Ron Paul is an
old-fashioned Republican, and the only man left in the race against McCain. A Texan Congressman, he was a medical doctor by trade (specialising in delivering and caring for babies) and he served in the military as a flight surgeon in his youth.
He favours preservation of personal liberties and freedom of choice, abolition of the income tax and taxes on savings, small government, Presidential accountability to Congress and deference to the laws of individual States, sound monetary policy based on something like a gold (and silver) standard, and a peaceful foreign policy based on "peace, commerce and honest friendship".
This post might end up sprawling, so if you don't click up anything else please click up this link for an overview of Ron Paul and what he stands for:
YouTube - Ron Paul at his best...
Even briefer but less helpful is the "About" page from his campaign website:
Ron Paul 2008 › About Ron Paul
Some of his books, one released just the other day:
Amazon.com: The Revolution: A Manifesto: Ron Paul: Books
Amazon.com: A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship: Ron Paul: Books
Issues
On the Iraq War:
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We have a lot of goodness in this country and we should promote it, but never through the barrel of a gun. We should do it by setting good standards, motivating people and have them want to emulate us. You can't enforce our goodness, like the neo-cons preach, with an armed force; it doesn't work.
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Military force is justified only in self-defence, naked aggression is the province of rogue states and dictators. This is a danger of a new 'pre-emptive strike first doctrine'. America is the most moral nation on Earth, founded on moral principles, and we must apply moral principles when deciding to use force.
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Ron Paul spoke out on Iraq at the Republican GOP debate, and found himself out of step with the rest of the candidates:
YouTube - GOP Debate II: Ron Paul Explains "Blowback" to GOP
YouTube - RON PAUL VERBALLY ASS POUNDS A STUPID REPORTER WITH TRUTH (apologies for the OTT video name, it isn't mine)
Ron Paul is a major proponent of personal liberty and freedom of choice; he might not approve personally of your choices but he does not think he, as President, has the right to take those choices out of your hands. He says of cannabis: "It should be up to the individual, and if you make bad mistakes, you suffer the consequences."
Ron Paul on drugs, homosexuality and prostitution:
YouTube - RON PAUL ON DRUGS WITH JOHN STOSSEL
Paul is very libertarian in outlook compared to most Republicans, clearly.
He takes his cue from the Founding Fathers and the US Constitution. He has never voted for any legislation restricting the First Amendment:
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Originally Posted by The Constitution
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
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...But he has always voted against restricting the Second Amendment on gun ownership, too. He is also conservative in his views on illegal immigration and abortion (which is perhaps unsurprising given his long career as a "baby doctor").
Ron Paul on gun rights and the Second Amendment:
YouTube - Ron Paul on the Second Amendment (feat. Rachel)
Ron Paul on illegal immigration:
YouTube - Ron Paul on Immigration
Ron Paul on abortion (disapproves) and stem cell research (approves):
YouTube - Ron Paul on Abortion and Stem Cell Research
His economic views are pretty unique. He opposes the "Federal" Reserve and "fraudulent" money in the shape of credit and wealth created "out of thin air". He regards the inflationary effect this has on currency as a kind of theft, because it makes people's bank account and savings less valuable.
YouTube - Ron Paul on the Economic Collapse!
It's not just "the Fed" he would abolish. He believes in shrinking government accross the board; local State law and government should be respected in most cases.
What seems most appealing about Paul is, whether or not you agree with him, it's obvious he's a
conviction politician. He believes strongly in what he stands for. Reassuringly, what he believes in most strongly is that it is not up to him to "run your life" or "run the world", and he has always voted on principle:
- He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.
He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.
He introduces numerous pieces of substantive legislation each year, probably more than any single member of Congress.
I'm pretty fond of the guy, but then I guess I'm a sucker for kindly grandfather thing he has going on. What do you guys think?