LOOKING AT THE ‘SECOND TIER:’ RON PAUL

By R. A. Pearson

Ron Paul was born in Green Tree, Pennsylvania, in 1935. He graduated from Gettysburg College, and later attended Duke University School of Medicine. He served in the Air Force and Air National Guard as a Captain from 1963-1968. He attended the University of Pittsburgh and became an ob/gyn. In 1976, Dr. Ron Paul was living in Surfside, Texas. He was first elected to congress in that year to represent the Texas 22nd Congressional District as a Republican.

In Congress during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Paul’s ideas were not popular. He authored term limits legislation and then lived up to them by stepping down from his seat in 1984 and returning to his medical practice. Paul has advocated the abolishment of income taxes and cutting the size and power of the federal government to a proper, constitutional level.

In 1988, Ron Paul ran as the Libertarian Party’s nominee for President receiving 431,750 (0.47 %) of the popular votes.

In November 1996 Ron Paul was re-elected to Congress by Texas’ 14th Congressional District. He serves on the House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee and the International Relations Committee. On the Financial Services Committee, he served as vice-chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.

Paul’s platform includes many unpopular ideas for mainstream Republicans: withdrawal from Iraq, downsizing the number of U.S. military bases around the world, he opposed the USA Patriot Act as an affront to American civil liberties, and he opposes NAFTA and the WTO. He wants to downsize the government, end a lot of government spending, get America out of the world empire business, allow workers to opt out of Social Security if they wish, balance the budget, and supports some type of return to the gold standard for America’s currency.

Paul strongly supports individual Constitutional rights, the right to bear arms, freedom of the internet, jury nullification, and habeas corpus rights for political detainees. He is a firm pro-life believer but feels that the issue is left up to the states according to the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. He has never voted to raise congressional pay, has never taken a government-paid junket, and has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

Paul’s campaign hit a gliche in mid January when news sources uncovered old “Ron Paul Political Report.” newsletters containing racially charged material and rants about gays. Paul denied authorship of any of the articles and distanced himself from the newsletter. He denied being a racist or having any homophobic leanings.

Ron Paul’s campaign is also having trouble getting respect from the Republican establishment. He was denied access to a debate before the New Hampshire primary by at least one conservative network despite the fact he had won delegates, something Rudolph Giuliani had not done at the time, and he had twice as much support in the polls as Fred Thompson at that point. Both Thompson and Giuliani were included in the debate. In the Nevada Republican caucus held on January 19, 2008, Ron Paul placed second, and he won 10% of the vote in the Kansas primary and 20% in the Washington State caucus. On January 21, Ron Paul raised $1.3 million on the internet.

Ron Paul is a Libertarian /Republican. I feel he is in it to the convention. He has loyal supporters and raises enough money on the web to stay alive and relevant. If he can get his name in nomination at the Republican convention in September, speak, and put his delegates in play, the Paul wing of the Party may move out of the shadows and into the light. As the Republican party looks for direction and finally has to realize Ronald Regan is dead and he ain’t coming back, the Libertarian wing may have found its voice in Ron Paul. America has, and they listened. At least this guy knows what the Constitution said.

Ron Paul and his wife Carol make live in Lake Jackson, Texas. They have five children and 15 grandchildren.