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Texas Republican Congressman, 1988 Libertarian Presidential candidate, 2008 Republican Presidential prospective candidate
Ron Paul

Ronald Ernest Paul (born 20 August 1935) is an American author, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. Representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, and for Texas's 14th congressional district from 1997 to 2013. On three occasions, he sought the presidency of the United States: as the Libertarian Party nominee in 1988 and as a candidate in the Republican primaries of 2008 and 2012. Paul is a critic of the federal government's fiscal policies, especially the existence of the Federal Reserve and the tax policy, as well as the military–industrial complex and the War on Drugs. He has also been a vocal critic of mass surveillance policies such as the USA PATRIOT Act and the NSA surveillance programs. He was the first chairman of the conservative PAC Citizens for a Sound Economy and has been characterized as the "intellectual godfather" of the Tea Party movement.

Reference

Paul, Ron (1935-), by David Boaz, The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism, 15 Aug 2008
Biographical essay
Ron Paul is a member of Congress and was the 1988 U.S. Libertarian Party presidential nominee. For much of the period from 1976 onward, Paul, a physician from Texas, has been the only consistent libertarian in the U.S. Congress. He served briefly in 1976, from 1979 to 1985, and returned to Congress in 1996. He has always insisted that he never votes for anything that is not authorized by the U.S. Constitution, and he never votes for any bill that would increase taxes or government spending. He is an outspoken opponent of the Federal Reserve Bank, the United Nations, and most foreign wars.

Images

Ron Paul - The Advocates
214x300 JPEG, color

Born

20 Aug 1935, Ronald Ernest Paul, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Awards Received

2002 Szasz Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Cause of Civil Liberties, by Center for Independent Thought, Thomas S. Szasz Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Cause of Civil Liberties, 2002
2003 Gary G. Schlarbaum Prize, by Mises Institute, The Gary G. Schlarbaum Prize, 2003

Associations

Advocates for Self-Government, Board of Advisors
Mises Institute, Senior Fellow
Eris Society, 1991, "The Psychology of Congress"

Web Pages

The Advocates for Self-Government - Ron Paul
Includes profile, picture and quotes
Congressman Ron Paul enjoys a national reputation as the premier advocate for liberty in politics today. First elected to Congress in 1976, Dr. Paul is the leading spokesman in Washington, DC for limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency. He is known among both his colleagues in Congress and his constituents for his consistent voting record in the House of Representatives. ... In the words of former Treasury Secretary William Simon, Dr. Paul is the 'one exception to the Gang of 535' on Capitol Hill.
Libertarian Party: Campaign 2000: Presidential Campaign
Includes introduction, look back at previous presidential campaigns and basic information and links for the nominees: Harry Browne and Art Olivier
Former Republican Congressman Ron Paul won a close nomination bid against Native American activist Russell Means for the 1988 LP ticket. Paul chose Andre Marrou -- who had served in the Alaska State House of Representatives as a Libertarian -- as his running mate. That year, Libertarians saw their ballot access increase to 46 states. Their popular vote total of 432,297 was twice that of any other third party.
Libertarian Party: History: Presidential & Vice-Presidential Candidates
Includes images of campaign bumper stickers
1988: Paul/Marrou
Presidential Candidate: Ron Paul
Vice Presidential Candidate: Andre Marrou
On the ballot: 46 states plus D.C.
Votes: 432,297

Archived Articles

Ron Paul, Author at LewRockwell
Essays, articles and speeches from 2001 to the present, and curated ones from earlier dates

