Presidential candidate Ron Paul,
Congressman (R-TX), has been called _Founding Father Material_, _Champion
of the Constitution_, the _Leading advocate for freedom in our nation_s
capitol_ and even _Dr. No_. These titles are not typically associated with
many of today_s politicians who rarely speak about liberty and the
Constitution. Even for those who disagree with Congressman Paul_s
politics, there is no debating he is a man of principle. With a consistent
voting record that falls directly in line with true Constitutional
principles, he upholds his oath unlike others. Congressman Paul has
clearly distinguished himself from the other Presidential candidates in
either party with the message of liberty and the Constitutional rule of
law. But, who exactly is Ron Paul and how did he
finally become the _Champion of the Constitution_? Before Ron Paul became known as _Dr. No_ he was born and raised in
Green Tree, Pennsylvania just outside of Pittsburgh. In high school,
Congressman Paul was a standout athlete winning the Pennsylvania State
Championship in the 220-yard dash. Upon graduation from high school in
1953 he attended and graduated from Gettysburg College. From there he went
on to gain his medical degree from the Duke University School of Medicine.
It was during the time that he attended Gettysburg College that he married
his wife Carol. He and his wife have had five children and seventeen
grandchildren.
Dr. Paul is a traditional _baby doctor_ by trade, but his
medical training is actually much broader. His formal medical training was
interrupted during the Cuban Missile Crisis when he was drafted into the
United States Air Force. He served honorably as a flight surgeon from 1963
to 1965. He then continued to serve in the Air National Guard from 1965 to
1968 while he completed a medical residency specializing in obstetrics and
gynecology.
Following his military service he began practicing
medicine working in an emergency room in San Antonio, Texas. He eventually
went on to start his own medical practice. As a physician, Dr. Paul has
delivered thousands of babies and performed numerous surgical
procedures.
His decision to get involved in politics followed the
August 15th 1971 announcement by then President Richard Nixon. Nixon
announced the United States would end the issuance of money based on the
gold standard. Until that time the United States still honored foreign
redemption of U.S. Dollars for gold in accordance with the post World War
II Bretton Woods Agreement. Foreign redemption of U.S. Dollars for gold
gave the United States the right to print the world_s reserve currency.
This effectively meant the end of the honest money system that the United
States had enjoyed since its inception. This perplexed Dr. Paul after
having studied the Austrian School of Economics, which advocated a
laissez-faire economic system based on sound money.
Dr. Paul was quoted in Texas Monthly discussing the end of
the gold standard stating, _After that day, all money would be political
money rather than money of real value. I was astounded._
The founding fathers agreed with Dr. Paul_s belief that
money should be based on something honest and tangible like gold and
silver. With Nixon taking the U.S. Dollar off the gold standard, it meant
that the Federal Reserve would have carte blanche to create as much money
as it wished. This was in direct contrast to the principles of sound money
demanded by the Constitution. Sound money principles were specifically
elaborated on in the Coinage Act of 1792, which established our Mint and
regulated the coins of the United States.
The founding fathers were well aware of the dangers that
stemmed from the issuance of paper money with no backing by gold, silver
or other tangible assets. During the Revolutionary War a currency called
the Continental was issued. The Continental was a paper currency with no
backing by gold or silver that was easily counterfeited. The
popularization of the phrase _not worth a continental_ was a direct result
of the inflation and devaluation of the Continental because more and more
Continentals were chasing the same goods and services.
The founders also knew about the threat of allowing
private bankers to issue money. Take for example the following quote from
Thomas Jefferson.
_I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to
our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow
private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation,
then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around
(the banks) will deprive the people of all property until their children
wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing
power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom
it properly belongs._
After 1971, we not only had a private central bank issuing
our currency but the currency no longer had any ties to gold or any other
precious metal. This was of great concern to Dr. Paul as he sought to
reverse the damage that this sort of irresponsible monetary policy would
cause. He first ran for Congress in 1974 and despite failing to win the
seat the first time around he later would win a special election for that
same seat when it was vacated in 1976.
