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Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20 1935) is a 10th-term Congressman, physician (M.D.) and a 2008 presidential candidate from the U.S. state of Texas, seeking the nomination of the Republican Party. Paul's presidential campaign has received considerable attention after his participation in the televised Republican presidential debates.

As a Republican, he has represented Texas's 14th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997 and represented Texas's 22nd district in 1976 and from 1979 to 1985.

Paul advocates a strictly limited role for the federal government, low taxes, free markets, a non-interventionist foreign policy, and a return to monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency. He has earned the nickname "Dr. No" because he is a medical doctor who votes 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. He has never voted to raise taxes or congressional pay and refuses to participate in the congressional pension system or take government-paid junkets. 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 Green Tree, Pennsylvania (southwest of Pittsburgh), to Howard Caspar Paul (1904–1997), the son of a German immigrant, and Margaret Paul (1908–2001), who owned a dairy farm outside Pittsburgh. He was the third of five sons born during seven years in the Great Depression. Paul's father had an eighth-grade education. In his early years, Paul worked at his parents' dairy at age five, delivered newspapers, and worked in a drugstore.

He graduated from Dormont High School in Dormont, Pennsylvania, in 1953 with honors. He excelled in track and field, winning the Pennsylvania state championship in the 220-yard dash and coming in second in the 440-yard dash as a junior. He once beat a young man who eventually went to the Olympics. He was also on the wrestling team and president of the student council.

Paul paid for his first year at Gettysburg College with saved newspaper-delivery and lawn-mowing money. Paul delivered mail and laundry on the side while in Gettysburg; for one year, he managed the college coffee shop. He gave up track after a knee injury, but joined the college swimming team instead after taking it up as therapy. He had been offered a full scholarship to run for the track team but declined it, worried that he wouldn't regain his previous speed. Paul was inducted into Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, and he served as steward and house manager of the fraternity. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1957.

He was then accepted to Duke University School of Medicine, where he received his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) in 1961. He did his internship and a year of residency training, both in internal medicine, at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit from 1961 to 1962 and residency in obstetrics/gynecology at the University of Pittsburgh from 1965 to 1968.

Paul is well-read in the economic philosophy of the Austrian school of economics, and has pictures of Friedrich von Hayek and Ludwig von Mises in his office.

Medical career

Paul interrupted his medical training to serve as a flight surgeon in the United States Air Force at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio from 1963 to 1965. Paul served in the Air National Guard from 1965 to 1968 while completing his medical residency in Pittsburgh.

Paul began his medical practice in Lake Jackson, Texas, as a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology, delivering more than 4,000 babies. He took over the practice of a retiring doctor and was busy as the only obstetrician and gynecologist in Brazoria County. Paul said of his time as a doctor, "I delivered forty to fifty babies a month and did a lot of surgery."

Dr. Paul did not accept Medicare or Medicaid as a physician; instead, he would do the work for free or work out a greatly lowered payment or payment plan for needy patients.

Personal life

Paul and his wife, Carol Wells, were married on February 1, 1957. Carol asked Ron to their first date at a Sadie Hawkins dance. They went to colleges in different states but kept in touch and married in Ron's senior year at Gettysburg College.

They have five children: Ronnie, Lori, Rand, Robert, and Joy. They also have seventeen grandchildren and one great-grandchild. While they lived in Detroit for his residency, Carol ran a dance school in their basement. Three of the children, Robert, Rand, and Joy also became medical doctors. Rand specializes in ophthalmology and Robert specializes in family practice. Like Congressman Paul, his daughter Joy specializes in obstetrics/gynecology. Paul supported his children during their undergraduate and medical school years, not allowing them to take part in subsidized federal student loan programs. He has not signed up for a congressional pension for the same reason.

When her husband was campaigning in the 14th District, Carol Paul decided to help his campaign by compiling family recipes into a cookbook and sending it to constituents. The cookbook is filled with pictures of the large Paul family. Since originally published, five editions have been written. She and other family members keep a "Recipe of the Week" on her husband's Congressional campaign website.

Paul usually goes home to Lake Jackson on weekends.

Political positions

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

In the May 3, 2007, GOP Debate, Paul stated that as President, he would immediately seek the abolition of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the abolition of the income tax. He has said that he knows change on federal taxation and the gold standard would have to be gradual, with a switch to a federal sales tax rather than income tax and eventual smaller government with not as much tax needed, coupled with a gradual return of gold-backed currency. As Congressman, he has long fought for the prohibition of direct taxes by repeal of the 16th Amendment which authorized the income tax. Paul has been called a "Taxpayer's Friend" by the National Taxpayers Union every year he has been in Congress, indicating a fiscal conservative voting record on spending of taxpayer dollars.