Articles

35 Heroes of Freedom, by Reason, Reason, Dec 2003
"Eclectic, irreverent" list of individuals "who have made the world a freer, better, and more libertarian place by example, invention, or action", as chosen by Reason editors (includes the unknown martyr of Tiananmen Square and "The Yuppie")
Ron Paul. Paul is the only member of Congress who always votes according to the principles they all should follow. First, he asks if the program is authorized by the Constitution. If it is, he then consults his campaign promises, which include pledges to never raise taxes or increase spending. Look for his votes in the nay column.
The Barr Campaign At Three Months, by David Nolan, 26 Aug 2008
Follow-up discussion of the Bob Barr presidential campaign three months after the nomination (and 10 weeks before the election)
Why has the effort to raise money been so unsuccessful? In my opinion, the answer is obvious. Republicans, by and large, won't contribute to a rival party. Libertarians remain uninspired by campaign press releases like the one calling for a "Commission on Wasteful Government." And the small army of Ron Paul supporters is not transferring their support to Barr because he has totally failed to address their two key issues: dismantling the Federal Reserve and ending the Iraq War ASAP. In sum, nobody is being offered a compelling reason to contribute.
Related Topic: Libertarian Party
The Case for Gold, by Mark Calabria
Review of The Case for Gold (1982) by Rep. Ron Paul and Lewis Lehrman
In 1982, Rep. Ron Paul and Lewis Lehrman served on the U.S. Gold Commission, commissioned by Congress to evaluate the role of gold in the monetary system. Paul and Lehrman produced a landmark minority report: The Case for Gold. ... Working with a team of economists, Paul and Lehrman produced a work that is as sound and prescient today as when first published. With Paul's ascendancy to chairman of the House Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy — which oversees the Federal Reserve as well as the currency and the valuation of the dollar ...
The Constitutionalist, by Gary M. Galles, 28 Mar 2007
Comments on the 2008 presidential candidacy of Paul, aiming to demonstrate his principled and consistent views by a litany of quotes from Paul's writings and speeches in the preceding year
In a long public life, Dr. Paul has always kept faith with the limited defensible role for our federal government ... Ron Paul is best defined by what he would not do. He has steadfastly opposed war. He rejects domestic subsidies and beggar-thy-neighbor policies on the same basis. He would not support government policies that, while depriving taxpayers of income and restricting citizen choices, do not achieve their intended results. He does not support government redistribution of wealth ... Verifying [his] consistent, principled approach is also easy. His voting record in the House speaks for itself.
Foreword, by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., A Foreign Policy of Freedom, 2007
Examines the historical precedents for the Paulian view that American foreign and domestic policy both be conducted in the same non-interventionist manner
Ron Paul has always believed that foreign and domestic policy should be conducted according to the same principles. Government should be restrained from intervening at home or abroad because its actions fail to achieve their stated aims, create more harm than good, shrink the liberty of the people, and violate rights ... Paul's singular voice on foreign affairs has done so much to keep the flame of a consistent liberty burning in times when it might otherwise have been extinguished. He has drawn public attention to the ideas of the founders. He has alerted people to the dangers of empire.
Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson Endorses Ron Paul | Reuters, 21 Jan 2008
Press release from the Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign Committee
To announce his endorsement, Governor Johnson issued the following statement: "I am endorsing Ron Paul for the Republican nomination for President because of his commitment to less government, greater liberty, and lasting prosperity for America. We are at a point in this country where we need to reduce our dependency on government and regain control of our future. To this end, Ron Paul will bring back troops, end the War in Iraq, and will strengthen the U.S. dollar and the economy. For these reasons and more, Ron Paul has my support, respect, and vote."
Related Topic: Gary Johnson
The Fraudulent Tax, by Laurence M. Vance, Mises Daily, 9 Oct 2006
Examines the arguments made by proponents of the FairTax (a national retail sales tax), in particular, those made by Neal Boortz in The FairTax Book (2005)
FairTax supporters know that it is Dr. Paul who consistently votes to lower or abolish federal taxes, spending, and regulation. His support for the FairTax bill would further their cause ... The Americans for Fair Taxation website lists Congressman Paul as a "supporter" of the FairTax. This is strange since Dr. Paul has not taken an official position [on] the FairTax. His priority is reducing government spending and taxes, not getting sidetracked in debates about which type of tax we should have. As he has made clear: "The real issue is total spending by government, not tax reform."
Related Topic: Taxation
Free Speech on the Ropes, by James Bovard, Freedom Daily, Jan 2006
Constrasts President Bush's "we love our freedom" rhetoric with actions to suppress dissent by establishing "free speech zones"; tells the story of a protester arrested and released but then prosecuted in non-jury trial by the Justice Department
The Bursey prosecution spurred a dozen members of Congress, including Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), to write to President Bush to protest the administration's crackdown on demonstrators: "As we read the First Amendment to the Constitution, the United States is a 'free speech zone.' In the United States, free speech is the rule, not the exception ... We ask that you make it clear that we have no interest as a government in 'zoning' constitutional freedoms, and that being politically annoying to the president of the United States is not a criminal offense ..."
