint)). The Ron Paul Survival Report. 10 (11). Ron Paul & Associates. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  59. ^ No byline (1990-03-15). "Poor Andy Roony!" (PDF (reprint)). Ron Paul Political Report. 4 (3). Ron Paul & Associates. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  60. ^ a b c Sanchez, Julian, and Weigel, David (2008-01-16). "Who Wrote Ron Paul's Newsletters? Libertarian movement veterans, and a Paul campaign staffer, say it was "paleolibertarian" strategist Lew Rockwell". Reason. Retrieved 2008-02-13.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Cite error: The named reference "whowrote" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  61. ^ a b "Paul vs. Sneary". Human Events. 1998-06-26. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  62. ^ Doherty, Brian (2007-01-22). "Paul for President?: The maverick libertarian Republican talks on war, immigration, and presidential ambition". Reason. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  63. ^ Bernstein, Alan (1996-05-22). "Campaign '96 U.S. House: Newsletter excerpts offer ammunition to Paul's opponent: GOP hopeful quoted on race, crime". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-10-05. Black males age 13 [were] as big, strong, tough, scary and culpable as any adult" and could be "unbelievably fleet-footed" in committing crimes; President Bill Clinton was accused of fathering illegitimate children and using cocaine; "complex embezzling" became a "100 percent white and Asian" crime; the Israeli government was labeled a powerful Washington lobby "of the bad sort.
  64. ^ "The Congressman Who Voted Against a Congressional Medal for Rosa Parks". Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. 24: 38–9. Summer 1999.
  65. ^ Deparle, Jason (1992-04-18). "42% of Young Black Males Go Through Capital's Courts". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
  66. ^ Miller, Jerome G. (1992). Hobbling a Generation: African American Males in the District of Columbia's Criminal Justice System. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
  67. ^ No byline (1992-06-15). "This is America, 1992" (PDF (reprint)). Ron Paul Political Report. 6 (6). Ron Paul & Associates. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  68. ^ "Foes lock horns over Paul's radio ads". Campaign Notebook. Houston Chronicle. 1998-08-14. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
  69. ^ "Ron Paul Race Smear Erased?". Free Market News. Free Market News Network. 2007-05-22. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  70. ^ Allan, Sterling D. "Ron Paul for President 2004". Petition Online.
  71. ^ Allan, Sterling D. (2001-12-11). "Ron Paul's Response to "Ron Paul for President 2004" Petition". DRAFT Ron Paul for United States President 2004. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
  72. ^ "Ron Paul: Campaign Finance/Money". Contributions. Open Secrets. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  73. ^ "PAC Contributions to Paul, Ron (R-TX)". Open Secrets. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  74. ^ "Under the Influence: Highlights from Public Citizen's Special Interest Index" (PDF). Public Citizen. 2006-10. Retrieved 2007-06-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  75. ^ "2008 Presidential Election: Ron Paul Campaign Money". Open Secrets. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  76. ^ "2008 Presidential Election: Banking on Becoming President". Open Secrets. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  77. ^ "State Races: Texas". Elections 2006. Cable News Network. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
  78. ^ Associated Press (2007-02-09). "Paul Vows to Remain a Republican in Race". Sentinel and Enterprise. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
  79. ^ "Paul gets primary challenger". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  80. ^ "2008 Republican Party Primary Election". Texas Secretary of State. 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  81. ^ Pressley, Sue Ann (1996-05-26). "GOP House Candidate Responds to Charges". Washington Post. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  82. ^ Balko, Radley (2007-02-20). "Ron Paul, the Real Republican?". Straight Talk. Fox News. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  83. ^ Paul, Ron (1997-07-20). "Parents must have control of education". Texas Straight Talk. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  84. ^ a b c d Murray, Shailagh (2003-03-10). "A Far-Right Texan Inspires Antiwar Left". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
  85. ^ Utt, Ronald D., Ph.D., and Summers, Christopher B (2002-03-15). "Can Congress Be Embarrassed into Ending Wasteful Pork-Barrel Spending?". Backgrounder. Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 2008-03-17.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  86. ^ Associated Press (2007-12-23). "Ron Paul defends asking for special projects". Politics. MSNBC. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  87. ^ a b Paul, Ron (2003-01-30). "End the Income Tax—Pass the Liberty Amendment". Congressional Record. U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  88. ^ Bresnahan, John (2007-10-10). "Paul says Americans' freedoms under siege". Politico. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
  89. ^ Dougherty, Jon (2001-03-13). "Bill would restore Congress' war powers". WorldNetDaily. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
  90. ^ a b "Key Vote (How all members voted): Authorization for Use of Military Force". Project Vote Smart. 2005-02-03. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  91. ^ Paul, Ron (2007-09-16). "The Sunlight Rule". Texas Straight Talk. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
  92. ^ Paul, Ron (2002-09-10). "Questions That Won't Be Asked About Iraq". Congressional Record. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
  93. ^ Paul, Ron (October 2007). "Taxes". Ron Paul 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  94. ^ Paul, Ron (2005-11-15). "Too Little Too Late". Lew Rockwell. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
  95. ^ Yates, Ph.D., Steven (2004-04-07). "An Evening With Dr. Ron Paul". Lew Rockwell. Retrieved 2007-09-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  96. ^ "Rep. Paul Introduces Education Package". Education Exchange. Education Policy. 1999-03. Retrieved 2007-09-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  97. ^ "Tell your U.S. Representative to co-sponsor the American Freedom Agenda Act". American Freedom Campaign. 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  98. ^ "Who is Ron Paul?". House of Representatives. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
  99. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Republican Liberty Caucus. 2002. Retrieved 2007-03-17.