Paul is the only 2008 Republican presidential candidate to have voted against the Iraq War Resolution in 2002. Paul believes in a strong national defense and voted for the attack on Afghanistan in 2001, but suggested alternatives including giving the President authority to grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, which would allow war to be carried out against individuals rather than foreign countries and allow local bounty hunters familiar with the Afghanistani terrain to be hired to capture Osama bin Laden and his co-conspirators. Paul stated that the bill "would allow Congress to authorize the President to specifically target Bin Laden and his associates using non-government armed forces. Since it is nearly impossible for U.S. intelligence teams to get close to Bin Laden, the marque and reprisal approach creates an incentive for people in Afghanistan or elsewhere to turn him over to the U.S." Paul would also allow armed commercial airline pilots to prevent future attacks on airplanes.

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. He also introduced legislation that would amend the Constitution to stop giving automatic citizenship to babies who are born in the United States to non-citizen parents, which has been in effect since the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868.

Ron Paul links his pro-life position closely to his libertarian views. Paul supports allowing individual states to decide on the legality of abortion citing that it is not an enumerated power of the federal government. Accordingly, he has challenged Roe v. Wade for its unconstitutionality.

He supports the U.S. converting to a free market healthcare system, saying in an interview on New Hampshire NPR that the present system is akin to a "corporatist-fascist" system which keeps prices high. He says that in industries with freer markets, prices go down due to technological innovation, but because of the corporatist system, this is prevented from happening in healthcare. He opposes the socialized healthcare alternative offered by Democrats as being harmful as well.

Early congressional career

A prominent physician in his district when he went into politics, Paul became a delegate to the Texas state Republican convention in 1974. He had decided to enter politics on August 15, 1971, when President Richard Nixon went off the gold standard completely. He said, "After that day, all money would be political money rather than money of real value. I was astounded."

Paul was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Congressman from the 22nd District of Texas in 1974, an election where Democratic candidates won heavily, 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 congressperson. Paul won that election but lost six months later in the general election to Democrat Robert A. Gammage. The vote was close: fewer than 300 votes out of 180,000. He then defeated Gammage in a 1978 rematch. Paul won new terms in 1980 and 1982. Paul was the first Republican to represent the area in the House of Representatives. He was one of only four Republican congressmen to endorse Ronald Reagan for president against Gerald Ford in 1976, when Dr. Paul led the Texas delegation in support of Reagan at the national Republican convention.

Paul delivered babies on Mondays and Saturdays during his entire term as the 22nd District representative. During this time, he began to gain his reputation as "Dr. No", with his refusal to vote for laws he felt to be unconstitutional called "legendary" by the Wall Street Journal.

Paul was the first congressman, in the 1970s, to propose term limit legislation for the House of Representatives, where he declined to attend junkets or register for a congressional pension while serving four terms. He proposed legislation to decrease congressional pay at the rate of inflation. In 1980, when a majority of Republicans favored President Carter's proposal to reinstate draft registration, he told them that they were inconsistent in their views: they were more eager to register their children than they were to register their guns.

Paul served on the House Banking Committee during this time, where he spoke against the inflation he saw as being caused by the Federal Reserve. The US Gold Commission created by Congress in 1982 was his idea, and his conclusions from the commission were published by the Cato Institute as the book The Case for Gold. Paul's chief of staff from 1978 to 1982 was Lew Rockwell. Paul was a regular participant in the annual Congressional baseball game.

In the 1980 election, despite spending half of what his Democratic opponent did, he won a tight contest. Paul was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate in the 1984 GOP primary against Phil Gramm. In 1985, Paul voluntarily left his seat to return to full-time medical practice and was succeeded by Tom DeLay, then a member of the Texas House of Representatives. In a farewell address on the House floor, Paul said, "Special interests have replaced the concern that the Founders had for general welfare. Vote trading is seen as good politics. The errand-boy mentality is ordinary, the defender of liberty is seen as bizarre. It's difficult for one who loves true liberty and utterly detests the power of the state to come to Washington for a period of time and not leave a true cynic."

1988 presidential campaign

In the 1988 presidential election, despite no previous affiliation with the Libertarian Party, Paul won the nomination of the United States Libertarian Party for the U.S. Presidency. Appearing on the ballot in 46 states and the District of Columbia, 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.

Paul said that he was doing more during his presidential run than reach office: he was trying to spread his liberty-minded ideas and would often talk to school groups that weren't old enough to vote. "We're just as interested in the future generation as this election. These kids will vote eventually, and maybe, just maybe, they'll go home and talk to their parents."

During his time as Libertarian candidate, Paul gained supporters nationwide who agreed with him on many of his positions—on gun rights, fiscal conservatism, home-schoolers, right-to-lifers, and others who thought the federal government was heading in the wrong direction. These supporters formed a nationwide support base that encouraged him to return to office and supported his campaigns financially.

After the election, Paul had a coin business and worked at his own think tank until returning to Congress.