The Great Unknown, by James Ostrowski, 17 Jan 2007
Argues that Hillary Clinton, considered to be the Democratic nominee by the author, would prefer to face McCain rather than the "Great Unknown" of Ron Paul
Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich? ... McCain's in there too. Ron Paul versus three establishment centrists who supported the war sounds like a good scenario in the Republican primaries. ... Now, consider the fact that on the key issue of the campaign, the Iraq War, Ron Paul beats Hillary. He voted against the war and she for it. On three other key issues, the economy, immigration and health care, Ron Paul's views should fare quite well against Hillary's. ... All I'm saying is that the Ron Paul campaign could be a political earthquake. We won't and can't know until after the fact.
Related Topic: Iraq War
How We Started "Liberty", by R. W. Bradford, Liberty, Sep 1992
Reflections on the fifth anniversary of publishing Liberty
Rothbard's contribution ... was a rousing defense of Ron Paul's bid for the LP's presidential nomination and an attack on the candidacy of Russell Means: "If the Libertarian Party selects Ron Paul, it votes for growth, for prosperity, for life itself, and for setting out on the road to victory for liberty. If it chooses Russell Means, it commits hara-kiri in full public view ... the choice between Paul and Means is a choice between life and death." It was hot stuff, lively prose with a nasty edge. But Rothbard's polemic alarmed me ... Happily, two ... editors came to the rescue by writing [different] analyses of the contest ...
Is Capitalism Why We Fight?, by Gregory Bresiger, Mises Daily, 6 Apr 2006
Critical review of the theses presented in the 2005 documentary Why We Fight, also inquirying about topics omitted from the film
Repeatedly, the documentarians go around asking average Joes why we fight. Again and again, people usually give moronic answers, or answers that are a mindless rehash of pathetic justifications offered by the Bush administration ... The documentary cries out for the comments of a maverick member of Congress like Ron Paul, a Republican from Texas who opposed the Iraq incursion from day one and whose inspired consistent opposition to American empire has so often been ignored or trivialized in the mainstream press.
Libertarianism and the War, by Justin Raimondo, 2 Apr 2007
Criticizes a Cato Unbound symposium titled "Libertarianism: Past and Prospects" with contributed essays from Brian Doherty, Brink Lindsey, Tyler Cowen, Tom G. Palmer and Virginia Postrel
America stands at a crossroads: one path leads to empire, and the other takes us back to our origins as a constitutional republic. Rep. Ron Paul, who has recently announced his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, understands this ... [T]he simple and powerful message of our libertarian member of Congress puts [the Cato crowd] all to shame. Not that these wiseacres would ever think to learn anything from Ron Paul, who has been around the movement a lot longer than any of them. They wouldn't condescend to even discuss his campaign, except to diss him as "doctrinaire."
The Libertarian Party Stays the Course, by Brian Doherty, Reason, 3 Jun 2004
Detailed reporting and analysis of the 2004 Libertarian National Convention and the selection of Badnarik as the LP nominee
Despite some cavils by Russo partisans that nominating ... Badnarik was a suicidal move for the LP, its future will doubtless be far more lively and significant on the local, state, and congressional level than the presidential; Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) has proven that libertarianism as hardcore as it gets can reach Congress and stay there. Of course, it has so far had to fly under a different party label, which raises a difficult question that most hardcore Partyarchs don't want to deal with—might it not be better for even the most radical libertarian to launch his political career small, and as a Republican?
Libertarian Voters and the Libertarian Party, by David Boaz, 23 May 2008
Discusses the 2008 Libertarian Party presidential candidate nominees, the views of libertarian-leaning voters and the prospects for the LP
Vying for the [Libertarian Party] nomination are a former Democratic senator, a former Republican congressman, the author of the book Millionaire Republican, and a number of long‐​time party activists ... Ron Paul's surprising campaign this year and the increasing evidence about libertarian voters have generated more interest in the Libertarian Party nomination than usual, as witness the large and broad field of candidates ... There's widespread disillusionment with both parties. Ron Paul tapped into some of that in the Republican primaries and demonstrated that a libertarian candidate could raise a lot of money.
The New U.S. War on Liberty, by David J. Theroux, Karen De Coster, 22 Jan 2002
De Coster introduces a critical analysis, by Theroux, of the War in Afghanistan and the War on Terrorism
Congressman Ron Paul admirably submitted a bill in Congress which would issue "Letters of Marque and Reprisal" (based on Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution) to authorize private parties to go after the terrorists, just as private bounty hunters do otherwise. (see "Let Privateers Troll for Bin Laden," by Larry J. Sechrest). However, the White House, the defense and intelligence establishments, and the leadership in Congress are firmly against any such moves because they do not want the competition that would likely show up the military-industrial-congressional complex for what it really is ...
Related Topics: Afghanistan, Government
Online NewsHour: Libertarian Party History, 5 Jul 2000
History from 1971 through 1999; special coverage for the year 2000 elections
1987: ... Former U.S. Congressman Ron Paul resigns from the Republican Party and joins the Libertarian Party. Seattle convention nominates Ron Paul for president, Andre Marrou for vice president.
1988: Ron Paul, on the ballot in 46 states and the District of Columbia, comes in third, receiving more than 430,000 votes nationwide -- almost twice the total of any other "third" party.
Pathetic Arguments for Foreign Intervention, by Sheldon Richman, 25 Jan 2008
