Ron Paul: Hope for America

I am so excited to find someone worthy of my vote. Ron Paul grew up on a dairy farm, shared a bedroom with his brothers, worked his way through college, became a ob/gyn and continued to deliver babies even after being elected to Congress. He is still married to the mother of his children and I would love to have him as my neighbor, even more, I'd love to have him as my president.

His name is Dr. Ron Paul or Congressman Ron Paul (Dr. Congressman Paul?) and here is what he stands for:

Brief Overview of Congressman Paul’s Record:

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.

Foreign Policy:
:: nonintervention (but not isolationsism)
:: free trade (but not managed trade)

Paul is a proponent of free trade, but has opposed some "free trade agreements" (FTAs). He calls the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and similar proposals "international managed trade" agreements, saying they serve special interests and big business, not citizens. He often proposes instead that the U.S. engage in unilateral free trade by the simple abolition of trade barriers at home (similar to Hong Kong's approach), rather than send massive, unaccountable foreign aid. ~ Wikipedia

• secure borders and legal immigration

Paul believes all immigrants should be treated fairly and equally, under law, through "coherent immigration policy". He has spoken strongly against amnesty for illegal immigrants because he believes it undermines the rule of law, grants pardons to lawbreakers, and subsidizes more illegal immigration. ~ Wikipedia

Economy:

Lower taxes and smaller government

Paul believes the size of federal government must be decreased substantially. He supports th abolition of the Internal Revenue Service, most Cabinet departments, and the Federal Reserve. Paul's campaign slogan for 2004 was "The Taxpayers' Best Friend!"would completely eliminate the income tax by shrinking the size and scope of government to its Constitutional limits . . . ~ Wikipedia

Paul adheres deeply to Austrian school economics and libertarian criticism of fractional-reserve banking, opposing fiat increases to money in circulation; [ . . . ] Paul opposes inflation as an underhanded form of taxation, because it takes value away from the money that individuals hold without having to directly tax them. He sees the creation of the Federal Reserve, and its ability to "print money out of thin air" without commodity backing, as responsible for eroding the value of money, observing that "a dollar today is worth 4 cents compared to a dollar in 1913 when the Federal Reserve got in." ~ Wikipedia

Civil liberties:

States’ rights simply means the individual states should retain authority over all matters not expressly delegated to the federal government in Article I of the Constitution. ~ Wikipedia

• This means that all the controversial civil liberties topics should be decided on a state level, by the people and for the people for whom the policies are being set. What a terrific idea!

Environment:

The environment is better protected under private property rights .... We as property owners can't violate our neighbors' property. We can't pollute their air or their water. We can't dump our garbage on their property .... Too often, conservatives and libertarians fall short on defending environmental concerns, and they resort to saying, 'Well, let's turn it over to the EPA. The EPA will take care of us .... We can divvy up the permits that allow you to pollute.' So I don't particularly like that method. ~ Wikipedia

Crime:

Paul believes in personal responsibility, but also sees inequity in the current application of drug enforcement laws. "When people commit violence whether they’re under the influence of drugs, prescription drugs, illegal drugs or alcohol they should be punished severely. We shouldn’t be putting people in prison for life with no chance of getting out… that never have committed a violent crime. At the same time we hear of cases where murderers or rapists get out after five or ten years or never even go to prison, it doesn’t make any sense." ~ Wikipedia

Death Penalty:

Over the years I've held pretty rigid to all my beliefs, but I've changed my opinion of the death penalty. For federal purposes I no longer believe in the death penalty. I believe it has been issued unjustly. If you're rich, you get away with it; if you're poor and you're from the inner city you're more likely to be prosecuted and convicted, and today, with the DNA evidence, there've been too many mistakes, and I am now opposed to the federal death penalty. ~ Wikipedia

Electoral college:

In 2004, he spoke out against efforts to abolish the electoral college, stating that such a reform would weaken the “voting power of pro-liberty states” and that “Populated areas on both coasts would have increasing influence on national elections, to the detriment of less populated southern and western states."

Curious why I support the electoral college? Here is Math against Tyranny, from Discover magazine.

Education:

Paul has asserted that he does not think there should be any federal control over education and education should be handled at a local and state level. He opposes the federal No Child Left Behind Act, voting against it in 2001 and remaining opposed to it as an ineffective federal program. ~ Wikipedia

I've already signed up and will be attending my local caucus; I'm a Paulunteer.



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