Later Congressional career

Campaigns

In 1996, Paul returned to Congress after a tougher battle than he had faced in the 1970s. He thought that he could get more accomplished in Congress after the Republicans took over both houses of Congress in the 1994 election.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). as Paul continued to maintain his home in Lake Jackson.

His Democratic opponent in the fall election, lawyer Charles "Lefty" Morris, lost in a close margin despite running numerous attacks on Paul, including his past votes to repeal federal drug laws in favor of state legislation and portions of old newsletters, assisted by the AFL-CIO. Paul in turn labeled Morris a pawn of trial lawyers and big labor. He raised more money than Morris, with the help of his national network of donors: $1.2 million to Morris' $472,153. Ken Bryan, a Democratic consultant to some of Paul's opponents, has said, "He has one of the largest contributor bases in Congress, outside of the leadership." Most of Paul's contributions are given in small amounts by individuals. That year, he had the third-highest amount of individual contributions of any House member, behind Speaker Newt Gingrich and Bob Dornan.

In 1998 he again won the primary and the election and outraised his opponent by a large margin, $2.1 million to $734,000. Opposing a Democratic rice farmer and former Matagorda County judge, Loy Sneary, Paul won by 11 percentage points; he ran ads warning voters to be "leery of Sneary." Paul accused Judge Sneary of voting to raise his pay by 5%, increasing his judge's travel budget by 400% in one year, and creating more government bureaucracy by starting a new government agency to handle a license plate fee he enacted. Sneary's aides said he had voted to raise all county employees' pay by 5% in a "cost of living" increase. Paul countered that he had never voted to raise congressional pay.

In 2000, Sneary ran against Paul again, with Paul winning 60% to 40%. He raised $2.4 million to Sneary's $1.1 million in that campaign. Paul was re-elected in 2002. Unopposed in 2004, he was re-elected to his ninth term in the Congress, and he was re-elected again in 2006 for his 10th term by a 20-point margin, outraising his opponent $1.2 million to $600,000.

Paul has said that when he has money left over from campaigns, he either transfers it to his next campaign fund or donates it to charity.

Principles

Texas Monthly, calling Paul "both deeply principled and wholly uncompromised," wrote in 2001 that he does not take money from political action committees (PACs), is not swayed by Congressional lobbyists, only votes on his "deeply held beliefs" and does not cut "backroom deals." They write, "The phrase 'honest politician' is an oxymoron; yet in the sense that Paul never, ever votes against his stated principles... the phrase describes him." Along with not signing up for a Congressional pension, Paul's Congressional office returns money to the government each year; in 2000, the sum returned was $50,000.

However, records from the Federal Election Commission show that he does take money from PACs, although much less than most of his counterparts in Congress. Dr. Paul consistently received PAC money during the 1998, 2000, 2004, and 2006 congressional electoral cycles.

In a special report, the group Clean Up Washington listed Paul as taking the seventh-least amount of money from PACs of all members of the House, as well as one of the members of Congress accepting the least amount of money from lobbyists and as ranking fourth in taking the most percentage of contributions from small donors. Their data studied contributions from the 2000 election cycle to midway through 2006. Of the 2008 Republican presidential candidates, he has accepted the least percentage of PAC money.

"Dr. No" can be "maddeningly uncooperative" to his Republican colleagues because he will not give in to pressure to vote for bills that he views as spending taxpayers' money in a wasteful manner or for bills that he feels violate the Constitution. Once when former House Speaker Newt Gingrich exhorted every Republican to vote the party line, he invoked a "Ron Paul exemption," saying Paul could vote as he pleased. Fellow fiscal conservative Jeff Flake said in 2006, "When I'm the only no vote, I can usually rest assured he's on a plane somewhere." Paul recounts that once, a bill passed 432-3. He thought the bill was based on a bad principle, and he had convinced the two members of the House sitting next to him to join him in casting a "No" vote while they waited.

Paul has said that when current South Carolina governor Mark Sanford was in Congress with him from 1996 to 2002, he and Sanford often had voted together as the only "no" votes on bills that created more spending. The American Spectator noted that Paul's lone dissents garner him more respect than mockery among his colleagues.

Relationship with district

Paul continued to work as an obstetrician in Brazoria County, Texas, even while serving in Congress, delivering many constituents' babies. As of 2001, he was one of few doctors in the House (eight, including dentists) and part of an even smaller group that continued to practice while in office. Journalists have reported that it is not unusual for younger people in his home district to approach him and say that he delivered them.

Paul is against some legislation that coastal or rural members of Congress usually are not. Paul's district in Texas borders the Gulf of Mexico with 675 miles of coastline and also includes suburbs of Houston; it was redistricted prior to the 2004 election. Paul is opposed to federally funded flood insurance because it requires those who do not live near flood zones to subsidize those who choose to live in an area that is prone to flooding and does not allow those in flood zones to choose their own insurer. In an "overwhelmingly rural region," Paul opposes farm subsidies because they go to big corporations rather than small farmers. Despite voting against bills with large support in Congress, such as the farm bill, the congressman's "contrarian nature" and devotion to lowering taxes appeals to voters in the 14th District.