Criticizes comments made by The Wall Street Journal's Bret Stephens about Ron Paul's call for a full U.S. withdrawal from the Middle East
Republican presidential contender Ron Paul certainly deserves credit for putting the foreign policy of noninterventionism into the public debate. It's about time ... Yes, the time for this debate is long overdue. Unfortunately, the quality of the debate on the other side is pathetic ... The media stars who seem so incredulous and amused when interviewing a noninterventionist such as Representative Paul are like putty in the hands of American imperialists ... Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal, [criticizes] Representative Paul's call for a full U.S. withdrawal from the Middle East ...
Paul's Apology: Say it ain't so, Dr. No, by Jacob Sullum, Reason, 16 Jan 2008
Examines Ron Paul's record, the controversy over the newsletters published under Paul's name in the 1980s and 1990s, and Paul's response
Ron Paul is not just a rare politician. The Texas Republican's combination of principle and plainspokenness ... has helped his presidential campaign break fund-raising records while attracting a strikingly diverse and enthusiastic crowd of supporters ... Not everything you may have heard about the newsletters is true ... But the truth is bad enough ... The race-baiting newsletter passages do not sound like anything else Paul has said or written in his public life. People who were familiar with the newsletters' production confirm that they were largely ghostwritten and that Paul often did not review them prior to publication.
Related Topic: Libertarianism
Preface, by Murray N. Rothbard, Gold, Peace, and Prosperity: The Birth of a New Currency, 1981
Preface to Ron Paul's Gold, Peace, and Prosperity
Ron Paul is a most unusual politician—in many ways. In the first place, he really knows what he's talking about. He is not only for the gold standard. He knows why he is for it, and he is familiar with the most advanced and complex economic insights on the true nature of inflation, on how inflation works, and how inflationary credit expansions brings about booms and busts. And yet Ron has the remarkable ability to take these complex and vital insights and to present them in clear, lucid, hard-hitting terms to the non-economist reader. His economics is as sound as a bell.
President Paul?, by Joseph Sobran, The Reactionary Utopian, 25 Jan 2006
Commentary and anecdotes on hearing that Ron Paul had formed an exploratory committee for his 2008 U.S. Presidential bid
Paul, a pro-life medical doctor, is a genuine political maverick. When the House votes for something 434 to 1, you can safely bet that Paul is the 1. He really fights for the principles other Republicans only pretend to stand for, and does so with carefully reasoned explanations of his positions ... Paul ran for president once before, in 1988, when he bolted the GOP to run on the Libertarian Party ticket. Much as I admired him, I voted for George H.W. Bush, afraid of "wasting" my vote on Paul, who had no real chance of winning. Silly me. I soon realized I had really wasted my vote on Bush.
The Revolutionary Candidate, by Thomas Woods, 26 Mar 2007
Discusses and comments on the reactions of various organizations in the early days of Paul's 2008 presidential campaign
He's a bigger supporter of the free market than anyone in Congress, but he's also the most consistent opponent of war. ... He has won so many awards from the National Taxpayers Union that he's probably lost count. CNET rated him the best out of all 435 congressmen in the House of Representatives on issues relating to the Internet. ... Although more and more Americans polled agree that their government should mind its own business and try to scale back its impossible commitments ... no one in politics other than Ron Paul will actually say such a thing, much less write a book about it.
Related Topic: Iraq War
ripensare il femminismo/.2 "My body, my choice", by Wendy McElroy, Marco Faraci, 9 Mar 2012
Second part of "Rethinking feminism" interview; topics include modern feminism vs. the Berlusconi scandals, American conservative women, and the presidential candidacy of Ron Paul
Ci sono temi specifici ed importanti nei quali mi distinguo in modo netto da Ron Paul; tra questi l’immigrazione, l’aborto ed alcune sue votazioni al Congresso. Tuttavia la vera questione è se la libertà può essere davvero raggiunta attraverso la politica elettorale. ... Ed anche se mi sento più vicina a quello che dice Ron Paul che a quello che dicono gli altri candidati, alla fine Paul resta comunque un politico. Quei libertari che vogliono consegnargli "l’anello per governarli tutti" (per dirla alla Tolkien) sono un po’ troppo ottimisti sul fatto che, al contrario di tutti gli altri politici, lui invece manterrà le promesse.
Related Topic: Conservatism
Ron Paul and the Empire, by Steven LaTulippe, 31 Jul 2007
Considers what steps the establishment could take to prevent Ron Paul from becoming President if he continued to be "a viable candidate" and to present a serious challenge
Can Ron Paul really win? Does he have a snowball's chance of becoming the next president, or are we all kidding ourselves? ... Unlike the establishment's candidates, Ron Paul is a freelancer running on three specific ideas:
  1. The federal government must function within the strict guidelines of the Constitution.
  2. America should deconstruct its empire, withdraw our troops from around the world and reestablish a foreign policy based on noninterventionism.
  3. America should abolish the Federal Reserve Bank, eliminate fiat currency and return to hard money.
The Ron Paul Revolution: A Lesson in Free Market Economics, by Jason Rink, 19 Sep 2007
Discusses how the grassroots Ron Paul supporters demonstrate how an unfettered market works
They say Ron Paul is skinny because he won’t let special interests buy him lunch. While this may be true, the grassroots campaign is incredibly fat with the volunteer efforts and contributions from Ron Paul Revolution foot soldiers who are taking the movement to the street ... Though they started with almost nothing when he announced his candidacy, the National Campaign recently raised more money than the entire GOP at the Texas Straw Poll. In San Francisco, Ron Paul spoke at three sold out fundraising events, with $500–$2,000 admission prices.
