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Congressman Ron Paul of Texas enjoys a national reputation as the premier advocate for liberty in politics today. Dr. Paul is the leading spokesman in Washington for limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency. He is known among both his colleagues in Congress and his constituents for his consistent voting record in the House of Representatives; Dr. Paul never votes for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution. He has earned the nickname "Dr. No" for voting against any bill he believes violates the Constitution. In the words of former Treasury Secretary William Simon, Dr. Paul is the "one exception to the Gang of 535" on Capitol Hill.
Congressman Ron Paul of Texas enjoys a national reputation as the premier advocate for liberty in politics today. Dr. Paul is the leading spokesman in Washington for limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency. He is known among both his colleagues in Congress and his constituents for his consistent voting record in the House of Representatives; Dr. Paul never votes for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution. He has earned the nickname "Dr. No" for voting against any bill he believes violates the Constitution. In the words of former Treasury Secretary William Simon, Dr. Paul is the "one exception to the Gang of 535" on Capitol Hill.


Paul was the [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]] nominee for [[President of the United States|president]] in the [[United States presidential election, 1988|1988 election]]. After placing third in the election, Paul returned to Congress in 1997. He was again elected as a Republican and continues his tenure as Congressman. On [[11 January]] [[2007]], Paul announced the formation of an [[exploratory committee]] for a [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008 presidential campaign]]. He formally declared his candidacy [[12 March]] [[2007]] as a guest on [[Washington Journal]] on [[C-SPAN]].[http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA031207.paul2008.EN.74141d9.html]
Paul ran for [[President of the United States|president]] in the [[United States presidential election, 1988|1988 election]]. After placing third in the election, Paul returned to Congress in 1997. He was again elected as a Republican and continues his tenure as Congressman. On [[11 January]] [[2007]], Paul announced the formation of an [[exploratory committee]] for a [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008 presidential campaign]]. He formally declared his candidacy [[12 March]] [[2007]] as a guest on [[Washington Journal]] on [[C-SPAN]].[http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA031207.paul2008.EN.74141d9.html]
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Brief Overview of Congressman Ron Paul’s Record<br>
Brief Overview of Congressman Ron Paul’s Record<br>

Revision as of 19:16, 25 April 2007

Template:Future election candidate

Ron Paul
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 14th district
In office
1976–1977; 1979–1985; 1997–present
Preceded byRob Casey; Bob Gammage; Greg Laughlin
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
SpouseCarol Paul
ProfessionPhysician

Ronald Ernest “Ron” Paul (born 20 August 1935) is a 10th-term Congressman, medical doctor (M.D.) and presidential candidate from the U.S. state of Texas. As a Republican, he has represented Texas's 14th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997, and had previously served as the representative from Texas's 22nd district in 1976 and from 1979 to 1985.

Congressman Ron Paul of Texas enjoys a national reputation as the premier advocate for liberty in politics today. Dr. Paul is the leading spokesman in Washington for limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency. He is known among both his colleagues in Congress and his constituents for his consistent voting record in the House of Representatives; Dr. Paul never votes for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution. He has earned the nickname "Dr. No" for voting against any bill he believes violates the Constitution. In the words of former Treasury Secretary William Simon, Dr. Paul is the "one exception to the Gang of 535" on Capitol Hill.

Paul ran for president in the 1988 election. After placing third in the election, Paul returned to Congress in 1997. He was again elected as a Republican and continues his tenure as Congressman. On 11 January 2007, Paul announced the formation of an exploratory committee for a 2008 presidential campaign. He formally declared his candidacy 12 March 2007 as a guest on Washington Journal on C-SPAN.[1]

Brief Overview of Congressman Ron Paul’s Record
He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.

He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

Congressman Paul introduces numerous pieces of substantive legislation each year, probably more than any single member of Congress.

Early life and education

Paul was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Howard Caspar Paul and Margaret Paul.[1][2] He graduated from Dormont High School in Dormont, Pennsylvania, in 1953. Paul attended Gettysburg College, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1957, and the Duke University School of Medicine, receiving M.D. in 1961. He did his internship and residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit from 1961 to 1962, and was a flight surgeon in the United States Air Force from 1963 to 1968. He and his wife Carol moved to Texas in 1968, where he began his medical practice in Brazoria County. As a specialist in obstetrics/gynecology, Dr. Paul has delivered more than 4,000 babies. He and Carol, who reside in Lake Jackson, Texas, are the proud parents of five children and have seventeen grandchildren.

Early political career

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 the incumbent Democrat Robert R. Casey. When President Gerald R. Ford appointed Casey as head of the Federal Maritime Commission, a special election was held in April 1976 to replace him. Paul won that election but lost six months later in the general election to Democrat Robert A. Gammage. He then defeated Gammage in a 1978 rematch. Paul won new terms in 1980 and 1982. He was the first congressman to propose term limit legislation for the House of Representatives. Paul was an unsuccessful candidate for US Senate in the 1984 GOP primary. In 1985, Paul returned to medical practice. He was succeeded by Tom DeLay.

