'Ronald Ernest Paul' (born
August 20,
1935) is a 10th-term
United States congressman from
Lake Jackson,
Texas, a member of the
Republican Party, a
pro-life physician, and a candidate for the Republican nomination in the
2008 presidential election. He has represented
Texas's 14th congressional district in the
U.S. House of Representatives since 1997 and represented
Texas's 22nd district in 1976 and from 1979 to 1985. Paul also ran for president in the
1988 presidential election as the nominee for the
Libertarian Party, while remaining a registered Republican. After graduation from the
Duke University School of Medicine in 1961 and his residency in
obstetrics/
gynecology, he was
drafted and served in America as a
flight surgeon during the
Vietnam War.
[2]
Ron Paul has been referred to as a
conservative,
[3] a
constitutionalist,
[4] and a
libertarian.
[5] He supports
free trade, sharply lower
taxes,
smaller government,
states' rights, and a
non-interventionist foreign policy,
[6] advocating a withdrawal from
NATO and the
United Nations. He voted against the
USA PATRIOT Act, the
Iraq War Resolution, and the
Military Commissions Act of 2006. Paul supports reduced government spending, opposes the
debt-based monetary system and seeks the gradual re-introduction of
hard currency. As congressman, he states that he has never voted to raise taxes or to approve an
unbalanced budget.
[7] He has called for the abolition of the
Internal Revenue Service and the federal
income tax.
[8] Paul describes himself as "an unshakable foe of
abortion"
[9] and opposes
capital punishment.
Over the course of his
2008 presidential campaign, Paul has generated strong support on the
Internet[Ron Paul's Web of support: He's an 'online natural'] and is among the top Republican Internet search terms as measured by
Hitwise,
,
[Alexa info for RonPaul2008.com, compared to other Republican candidates] and
Technorati.
83 Despite having won four out of five of the
2008 GOP debates according to the results of online polls by the debates' sponsors, he has received relatively little name recognition from the mainstream media.
[10][11] In
YouTube, he leads the other presidential candidates, with over 27,000 subscribers.
["YouTube stats" techPresident.com][YouTube channel accessed on August 13th, 2007] While he places in the top tier in Republican straw polls,
[12] Paul has never polled higher than 3% among
Gallup samples of voters leaning Republican.
Early life and education
Paul was born in
Green Tree,
Pennsylvania, to Howard Caspar Paul, the son of a
German Lutheran immigrant, and Margaret Paul. His family owned a dairy farm in the small town, which lies just outside of
Pittsburgh.
[13][14] He was the third of five sons born during seven years in the
Great Depression.
Paul's father had an eighth-grade education and was co-owner, along with his siblings, Lewis and Arthur, of Green Tree Dairy. Paul began working at his father's dairy at age five. Later he delivered newspapers, worked in a drugstore, and became a
milkman when he was old enough to drive.
One of the customers on his milk route was baseball legend
Honus Wagner.
He graduated from Dormont High School in
Dormont, Pennsylvania, in 1953 with honors. He excelled in
track and field,
[15] winning the Pennsylvania state championship in the 220-yard dash and coming in second in the 440-yard dash as a junior. He was also on the
wrestling team, played
football and
baseball and was president of the student council.
Paul paid for his first year at
Gettysburg College with saved newspaper-delivery, lemonade sales and lawn-mowing money. Paul delivered mail and laundry on the side while in Gettysburg; for one year, he managed the college coffee shop.
He gave up track after a knee injury but joined the college's
swimming team instead after taking it up as therapy. He had been offered a full
scholarship to run for the track team but declined it, worried that he would not regain his previous speed.
Paul was inducted into the
Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity,
[16] where he served as steward and house manager.
He received his
Bachelor of Arts degree in 1957.
Although he had once considered becoming a
Lutheran minister like two of his brothers,
Paul decided to pursue a career in medicine instead and was accepted to
Duke University School of Medicine, where he received his
Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) in 1961. He conducted his
internship and a year of
residency training, both in
internal medicine, at
Henry Ford Hospital in
Detroit from 1961 to 1962 and residency in
obstetrics/
gynecology at the
University of Pittsburgh from 1965 to 1968.
[17]
Paul adheres to the economic philosophy of the
Austrian School of economics and has
authored several books on the subject. He has pictures of economists
Friedrich von Hayek,
Ludwig von Mises, and
Murray Rothbard hanging on his office wall.
[18][19]
Family
Paul and his wife Carol (née Wells) were married on
February 1,
1957. Carol asked Ron to their first date at a
Sadie Hawkins dance.
They went to colleges in different states but kept in touch. The couple married in Ron's senior year at
Gettysburg College.
They have five children:
[20] Ronnie, Lori, Rand, Robert, and Joy. They also have 18 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
While they lived in
Detroit for his residency, Carol ran a dance school in their basement.