Related Topic: Free Market
Ron Paul's Goldwater Moment, by Justin Raimondo, 11 May 2007
Critiques Washington-centric "conventional wisdom" about Ron Paul's presidential candidacy
Portraits of Congressman Ron Paul ... invariably descend into cliché–he is "Dr. No," he’s against subsidies even for his own district, he's a libertarian Don Quixote–but, then again, clichés are what the conventional wisdom is made of ... [H]owever, ... he is a true paleo-Republican ... a ten-term congressman from Texas who remembers what the Republican party used to stand for ... [H]e's a country doctor, a man who oozes sincerity, and just the kind of stern yet benevolent figure, brimming with integrity, who is conceivably capable of leading the GOP out of its ideological quagmire, and reclaiming its lost heritage.
Ron's Revolution: Could Dr. Paul really surprise us all?, by Dave Kopel, 9 Oct 2007
Recounts observations from the Second Amendment Foundation's Gun Rights Policy Conference and the impact of the Ron Paul presidential campaign
What I saw and heard there changed my mind about the viability of Ron Paul's presidential candidacy ... The difference between Paul as a speaker in 1988 and in 2007 was startling. In 1988, he was perfectly competent. This time he was electrifying ... Most impressive, however, was the large crowd of young people ... They were enthused and energized, many of them sporting Ron Paul Revolution t-shirts. (The shirts are very clever, since they use "Revolution" to also say "LOVE", which makes revolution seem a lot nicer.) ... With five million dollars raised in 3Q 2007, it appears that Paul's message is catching on.
Ron Versus the Huckster, by Justin Raimondo, 7 Sep 2007
Analyzes Ron Paul's response to Chris Wallace's questions on the Iraq invasion and Paul's exchange with Gov. Huckabee, at the 5 Sep 2007 Republican presidential debate
... Rep. Paul, the only antiwar candidate in the GOP pack, succeeded in framing the debate around his challenge to neocon orthodoxy on the all-important issue of foreign policy. ... Wallace ... asked if Paul would "leave troops in the region ..." and Paul's answer ... takes an unequivocal position – "Yes, I would leave, I would leave completely" ... Paul, however, goes beyond a mere critique of the present policy, and offers a coherent and comprehensive alternative, succinctly and with real passion in his voice ... Paul's focus is admirable: he goes right for the jugular, and hits it unerringly.
Related Topics: George W. Bush, Iraq War
Top 10 Members of Congress Fighting for Lower Taxes, by Editors of HUMAN EVENTS, Human Events, 4 Apr 2006
List of three senators and seven representatives, ranked by the editors according to their stances or records on taxation measures
1. Rep. Ron Paul (R.-Tex.)
Co-sponsor with Rep. Jeff Flake of a constitutional amendment to repeal the 16th Amendment and end income, gift and estate taxes. Regularly pushes for tax cuts. Sponsor of bills to allow tax credits for private school tuition, to permit tax deduction of college tuition and to stop all taxation of Social Security benefits. Opposes all unconstitutional spending programs.
Related Topic: Taxation
Total Victory: How Sweet It Is!, by Murray N. Rothbard, The Libertarian Forum, 1983
Lengthy account and commentary on the 1983 Libertarian Party presidential convention
It wasn't supposed to be an exciting convention. Since January, radio talk show host Gene Burns of Orlando, Florida had been campaigning hard for the Presidential nomination. No one was in the field to oppose him. The desperate Crane Machine, trying hard for a "big name" candidate, sought for months to induce Republican Representative Ron Paul to run against Burns, but without success.
The Voting Ritual, by Butler Shaffer, 24 Oct 2006
Reflects on the U.S. Election Day in 2006 as the 42nd anniversary of Shaffer's "non-participiation in the voting process"
But when a Tweedledum Republican is opposed on the ballot by a Tweedledummer Democrat, even a handful of the Faux-News faithful may recognize the fungible nature of the various Republocrats. I have, in recent years, discovered only one member of Congress who is an exception to this, namely, Ron Paul from Texas. It is instructive that Paul – a philosophically principled Republican – has long been vigorously opposed by both the Republican and Democratic chieftains, a phenomenon that ought to be a tip-off to the identity of the real interests in any election.
Related Topics: Politics, Voting
Will Congress Finally Face Up to Their Responsibility and Debate Iraq?, by Kevin B. Zeese, 31 Mar 2006
Discusses the proposal by a group of six congressmen to have 17 hours of "open and honest debate about the future of U.S. policy in Iraq"
... three Democrats and three Republicans, are calling for a full debate on ending the Iraq War. The group, known as the 'April 5 Group,' ... includes Republican Representatives Ron Paul, Wayne Gilchrest and Walter B. Jones and Democratic Representatives Neil Abercrombie, Ike Skelton and Marty Meehan. ... having three Republicans join with three Democrats in the call for debate is also a very positive sign. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) is no surprise; he has been an ardent anti-interventionist Republican with strong libertarian leanings who has been consistently critical of the Iraq War.
Related Topics: George W. Bush, Iraq War
Williams can't duck campaign pushes, by Robert Stacy McCain, The Washington Times, 9 Feb 2007
Discusses the effort by cartoonist Bruce Tinsley, in his "Mallard Fillmore" comic strip, to recruit Williams for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination
The George Mason professor says he shares Mr. Tinsley's disdain for career politicians. ... Mr. Williams' own '08 favorite is Rep. Ron Paul, Texas Republican and a 1988 Libertarian Party presidential nominee, who last month announced the formation of an exploratory committee. 'If the framers of the Constitution were somehow to come back, Ron Paul is one of possibly only three people in Congress that they’d even talk to,' said Mr. Williams, adding that most politicians have a 'generalized contempt' for the values of the Constitution.
Related Topic: Walter E. Williams