In 1988, Paul won the nomination of the Libertarian Party for the U.S. Presidency. He placed third in the popular vote (with 431,750 votes - 0.47%), behind George H. W. Bush and Michael Dukakis.

Return to Congress

In 1996, Paul was again elected to the House as a Republican. Mainstream Republican Party figures backed the incumbent, Greg Laughlin, a conservative Democrat 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 Texas 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 had with the Democratic Party (though Jeffords was elected as a Republican and was officially an independent until his retirement in January 2007). Paul was convincingly re-elected in 2000 and 2002. He was elected unopposed in 2004 to his ninth term in the Congress, and was re-elected again in 2006 by a 20-point margin.[3]

Political affiliations and support

Ron Paul joined the Libertarian Party in 1987 as a lifetime member, a status which he appears never to have renounced. Though only elected to Congress as a Republican, Paul remains on good terms with the Libertarian Party and addressed its national convention as recently as 2004.[4]

Libertarian Party spokesman George Getz said that thousands of libertarians across the United States donated money to Ron Paul's campaign funds. Campaign disclosures reveal that 71.4 percent of contributions to Paul's coffers come from outside his home state of Texas. [5] Unlike many political candidates, Paul receives the overwhelming majority of his campaign contributions (92.5% in 2004 and 96.8% in 2006) from individuals. [6][7]

Paul is also a former national chair, and current member, of the Republican Liberty Caucus, a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of individual rights, limited government and free enterprise within the Republican Party.[8]

Views

Main article: Political views of Ron Paul

Ron Paul is a strict Constitutionalist who professes a libertarian ideology. He opposes presidential autonomy, judicial activism, entangling alliances, deficit spending, and fiat currency. He has sought to improve ballot access, and has called an amendment to repeal automatic citizenship for children of illegal immigrants. He also seeks the renewal of State representation in Congress through the repeal of the 17th Amendment, and the prohibition of direct taxes by repeal of the 16th Amendment which created the income tax. He advocates a strict non-interventionist foreign policy as supported by his vote against the Iraq War in 2002 and his continued opposition of it. He is the only Republican presidential candidate to have voted against the Iraq War. His desire to secure U.S. borders remains a key topic in his presidential campaign. Thus, he opposes the North American Union proposition and its proposed integration of Mexico, the United States of America and Canada. One particular view includes his predilection for the abolishment of the IRS.

2008 Presidential Campaign

Main article: Ron Paul presidential campaign, 2008

On 11 January 2007, Paul filed papers to form an exploratory committee for the 2008 presidential race.[9][10]

Paul formally declared his candidacy 12 March 2007 as a guest on Washington Journal on C-SPAN.[11] click here to view the C-SPAN Interview

Books by Ron Paul

  • Challenge to Liberty. Lake Jackson, TX: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education
  • Gold, Peace, and Prosperity. Lake Jackson, TX: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education
  • Ten Myths About Paper Money. Lake Jackson, TX: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education
  • The Case for Gold. Reprinted by Cato Institute, 1982; Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2007. ISBN 0-932790-31-3. ([2])
  • A Republic, If You Can Keep It
  • Mises and Austrian Economics: A Personal View. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1984.
  • Freedom Under Siege: The U.S. Constitution After 200 Years. Lake Jackson, TX: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, 1987. ([3] Book distributed with permission in 7 parts in pdf-format)
  • A Foreign Policy of Freedom. Lake Jackson, TX: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, 2007. ISBN 0-912453-00-1

Footnotes

  1. ^ http://dailypaul.com/node/53
  2. ^ http://www.wargs.com/political/paul.html
  3. ^ State Races, Texas on CNN accessed at March 4 2007
  4. ^ Liberator online archive on Advocates for self-governing accessed at March 4 2007
  5. ^ Ron Paul: Campaign Finance/Money Contributors - Congressman 2004 on opensecrets.org acessed at March 4 2007
  6. ^ Ron Paul: Campaign Finance/Money Contributors - Congressman 2004 on opensecrets.org acessed at March 4 2007
  7. ^ Ron Paul: Campaign Finance/Money Contributors - Congressman 2006 on opensecrets.org acessed at March 4 2007
  8. ^ Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida accessed at March 4 2007
  9. ^ Ron Paul Running for President Again? on Third Party Watch accessed at March 4 2007
  10. ^ An Actual Peace and Freedom Candidate on blog.lewrockwell.com accessed at March 4 2007
  11. ^ Martin, Gary (2007-03-12). "Paul formally launches presidential bid". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2007-03-13.

References

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


Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 22nd congressional district
April, 1976 – January, 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 Libertarian Party Presidential candidate
1988 (3rd) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 14th congressional district
1997–present 		Incumbent
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