While some politicians would find it unthinkable to vote against bringing "pork" to their home district, Paul diverts funds that already exist within bills away from other members' districts to his district. Paul spends time in the district to compensate for "violat almost every rule of political survival you can think of." He sometimes spends three to four days a week in his district addressing constituents' concerns, often accompanied by one of his 17 grandchildren. He attends graduations, civic ceremonies, and Boy Scout honor ceremonies. In an expansive district, it is not unusual for him to log more than 300 miles per day visiting constituents or handling their concerns. He is particularly effective at reaching 14th District voters on veterans' issues, such as procuring medals for war veterans who lost or never received their medals; he holds medal ceremonies for those whose medals are being presented. He has helped senior citizens of the district get free or low-cost prescription drugs through a little-known drug company program. His staff sends out birthday cards to constituents, as well as condolence cards on the deaths of family members.

Sponsored legislation and affiliations

Paul sponsors many bills in Congress, many of which, like one he regularly introduces that would abolish the income tax, do not get out of committee. Nevertheless, he has been named one of the "50 Most Effective Members of Congress" by Congressional Quarterly. He has sponsored successful legislation to prevent the Department of Housing and Urban Development from seizing a church in New York state through eminent domain and a bill transferring ownership of the Lake Texana dam project from the federal government to Texas. Paul has also sponsored legislation to end the Bank Secrecy Act. Paul said in 2004 that he had refused to vote for more than 700 bills creating a larger government over his previous two terms in office. In March 2001, Paul introduced the "Constitutional War Powers Resolution of 2001" which would repeal the War Powers Resolution and not allow presidents to go to war without a formal declaration of war from Congress, except in cases of an attack on the US.

Congressman Paul serves on the Committee on Financial Services, International Relations Committee, and the Joint Economic Committee. He is vice-chairman of the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee of the Financial Services Committee and also serves on the Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy, Technology, and Economic Growth. Under the Committee on International Relations, he serves on the Western Hemisphere and Asia and the Pacific subcommittees.

Paul was one of 17 members of a bipartisan coalition of members of Congress who filed a lawsuit against President Bill Clinton in 1999 over his conduct of the war in Kosovo. In the filing, they accused Clinton of not reporting to Congress within 48 hours on the status of the action as required by the 1973 War Powers Resolution and not first obtaining a declaration of war from Congress as required in the Constitution. Congress had voted 427 to 2 against a declaration of war with Yugoslavia and had voted to deny support for the air campaign in Kosovo. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that since Congress had voted for funding after the US was actively engaged in the war with Kosovo, legislators had sent a confusing message about whether they approved of the war. Paul said that the judge's decision was an attempt to circumvent the Constitution and make it legal for the president to conduct a war without approval from Congress.

Paul introduced legislation to declare war on Iraq in October 2002. He said he would not vote for his own bill, but if his fellow members of Congress wished to go to war in Iraq, they should follow the Constitution and declare war. In a hearing on the resolution, Republican Rep. Henry Hyde said, "There are things in the Constitution that have been overtaken by events, by time. Declaration of war is one of them. There are things no longer relevant to a modern society. Why declare war if you don’t have to? We are saying to the President, use your judgment. So, to demand that we declare war is to strengthen something to death. You have got a hammerlock on this situation, and it is not called for. Inappropriate, anachronistic, it isn’t done anymore." As one of five Republicans to vote against the Iraq War Resolution, Paul inspired the founding of a group called the National Peace Lobby Project to promote a resolution he and Oregon representative Peter DeFazio sponsored to repeal the war authorization in February 2003. His column "35 Questions That Won't Be Asked About Iraq" was translated and published in German, French, Russian, Italian and Swiss publications before the Iraq War began.

Paul has asserted that his fellow members of Congress passed the Patriot Act without actually reading it and examining how it infringed on ordinary Americans' civil liberties, as a reaction to September 11. Paul has said his fellow members of Congress have increased domestic spending by 33% since Bush came into office. After introduction of a 2005 bill that was touted as "slashing" government programs, he wrote that the bill only decreased spending by less than a fraction of 1% and that "Congress couldn't slash spending if the members' lives depended on it."

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. He also serves on the Liberty Committee, a group of liberty-minded congresspeople from both sides of the aisle. He is a founding member of the Congressional Rural Caucus, which deals with agricultural and rural issues.

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

Paul remains on good terms with the Libertarian Party and addressed its national convention in 2004.

2008 presidential campaign

Ron Paul formally declared his candidacy for the 2008 Republican nomination in March 12, 2007, as a guest on Washington Journal on C-SPAN.