Three of the Paul children, Robert, Rand, and Joy also became medical doctors.
Rand specializes in
ophthalmology and Robert specializes in
family practice. Like Congressman Paul, his daughter Joy specializes in
obstetrics/
gynecology.
[21] Paul supported his children during their undergraduate and medical school years, not allowing them to take part in
subsidized federal
student loan programs. He has not signed up for a
congressional pension for the same reason.
Paul usually goes home to Lake Jackson on weekends.
When her husband was campaigning in the 14th District, Carol Paul decided to help his campaign by
compiling family recipes into a cookbook and sending it to constituents.
The cookbook is filled with pictures of the large Paul family. Since originally published, five editions have been written. She and other family members keep a "Recipe of the Week" on her husband's Congressional campaign website.
[22][23]
Military service and medical career
Paul's medical training was interrupted when he was
drafted during the
Cuban Missile Crisis into the
United States Air Force. He remained in the military during the early years of the
Vietnam War.
[24] He was never sent to
Vietnam, instead serving
active duty (1963–1965) that took him to other countries, including
South Korea,
Iran,
Ethiopia and
Turkey.
He served as a
flight surgeon out of
Kelly Air Force Base in
San Antonio,
Texas, from 1963 to 1965, attending to the
ear, nose and throat problems of pilots.
He then served in the
Air National Guard from 1965 to 1968 while completing his
medical residency in
Pittsburgh.
[25] He achieved rank of
captain during his service in the Air Force.
[26]
Two years after leaving medical school, Paul worked in the
emergency room of a church hospital in
San Antonio for a wage of
$3 an hour. Paul later specialized in
obstetrics and
gynecology where he delivered more than 4,000 babies.
He took over the medical practice of a retiring doctor in
Lake Jackson, Texas, where he was busy as the only obstetrician and gynecologist in
Brazoria County. Paul said of his time as a doctor, "I delivered forty to fifty babies a month and did a lot of surgery."
[27] Paul did not accept
Medicare or
Medicaid as a physician; instead, he worked
for free or arranged discounted or custom payment plans for needy patients.
[28][29]
Early congressional career
A physician for several years in his district before he went into politics, Paul became a
delegate to the Republican Party of Texas
convention in 1974. He had decided to enter politics on
August 15,
1971, when President
Richard Nixon advocated a complete departure from the
gold standard for the U.S. dollar. He said, "After that day, all money would be political money rather than money of real value. I was astounded."
Paul was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Congressman from the 22nd District of Texas in 1974, an election where Democratic candidates won heavily, 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 choose a new congressperson. Paul won that election but lost six months later in the
general election to Democrat
Robert A. Gammage. The vote was close: fewer than 300 votes out of 180,000. He then defeated Gammage in a 1978 rematch. Paul won new terms in 1980 and 1982. Paul was the first Republican to represent the area in the House of Representatives.
[30] He was one of only four Republican congressmen to endorse
Ronald Reagan for president against
Gerald Ford in 1976,
when Paul led the Texas delegation in support of Reagan at the national Republican convention.
Paul delivered babies on Mondays and Saturdays during his entire term as the 22nd District representative.
During this time, he began to gain his reputation as "Dr. No", with his refusal to vote for laws he felt to be unconstitutional.
Paul was the first member of Congress, in the 1970s, to propose
term limit legislation for the House of Representatives,
[31] where he declined to attend junkets or register for a congressional pension while serving four terms.
[32] He proposed legislation to decrease congressional pay at the rate of inflation.
In 1980, when a majority of Republicans favored President Carter's proposal to reinstate
draft registration, he pointed out the inconsistency in their views, and according to ''
The Wall Street Journal'', made a statement to the effect of "they were more eager to register their children than they were to register their guns."
Paul served on the
House Banking Committee during this time, where he spoke against the inflation he saw as being caused by the
Federal Reserve.
He also spoke against the deregulation of banking rules that allowed for the
Savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.
The US Gold Commission created by Congress in 1982 was his idea, and his conclusions from the commission were published by the
Cato Institute as the book ''The Case for Gold''.
[33] Paul's chief of staff from 1978 to 1982 was
Lew Rockwell.
[34] Paul was a regular participant in the annual Congressional baseball game.
Paul was an unsuccessful candidate for the
U.S. Senate in the 1984
GOP primary against
Phil Gramm. Having chosen to run for the Senate instead of re-election, Paul left Congress in 1985 and returned to full-time medical practice
and was subsequently succeeded by
Tom DeLay, then a member of the
Texas House of Representatives.
[35] In a farewell address on the House floor, 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."
1988 presidential campaign
In the
1988 presidential election, Paul defeated American Indian activist
Russell Means to win the
Libertarian Party's nomination for the
U.S. Presidency.