Congressman Paul would become one of four Republican
Congressmen to endorse Ronald Reagan in his run against Gerald Ford for
the nomination for President. By supporting Reagan, it was clear that he
did not buy into President Ford_s _Whip Inflation Now_ campaign. Ford_s
campaign encouraged the American people to fight inflation by enacting
personal saving policies and better spending habits. Congressman Paul knew
the Federal Reserve, not the American people, was the cause of inflation.
Paul knew this because the Federal Reserve had the power to issue
America_s currency since 1913 and that determined the amount of inflation.
Although, he would lose in the general election six months later, Dr. Paul
ran for Congress again and won a full term in 1978. He was re-elected
again in 1980 and 1982.
During this time, Congressman Paul gained the reputation
as _Dr. No_ for refusing to vote for laws that he saw as unconstitutional.
Amazingly, he continued to deliver babies in private practice while he
served in Congress. The issue of monetary policy remained a primary focus
as he served on the House Banking Committee where he spoke out against the
policies of the Federal Reserve. During this time, Congressman Paul also
wrote several books on the subject of monetary policy encouraging the
return to an honest money system.
Dr. Paul made the suggestion of forming a commission to
determine what role gold should play in the economy. In 1982 the U.S. Gold
Commission was formed as part of a response to the near inflationary
collapse of the U.S. Dollar that plagued the U.S. economy in the late
1970s and early 1980s. The Commission_s report made suggestions as to what
role gold should play in the U.S. economy.
Dr. Paul would go on to make a failed run for Senate in
1984 before returning to his medical practice. He would not stay out of
politics for long, however, making a run for President on the Libertarian
Party ticket in 1988. During the campaign Dr. Paul endorsed the same
message of liberty and Constitutional government that has now become the
foundation of his 2008 presidential run. Despite being an early supporter
of Reagan, Dr. Paul was critical of the huge deficits that occurred during
the Reagan administration and sought to inject the limited government and
freedom message into the 1988 presidential campaign. He ended up placing
third in the election with 431,750 popular votes.
Following his 1988 run for President, Dr. Paul stayed out
of politics until the Republicans regained control of Congress in 1994. He
believed that the message of limited Constitutional government would be
more effective with the political shift. Even though that has not proven
to be the case as government has expanded to become more intrusive since
the 1994 Republican take over of Congress. However, Dr. Paul has remained
steadfast with the principles of limited Constitutional
government.
Since his return to Congress in 1996, Congressman Paul has
truly been the leading advocate for freedom in our nation_s capital. He
has maintained a perfect Constitutional voting record continuing to vote
_No_ on any legislation that is not specifically authorized by the
Constitution.
Congressman Paul_s politics are refreshingly simple and
honest. Follow the Constitution, emphasize local control and allow liberty
and free markets to work. These principles are true for any of the
important issues that are facing this country today.
It would be impossible to detail Congressman Paul_s stance
on every issue in the space of this article, but what is clear is that he
is a man of integrity and principle. Over the ten terms that he has served
in Congress, his voting record and message of freedom, liberty and
adherence to the Constitution has remained the same.
Let_s now run down Congressman Paul_s stance on a variety
of issues and how it pertains to the Constitution and the message of
liberty. This list will be prefaced with a brief history of U.S monetary
policy.
THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Currently, the U.S. economy
is manipulated by a private central bank called the Federal Reserve. The
Constitution specifically prohibits the issuance of bills of credit and
demands that honest money like gold or silver be issued. The government in
1913 allowed for the establishment of a private central bank called the
Federal Reserve to print the money for the government. As time went on,
this allowed the Federal Reserve to gain a monopoly on printing money,
which is the system that we currently have in place today. Today_s money
is not backed by any sort of tangible asset like gold or silver and much
of it is manipulated by the Federal Reserve in secret. In layman_s terms,
simply put, the Federal Reserve is given legal authority to print
counterfeit money and loan it back to the U.S. government at an interest
rate that it sets. The Federal Reserve is entirely unconstitutional and
through their policies, they create the booms and busts that have plagued
our economy since its inception. The current mortgage meltdown that is
causing tremendous problems with our economy is a symptom of the policies
implemented by the Federal Reserve.
Through the government giving this group of private
bankers legal authority to create money out of thin air, we as a nation
have facilitated a dramatic increase in the size and scope of government
as well as the erosion of individual civil liberties. Congressman Paul has
previously introduced legislation to abolish the Federal Reserve because
he understands, like the founding fathers did, the dangers of emitting
bills of credit under the control of a private banking system.
