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Dr. Ron Paul's Biography
Ron Paul was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Dormont High School, Dormont, Pennsylvania 1953. He received his B.A. from Gettysburg College (1957) and M.D. from Duke University School of Medicine (1961). He did his internship and residency training at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan from 1961 to 1962. He was a flight surgeon in the United States Air Force from 1963 to 1968. He went on to complete Obstetrics and Gynecology training at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1965-1968, and in 1968 he and his wife Carol moved to Surfside Beach, Texas.
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 entrenched liberal Democrat Robert R. Casey. When President Gerald R. Ford appointed Robert 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. In 1985 Paul returned to medical practice as an OBGYN. He was succeeded by Tom DeLay.
In 1988, Dr. Paul won the nomination of the Libertarian Party for the U.S. Presidency. He placed third in the popular vote (with 0.5% of the total), 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 Democratic 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 Texan 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 has with the Democratic Party (though Jeffords was elected as a Republican and is now officially independent). Paul was convincingly re-elected in 2000 and 2002. He was elected unopposed in 2004 to his ninth term in the Congress. He is a member of the Republican Liberty Caucus. He was renominated in the Republican primary held on March 7, 2006; he defeated a former wife of entertainer Frank Sinatra, Jr.
Political affiliations and support
Ron Paul joined the Libertarian Party in 1987 as a lifetime member, a status which he appears never to have renounced. Though only elected to Congress as a Republican, Paul remains on good terms with the Libertarian Party and has addressed its national convention as recently as 2004.
Libertarian Party spokesman George Getz said that thousands of libertarians across the United States donate money to Ron Paul's campaign funds. Campaign disclosures reveal that 71.4% of contributions to Paul's coffers come from outside his home state of Texas. [1] Unlike many political candidates, Paul receives the overwhelming majority of his campaign contributions (92.5% in 2004) from individuals. [2]
Views
Paul professes a limited government paleolibertarian ideology (a libertarian ideology mixed with social conservatism). His regular votes against almost all proposals for government spending, initiatives, or taxes, and his frequent dissents in otherwise unanimous votes, have irritated some of his Republican colleagues and have earned him the nickname "Dr. No".
Foreign policy
Congressman Paul advocates a strict non-interventionist foreign policy. He voted against the Iraq War Resolution and continues to criticize the US presence in Iraq and what he charges is the use of the war on terror to curtail civil liberties. He has also broken with his party by voting against the Patriot Act in 2001 and again in 2005, and is very opposed to a military draft. He strongly endorses American withdrawal from the United Nations.
His base of support has been among conservative Republicans, but after 9/11 he has gained some strong support from liberal Democrats in central Texas because of his consistent opposition to the war in Iraq. As an example of this shift, the Austin Chronicle newspaper, a liberal, alternative weekly newspaper in Austin, Texas described his views as erratic in 2000 [3]. After 9/11 though, the Chronicle took a much more favorable view of Paul, praising him for his strong principled opposition to the Iraq War.
In a recent speech before the House of Representatives, Paul expressed his concern about the possibility of an Iran War. He claimed that the circumstances under which it would occur would be similar to those under which the Iraq War began, and urged Congress not to begin a war with Iran.
Ron Paul has taken some positions on foreign policy issues that some libertarians do not agree with. He voted against the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), claiming that it increased the size of government, and has supported border security and opposed illegal immigration.
Ron Paul was the only Republican to vote against HR 921 [4].
Economic views
Paul's economic views oppose nearly all government intervention in the market. He supports the abolition of the income tax, most Cabinet departments and the Federal Reserve. He also endorses defederalization of the healthcare system. Paul's campaign slogan for 2004 was "The Taxpayers' Best Friend!" [5]. Many of his writings are published by the John Birch Society.
John Berthoud, president of the National Taxpayers Union, an organization that promotes lower tax rates, has said, "Ron Paul has always proven himself to be a leader in the fight for taxpayer rights and fiscal responsibility... No one can match his record on behalf of taxpayers." He is frequently considered an advocate of small business. Jack Harris, president of the National Federation of Independent Business, has said, "Congressman Ron Paul is a true friend of small business....He is committed to a pro-small-business agenda of affordable health insurance, lower taxes, tort reform, and the elimination of burdensome mandates." [6]
Support for the gold standard
In many public speeches Paul has called for the re-introduction of the gold standard, the effect of which would require the United States Government to make large purchases of gold and to issue currency only to the extent of its ownership of gold. Ron Paul supports the gold standard because currency inflation increases consumer prices [7] [8].