Paul came in second in fundraising in New Hampshire during first quarter fundraising, trailing only Mitt Romney. Since he did not declare his candidacy until March, he had less time to raise money than other candidates who had declared earlier in the quarter.

Paul drew 3% support in New Hampshire in a Zogby poll, fifth place among possible Republican contenders. In a CNN telephone poll conducted in February 2007, he was the candidate with the least name recognition besides John Cox, leading poll watchers to report that he has the most room to grow if his Internet popularity can expand to voter support. Paul also came in second in fundraising in Montana and at the head of the pack of "second-tier" candidates in 14 other states. In polling conducted at the Utah GOP convention on June 9, Paul placed second behind Mitt Romney.

With one-fourth of young people under 30 not having landline phones, some bloggers have put forth the idea that it is possible that Paul's polling numbers underestimate his level of support.

Internet popularity

Despite current national polls showing Paul to be the favorite candidate of 3% of Republican-leaning voters, Paul is getting strong support on the Internet. The term "Ron Paul" has been measured as the top Internet search term by Technorati.com since May 9, 2007, which ranks popularity in the blogosphere. 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.)

Paul's standing in individuals' webpages, such as Joshua Dorkin's TimeForBlogging.com and YouTube have surged to place him well ahead of all other Republican candidates. The next closest Republican candidate, Romney, has 1,955 subscriptions. On May 20, 2007, Ron Paul overtook Barack Obama in number of YouTube subscriptions at 5,684 and as of June 17th, Paul's YouTube subscriptions passed 16,800.

Historian and political columnist Thomas Woods asserts "the news media 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." Some opinion-editorials (op-ed) pieces have commented that avoiding the large media organizations and campaigning by Internet may be beneficial.

In an ongoing election poll on Facebook, Paul is currently in third place behind Barack Obama and Rudy Giuliani, respectively. More than 110,000 votes have been cast so far.

Free Century lists Ron Paul as #5 in number of MySpace friends for both parties, as of June 10, 2006.

Analyst David Terr of USAElectionPolls.com predicts that Paul will have more than one million online supporters by 2008 at his current rate of growth.

May 3 GOP Presidential Debate

Ron Paul participated along with nine other Republican presidential candidates in a televised 2008 Republican Presidential Candidates Debate on May 3, 2007.

After the debate, Pat Buchanan told MSNBC's Keith Olbermann that Ron Paul came the closest of all the candidates to classic conservatism. Donald Luskin told CNBC that Paul was his "pro-stock market candidate."

May 15 GOP Presidential Debate

In a May 15, 2007, GOP debate in South Carolina, Paul commented that America's history of interventionism in the Middle East has led to an unpopular view of the U.S. in Middle Eastern countries. Agreeing with what has previously been asserted by the 9/11 Commission Report and the Central Intelligence Agency's specialists on al Qaeda, Paul stated that the CIA removal of an elected Iranian leader (the CIA's involvement in the 1953 military coup against the democratically elected leader of Iran Mohammed Mosaddeq in Operation Ajax) and the bombing of Iraq in the 1990s, culminating in the ongoing Iraq war, has led to increasing anti-American sentiment in the Middle East. Then he said:

They attack us because we've been over there. We've been bombing Iraq for 10 years. We've been in the Middle East . I think Reagan was right. We don't understand the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics. Right now, we're building an embassy in Iraq that is bigger than the Vatican. We're building 14 permanent bases. What would we say here if China was doing this in our country or in the Gulf of Mexico? We would be objecting.

Rudy Giuliani interrupted the moderator and interjected that he thought Paul was implying that America had invited the September 11, 2001, attacks:

That's really an extraordinary statement. That's an extraordinary statement, as someone who lived through the attack of September 11, that we invited the attack because we were attacking Iraq. I don't think I've heard that before, and I've heard some pretty absurd explanations for September 11th. And I would ask the congressman to withdraw that comment and tell us that he didn't really mean that.

Paul defended his previous statement, which did not mention 9/11 specifically, but did say "they attack us" and further explained:

I believe very sincerely that the CIA is correct when they teach and talk about blowback. When we went into Iran in 1953 and installed the Shah, yes there was blowback. The reaction to that was the taking of our hostages, and that persists. And if we ignore that, we ignore that at our own risk. If we think we can do what we want around the world and not incite hatred, then we have a problem. They don't come here to attack us because we're rich and we're free, they come and attack us because we're over there.

While Paul's assertions have received criticism from some pundits from the political right (particularly FOX news commentator Sean Hannity and GOP spokesman Michael Steele), other reports have found that he is factually correct. The essence of Ron Paul's argument is that there are unintended negative consequences of foreign intervention by the United States, known as blowback.

Since the debate, Ron Paul and his position have also been defended by Lew Rockwell, Pat Buchanan, Accuracy in Media, and other conservative and libertarian as well as liberal commentators, including Bill Maher, The Austin Chronicle, and Joy Behar on ABC's The View.