Appearing on the ballot in 46 states and the
District of Columbia,
[36] he placed third in the
popular vote (with 431,750 votes — 0.47%), behind Republican
George H. W. Bush and Democrat
Michael Dukakis.
[37] Although he had been an early supporter of
Ronald Reagan, Paul was critical of the unprecedented
deficits incurred by Reagan's administration, for which Paul's opponent George H.W. Bush had been
vice-president.
During his time as a Libertarian candidate, Paul gained supporters nationwide who agreed with him on many of his positions — on
gun rights,
fiscal conservatism,
home-schooling, and abortion, and he won approval from others who thought the federal government was heading in the wrong direction on other issues. These supporters formed a nationwide support base that encouraged him to return to office and supported his campaigns financially.
His 2008 campaign chair, Kent Snyder, first worked for Paul on the 1988 campaign, when Snyder says that Senator
John McCain told him, "You're working for the most honest man in Congress."
Paul said that he was trying to do more during his presidential run than reach office: he was trying to spread his liberty-minded ideas and would often talk to school groups that weren't old enough to vote. "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."
After the election, Paul had a coin business,
[38] began his own
think tank, the Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, and continued his medical practice until he returned to Congress.
Newsletter article controversy
An article in a 1992 edition of Paul's ''Ron Paul Survival Report'' (a newsletter that he had published from 1985) contained disparaging comments concerning race and Paul's political opponents.
[ CAMPAIGN '96 U.S. HOUSE Newsletter excerpts offer ammunition to Paul's opponent ] According to the ''Atlanta Progressive News,'' the newsletter accused
President Bill Clinton of fathering
illegitimate children and using
cocaine, and called
Representative Barbara Jordan a "fraud" and a "half-educated victimologist." The article said that government should lower the
legal age for prosecuting youths as adults, saying: "black males age 13 who have been raised on the streets and who have joined criminal gangs are as big, strong, tough, scary and culpable as any adult and should be treated as such." The newsletter also said, "only about 5 percent of blacks have sensible political opinions," "If you have ever been robbed by a black teen-aged male, you know how unbelievably fleet-footed they can be," and, "95 percent of the black males in
Washington, D.C. are semi-criminal or entirely criminal."
[39]
In a 2001 interview with ''
Texas Monthly'' magazine, Paul acknowledged that the comments were printed in his newsletter under his name, but that they were written by a
ghostwriter and did not represent his views. He said the derogatory remarks about Congresswoman Jordan were "the saddest thing, because Barbara and I served together and actually she was a delightful lady."
[40] He stated that he took moral responsibility for comments with which he disagreed being published under his name. ''Texas Monthly'' explained, "What made the statements in the publication even more puzzling was that, in four terms as a U. S. congressman and one presidential race, Paul had never uttered anything remotely like this."
[27]
Later congressional career
Campaigns
Paul's Congressional portrait
In 1996, Paul returned to Congress after a tougher battle than he had faced in the 1970s. He was hopeful that he would be more effective in Congress after the Republicans took over both houses of Congress in the
1994 election.
His Republican primary opponent,
Greg Laughlin, had support from leaders within the Republican Party, including House Speaker
Newt Gingrich and Texas Governor
George W. Bush.
Incumbent Laughlin had switched from the
Democratic Party to the Republican side the year before, and the
Republican National Committee, hoping to encourage other Democrats to switch parties, threw its full support behind Laughlin. Despite these efforts by the national party and some of its aligned interest groups such as the
NRA, challenger Paul won the primary. It was the third time he had been elected to Congress as a non-incumbent.
While Gingrich and other Republican leaders visited the district stumping for Laughlin, Paul ran newspaper ads quoting Gingrich's harsh criticisms of Laughlin's voting record 14 months earlier, before Laughlin switched parties.
Baseball pitcher (and constituent)
Nolan Ryan, a friend of Paul's, served as his honorary campaign chairman and appeared in ads for him, and tax activist
Steve Forbes also supported Paul's candidacy.
Paul was elected for the coastal 14th Congressional District rather than the 22nd District he had previously represented. The change in district was a result of the borders of redistricting
[42] as Paul continued to maintain his home in Lake Jackson.
His Democratic opponent in the fall election,
lawyer Charles "Lefty" Morris, lost in a close margin despite running numerous attacks on Paul, including his past votes to repeal federal
drug laws in favor of state legislation and portions of old newsletters, and was assisted by the national
AFL-CIO. Paul in turn labeled Morris a pawn of trial lawyers and big labor. He raised more money than Morris, with the help of his national network of donors: $1.2 million to Morris' $472,153. Ken Bryan, a Democratic consultant to some of Paul's opponents, has said, "He has one of the largest contributor bases in Congress, outside of the leadership." Most of Paul's contributions are given in small amounts by individuals.
That year, he had the third-highest amount of individual contributions of any House member, behind Speaker
Newt Gingrich and
Bob Dornan.