Economist Murray N. Rothbard, a student of economist Ludwig von Mises, has written,
This plan (for the gold standard), essentially the one advocated by Congressman Ron Paul (R.-Texas), would return us speedily to something akin to the best monetary system in U.S. history...[9] He has also called for the removal of all taxes on gold transactions. [10] In 2002 he proposed legislation abolishing the Federal Reserve Board, enabling "America to return to the type of monetary system envisioned by our Nation's founders: one where the value of money is consistent because it is tied to a commodity such as gold." [11]
Paul's personal financial disclosures reveal extensive private investments in gold and silver, through equities and warrants in companies including Newmont, IAM Gold, Barrick Gold, Golden Star Resources, Golden Cycle Gold Corp, Pan American Silver, Great Basin Gold, Eldorado Gold, Freeport McMoran Gold & Copper, Apollo Gold Corp and Placer Dome. [12]
He is also a supporter of the notion that Dollar hegemony has led to war and may do so again. He says that if a petroleum producing state starts trading in Petroeuro instead of Petrodollar the world's dollar reserves will shrink and that will hurt US economy. Therefore to prevent that US might go to war to stop it. He says backing USD with gold again will prevent such scenarios. [13]
Industrial hemp
In 2005 he introduced H.R. 3037, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2005, "to amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana, and for other purposes".[14] This bill would have given the states the power to regulate farming of hemp. The measure would be a first since the national prohibition of industrial hemp farming in the United States.
He believes that the Constitution does not give Congress the authority to ban or regulate drugs in general.
Election law reform
As a former Libertarian Party candidate for President, Congressman Paul has been a proponent of ballot access law reform, and spoken out on numerous election law reform issues.
In 2004, he spoke out against efforts to abolish the Electoral College, stating that such a reform would weaken the "voting power of pro-liberty states" [15].
In 2003, he introduced H.R. 1941, the Voter Freedom Act of 2003, that would have created fairer and uniform ballot access laws for independent and third political party candidates in Congressional elections [16]. He supported this bill in a speech before Congress in 2004 [17].
In 2003, he spoke out against the enacted law that appoints members of Congress in the event of the death of several members due to an act of terrorism [18].
In 2002 spoke before the Congress in opposition to campaign finance reforms that place any restrictions on citizens and businesses making campaign contributions to the candidate of their choice on First Amendment grounds [19].
Abortion
Unlike many libertarians, Paul is strongly pro-life. He therefore opposes all methods of abortion. In 2006 he introduced H.R. 776 to have Congress declare that life exists at conception and to prevent federal courts from claiming jurisdiction over cases involving abortion.
Paul believes that the United States Constitution does not grant the federal government any authority to legalize or ban abortion. He believes that abortion is "not a constitutional issue" and should be a decision left to the legislatures of the states. [20] He has also introduced H.R. 1658 and H.R. 4379 that would prohibit the Supreme Court from ruling on issues relating to abortion, birth control, the definition of marriage and homosexuality and states that the court's precedent in these areas would no longer be binding precendent [21].
He once said, "The best solution, of course, is not now available to us. That would be a Supreme Court that recognizes that for all criminal laws, the several states retain jurisdiction."[22]
Congressman Paul adheres to the consistent life ethic, and therefore opposes all forms of killing not done in self-defense. His pro-life views factor into his support for non-interventionism, and are the reason he opposes capital punishment.
Gay marriage and adoption
Congressman Paul's position on gay marriage may be considered conservative, rather than libertarian [23]. However, he also believes that the federal government should not be involved in the issue. Therefore, he voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004.
In a 2004 speech before Congress he expressed support for the Federal Defense of Marriage Act and expressed his support for the Marriage Protection Act as an alternative to the FMA [24].
In 1999 he voted for H.R. 2587 that banned gay couples from adopting children in the District of Columbia [25].
Minor issues
Paul's supporters say he is willing to take unpopular positions in order to defend what he regards as constitutional limited government. He has been criticized at times for his voting record, being the only dissenting vote against giving Rosa Parks and Mother Teresa the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor. According to Texas Monthly, "When he was criticized for voting against the medal [for Parks], he chivied his colleagues by challenging them to personally contribute $100 to mint the medal. No one did, of course. At the time, Paul observed, 'It's easier to be generous with other people's money.'" In a speech on June 25, 2003, criticizing giving Tony Blair a Medal of Honor, Paul said, "These medals generally have been proposed to recognize a life of service and leadership, and not for political reasons - as evidenced by the overwhelming bipartisan support for awarding President Reagan, a Republican, a gold medal. These awards normally go to deserving individuals, which is why I have many times offered to contribute $100 of my own money, to be matched by other members, to finance these medals [26]." Texas Monthly awarded him the "Bum Steer" award for voting against a congressional honor for cartoonist Charles Schulz.
He views the the new American Community Survey questions as "both ludicrous and insulting," viewing that the information is simply none of the government's business[1]
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