When referring to the central bank during the interview,
Paul stated, _The Federal Reserve creates money and that is inflation.
When you create new money the rest of the money goes down in value and
people_s prices go up._
Congressman Paul is 100% correct as bankers at the Federal
Reserve can manipulate the money supply to steal wealth from the American
people by way of inflation. Under a gold and silver standard it would take
effort and work to increase the money supply by finding more gold and
silver. Under a gold and silver standard it would be impossible for
bankers to steal wealth from the American people by simply issuing
additional currency. Such a system would also constrain the ability of
politicians to increase the size of government without having access to
the money making machine that the Federal Reserve currently provides. The
issuance of money should rest with the people as the Constitution demands,
not in the hands of a private, for-profit institution like the Federal
Reserve. If elected, Congressman Paul would introduce competition to the
Federal Reserve by encouraging the use of private money like the Liberty
Dollar and potentially authorizing the Treasury to issue gold and silver
as money. This would effectively put the Federal Reserve out of business
because honest money in the form of gold or silver that is also legal
tender would win out in the marketplace over Federal Reserve Notes that
have no intrinsic value.
When asked how he would restore an honest monetary system
Congressman Paul replied, _You should turn it completely over to the
marketplace and let private money evolve and use gold and silver or if the
government is to be involved they should issue a currency and define it as
a weight of gold or a weight of silver but not fix the ratio. That to me
would be a better standard than we had in the 19th century._
Congressman Paul recently introduced legislation to the
110th Congress in the form of H.R. 2755 which would abolish the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve. His clear
statements and legislation make Congressman Paul one of the only
politicians in Washington who actually understands how our monetary system
works and knows what needs to be done to fix it.
THE INCOME TAX/IRS
Another important issue pertaining
to the economy is the income tax, a tax considered by many as direct
government theft. The income tax, like the Federal Reserve, is believed to
be unconstitutional because the Constitution demands that taxes be
apportioned or equally divided. The income tax is not apportioned and
therefore unconstitutional. The same can be said for filing an income tax
return. The requirement of filing an income tax is a clear violation of
the Fifth Amendment because it forces the individual to provide evidence
to the government that later can be used to incriminate the individual.
Congressman Paul recognizes that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and
the income tax are both unconstitutional and has previously introduced
legislation to abolish the IRS and end the income tax.
In the first Republican Presidential debate of the 2008
campaign, Congressman Paul said that he would immediately move to abolish
the IRS and end the income tax if elected to office. Furthermore,
Congressman Paul has stated many times in various campaign appearances
that upon abolishing the income tax, he would replace it with nothing.
Congressman Paul contends that if government operated within its lawfully
defined limits as provided in the Constitution, there would be no need to
have an income tax.
What hard working American citizen wouldn_t welcome the
abolishment of the IRS and Income Tax?
FOREIGN POLICY
Congressman Paul refers directly to the
Constitution on issues of foreign policy. The Constitution advocates a
policy of non-interventionism, which simply means staying out of
entangling alliances and the internal affairs of other nations.
Congressman Paul favors withdrawing from institutions like the United
Nations, World Trade Organization, NATO and others, as he believes that
these organizations erode our sovereignty. He supports free trade but is
against arrangements like NAFTA that are widely viewed as corporate
welfare agreements masqueraded as free trade agreements.
When asked about regional and global governing
institutions he stated, _To work in the direction of loss of sovereignty
which is what happens when you setup these regional governments, the WTO,
the IMF and World Bank. They are working for the New World Order a new
system of government and I_m not in support of that at all._
During the latter half of the 20th century, the U.S.
policy of non-intervention has been completely abandoned in favor of
empire building. We have also abandoned the notion that only Congress has
the power to declare war. Congress has not declared war since World War II
and yet the U.S. has been involved in several undeclared foreign wars
including the current war in Iraq.