In a press release following the debate, Paul's campaign chairman Kent Snyder said in response to Giuliani, "It is clear from his interruption that former Mayor Giuliani has not read the 9/11 Commission Report and has no clue on how to keep America safe" and on May 16, during an appearance on The Situation Room with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Paul asked for an apology from Giuliani and suggested that Giuliani should read the 9/11 Commission's Report.

Former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer, who headed the CIA's team of bin Laden specialists for years, agreed with Paul's statements:

I thought Mr. Paul captured it the other night exactly correctly. This war is dangerous to America because it’s based, not on gender equality, as Mr. Giuliani suggested, or any other kind of freedom, but simply because of what we do in the Islamic World – because 'we’re over there,' basically, as Mr. Paul said in the debate."

Paul and Scheuer held a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC entitled "Educating Rudy" in which Scheuer told the assembled press that Giuliani was wrong to try to imply that Paul had said something he had not and that he does not know much about foreign policy. The two gave Giuliani a "summer reading assignment" which included Chalmers Johnson's Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire, Robert Pape's Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism, The 9/11 Commission Report and Scheur's book Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror. Until Giuliani studies more about the Middle East situation, Paul said at the conference, "I don't think he's qualified to be president."

Scheuer wrote:

Last week, Representative Paul did all Americans an immense service by simply pointing out the obvious: Our Islamist enemies do not give a damn about the way we vote, think, or live... If our Islamist enemies were motivated by such things their numbers would be minuscule and they would be a sporadic lethal nuisance, not, as they are, the most serious national security threat we face today... And no matter how you view Mr. Paul’s words, you can safely take one thing to the bank. The person most shaken by Mr. Paul’s frankness was Osama bin Laden, who knows that the current status quo in U.S. foreign policy toward the Islamic world is al-Qaeda’s one indispensable ally, and the only glue that provides cohesion between and among the diverse and often fractious Islamist groups that follow its banner.

Andrew Sullivan, an early supporter of the war, responded to Paul's remarks by saying:

The question serious supporters of a real war on terror must now ask is: will continuing the fight in Iraq help reverse this trend or cement it for decades to come? Is the war making us less secure and the world much less safe? Would withdrawal or continued engagement makes things better? At the very least, it seems to me, this question should be on the table in the Iraq debate. And yet the Republicans - with the exception of Ron Paul - don't even want to talk about it. Until they do, they are not a party serious about national security.

In the debate, only Paul and John McCain would not endorse the United States using torture to obtain information from prisoners.

June 5 GOP Presidential Debate

Ron Paul participated in the June 5 debate hosted by CNN in New Hampshire. CNN gave Paul less than six minutes out of the two hours of the debate, instead focusing more on candidates Mitt Romney, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani — with each of them receiving over ten minutes.

Ron Paul is continuing to receive more than 75,000 votes in an MSNBC online survey that asks which candidate was their favorite in the debate. The survey of a "non representational sample" allows for participants to vote multiple times and has not specified an end date for voting.

CNN provided an online political post-debate blog for the June 5th Republican debate, which showed overwhelming support for Ron Paul. According to CNN that blog was pulled due to "strain on resources that night" and the URL now redirects to the June 3rd Democratic debate.

In the debate Paul said that America’s most pressing moral issue is its adoption of a preemptive military policy, declaring it a rejection of Just War:

We in the past have always declared war in the defense of our liberties or go to aid of somebody,” he said. “But now we have accepted the principle of preemptive war — we have rejected the Just War theory of Christianity. "We have to come to our senses about this issue of war and preemption and go back to traditions and our constitution and defend our liberties and defend our rights."

Response to newsletter remarks on race

A 1996 article in the Houston Chronicle alleges that Ron Paul made comments in a 1992 edition of the Ron Paul Survival Report (a newsletter published since 1985), including commentary on race and disparaging remarks about fellow congressperson Barbara Jordan.

In a 2001 interview with Texas Monthly magazine, Paul acknowledged that the comments were printed in the newsletter under his name, but explained that they did not represent his views and that they were written by a ghostwriter. He further stated that he felt some moral responsibility for the words that had been attributed to him, despite the fact that they did not represent his way of thinking:

"They were never my words, but I had some moral responsibility for them...I actually really wanted to try to explain that it doesn't come from me directly, but they said that's too confusing. 'It appeared in your letter and your name was on that letter and therefore you have to live with it.'"

He further stated:

"I could never say this in the campaign, but those words weren't really written by me. It wasn't my language at all. Other people help me with my newsletter as I travel around. I think the one on Barbara Jordan was the saddest thing, because Barbara and I served together and actually she was a delightful lady... we wanted to do something on affirmative action, and it ended up in the newsletter and became personalized. I never personalize anything."

