Congressman Paul's Legislative Strategy? He'd Rather Say Not.

Washington Post ^ | 7/9/06 | Libby Copeland

[traviskicks]

Republican Ron Paul missed out on the 19th century, but he admires it from afar. He speaks lovingly of the good old days before things like Social Security and Medicaid existed, before the federal government outlawed drugs like heroin.

In his legislative fantasies, the amiable Texas congressman would do away with the CIA and the Federal Reserve. He'd reinstate the gold standard. He'd get rid of the Department of Education and leave the business of schooling to local governments, because he believes that's what the Constitution intended.

"Article 1, Section 8 gives me zero amount of authority to do anything about public education," says Paul on a recent weekday. He's seated in his congressional office near a sign than says, "DON'T STEAL; THE GOVERNMENT HATES COMPETITION . "

Paul, 70, has earned the nickname Dr. No for his habit of voting against just about anything that he sees as government overreach or that interferes with the free market.

[traviskicks]

An excellent, long article on Ron Paul, which describes many libertarian principles.

Ron Paul and Jeff Flake in the house and Tom Coburn in the Senate are the only Congressmen worth a dang.

[traviskicks]

libertarian ping

[Third Order]

Paul's quoted regularly in this book I just read, "How Capitalism Saved America"

[LibertarianInExile]

"Ron Paul and Jeff Flake in the house and Tom Coburn in the Senate are the only Congressmen worth a dang."

BTTT!

[CyberSpartacus]

I'm a Libertarian and agree with most of what Paul says. Where we part company and why the Libertarian party is losing it's support is it's absolute refusal to recoginize that we are at war.

[c-b 1]

Jeff Flake is good until you get to Border Security, he is one of the open Borders crowd. He believes that if everyone could come, and go across the Border as they please, illegals would come up here, and work part of the year, then go home until the work started again.

[freedom_forge]

I'm a Libertarian and agree with most of what Paul says. Where we part company and why the Libertarian party is losing it's support is it's absolute refusal to recoginize that we are at war.

ditto

[samm1148]

"In his legislative fantasies, the amiable Texas congressman would do away with the CIA and the Federal Reserve. He'd reinstate the gold standard. He'd get rid of the Department of Education and leave the business of schooling to local governments, because he believes that's what the Constitution intended."

Fantasies huh? Well this country used to govern with those fantasies. Yes we're a mighty empire now. But look what we gave up for it: Our children are indoctrinated with immorality, criminals run free while law abiding citizens, locked behind their doors, have to have permits for damn near everything.

Yeah some fantasy. I'd rather live that than the high tech sewer we've allowed to be created.

[LibertarianInExile]

"He believes that if everyone could come, and go across the Border as they please, illegals would come up here, and work part of the year, then go home until the work started again."

Given the amount of money they send home to Mexico, and that many of them do return when they've built up a nest egg, he's probably right.

That doesn't mean that we should have open borders, though. We need tightly guarded borders for purposes of national security.

Nor does it mean we should have laws less stringent than Mexico's regarding migrant workers, legal or otherwise. We should be just as harsh on their people as they are on ours, across the board, INCLUDING property ownership.

As I recall, both Paul and Flake have the same open borders attitude. The difference is that Paul has consistently voted down this amnesty crap until the borders are secure. That is a solid strike against Flake that I should not have forgotten.

[c-b 1]

We all forget things.

I've lived with the mess coming across the border since the last amnesty was implemented, I don't forget who the open border crowd is, there are other issues I tend to not remember things about.

[Stepan12]

I'm a Libertarian and agree with most of what Paul says. Where we part company and why the Libertarian party is losing it's support is it's absolute refusal to recoginize that we are at war.

Ditto again! While 19th century economic principles may be sound; 19th and 18th century geo political and strategic principles are no longer sound because of the advances of warfare technology we have. Congressman Paul doesn't realize that or just doesn't care. Also, is there any nation in which drug legalization actually worked? The Red Chinese believed the opium dens helped destroy nationalist China.