  100. ^ "The Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus". National Wildlife Refuge Association. 2008-01-15. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  101. ^ "President's Corner". Liberator Online, 9:10. Advocates for Self-Government. 2004-06-09. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  102. ^ Staff Selections (2007-09-26). "Ron Paul Triple Nomination Threat?". Free Market News. Free Market News Network. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
  103. ^ Paul, Ron (1999-06-09). "Judge sides with Clinton". House of Representatives. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  104. ^ Martin, Gary (2007-03-12). "Paul formally launches presidential bid". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  105. ^ Associated Press (2007-05-17). "Texas Congressman Ron Paul Hopes to Garner Support for Presidential Bid with Internet, Debates". Fox News. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  106. ^ Stephanopoulos, George (2007-07-06). "Ron Paul Tops McCain in Cash on Hand". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
  107. ^ Center for Responsive Politics (2008-02-01). "Ron Paul Campaign Money". Race for the White House. Open Secrets. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  108. ^ Englehardt, T (2007-07-23). "Why the US Military Loves Ron Paul". Nation. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  109. ^ Roth, Bennett, Dunham, Richard S., and Davis, Chase (2007-08-06). "Paul leads in donations from military voters, with Obama next". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-12-07.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  110. ^ Klein, Rick (2007-05-05). "The Ron Paul Effect: Congressman Seeks Republican Nomination Backed by Libertarian Faithful". ABC News. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  111. ^ "Paul's Money Draws Attention". Guardian Unlimited. 2007-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  112. ^ Associated Press (2007-12-18). "Ron Paul, a Republican outsider, sets fund-raising record". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
  113. ^ Malcolm, Andrew (2008-02-01). "News shocker: Ron Paul was biggest GOP fundraiser last quarter". Top of the Ticket. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  114. ^ Wilson, Chris (2007-05-09). "Ron Paul's Online Rise". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
  115. ^ "Paul #1, Obama #2". Ron Paul 2008. 2007-05-20. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
  116. ^ "RESULTS: Ron Paul". Election Center 2008 Primaries and Caucuses. CNN. 2008-02-13. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  117. ^ "Primary Season Election Results". Election Guide 2008. New York Times. 2008-02-13. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  118. ^ "Ron Paul National Delegate Count Now 42 or More". Ron Paul 2008. 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  119. ^ Geraghty, Jim (2008-01-23). "Louisiana Votes Clarified". The Campaign Spot. National Review. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  120. ^ Wolf, Z. Byron (2008-01-24). "Paul Alleges Boondoggle on the Bayou". Political Radar. ABC News. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  121. ^ Associated Press (2008-01-26). "Paul contests delegate credentials in Louisiana". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  122. ^ Johnson, Alex; et al. (2008-02-05). "Old-fashioned deal-making wins in W.Va.: Huckabee freezes out Romney for GOP victory with 'backroom' agreement". Decision '08. MSNBC. Retrieved 2008-02-13. {{cite news}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
  123. ^ Rhee, Foon (2008-02-05). "Paul claims delegates in West Virginia". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  124. ^ Savage, Charlie (2008-01-08). "Ron Paul's explosive newsletters". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  125. ^ Kirchick, James (2008-01-08). "Angry White Man". The New Republic. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  126. ^ No byline (2008-01-08). "Selections from Ron Paul's Newsletters". The New Republic. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  127. ^ No byline (1990-12-15). "Happy Holidays!" (PDF). Ron Paul Political Report. 4 (12). Ron Paul & Associates, Inc. Retrieved 2008-03-03. My wife Carol, and our children and grandchildren, join me in wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  128. ^ Business Wire (2008-01-08). "Ron Paul Statement on The New Republic Article Regarding Old Newsletters". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-01-17. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  129. ^ Szoka, Berin M. (2008-01-07). "Jamie Kirchick: "I don't think Ron Paul is a homophobe; I'm just cynical"". Gays & Lesbians for Ron Paul. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  130. ^ Blitzer, Wolf (2008-01-10). "Ron Paul Addresses Charges of Racism; F-15s Grounded Forever?". The Situation Room. CNN. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  131. ^ "Radio Interview with NAACP President" (video). YouTube.