[43]
In 1998 he again won the primary and the election and outraised his opponent by a large margin, $2.1 million to $734,000. Opposing a Democratic rice farmer and former
Matagorda County judge, Loy Sneary, Paul won by 11 percentage points; he ran ads warning voters to be "leery of Sneary."
[44] Paul accused Judge Sneary of voting to raise his pay by 5%, increasing his judge's travel budget by 400% in one year, and creating more government bureaucracy by starting a new government agency 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.
[45]
In 2000, Sneary ran against Paul again, with Paul winning 60% to 40%. He raised $2.4 million to Sneary's $1.1 million in that campaign.
Paul was re-elected in 2002. Unopposed in 2004, he was re-elected to his ninth term in the Congress, and he was re-elected again in 2006 for his 10th term by a 20-point margin,
[46] outraising his opponent $1.2 million to $600,000.
[47]
He has drawn two primary challengers in the next election: Eric Dondero, a former aide fired by Paul,
[48]
and Chris Peden, a
Friendswood city councilman.
[49]
Relationship with district in 2001
Paul continued to work as an
obstetrician in
Brazoria County,
Texas, even while serving in
Congress, delivering many of his constituents' babies. As of 2001, he was one of few doctors in the House (eight, including dentists) and part of an even smaller group that continued to practice while in office. Journalists have reported that it is not unusual for younger people in his home district to approach the congressman and say that he delivered them.
Paul opposes some forms of legislation that coastal or rural members of Congress typically support. Paul's district in Texas borders the
Gulf of Mexico with 675 miles of coastline and also includes suburbs of
Houston; it was redistricted prior to the 2004 election. Paul is opposed to federally funded
flood insurance because it requires those who do not live near
flood zones to subsidize those who choose to live in an area that is prone to flooding and does not allow those in flood zones to choose their own insurer. In an "overwhelmingly rural region," Paul opposes farm subsidies because they go to big corporations rather than small farmers. Despite voting against bills with large support in Congress, such as the farm bill, the congressman's "contrarian nature" and devotion to lowering taxes has appealed to voters in the 14th District.
While Paul votes against most spending bills, he has diverted funds that have already been authorized by other bills into his own district.
[50] Paul spends time in the district to compensate for "violat[ing] almost every rule of political survival you can think of."
He sometimes spends three to four days a week in his district addressing constituents' concerns, often accompanied by one of his grandchildren. He attends graduations, civic ceremonies, and
Boy Scout honor ceremonies. In an expansive district, it is not unusual for him to log more than 300 miles per day visiting
constituents or handling their concerns. He reaches out to 14th District voters on veterans' issues, such as procuring medals for war veterans who lost or never received their medals; he holds medal ceremonies for those whose medals are being presented. He has helped senior citizens of the district get free or low-cost prescription drugs through a little-known drug company program.
His staff sends out birthday cards to constituents, as well as
condolence cards on the deaths of family members.
Legislation
Paul sponsors many bills in Congress, such as those that would abolish the
income tax or the
Federal Reserve, many of which do not get out of committee. Nevertheless, he has been named one of the "50 Most Effective Members of Congress" by ''Congressional Quarterly''.
[51] He has sponsored successful legislation to prevent the
Department of Housing and Urban Development from seizing a church in New York state through
eminent domain and a bill transferring ownership of the
Lake Texana dam project from the federal government to
Texas.
Paul said in 2004 that he had refused to vote for more than 700 bills creating a larger government over his previous two terms in office.
[52] In
March 2001, Paul introduced the "Constitutional War Powers Resolution of 2001," which would repeal the 1973
War Powers Resolution, and thus prohibit presidents from initiating a war without a formal
declaration of war by Congress.
[53] In 2001, however, Paul voted for the
Authorization for Use of Military Force, which authorized the president, pursuant to War Powers Resolution, to respond to those responsible for the
September 11,
2001 terrorist attack.
Paul was one of 17 members of Congress who formed a bipartisan coalition to file a lawsuit against President
Bill Clinton in 1999 over his conduct of the war in
Kosovo. In the filing, they accused Clinton of not reporting to Congress within 48 hours on the status of the action as required by the 1973 War Powers Resolution and not first obtaining a declaration of war from Congress as specifically required in the Constitution. Congress had voted 427 to 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 the United States was already actively engaged 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 was an attempt to circumvent the Constitution and authorize the president to conduct a war without approval from Congress.
[54]
In order to prevent Congress from yielding its constitutional authority to declare war to the executive branch, which does not constitutionally hold that power, Paul introduced legislation in
October 2002 giving Congress the opportunity to declare war on
Iraq, rather than merely "authorizing" the president to deploy forces without a declaration of war. He said he would not vote for his own bill, but if his fellow members of Congress wished to go to war in Iraq, they should follow the Constitution and declare war. In a hearing on the resolution, Republican Rep.
