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'''Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul''' (born August 20, 1935) is a [[conservative]] [[libertarianpaleolibertarian]] [[Republican]] former congressman, a former Air Force Flight Surgeon, a physician (M.D.) a candidate for the Republican Party's nomination in 2008 and 2012, and actor.<ref>In 1988 Ron Paul was the Libertarian Party nominee for President of the United States.</ref> He is from the U.S. state of [[Texas]]. As a [[Republican Party|Republican]], he has represented Texas's 14th congressional district in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] since from 1997 to 2013 and had previously served as the representative from Texas's 22nd district in 1976 and from 1979 to 1985. He retired from Congress at the end of 2012.
In 2009, he attracted over 300 votes for his bipartisan proposal to subject the [[Federal Reserve]] to unprecedented scrutiny by allowing the Government Accountability Office to audit all central bank operations, including its decisions on interest rates, lending to individual banks and transactions with foreign central banks. He created a separate bill to abolish the Fed altogether. (He was the lone sponsor.)
In Congress, he proposed doing away with personal income taxes, federal antitrust laws, and the minimum wage. He advocated pulling the United States out of the [[United Nations]], [[NATO]] and the [[International Monetary Fund]].
Ron Paul advocates letting states decide how to handle social issues. He supports anti-federalism and therefore wants to leave the issues of same-sex marriage, abortion, and other social issues up to the decision of individual states. Dr. Paul has consistently espoused the pro-life position.
Paul made his acting debut in the third installment of the ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'' film series titled "Who is John Galt?"
Paul formally declared his candidacy for the 2008 Presidential election on 12 March 2007 as a guest on [[Washington Journal]] on [[C-SPAN]].<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA031207.paul2008.EN.74141d9.html | title = Paul formally launches presidential bid | first = Gary | last = Martin | work = San Antonio Express-News | accessdate = 2007-03-13}}</ref><ref>[http://chbn.com/Clip.aspx?key=1CD9E3A0397BCBEC Ron Paul announcing candidacy on C-SPAN]</ref> In regards to his candidacy, he had a 30-minute interview with online political analyst [[James Kotecki]] regarding foreign policy, Congress and the Constitution, and personal liberties.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/jameskotecki James Kotecki interviews Ron Paul]</ref>
Paul participated (along with nine other Republican presidential candidates) in the [[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]]'s 2008 Republican Presidential Candidates Debate on May 3, 2007. Ron Paul finished first in the MSNBC poll following the GOP primary debate with 43 percent—beating second place [[Mitt Romney]] by 5 percentage points.<ref>[http://www.ronpaul2008.typepad.com/]</ref>
Paul seemed to have dropped slightly in the polls that followed the second Republican debate in Columbia, South Carolina, to 25 percent. This was probably as a result of his suggestion that weekly bombing of [[Iraq]] following [[Operation Desert Fox]] in December 1998 may have contributed sufficiently to [[Arab]] anger at the United States as to make the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks]] inevitable. Paul was excoriated by [[Rudy Giuliani]], who said that this was the most bizarre explanation for the attacks he had ever heard. Other Republican commentators sought to explain Paul's continued strength in post-debate polls as the result of multiple votes by his supporters or voting by non-Republicans. In response to Rudy Giuliani, the next day at the National Press Club, Ron Paul offered Rudy a book list to read regarding the issue of American foreign policy. These books are ''Imperial Hubris'' by Michael Scheuer, ''Dying to Win'' by Robert Pape, ''Blowback'' by Chalmers Johnson, and ''The 9-11 Commission Report'' by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks.
==Ron Paul Quotes==
* on Congressman [[Larry McDonald]], passenger on [[Korean Airlines Flight 007]], shot down by the Soviets near [[Moneron Island]] on Sept. 1, 1983 - "He was the most principled man in [[Congress]]"* on [[gold]] - "Because gold is honest money, it is disliked by dishonest men."<ref>https://goldsilver.com/blog/101-best-gold-quotes-all-time/</ref>
==Telephone Hotline==
Ron Paul runs a toll-free [[telephone]] hotline with a recorded message of conservative commentary. It is updated every Monday.<ref>http://www.house.gov/paul/</ref>
==Criticism==
Despite being honest and consistent, some conservatives have problems with Ron Paul's libertarian-leaning views. He is anti-war, anti-[[Patriot Act]], believes the [[War on Drugs]] should end, supports legalization of [[marijuana]], supports stem cell research, opposes capital punishment, gave support for the Occupy "movement" (although he supported the [[Tea Party ]] as well), is against corporate welfare, and is supported by some liberals. On the other hand, he opposes public healthcare, [[abortion]], and welfare so he remains popular with [[libertarian]]-leaning conservatives. <ref>(Source http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/018652.html)</ref>
==Books by Ron Paul==
[[Category:Patriots]]
[[Category:Anti-establishment]]
[[Category:Republican Anti-establishment]]
[[Category:America First Agenda]]
[[Category:Non-Interventionist Republicans]]
[[Category:Pro First Amendment]]
[[Category:Libertarian Republicans]]
[[Category:Movement Conservatives]]
[[Category:Libertarianism]]