Writings

Assault Weapons and Assaults on the Constitution, Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk, 22 Apr 2003
Comments on the Bush administration support for reauthorization of the 1994 assault weapons ban
The Bush administration recently surprised and angered many pro-gun conservatives by announcing its support for an assault weapons ban passed in 1994. The law contained a ten-year sunset provision, and is set to expire in 2004 unless reauthorized by Congress. A spokesman for the administration stated flatly that the President 'supports the current law, and he supports reauthorization of the current law.' ... The notion that the Second amendment confers rights only upon organized state-run militias is preposterous; the amendment is meaningless unless it protects the gun rights of individuals.
Gay Marriage Quicksand, Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk, 1 Mar 2004
Comments on the George W. Bush announcement that he endorses a constitutional amendment "defining and protecting marriage as a union of a man and woman as husband and wife"
The President's recent announcement that he supports a constitutional amendment defining marriage has intensified the gay marriage debate. It seems sad that we need government to define and regulate our most basic institutions. ... Social problems cannot be solved by constitutional amendments or government edicts. Nationalizing marriage laws will only grant more power over our lives to the federal government, even if for supposedly conservative ends. ... True conservatives and libertarians should understand that the solution to our moral and cultural decline does not lie in a strong centralized government.
Related Topics: Marriage, Reserved Powers
"I Have a Plan...", Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk, 18 Oct 2004
Criticizes political ads and speeches that present plans for government to "run" the economy or the country
As election time nears, we are bombarded with political ads and speeches by candidates telling us their great plans for running the country. At the end of the recent presidential debate, for example, the Democratic nominee recited a litany of supposed cures for nearly everything that ails us, beginning each sentence with the phrase "I have a plan..." ... Unless and until Americans begin to reclaim the mentality that made us great, we are destined to slide further into an economic and political malaise that cannot be solved by the grandiose plans of politicians.
Paul Applauds Congressional Restrictions on Patriot Act, 24 Jul 2003
Press release about two votes in Congress amending the Department of Justice annual funding and affecting provisions of the Patriot Act
Congressman Ron Paul praised two landmark votes in Congress that could mark a turning point in the battle to protect civil liberties threatened by the Patriot Act. Paul has been an outspoken critic of the Patriot Act since its hasty passage in the weeks following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. ... Congressman Ron Paul praised two landmark votes in Congress that could mark a turning point in the battle to protect civil liberties threatened by the Patriot Act. Paul has been an outspoken critic of the Patriot Act since its hasty passage in the weeks following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Reviews

Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement, by David Gordon, The Mises Review, Dec 2007
Critical and (self-admittedly) "unfair review" of Brian Doherty's Radicals for Capitalism (2007)
After discussing the 1987 presidential nominating convention of the Libertarian Party, in which Ron Paul defeated Russell Means, Doherty says: "Some old party hands such as [David] Bergland thought Ron Paul ended up a carpetbagger, moving in on the LP merely to expand the mailing list and donor base for his investment advice business" (p. 515). Is this not a vicious smear against a man who has spent decades of his life defending libertarian principles? Doherty does not endorse the remark, but he says nothing at all against it.

Interviews

10/16/04 – Ron Paul – The Scott Horton Show, by Ron Paul, Scott Horton, The Scott Horton Show, 16 Oct 2004
MP3 audio; topics include: the proper response to the 11 Sep 2001 attacks, nuclear weapons, U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, military conscription, individual liberty and whether there is hope for the future
The Antiwar Republican, by Ron Paul, Scott Horton, 4 Apr 2007
Transcript and MP3 audio recording; topics include foreign policy principles, isolationism, the Bush Doctrine, the "war on terror", the British sailors captured by Iran, presidential authority over state National Guard units and Guantanamo Bay detainees
[Horton:] [O]ur very special guest today on Antiwar Radio is Dr. Ron Paul, congressman representing District 14 in south Texas and new presidential candidate. That's all I can say about that, because Antiwar.com is a nonprofit and the government has rules about such things, but we can talk all about what [he] believes. And that's really what I am interested in anyway ... You have the most consistent antiwar record of any congressman from either party. If one goes back and reads your speeches from years and years ago, they are just the same as the ones today–taking the strict antiwar position.
UpdThe Separation of School and State Alliance: An Interview with Marshall Fritz, by Marshall Fritz, 3 Jun 1999
Transcript of online chat hosted by Mary Leggewie (creator of HomeschoolChristian.com) and including audience member questions, many asking about ways to support Fritz and the Alliance's efforts
Audience member question: What politicians can we trust are committed to this cause?
Marshall Fritz: Well, I would like to say you can trust my friend Ron Paul, U.S. Congress from Texas. But even he, the best man in the House, entered a bill that would have allowed the IRS to be the major decision maker on what is educational in the USA, and would have caused massive new borrowing or monetary inflation. You see, unintended consequences happen even to libertarians when they don't think through their proposals. (BTW, I said this to Ron's face, and we're still friends.)
Starting a Brush Fire for Freedom: An interview with US Rep. Ron Paul, by Ron Paul, John W. Whitehead, oldSpeak, 9 Feb 2004
Topics include: being a lone wolf in Congress, the Patriot Act and related legislation, George W. Bush, the Iraq War, conservatives and neo-cons, the federal debt, education and the Constitution
There are times when neither side will agree with me and I will be voting by myself. I understand that I vote by myself more times than everyone else in Congress put together. So, there are times on economic issues where I will have many close and enthusiastic allies from both sides on war issues and sometimes on civil liberties issues. There are principled people from both sides that I ally with. Thus, in one way you could paint me as being totally alone. However, in another sense, I have a chance to work with almost everybody at one time or another.