Congressman Paul voted against authorization to go to war
in Iraq and supports immediate troop withdrawal based on the premise that
it is unconstitutional, since war with Iraq was never declared by
Congress. During the Iowa GOP debate that aired on ABC News, he stated the
following when asked about the Iraq war, _Just come home. We just marched
in, we can just come home._
This simple and powerful message on the Iraq war has
really helped to shape and define his campaign. As President he would
strengthen our national defense by withdrawing our troops from their
current mission of empire building and use the military to defend our
national borders, as was intended by the Constitution.
THE 2ND AMENDMENT
Congressman Paul is a strong
supporter of the 2nd amendment. He has consistently voted against gun
control legislation, supports the private ownership of automatic firearms
and has been given the highest Congressional rating by the Gun Owners of
America. He believes that the individual, not the state, is in the best
position to protect their lives and liberty and that is why he has voted
continuously in support of upholding the 2nd amendment.
HEALTH CARE
Congressman Paul supports a true free
market health care system to fix the problems it is plagued by. He
believes the American health care system has the problems it does because
of government involvement, which has resulted in a corporatist-fascist
model. Strangely enough, many of the other presidential candidates,
particularly on the Democratic side of the fence, believe that we need
more government involvement to fix the system. Congressman Paul opposes a
universal national health care plan because a national health care system
is not authorized by the Constitution and it would vastly increase the
size and scope of government. When asked how a government-run health care
plan would operate he replied, _It would be like asking FEMA to take care
of it._
He also talked about the rising costs of medical care and
stated, _Medical care costs prices skyrocket because of inflation, the
government is involved and bureaucrats are involved._
In addition, he said referring to advances in technology,
_Technology should lower the prices of everything involved if all things
are equal._
Congressman Paul_s message on health care is really quite
simple. There is no government involvement with computers and cell phones
and the prices of those things have gone down. If government wasn_t
involved in the health care system, the price of health care would also go
down.
NORTH AMERICAN UNION
The North American Union is the
stealth push for the integration of Canada, Mexico and the United States
into a regional government entity under a common currency known as the
_Amero_. Congressman Paul is strongly opposed to the NAU. This secret push
towards North American integration began with the Security and Prosperity
Partnership signed by George W. Bush and established regional agencies
that would oversee governmental functions across North America. The SPP is
unconstitutional because treaties with other nations are required to have
congressional approval.
EDUCATION
Congressman Paul supports eliminating the
Department of Education allowing states and local government control over
public education. He also supports introducing free market competition.
From a Constitutional perspective the Department of Education can be
considered unconstitutional because the Constitution states that this is a
matter that should be left to the states and local government.
WAR ON DRUGS
Congressman Paul supports the
decriminalization of drug laws based on the premise that the government
does not have the right to tell the individual what they should or should
not put in their body.
THE ENVIRONMENT
On the environment, Congressman Paul
believes we need to strengthen private property laws because people who
truly own something will be more likely to take care for it, than will the
state. Nations that have favored socialism and collectivism over freedom,
liberty and private property have had rampant amounts of pollution because
individuals do not have true ownership of their property.
IMMIGRATION
On immigration, Congressman Paul supports
ending the welfare state that provides the incentive for individuals to
come here illegally. He has also proposed legislation that would end
birthright citizenship eliminating another incentive for illegal
immigrants to enter the country.
During the interview he stated, _The welfare state
provides an incentive for people to come, as well as, an incentive for
some of our people not to work and take some of these jobs._
He also talked about physical border security and stated,
_We need more border guards. I would provide the personnel by bringing our
troops home._
Congressman Paul supports both ending the incentive for
illegal immigrants to come to the United States in addition to providing
physical border security. He also opposes any sort of amnesty for illegal
immigrants.
PATRIOT ACT/MILITARY COMMISSION ACT/REAL ID
ACT
Congressman Paul voted against the Patriot Act and Military
Commissions Act, which were two pieces of unconstitutional legislation
that allowed for domestic spying and the elimination of habeas corpus. He
supports the abolishment of both laws because they are in direct
contradiction with the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution. He is also
strongly opposed to the Real ID Act, which is a national ID card program
that is slated to start in 2008.