Texas Monthly wrote in 2001, "What made the statements in the publication even more puzzling was that, in four terms as a U. S. congressman and one presidential race, Paul had never uttered anything remotely like this." They state that it would have been easier for him to deny the accusations at the time, because the controversy would have destroyed most politicians.

Books authored

• Challenge to Liberty. Lake Jackson, TX: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education
• Gold, Peace, and Prosperity: The Birth of a New Economy. Lake Jackson, TX: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, 1981.()
• 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 from Ron Paul)
• A Foreign Policy of Freedom. Lake Jackson, TX: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, 2007. ISBN 0-912453-00-1

Awards and honors

• Groseclose Prize and Leadership Award from the Mises Institute for monetary writing.
• Mises Institute's $10,000 Gary G. Schlarbaum Prize (2003) for "lifetime defense of liberty."
• Leadership Award of the American Security Council Foundation for the Coalition of Peace Through Strength ("a bipartisan alliance of 177 national organizations, 230 members of Congress, and other pro-defense leaders across the country")
• Distinguished Service Award from Americans for Constitutional Action
• The Guardian of Freedom Award from the Young Americans for Freedom
• The Torch of Freedom Award from the Young Conservatives of Texas
• The highest rating ever given by the Council for a Competitive Economy
• Named "The Taxpayers' Best Friend Ever" by the National Taxpayers Union

References

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5. "Opposing the Use of Military Force Against Iraq". Antiwar.com. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
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10. "Lone Star". American Conservative Magazine, June 18, 2007. Michael Brendan Doughtery
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32. From: "J Taylor's Gold & Technology Stocks" Newsletter | Date: May 11, 2000 | title: In Defense of our "Unalienable Rights" |url=http://www.usagold.com/gildedopinion/taylorpaulintrvw.html
33. ^ From: Insight on the News | Date: February 10, 1997 | Author: Berlau, John
34. http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legis/members/roster.cfm?leg=68
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38. Doherty, Brian (2007-01-22). "Paul for President?:The maverick libertarian Republican talks on war, immigration, and presidential ambition". Reason Magazine. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
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46. http://www.rlc.org/?p=FAQ
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48. ^ SHAILAGH MURRAY (2003-03-10). "A Far-Right Texan Inspires Antiwar Left". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2007-06-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
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51. ^ Steven Yates (2004-04-07). "An Evening With Dr. Ron Paul". Lew Rockwell. Retrieved 2007-06-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
52. Jon Dougherty (2001-03-13). "Bill would restore Congress' war powers". World Net Daily. Retrieved 2007-06-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
53. Ron Paul's Congressional office (1999-06-09). "Judge sides with Clinton". US House of Representatives homepage. Retrieved 2007-06-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
54. Ron Paul (2005-11-15). "Too Little Too Late". Lew Rockwell. Retrieved 2007-06-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
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56. http://www.thelibertycommittee.org/
57. "Contributions". Ron Paul: Campaign Finance/Money. OpenSecrets.org. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
58. "President's Corner". Liberator Online, Volume 9, Number 10. Advocates for Self-Government. 2004-06-09. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
59. Martin, Gary (2007-03-12). "Paul formally launches presidential bid". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
60. Ron Paul announcing candidacy on C-SPAN
61. "Ron Paul Second in New Hampshire Fundraising". Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign. 2007-04-19. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
62. "Zogby: Romney Widens Lead in New Hampshire". Zogby International. 2007-05-17. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
63. "CNN / WMUR Granite State Poll, New Hampshire Primary Poll (February 2007)". USA Election Polls. 2007-05-18. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
64. AP (2007-05-17). "Texas Congressman Ron Paul Hopes to Garner Support for Presidential Bid with Internet, Debates". Associated Press. Fox News.com.
65. Matt Canham (2007-06-10). "http://www.sltrib.com/ci_6106279". Salt Lake City Tribune. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
66. Andrew Sullivan (2007-06-22). "Are Cell-Phones Hurting Ron Paul?". Andrew Sullivan Atlantic blog. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
67. Josh Claybourn (2007-06-22). "Ron Paul's Cell Phone Problem Revisited". In the Agora. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
68. "Ron Paul Election Polls Stat Sheet". USA Election Polls. 2007-06-08.
69. ^ Wilson, Chris (2007-05-09). "Ron Paul's Online Rise". USNews.com.
70. ^ Dorkin, Joshua (2007-05-11). "The Real 2008 Political Internet Sensation: Ron Paul". TimeForBlogging. Retrieved 2007-05-25. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessdaymonth=, |accessyear=, and |accessmonthday= (help)
71. "YouTube stats" techPresident.com
72. "Ron Paul Official Daily Update" ronpaul2008.com
73. YouTube accessed on May 31, 2007
74. "Defeat the Media Clones" LewRockwell.com
75. Sullivan, Andrew (2007-06-06). "The Youth Vote". The Atlantic Online. Retrieved 2007-06-08. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessdaymonth= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
76. "Analyst Predicts One Million Ron Paul Supporters Online by 2008". PRWeb. 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2007-06-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessdaymonth= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
77. "Ron Paul in Debate at Reagan Library (May '07)" YouTube
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79. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7d_e9lrcZ8
80. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEZO7MPxJIs
81. Buchanan, Patrick J. (2007-05-18). "But Who Was Right -- Rudy or Ron?". Townhall.com.
82. As cited in the 9/11 Commission Report, Osama bin Laden's 1996 fatwa, (bin Laden, Osama. "Bin Laden's Fatwa". PBS. Retrieved 2007-05-20.)
83. Rockwell, Llewellyn H. (2007-05-17). "Ron Paul Said It". LewRockwell.com. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
84. Buchanan, Patrick J. (2007-05-28). "But who was right – Rudy or Ron?". WorldNetDaily. Retrieved 2007-05-26. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
85. Kincaid, Cliff (2007-05-16). "Fox News' Pro-Giuliani Conflict of Interest". Accuracy in Media. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
86. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUYDt7kC3Z0
87. Smith, Jordan (2007-05-25). "Reefer Madness: 'Let's Embarrass Ron Paul'". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-06-21. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
88. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jetwXdBMwbQ
89. Ron Paul Press Release May 16, 2007
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91. Horton, Scott (2007-05-19). "Antiwar Radio: Scott Horton Interviews Michael Scheuer". Antiwar.com Blog. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
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93. Horton, Scott (2007-05-22). "Fmr. Chief of CIA Osama Unit: Why They Attack Us". Antiwar blog. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
94. http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/05/blowback.html#more
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96. 5:51 according to the New York Times
97. Graph of June 5 debate candidate airtime at Chris Dodd website
98. Survey Methodology
99. MSNBC poll on June 5 debate
100. CNN Political Ticker - The Ron Paul phenomenon?
101. The June 5th debate blog
102. CNN's reason why the blog was pulled.
103. Saved snapshot of the now defunct page
104. "Paul: U.S. has rejected 'Just War' theory of Christianity". CNN Political Ticker. 2007-06-05. Retrieved 2007-06-07. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
105. Alan Bernstein (1996-05-23). "CAMPAIGN '96 U.S. HOUSE Newsletter excerpts offer ammunition to Paul's opponents". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-05-20. also accessible here
106. The 1996 Houston Chronicle article by Alan Bernstein quoted the Ron Paul Survival Report newsletter
107. Ryan Sager (2007-05-18). "Ron Paul and Race, Continued". The New York Sun. Retrieved 2007-05-20. quoting from S.C. Gwynne (October 2001). "Dr. No". Texas Monthly magazine.
108. ^ "Mises Institute Awards". Foundation for Rational Economics and Education. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
109. "A Biography of The Honorable Ron Paul". Mises Institute. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
110. "Attack on the Americas! Counterrevolution". JumpCut. Retrieved 2007-06-15.

