Ron Paul

From Skinny Moose Data Center

Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American physician and Republican Congressman for the State of Texas, who gained widespread attention during his unsuccessful bid for the 2008 Republican Party presidential nomination. During the campaign he attracted an enthusiastic following which made use of the Internet and social networking to establish a grassroots campaign despite lack of traditional organization or media attention. He criticized the Republican Party as having abandoned its principles of limited constitutional government. He supports low taxes, free markets, and the restoration of the gold standard. He is strongly opposed to the American involvement in the War in Iraq. He has called for abolition of many federal institutions including the FBI and DEA, repeal of the federal income tax, abolition of all social security and is opposed to nationalized health care. Paul advocates ending the War on Drugs and supports legalization of marijuana at the federal level. Despite strong support in some races, he failed to win any state-wide contests. His campaign was coined the "Ron Paul Revolution". He is the founder of the advocacy group Campaign for Liberty.

Paul is a member of the Liberty Caucus of Republican congressmen which aims to limit the size and scope of the federal government, and serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Joint Economic Committee, and the Committee on Financial Services, where he has been an outspoken critic of American foreign and monetary policy. He was one of the first congressmen to support Ronald Reagan's 1976 presidential campaign and endorsed Reagan again for President in 1980 and was himself the presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party in 1988. His ideas have been expressed in numerous published articles and books, including The Revolution: A Manifesto (2008).