  132. ^ Welch, Matt (2008-01-11). ""Old News"? "Rehashed for Over a Decade"?". Hit & Run. Reason. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  133. ^ No byline (2008-01-14). "More Selections From Ron Paul's Newsletters". The New Republic. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  134. ^ No byline (1987-03-15). "Masthead" (PDF). The Ron Paul Investment Letter. 3 (3). Ron Paul & Associates, Inc. Retrieved 2008-03-03. Editor and Publisher: the Hon. Ron Paul. Nadia Hayes, Vice President and Treasurer. Contributing Editors: Gary Allen (1936-1986); Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.; William Sumner; Christopher Weber; Sam Wells. Jean McIver, Subscription Manager.
  135. ^ No byline (1998-04-15). "Masthead" (PDF). The Ron Paul Investment Letter. 4 (4). Ron Paul & Associates, Inc. Retrieved 2008-03-03. Editor: Ron Paul. Publisher: Nadia Hayes. Contributing editor: William Sumner. Subscription manager: Jean McIver.
  136. ^ Peterson, Liz Austin (2007-08-02). "Ron Paul remains longshot for GOP nom". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-11-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  137. ^ Memmott, Mark (2007-03-12). "Add Rep. Ron Paul - 'Dr. No' - to list of '08 hopefuls". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  138. ^ "Murray Rothbard". America: From Freedom to Fascism.
  139. ^ a b Paul, Ron (2007-05-22). "Patriotism". Congressional Record. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  140. ^ Paul, Ron (2002-09-04). "Arguments Against a War in Iraq". Congressional Record. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  141. ^ Paul, Ron (2002-10-08). "Statement Opposing the use of Military Force against Iraq". Congressional Record. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  142. ^ "Ron Paul's Libertarian Message Attracts Supporters". All Things Considered. National Public Radio. 2007-07-25. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  143. ^ Paul, Ron (2005-08-09). "Immigration and the Welfare State". Lew Rockwell. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  144. ^ Paul, Ron. "Issue: Border Security and Immigration Reform". Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign Committee. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
  145. ^ Kartch, John (2007-04-24). "Rep. Ron Paul Signs Presidential Taxpayer Protection Pledge". Americans for Tax Freedom. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  146. ^ "Paul Want Less Government, Less Taxes, and Abolish IRS: Limit federal power, per the 10th Amendment". Antiwar President. 2007-09-13. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  147. ^ Interview with Ron Paul at Google headquarters, July 14, 2007 [1]
  148. ^ Maymin, Phil (2007-06-21). "The Book on Paul: Presidential candidate Ron Paul is the anti-war conscience of the Republican Party". Fairfield Weekly. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  149. ^ Interview with Ron Paul after New Hampshire presidential debate on June 5, 2007. Available on YouTube [2]
  150. ^ Ron Paul Talks About Digital Gold Currency, Digital Money World
  151. ^ Interview with Ron Paul on Fox Business Network 10/16/2007 [3] ; Interview with Ron Paul on CNBC, Kudlow & Company [4] [5]
  152. ^ Paul, Ron (2007-09-11). "Question and Answer session following Keynote speech at the Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies forum "Foreign Policy: A View from a Presidential Candidate"". Ron Paul Audio. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  153. ^ "TRANSCRIPT: The Republican Debate on Fox News Channel". New York Times. 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2007-10-23. We need to allow the young people to just flat out get out of the system. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  154. ^ Paul, Ron (2006-07-11). "Paul on H.R. 4411, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act". Congressional Record. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  155. ^ "Ron Paul on Technology". Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  156. ^ "Ron Paul Softens Stance On Net Neutrality; Talks On Other Tech Issues". 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  157. ^ Paul, Ron (1987). Freedom Under Siege: The U.S. Constitution After 200 Years (PDF). Lake Jackson, Tex.: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education. pp. 23–27. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  158. ^ Sullivan, Andrew (2007-05-11). "Taking Ron Paul Seriously". Daily Dish. Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  159. ^ Paul, Ron (2005-07-25). "The Patriot Act Four Years Later". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  160. ^ a b Paul, Ron (2005-12-26). "Domestic Surveillance and the Patriot Act". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  161. ^ McCullagh, Declan (2005-02-14). "National ID cards on the way?". Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  162. ^ Benton, Jesse (2008-01-20). "Watchdog Group: Ron Paul is 'Strongest Opponent' of Real ID". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  163. ^ a b Paul, Ron (2006-04-14). "Torture, War, and Presidential Powers". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  164. ^ Paul, Ron (2004-10-05). "Reject Draft Slavery". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  165. ^ Paul, Ron (2006-11-27). "Rethinking the Draft". Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  166. ^ Paul, Ron (2003-11-21). "Conscription- The Terrible Price of War". Congressional Record. U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  167. ^ Paul, Ron (2003-01-13). "Conscription is Collectivism". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  168. ^ Paul, Ron (2003-08-12). "Federal Courts and the Imaginary Constitution". Lew Rockwell. Retrieved 2007-12-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  169. ^ "PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2260, PAIN RELIEF PROMOTION ACT OF 1999". Congressional Record. House of Representatives. 1999-10-27. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
  170. ^ Paul, Ron (2007). "Life and Liberty". Ron Paul 2008. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  171. ^ Paul, Ron (2006-01-31). "Federalizing Social Policy". Retrieved 2008-01-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  172. ^ a b Lofton, John (August 2007). "Excerpts From Our Exclusive Ron Paul Interview". American View. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  173. ^ "Paul says merger plans must be derailed: 'You cannot amend the Constitution with a treaty'". Election 2008 Q&A. WorldNetDaily. 2007-07-10. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  174. ^ Murtagh, Joseph (2007-06-28). "An Interview with Presidential Candidate Congressman Ron Paul". Muckraker Report. Team Liberty. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
  175. ^ Paul, Ron (2006-01-31). "Federalizing Social Policy". Lew Rockwell. Retrieved 2007-11-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  176. ^ Eddlem, Thomas R. (2005-05-02). "Who had the right to rule? Accusations about the abuses of constitutional authority in the Terri Schiavo case get cleared up". New American. American Opinion Publishing, Inc. Retrieved 2007-10-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  177. ^ "Ron Paul on Education: Republican Representative (TX-14)". On the Issues. 2007-09-01. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  178. ^ "Candidates@Google: Ron Paul". Google. 2007-07-13. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  179. ^ "Transcript of June 5 "CNN/WMUR/New Hampshire Union Leader" Republican presidential debate". CNN. 2007-06-05. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  180. ^ Miller, Dennis (2007-05-30). "Ron Paul Interview". Dennis Miller Radio. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  181. ^ Paul, Ron (2004-04-17). "The War on Drugs is a War on Doctors". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  182. ^ Paul, Ron (2001-10-30). "War On Terror? It's As Bad As War on Drugs". counterpunch. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  183. ^ Paul, Ron (2004-04-19). "The Federal War on Pain Relief". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  184. ^ Paul, Ron (2003-05-26). "The Federal Government Bully in State and Local Elections". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  185. ^ Paul, Ron (2006-09-25). "Diagnosing our Health Care Woes". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  186. ^ Paul, Ron (2006-08-21). "Lowering the Cost of Health Care". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  187. ^ Paul, Ron (2004-05-03). "Free Market Medicine". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ron Paul.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Ron Paul.
Wikisource has original works by or about:
Ron Paul
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 22nd congressional district
1976–1977 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 22nd congressional district
1979–1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 14th congressional district
1997–present 		Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Libertarian Party presidential candidate
1988 (3rd) 		Succeeded by


Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ron_Paul&oldid=198930224"