Henry Hyde said, "There are things in the Constitution that have been overtaken by events, by time. Declaration of war is one of them. There are things no longer relevant to a modern society. Why declare war if you don’t have to? We are saying to the President, use your judgment. So, to demand that we declare war is to strengthen something to death. You have got a hammerlock on this situation, and it is not called for. Inappropriate, anachronistic, it isn’t done anymore."
As one of six Republicans to vote against the Iraq War Resolution, Paul inspired the founding of a group called the National Peace Lobby Project to promote a resolution he and Oregon representative
Peter DeFazio sponsored to repeal the war authorization in February 2003. His column "35 Questions That Won't Be Asked About Iraq"
[55] was translated and published in German, French, Russian, Italian, and Swiss publications before the Iraq War began.
Paul has said his fellow members of Congress have increased domestic spending by 33 percent since
Bush came into office. After introduction of a 2005 bill that was touted as "slashing" government waste, he wrote that the bill only decreased spending by less than a fraction of one percent and that "Congress couldn't slash spending if the members' lives depended on it."
[56]
Affiliations
Congressman Paul serves on the
Committee on Financial Services,
International Relations Committee, and the Joint Economic Committee. He is vice-chairman of the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee of the Financial Services Committee and also serves on the Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy, Technology, and Economic Growth. Under the Committee on International Relations, he serves on the Western Hemisphere and Asia and the Pacific subcommittees.
[57]
Paul served as honorary chairman and is a 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.
[58] He also serves on the Liberty Caucus (sometimes called the Liberty Committee), a group of liberty-minded congresspeople from both sides of the aisle.
[59] He hosts a luncheon for the Liberty Caucus every Thursday. Other members include
Walter B. Jones of
North Carolina,
Jimmy Duncan of
Tennessee,
Virgil Goode of
Virginia,
Roscoe Bartlett of
Maryland,
Scott Garrett of
New Jersey,
Zach Wamp of Tennessee and
Jeff Flake of
Arizona.
He is a founding member of the Congressional Rural Caucus, which deals with agricultural and rural issues.
Unlike many political candidates, Paul receives the overwhelming majority of his campaign contributions (96.8% in 2005–2006) from individuals.
[60]
Paul remains on good terms with the
Libertarian Party. He addressed its
national convention in 2004.
[61]
2008 presidential campaign
Ron Paul's campaign slogan, "Hope for America"
On
February 19,
2007, Paul formed an
exploratory committee to gauge support for a run in the
2008 United States presidential election.
Saying that he had been "pleasantly surprised" by the findings of the committee, Paul formally declared his candidacy for the
Republican nomination on
March 12,
2007, as a guest on
C-SPAN's ''
Washington Journal''.
[62][63]
As of
July 6, Ron Paul had the third most cash on hand of the Republican candidates with $2.4 million, putting him ahead of
John McCain.
[64] Greater than 99 percent of Paul's funds have come from individuals,
[65] with almost half (47%) raised from small contributions ($200 or less).
[66]
Prior to the campaign, in a
CNN telephone poll conducted in
February 2007, he was the candidate with the least name recognition besides
John H. Cox.
[67] In a
Zogby telephone poll released on
May 17, Paul drew three percent of the respondents that the pollster determined were "likely New Hampshire Republican primary voters," fifth place among Republican contenders.
[68] Paul also came in second in fundraising in
Montana and at the head of the pack of "second-tier" candidates in 14 other states.
[69] In polling conducted at the Utah GOP convention on
June 9, Paul placed second behind
Mitt Romney,
[70] and according to his
blog, placed second only to undeclared candidate
Fred Thompson in a
Georgetown County,
South Carolina, Republican Party straw poll conducted on July 28.
[71] In the
Iowa straw poll on August 11, Paul got more than 9% of the vote, coming in 5th place among the candidates.
[72] In the Illinois Republican Straw Poll held in Springfield Illinois August 16th, Ron Paul won 18.87% of the vote, in third place behind Romney (40.35%) and undeclared candidate Fred Thompson (19.96%).
[1]
On
August 18,
2007, Paul placed 1st in the New Hampshire Straw Poll with 72.7% of the vote. His closest rival in the straw poll, Mitt Romney, received 12.5% of the total vote. On that same day, he also placed 1st in the Alabama Straw Poll with 81.2% of the vote. Again, his closest rival in the straw poll was
Mitt Romney, who received 5.2% of the total vote.
FEC finance reports for the 2007 July quarterly indicate that Ron Paul has topped all other presidential candidates in campaign contributions from employees of the armed services, at 26.2 percent.
[73] Among Republican contenders Paul has at least 49.5 percent of polled military support or nearly as much as all others combined.
[74][75][76][77]
Current national polls which include Paul as a choice show Paul to be supported by 1% to 3% of Republican-leaning voters.