SIZE AND SCOPE OF GOVERNMENT
Congressman Paul also
favors abolishing federal government agencies that are not specifically
authorized by the Constitution. This includes the Department of Homeland
Security among others that have already been mentioned. During his June
13th 2007 appearance on the _Colbert Report_ he made it clear that he
would reduce the size of government dramatically. In terms of programs
that people depend upon like Social Security and Medicare he favors
eliminating them by reducing them in size over a period of time. This way,
people who depend upon these institutions would get the help they needed
until it was possible to eliminate them entirely.
INTERNET REGULATION
Congressman Paul is against
regulation and taxation of the Internet. When asked about the push towards
taxing and regulating the Internet and he compared it to regulating things
like books. He stated, _Books are available. We don_t regulate
books._
This is a very good point. If the government doesn_t
regulate books, why should the government regulate things like the
Internet?
He also referred to the Internet as _our secret weapon_
calling it a _political equalizer._
Ron Paul_s campaign website is ranked at 20,124 among
every website in the world according to the global ranking website
Alexa.com. Alexa ranks Yahoo.com as the number one website in the world
next to msn.com and google.com. Hillary Clinton_s campaign site is ranked
at 21,650, Obama_s at 22,433 and Giuliani_s at 117,055.
Considering the tremendous success that Congressman Paul_s
presidential campaign has had on the Internet, it is easy to see why he
holds this position on Internet regulation and taxation. The internet is
also one of the reasons why young people have flocked to support his
presidential campaign.
Dr. Paul believes a major problem affecting this country
is the Federal Reserve because this is the engine that is used to expand
the government, erode civil liberty and wage war. He is the only
presidential candidate that understands the dangers of a private central
banking system, and is willing to address it. The ability of the Federal
Reserve to print money that is legal tender out of thin air has allowed
the government to behave irresponsibly and offers very little in the way
of checks and balances.
A statement he made about the Federal Reserve, during the
interview, sums it up. He stated, _If you want to strive for personal
liberty you want government to be small. The Federal Reserve permits the
members of Congress and politicians to expand government without being
responsible.
No individual running for President has the education and
background on monetary policy that Congressman Paul does. We are faced
with a monetary crisis; the U.S. Dollar has lost, approximately, more than
half of its value since 2000. There is a clear need for a President who
understands the concept of honest money to reverse some potentially
damaging trends.
Ron Paul_s stance on political issues, his life
experiences and solid Constitutional voting record make it obvious that he
is a genuine and honest man. We urgently need this type of patriot as the
next President of the United States. Unlike the majority of politicians
who seek office for power, fellow freedom lovers and patriots had to
convince him to run for President. They felt he was the right man at the
right time. Ron Paul is the George Washington of our time. Ron Paul is
running for President for the right reasons. He is truly the _Champion of
the Constitution_.
The phenomenon of grass roots support for this man is
nothing short of amazing. Politicians fighting for the chance to become
President of the United States could only dream of the people_s support
that Ron Paul has. No presidential candidate can boast his own 24-hour
radio network other than Ron Paul. RonPaulRadio.us is not managed by Ron
Paul_s campaign; his supporters run it. Musicians from coat to coast have
written songs of praise about Ron Paul. Ranging from country to reggae and
Rock and Roll to Rap there is no shortage of musical fare to celebrate his
message. The actual numbers of grassroots supporters, on meetup.com, are
now over 37,000 in 630 cities. Compared to Obama_s 4,071 nationwide
supporters or Hilary_s 861, Ron Paul_s grassroots campaign is an
unstoppable force that builds momentum daily. His solid number of
supporters should be encouraging to anyone who considers himself a modern
patriot.
Those who want to see this country released from corporate
controls and returned to its Constitutional foundations can take refuge in
Dr. Paul. Given the chance to act upon these principles from the office of
President, _Dr. No_ could end up becoming _Dr. Yes_ as his efforts would
shift from voting against bad policy to supporting and enacting correct
and just Constitutional policy.
Ron Paul is a refreshing change for our Constitutional
Republic, as opposed the destructive policy that had held sway for too
long in this country.
Vote Ron Paul in 2008? You have a choice! Protected by the
Constitution, your right to vote is the only remedy to protect the fate of
our children and grandchildren for generations to come. The title of
President of the United States of America must be held by one who values
the honesty, integrity, and the constitutional fortitude of those that
forged this great nation. Our republic, born in 1776, needs to be
restored. You get to decide who has the ability and who will do
it. | 
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