External links

Official sites

• Presidential Campaign Website
  • Meetup
  • YouTube
  • MySpace
  • Facebook
  • Eventful
• U.S. House of Representatives Office of Ron Paul

Internet TV, speeches, statements and writings

• WWW.FREEME.TV Ron Paul Internet television station
• Ron Paul Library index of more than 700 writings by Ron Paul
• Archives of Ron Paul articles on LewRockwell.com
• Ron Paul in "America: Freedom to Fascism" Full Length Movie
• The Golden Age of Reason Ron Paul articles, collateral, books, video, radio, photos, events, and blogs

Documentaries, topic pages and databases

• United States Congress. "Ron Paul (id: P000583)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• On the Issues - Ron Paul issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org Congress and Presidential campaign contributions (from the Center for Responsive Politics)
• PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer - Vote 2008: Ron Paul
• Project Vote Smart - Ron Paul
• SourceWatch Congresspedia - Ron Paul
• Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Ron Paul voting record
• Washington Post - Presidential Candidates: Ron Paul profile, finance, events
• Template:Dmoz
• "Lone Star" and Stupid Party - Ron Paul discussed in American Conservative

Grassroots campaigns

• Ron Paul Forum
• Ron Paul Forums
• Ron Paul Podcast
• Students for Ron Paul

v t e Ron Paul
Political positions Electoral history 1988 presidential campaign 2008 presidential campaign 2012 presidential campaign
Legislation	Sponsored legislation American Sovereignty Restoration Act Family Education Freedom Act Federal Reserve Transparency Act Sanctity of Life Act
Books	Bibliography A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship The Revolution: A Manifesto End the Fed Liberty Defined
Organizations	Foundation for Rational Economics and Education (FREE) Campaign for Liberty Students for Ron Paul Citizens for a Sound Economy
Related	Draft Ron Paul movement Ron Paul newsletters Moneybomb Rand Paul Paulville, Texas Tea Party movement (2009 Tea Party protests)
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