[78]
On September, 1, 2007 dozens of Ron Paul delegates reported being denied their vote at the Texas Straw Poll by GOP staffers.
[79][80] Ron Paul placed third with 17% of the vote.
[81]
Internet popularity
Paul has participated in five
Republican presidential debates, four of which he won according to the sponsors' online polls. After the first debate,
ABC News noted that Paul has a robust online presence and that "his supporters have mastered the art of 'viral marketing,' using Internet savvy and blog postings to create at least the perception of momentum for his long-shot presidential bid."
[82] ''
U.S. News'' has reported him to have an increasing on-line popularity, saying "his supporters have flocked to the Internet with such enthusiasm that Paul is now showing up among the much richer candidates in various measures of
Internet traffic."
[83] According to ''
USA Today'', Ron Paul is an "online natural."
Paul's Internet presence has been measured as a top Internet
search term by
Technorati83 and
Hitwise,
[ Top 10 Presidential Candidate 2008 Search Terms ] which rank popularity in the
blogosphere. Some have claimed that these rankings are skewed by a small number of supporters who are intentionally inflating search counts. However, Aaron Krane, a spokesman for Technorati, has stated his company's position that Ron Paul's search popularity is genuine to the best of their knowledge.
83
On
YouTube, Paul ranks in first place among all presidential candidates, as measured by total number of viewership.
Ron Paul can also claim the most YouTube subscriptions out of all presidential candidates, after having surpassed
Barack Obama on
May 20,
2007.
[84] As of August 13th, Ron Paul's YouTube channel was one of the top 40 most subscribed of all time, with over 25,000 subscribers.
Political positions
Main articles: Political positions of Ron Paul
He supports
free trade, tighter border security,
gun ownership, voluntary
school prayer,
[85] defederalizing
health care, and allowing workers to opt out of
Social Security.
[86] He is also an advocate of
private property rights for
pollution prevention,
[87] ''
habeas corpus'' for political detainees,
[88] greater
ballot access,
[89] and
jury nullification rights.
[90] He has said that while the military "
don't ask, don't tell" policy is "decent," he would change the way it is enforced to include both heterosexual and homosexual behavior, rather than orientation.
[91][92]
He opposes
torture,
abortion,
capital punishment, membership in
NAFTA and the
WTO, domestic surveillance,
the draft, the
income tax, the
national ID card,
universal health care,
[93] the federal
War on Drugs, federal regulation of marriage, foreign
interventionism, and foreign aid. He advocates withdrawal from
NATO and the
United Nations for reasons of national
sovereignty.
[94] He has voted against funding
same-sex adoption.
[95] Paul also opposes federal involvement in the Internet,
[96] and education.
[97]
Ron Paul would like to substantially reduce the role of the federal government in the lives of individuals, and in the functions of foreign and domestic
states. Paul is the only
2008 Republican presidential candidate to have voted against the
Iraq War Resolution in 2002.
[98][99] Paul voted for the
Authorization for Use of Military Force, which resulted in the
War in Afghanistan in 2001,
[100] but suggested alternatives including giving the president authority to grant
Letters of Marque and Reprisal to target specific terrorists. Paul wants to reduce legal immigration and end welfare benefits for illegal immigrants.
[101] He voted "yes" on the
Secure Fence Act of 2006.
Paul is
pro-life. He introduced The Sanctity of Life Act of 2005, a bill that would have both defined human life to begin at
conception, and removed jurisdiction over abortion prohibitions from the federal courts.
[102] Defining embryos and fetuses as persons would cause abortion to be treated as murder and outlaw embryonic and fetal stem cell research and some contraception and fertility treatments.
[103][104] Paul says that the ''
Roe v. Wade'' decision was
unconstitutional, and should be overturned, because the Federal government is not authorized to decide such controversies.
[105] Paul also considers the stem cell debate to be another divisive issue over which the federal government has no jurisdiction.
[106]
In 2005, Paul introduced the
We the People Act, which, if made law, would forbid federal courts (including the Supreme Court) from hearing cases on subjects such as the display of religious text and imagery on government property,
abortion, sexual practices, and
same-sex marriage, would make federal court decisions on those subjects non-binding as precedent in state courts, and would forbid federal courts from spending any money to enforce their judgments.
[H.R. 4379 of the 109th Congress, "We the People Act"]
He confirmed during an appearance on ''
The Colbert Report'' that among the entities he would like to eliminate completely are the Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, IRS, FEMA, NAFTA, WTO, NATO, and UNICEF, although of the last, "That wouldn't be one of my targets."
[107] During the
September 5,
2007 Republican debate, the CIA was included in a similar list cited by moderator
Chris Wallace. Paul did not refute the allegation that he would eliminate it if given the opportunity.
