Ron Paul: Difference between revisions
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Congressman Ron Paul is a strict [[Constitutionalism|Constitutionalist]] who supports American independence and sovereignty, border security, privacy and personal liberty. |
Congressman Ron Paul is a strict [[Constitutionalism|Constitutionalist]] who supports American independence and sovereignty, border security, privacy and personal liberty. |
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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. |
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. All other Rep. presidential Congressman have voted for the Iraq War |
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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. Paul opposes illegal immigration as well as amnesty for illegal immigrants. |
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. Paul opposes illegal immigration as well as amnesty for illegal immigrants. |
Revision as of 20:37, 25 April 2007
Template:Future election candidate
Ron Paul | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 14th district | |
In office 1976–1977; 1979–1985; 1997–present | |
Preceded by | Rob Casey; Bob Gammage; Greg Laughlin |
Personal details | |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Carol Paul |
Profession | Physician |
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 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.
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 other single member of Congress.
Early life and education
Dr. Ron 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
Dr. Ron Paul is a Republican member of Congress from Texas and is also a member of the Libertarian Party. Paul remains on good terms with the Libertarian Party and addressed its national convention as recently as 2004.[4]
Unlike many political candidates, Paul receives the overwhelming majority of his campaign contributions (92.5% in 2004 and 96.8% in 2006) from individuals. [5][6]
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.[7]
Dr. Paul's consistent voting record prompted one Congressman to comment that "Ron Paul personifies the Founding Fathers' ideal of the citizen-statesman. He makes it clear that his principles will never be compromised, and they never are." Another Congresswoman added that "There are few people in public life who, through thick and thin, rain or shine, stick to their principles. Ron Paul is one of those few."
Views
Congressman Ron Paul is a strict Constitutionalist who supports American independence and sovereignty, border security, privacy and personal liberty.
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. All other Rep. presidential Congressman have voted for 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. Paul opposes illegal immigration as well as amnesty for illegal immigrants.
He seeks the prohibition of direct taxes by repeal of the 16th Amendment which created the income tax. This particular view includes his predilection for the abolishment of the IRS.
2008 Presidential Campaign
On 11 January 2007, Paul filed papers to form an exploratory committee for the 2008 presidential race.[8][9]
Paul formally declared his candidacy 12 March 2007 as a guest on Washington Journal on C-SPAN.[10] click here to view the C-SPAN Interview
The Official Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign Website[11]
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
- ^ http://dailypaul.com/node/53
- ^ http://www.wargs.com/political/paul.html
- ^ State Races, Texas on CNN accessed at March 4 2007
- ^ Liberator online archive on Advocates for self-governing accessed at March 4 2007
- ^ Ron Paul: Campaign Finance/Money Contributors - Congressman 2004 on opensecrets.org acessed at March 4 2007
- ^ Ron Paul: Campaign Finance/Money Contributors - Congressman 2006 on opensecrets.org acessed at March 4 2007
- ^ Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida accessed at March 4 2007
- ^ Ron Paul Running for President Again? on Third Party Watch accessed at March 4 2007
- ^ An Actual Peace and Freedom Candidate on blog.lewrockwell.com accessed at March 4 2007
- ^ Martin, Gary (2007-03-12). "Paul formally launches presidential bid". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
- ^ [1]The Official Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign Website
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.
External links
This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. |
- The Official Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign Website
- Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign Synopsis Site
- 2008 Polls that include Ron Paul
- A Cheerful Anachronism - column on Paul by George Will
- Congressman Ron Paul Announces Presidential Run while taking LIVE calls on C-SPAN! Full Video!
- Official web site of Congressman Ron Paul
- Congressman Ron Paul's Congressional Campaign Site
- United States Congress. "Ron Paul (id: P000583)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Ron Paul Myspace Page
- Ron Paul 2008 social network
- Federal Election Commission - Presidential campaign contributions
- On the Issues - Ron Paul issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org - Congressional campaign contributions Presidential campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart - Ron Paul profile
- SourceWatch Congresspedia - Ron Paul profile
- Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
- Unofficial Ron Paul for President 2008 Blog
- Ron Paul 2008 Blog
- Ron Paul for President 2008 Blog and Links
- Advocates for Self-Government profile of Ron Paul
- Congressman Ron Paul and Medical Marijuana
- Congressman Ron Paul Talks About Gold, Oil & the Economy
- 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 Congressmen 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
- The Broadcast Indecency Act, An Indecent Attack on the First Amendment by Ron Paul
- Iran: The Next Neocon Target, speech by Ron Paul before the U.S. House of Representatives
- Downloadable audio interview with Scott Horton
- Is America a Police State?, speech before the U.S. House of Representatives on June 27, 2002
- A Modest Proposal: Ron Paul for President by economist David R. Henderson (May 22, 2003)
- The American Dream - Through the Eyes of Mrs. Ron Paul by Mrs. Ron Paul on TheDailyPaul.
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