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Ron Paul
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, Physician (M.D.), and a 2008 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.

Paul advocates the limited role of government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency. 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, Paul is the "one exception to the Gang of 535" on Capitol Hill - members of United States Congress and their staffers. He has never voted to raise taxes or congressional pay. He has consistently voted against the USA PATRIOT Act, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and the Iraq War.

Early life and education

Paul was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Howard Caspar Paul (1904-1997) and Margaret Paul. He graduated from Dormont High School in Dormont, Pennsylvania, in 1953. Paul attended Gettysburg College, where he received his bachelor of arts degree in 1957, and the Duke University School of Medicine, where he received his 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. In 1968, Paul began his medical practice in Texas as a specialist in obstetrics/gynecology and has delivered more than four thousand babies.

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, a heavily Democratic year, 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 congressman. 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.

Paul was the first congressman to propose term limit legislation for the House of Representatives, where he declined to attend junkets or register for a congressional pension. Paul was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate in the 1984 GOP primary against Phil Gramm. In 1985, Paul returned to medical practice and was succeeded in his seat by Tom DeLay, then a member of the Texas House of Representatives.

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. Although he had been an early supporter of Ronald Reagan, Paul was critical of the unprecedented deficits incurred by Reagan's administration, for which his opponent George H.W. Bush had been vice-president.

Return to Congress

In 1996, Paul was again elected to the House as a Republican. Paul won the primary and went on to win the general election despite opponent Greg Laughlin's support from leaders within the Republican Party, including House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Governor George W. Bush.

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 would vote with the Republicans on procedural matters, and remain nominally Republican, in exchange for the committee assignments normally due to him according to his seniority. Paul was convincingly re-elected in 2000 and 2002. Unopposed in 2004 he was re-elected to his ninth term in the Congress, and was re-elected again in 2006 for his tenth term by a 20-point margin.

Political affiliations and support

Paul is a Republican member of Congress from Texas. He also remains on good terms with the Libertarian Party and addressed its national convention as recently as 2004.

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.

Unlike many political candidates, Paul receives the overwhelming majority of his campaign contributions (96.8% in 2005-2006) from individuals.

2008 Presidential Campaign

Ron Paul formally declared his candidacy for the Presidential election in 2008 in 12 March 2007 as a guest on Washington Journal on C-SPAN. . Political analyst James Kotecki interviewed him regarding his candidacy, foreign policy, Congress and the Constitution, and personal liberties.

On February 20, 2007, prior to Paul formally announcing his candidacy, Radley Balko of FoxNews.com wrote an article titled "Ron Paul, the Real Republican?" Balko concludes the piece with these two sentences. "Of all the candidates so far declared, only Paul can credibly lay claim to the legacy of the Reagan-Goldwater revolution. How well he does, how long he lasts, and who ends up defeating him will reveal whether there's any limited government allegiance at all still stirring the Republican Party."

Ron Paul participated along with nine other Republican presidential candidates in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library's 2008 Republican Presidential Candidates Debate on May 3, 2007 sponsored by MSNBC. In an MSNBC hosted web based vote following the debate, Paul with over 40% came in ahead of the other candidates with the highest positives and lowest negatives of the top 4 candidates, out of approximately 70,000 votes as of May 9. According to ABC News, the conclusion of the MSNBC vote was that Ron Paul appeared to win the debate. In an ABC News debate vote “WHICH REPUBLICAN CAME OUT ON TOP?”, Ron Paul garnered over 85%. The C-SPAN debate vote had similar results with over 70 percent casting their votes for Paul. ABC News inaccurately attributed Paul's success to possible viral marketing by his supporters, noting that Paul has a "robust online presence".

Since May 9, 2007 the term "Ron Paul" has been listed as the #1 top Internet search term by Technorati.com and on May 9, 2007 was ranked #815 on Wikicharts , a measurement of most-viewed Misplaced Pages pages, above better-known Republican contenders such as Mitt Romney, Rudy Guiliani, and John McCain. The U.S. News & World Report article titled "Ron Paul's Online Rise" states "Technorati spokesman Aaron Krane confirmed that, to the best of the company's knowledge, the online support for Paul is genuine. (Tech-savvy devotees occasionally attempt to enlist programs called "bots" to artificially boost their candidate on search engines, but Krane said Technorati is usually able to detect and delete the cheaters.)"

A May 9, 2007 article by Paul Watson on PrisonPlanet.com proclaims "Ron Paul: Total Victory, Yet Censorship Continues". This article graphically demonstrates many examples of how Ron Paul is besting his competition while being actively censored by mainstream media organizations.

In a May 10, 2007 article titled "Defeat the Media Clones" on LewRockwell.com Thomas Woods notes that, "The same media establishment that bought the Iraq propaganda package and then claimed to be oh-so-sorry is now trying to keep out of the limelight the one presidential contender (Ron Paul) who has actually bucked the establishment and does something other than parrot government/media slogans."

On May 11, 2007 Jim Capo National Spokesman for the John Birch Society and writer for The New American, the organization's biweekly news magazine, published an article titled "Media Elites Struggle to Keep Ron Paul Under Wraps" in which the author observes that "the silent treatment of Ron Paul" in the mainstream media is "becoming deafening". Capo implies that Americans should take issue with the assumption that the so called "scientific off-line polls of a few thousand people that (the mainstream media) control and tell you about are correct".