[108]
Books authored
★
Gold, Peace, and Prosperity: The Birth of a New Economy, , Ron, Paul, Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, 1981,
★
The Case for Gold: a Minority Report of the U.S. Gold Commission, , Ron, Paul, Reprinted by Cato Institute, 1982; Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2007, 1982,
★
Abortion and Liberty, , Ron, Paul, , 1983,
★
Ten Myths About Paper Money, , Ron, Paul, Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, 1983,
★
Mises and Austrian Economics: A Personal View, , Ron, Paul, Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1984,
★
Freedom Under Siege: The U.S. Constitution After 200 Years, , Ron, Paul, Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, 1987, 2007, (Book distributed with permission from Ron Paul)
★
Challenge to Liberty: Coming to Grips with the Abortion Issue, , Ron, Paul, Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, 1990,
★
''The Ron Paul Money Book'', , Ron, Paul, , 1991,
★
''A Republic, If You Can Keep It'', , Ron, Paul, House of Representatives Website, 2000,
★
''A Foreign Policy of Freedom'', , Ron, Paul, Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, 2007,
References
1. The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medicare Candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul Christopher Caldwell
2. Brockwell, I. (July 15, 2007) "Ron Paul — A True Patriot!" ''American Chronicle''
3. The Memphis Flyer
4. Constitutionalist accessed at LewRockwell.com
5. Snow, Nancy. 2006. The Arrogance of American Power: What U.S. Leaders Are Doing Wrong and Why It's Our Duty to Dissent. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 32
6. Patriotism
7. Brief Overview of Congressman Paul’s Record
8. "Paul Want Less Government, Less Taxes, and Abolish IRS" interview at ''AntiWarPresident.com''
9. Ron Paul website, "an unshakable foe of abortion"
10. "Defeat the Media Clones" LewRockwell.com
11. Wallenwein, A. (May 12, 2007) "Media Blackout Boosts Paul Campaign" ''OpEdNews.com''
12. http://www.ronpaul2008.com/straw-poll-results/
13. The American Dream - Through the Eyes of Mrs. Ron Paul Paul, Carol
14. The Ancestors of Ron Paul Reitwiesner, William Addams
15. Profile: Republican Ron Paul
16. Greeks in Congress
17. PAUL, Ronald Ernest
18. Lone Star Brendan Dougherty, Michael
19. "Screenshot. ''
20. The Elephant in the Room
21. The First Family ??? Pyeatt, Matt
22. "Ron Paul Family Cookbooks" ''The Food Company Cookbooks'' blog
23. "From the Desk of Carol Paul" ''RonPaulForCongress.com''
24. Congressman Ron Paul Announces Presidential Run while taking LIVE calls on C-SPAN!
25. Congressman Ron Paul — "Fighting For Our Country"
26. "Representative Ronald Ernest 'Ron' Paul (TX)" ''Project Vote Smart''
27. Dr. No Gwynne, S.C.
28. 10 Things You Didn't Know About Ron Paul Burton, Danielle
29. Paul vs. Sneery
30. The Ron Paul Story on YouTube accessed on June 14 2007
31. The Libertarian Congressman Is Back from ''The Wall Street Journal'' accessed on June 15 2007
32. Paul vs. Laughlin — Ron Paul's campaign against Representative Greg Laughlin Beiler, David
33. In Defense of our "Unalienable Rights"
34.
35. Members and leaders of the Texas Legislature
36. Now for a Real Underdog: Ron Paul, Libertarian, for President
37. 1988 VOTE: The Final Word
38.
39. Searcy, R. (June 3, 2007) "The Ron Paul that Ron Paul Doesn't Want You to Know" ''Atlanta Progressive News''
40. "Ron Paul Race Smear Erased?" (May 22, 2007) ''FreeMarketNews.com''
41. Dr. No Gwynne, S.C.
42. Federal Election Commission Advisory Opinion Number 1990-23 Elliott, Lee Ann
43. Paul for President?:The maverick libertarian Republican talks on war, immigration, and presidential ambition. Doherty, Brian