Cartoons and Comic Strips

How do you spell Iraq?, by Mike Adams, Dan Berger, 29 Jan 2007
Related Topic: Iraq

Books Authored

Gold, Peace, and Prosperity: The Birth of a New Currency
    by Ron Paul, Henry Hazlitt (foreword), Murray N. Rothbard (preface), 1981
The Revolution: A Manifesto, 2008
Contents: The False Choices of American Politics - The Foreign Policy of the Founding Fathers - The Constitution - Economic Freedom - Civil Liberties and Personal Freedom - Money: The Forbidden Issue in American Politics - The Revolution
Tethered Citizens: Time to Repeal the Welfare State
    by Ron Paul (foreword), Sheldon Richman, The Future of Freedom Foundation, 2001
Partial table of contents: What the Welfare State Really Is - Didn't We Vote For it? - How It Started - The Idea of the Welfare State in America - What About the Poor? - Time to Abolish the Welfare State
Related Topic: The State

Videos

The Anarchist Roundtable: Ron Paul, by Wendy McElroy, 6 Jan 2008
Stefan Molyneux hosts Wendy McElroy and Brad Spangler, over the phone, to discuss the Ron Paul Revolution

David Letterman Endorses Ron Paul in 1988, by David Letterman, 1988
Interview with Sandra Bernhard, discussing the 1988 Presidential debates and announcing he would vote for the Libertarian candidate, Ron Paul

Freedom Bomb - Original Music Video, by Eddie J. James, 12 Dec 2007

George H. Smith Gives Qualified Endorsement of Ron Paul 2008, by George H. Smith, 30 Dec 2007
Together with his dog Herbert (named of course after Spencer) who is a "political junkie", Smith says, in an analogy to sex education, "if you must vote, if you cannot control your political impulses, then by all means vote for Ron Paul"

Hope for America, by Rob Sieg, 1 Nov 2007

Justin Raimondo @ Ron Paul in 2008 rally July 14, 2007, by Justin Raimondo, 14 Jul 2007

Let's Shake It Up!, 4 Dec 2007

Rise, Consise, and Krookid - Ron Paul 2008 - Music Video, 8 Dec 2007

The Spirit of Freedom, by Libertyproject08, 25 Nov 2007
Music by Muse "Butterflies and Hurricanes", clips from "Braveheart", "The Patriot" and "V for Vendetta"

Videos


Anti-Trust and Monopoly, by Dominick T. Armentano, Ron Paul, 13 Jul 1983
A conversation with Ron Paul, hosted by Roger Ream, with guest Prof. Dominick Armentano
Related Topic: Monopoly

Campaign for Liberty Announcement, 13 Jun 2008

Enough Is Enough!, 17 Nov 2010
Short speech announcing new legislation to curb the TSA and the notion that Americans have accepted being treated like cattle
Related Topics: Terrorism, Transportation

Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve, by Mises Institute, Ron Paul, Lew Rockwell, Murray N. Rothbard, Joseph Salerno, 1996
Explains the origins of money and banking, how and why the Federal Reserve was created and the effects it has had on society. Dedicated to Murray Rothbard.

Ron Paul interview on The Dennis Miller Radio Show, by Dennis Miller, Ron Paul (interviewee), 30 May 2007

Ron Paul Slams Republican Warmongers, 30 Jan 2008
Ron Paul answers the question "Do you agree with McCain that U.S. troops may be in Iraq for '100 years'?"
Related Topic: Iraq War

U.S. Foreign Policy and the War in Iraq, by Doug Casey, Ron Paul, 5 Jul 2007
Debate between Congressman Ron Paul and Doug Casey vs. Dinesh D'Souza and Larry Abraham, at FreedomFest, Las Vegas
Related Topic: Iraq War

Podcasts

The Libertarian Student Movement, by Wolf von Laer, Aaron Ross Powell (host), Caleb Brown (host), Free Thoughts, 17 Feb 2017
Interview with Wolf von Laer, CEO of Students for Liberty, to discuss the status of the liberty movement on college campuses
Wolf von Laer: ... So we certainly talk about [students becoming politicians] and ... that this is one of means of spreading the ideas of liberty and in this country, Ron Paul was very formative. And even internationally, [he] was very formative for many classical Liberals or Libertarians ... [In] the United States specifically, it is still Ron Paul. People still see the videos and are still excited about that, but it is ebbing away. And we have seen that, because we have been growing a lot in the United States, and once Ron Paul was gone, we saw that our growth was not as dramatic anymore.

The introductory paragraph uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ron Paul" as of 9 Aug 2018, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.