A May 12, 2007 article on OpEdNews.com by Alex Wallenwein titled "MEDIA BLACKOUT BOOSTS PAUL CAMPAIGN" recommends that "the Paul campaign should probably avoid courting the media’s attention. Not only that, the campaign should actually avoid talking to big media reporters, period. Having big media cover the debates live is good enough. The Internet is very well capable of disseminating Ron Paul’s message of Hope for America. Big media always injects a sense of doom and hopelessness into everything they touch, anyway."

As of May 13, 2007, techPresident.com reports that Dr. Ron Paul's YouTube Video Website statistics have surged to place him well ahead of all other republican candidates at 3,094 subscriptions and growing. The next closest republican candidate, Romney, has 1911 subscriptions. Of the Democratic candidates only Obama has more YouTube subscriptions at 5,440.

According to Joshua Dorkin at TimeForBlogging.com, "As you can see, this candidate (Ron Paul) is fast becoming a real internet sensation, not a manufactured one. He generated passion and curiousity and the people took over from there. I don’t really foresee this guy ripping off his supporters by stealing their MySpace support page (really stupid move for Obama)."

Political positions

In his 2008 presidential campaign, Paul has stated that he would like to "reinstate the Constitution and restore the Republic." His voting record is consistent in rejection of a welfare state or nanny state role for the federal government, and advocacy of hard currency and a non-interventionist foreign policy.

Paul voted against the Iraq War in 2002 and has offered alternatives such as granting the President authority to grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and allowing armed pilots. He is the only 2008 Republican presidential candidate to have voted against the Iraq War.

Paul's desire to secure U.S. borders remains a key topic in his 2008 presidential campaign. He opposes the North American Union proposition and its proposed integration of Mexico, the United States of America, and Canada. Paul voted "yes" on the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which authorizes the construction of an additional 700 miles of double-layered fencing between the U.S and Mexico. Paul opposes illegal immigration as well as amnesty for illegal immigrants.

In the May 3, 2007 GOP Debate, Ron Paul stated that as President, he would seek the immediate abolition of the IRS and the abolition of the income tax. As Congressman, he has long fought for the prohibition of direct taxes by repeal of the 16th Amendment which created the income tax.

Ron Paul said, "There is but one special interest that we should be working for, and that would solve just about all of our problems, and that is our Liberty."

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. ()
• 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. ( 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://news.com.com/They+call+him+Dr.+No+for+good+reason/2010-1071_3-940767.html
2. http://www.house.gov/paul/bio.shtml
3. http://dailypaul.com/node/53
4. http://www.wargs.com/political/paul.html
5. Paul vs. Laughlin - Ron Paul's campaign against Representative Greg Laughlin on Find Articles accessed on May 5 2007
6. Paul vs. Laughlin - Ron Paul's campaign against Representative Greg Laughlin on Find Articles accessed on May 5 2007
7. Paul vs. Laughlin - Ron Paul's campaign against Representative Greg Laughlin on Find Articles accessed on May 5 2007
8. State Races, Texas on CNN accessed at March 4 2007
9. Liberator online archive on Advocates for self-governing accessed at March 4 2007
10. Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida accessed at March 4 2007
11. Martin, Gary (2007-03-12). "Paul formally launches presidential bid". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
12. Ron Paul announcing candidacy on C-SPAN
13. James Kotecki interviews Ron Paul
14. "Ron Paul, the Real Republican?" FoxNews.com accessed May 9, 2007.
15. "MSNBC Republican Debate Poll" MSNBC accessed May 9, 2007.
16. ABC analysis of "The Ron Paul Effect"
17. "WHICH REPUBLICAN CAME OUT ON TOP?" ABC News
18. "Ron Paul Press Hub Polls"
19. ABC analysis of "The Ron Paul Effect"
20. Ron Paul's Online Rise
21. wikicharts
22. Ron Paul's Online Rise
23. "Defeat the Media Clones" LewRockwell.com
24. "Media Elites Struggle to Keep Ron Paul Under Wraps" The John Birch Society
25. "MEDIA BLACKOUT BOOSTS PAUL CAMPAIGN" OpEdNews.com
26. "YouTube stats" techPresident.com
27. "The Real 2008 Political Internet Sensation: Ron Paul" TimeForBlogging.com
28. "Ron Paul talks about the abusive Patriot Act!"

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

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• Official Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign Website
• Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign Summary
• Ron Paul 2008 Meetups and Calendars
• Official Ron Paul 2008 YouTube Video Website
• Ron Paul 2008 Forums
• Official Website of Congressman Ron Paul
• On the Issues - Ron Paul issue positions and quotes
• United States Congress. "Ron Paul (id: P000583)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Project Vote Smart - Ron Paul
• Congresspedia - Ron Paul
• Online NewsHour - Ron Paul
• Ron Paul's Voting Record - Washington Post
• Ron Paul 2005-2006 Campaign Contributions
• Ron Paul's Financial Disclosure statement 1st quarter 2007
• Congressman Ron Paul and Medical Marijuana
• Congressman Ron Paul Talks About Gold, Oil & the Economy
• Audio: A Texas Republican Comes Out Against the War in Iraq
• National Taxpayers Union Honors Ron Paul as “Taxpayers’ Friend”
• Ron Paul Articles and Archives on LewRockwell.com
• Ron Paul for President 2008 Blog
• Ron Paul for President 2008 Blogspot
• We Just Marched In (So We Can Just March Out) by Ron Paul before the U.S. House of Representatives on April 17, 2007
• Iran: The Next Neocon Target by Ron Paul before the U.S. House of Representatives on April 5, 2006
• Is America a Police State? by Ron Paul before the U.S. House of Representatives on June 27, 2002
• The American Dream - Through the Eyes of Mrs. Ron Paul by Carol Paul on TheDailyPaul.com

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