44. Congressman Paul's Legislative Strategy? He'd Rather Say Not. Copeland, Libby
45. Foes lock horns over Paul's radio ads
46. State Races: Texas
47. Shane Sklar won't run against Paul in 2008
48. Blowback, Texas-Style
49. Paul gets primary challenger
50. A Far-Right Texan Inspires Antiwar Left Murray, Shailagh
51. Ron Paul Is…
52. An Evening With Dr. Ron Paul Steven Yates
53. Bill would restore Congress' war powers Jon Dougherty
54. Judge sides with Clinton Ron Paul's Congressional office
55. Questions that won't be asked about Iraq Congressman Ron Paul
56. Too Little Too Late Ron Paul
57. Congressman Ron Paul
58. RLC of Florida
59. The Liberty Committee
60. Contributions
61. President's Corner
62. Congressman Ron Paul Announces Presidential Run while taking LIVE calls on C-SPAN!
63. Paul formally launches presidential bid Gary Martin
64. Ron Paul Tops McCain in Cash on Hand
65. Ron Paul Campaign Money
66. "The Presidential Campaigns Are Setting Records" CFI Analysis of FEC Reports through June 30. ''Campaign Finance Institute''
67. CNN / WMUR Granite State Poll, New Hampshire Primary Poll (February 2007)
68. Zogby: Romney Widens Lead in New Hampshire
69. Texas Congressman Ron Paul Hopes to Garner Support for Presidential Bid with Internet, Debates AP
70. (recent comments) Matt Canham
71. Paul Beats Romney, Giuliani and McCain Ron Paul 2008 Staff
72. Glover, M. (August 11, 2007) "Romney Wins Iowa Straw Poll As Expected" ''Associated Press''
73. Englehardt, T. (July 23, 2007) " Why the US Military Loves Ron Paul" ''The Nation''
74. "Selected Presidential Reports For The 2007 July Quarterly," Federal Election Commission
75. "Military support for the republican candidates" ''The Spin Factor'' (blog, July 16, 2007)
76. "Ron Paul leads ALL ‘08 candidates with over one-fourth of military contributions for Q2" ''The Spin Factor'' (blog, July 17, 2007)
77. "Military Favors Ron Paul Over McCain" ''Delaware :: Ron Paul'' (blog, July 16, 2007)
78. Ron Paul Election Polls Stat Sheet
79. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDnWT4gCJSE
80. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/5111493.html
81. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/02/politics/main3228053.shtml
82. ABC analysis of "The Ron Paul Effect"
83. U.S.News and World Report: Ron Paul's Online Rise accessed on May 10, 2007
84. "Ron Paul Official Daily Update" ronpaul2008.com
85. "Ron Paul on Education" ''OnTheIssues.org''
86. "Lee Rogers Interviews Ron Paul" at time 2:30–3:00
87. Dennis Miller interview retrieved from Dennis Miller Radio.com on June 3, 2007
88. Taking Ron Paul Seriously
89. "End the Two-Party Monopoly!" on the United States House of Representatives web site, 110th Congress 1st session accessed at March 4 2007
90. Freedom Under Siege: Chapter One accessed at DailyPaul.com on May 5, 2007
91. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCM_wQy4YVg
92. Transcript of June 5 CNN/WMUR/New Hampshire Union Leader Republican presidential debate
93. "Lee Rogers Interviews Ron Paul" at time 2:30-3:00
94. National Public Radio (July 25, 2007) "Ron Paul's Libertarian Message Attracts Supporters" ''All Things Considered''
95. "Ron Paul on Civil Rights" ''OnTheIssues.org''
96. Paul on H.R. 4411, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act
97. "Ron Paul on Education" ''OnTheIssues.org''
98. Arguments Against a War in Iraq Paul, Ron
99. Statement Opposing the use of Military Force against Iraq Paul, Ron
100. Key Vote (How all members voted) Authorization for Use of Military Force
101. Immigration and the Welfare State Lew Rockwell
102. H.R. 776 of the 109th Congress, "Sanctity of Life Act of 2005"
103. Sealover, E. (July 16, 2007) "Ballot initiative would outlaw abortion" ''The Gazette'' (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
104. Stevens, A. (June 10, 2007) "‘Missing angels’ or misogyny? ''Women's eNews''
105. Federalizing Social Policy by Ron Paul, January 31, 2006
106. Rights of Taxpayers is Missing Element in Stem Cell Debate The Ron Paul Library
107. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2JIt88ieu8
108. Ron Paul at the New Hampshire debate on Fox News
External links
;Official sites
★
2008 Presidential Campaign Website
★
U.S. House of Representatives Office of Ron Paul
★
Local Meetup Groups
★
YouTube channel
★
MySpace
★
Facebook
★
Eventful
;Topic pages and databases
★
★
Ron Paul Library, more than 800 articles and speeches by Ron Paul
★
The Ron Paul File on
LewRockwell.com — a collection of audio and video links and articles
★
Articles written by Ron Paul on
LewRockwell.com
★
On the Issues — Ron Paul issue positions and quotes
★
OpenSecrets.org Congress and
Presidential campaign contributions (from the Center for Responsive Politics)
★
SourceWatch Congresspedia — Ron Paul profile
★
PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer — Vote 2008: Ron Paul
★
★
Washington Post — Presidential Candidates: Ron Paul profile, finance, events
★
Straw Poll AnalysisThis page covers updates on Ron Paul Polling and his Straw Poll performances.
;Video
★
FreeME.tv Ron Paul Internet television station providing 24/7 coverage of latest videos about Ron Paul. Updated frequently and in order as new content becomes available.
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