Another Great Ron Paul Video

Ron Paul Willing To Limit His Own Power As President

The following are quotes taken from an Interview with the Muckraker Report:

“The 2002 Iraq war resolution transferred the authority and responsibility for waging war from the legislature to the executive branch, which is a total breach of the principles of the U.S. Constitution. James Madison pointed this out in 1798, that because the executive is the branch of government most interested in war, the question of war must be vested in the legislature – ‘with studied care.’”

“I voted against that resolution because I believe strongly that we should avoid getting entangled in foreign alliances and instead seek peace and trade with all nations.”

“So to answer your question, if I were president, I would do my best to follow in the footsteps of the Founders by abiding by the rules laid out in the U.S. Constitution, which means limiting the power of the executive to wage war.”

Ron Paul And Immigration

The following quote is taken from an Interview with the Muckraker Report:

"While I realize that mass deportation is unrealistic, I’m opposed to amnesty, because I believe strongly in the rule of law. I see this matter chiefly as a problem of the welfare state. The majority of illegal immigrants in this country are exceptionally hard workers, but there is a small minority receiving housing subsidies, food stamps, free medical care, and other kinds of welfare from the federal government. This alienates taxpayers and breeds suspicion of illegal immigrants, which in turn causes citizens to form vigilante groups to deal with the issue while Congress does nothing. Without a welfare state, we would know that everyone coming to America wanted to work hard; with one, however, you can’t avoid a small element of criminals and freeloaders being attracted into the country. This is why I’m in favor of securing the borders immediately. Federal entitlement programs such as Social Security are also threatened by the influx of illegal immigrants into the country. Successive administrations have supported the so-called “totalization” agreements, by which illegal immigrants would be allowed to qualify for programs like Social Security, programs that are already in dire shape and threatening financial ruin for the United States. Sending benefits abroad to immigrants who once worked here will cost the United States millions, perhaps even billions, of dollars. Anyone who hopes to receive Social Security someday should oppose amnesty and totalization proposals. The problems associated with illegal immigration cannot be solved overnight, but we cannot begin to address the issue until we take the difficult steps of securing the borders, rejecting amnesty, and reaffirming our right as a sovereign nation to control immigration without apology."

Ron Paul's Abortion-Rights Agenda

The following are quotes taken from an Interview with the Muckraker Report:

"In my medical career, I’ve delivered more than 4,000 babies, so naturally my professional experience has influenced my views on abortion. It’s my strong belief that life begins at conception, and that children in the womb are entitled to inheritance rights. More broadly, libertarians, like most Americans, respectfully come to different views on the issue based on their different personal feelings about when human life begins."

"Naturally I’m aware of the extraordinarily sensitive nature of this subject, and that people hold different views on abortion. I think we ought to return the issue to the states so that local opinions could better determine the specific regulations concerning this deeply personal issue."

Ron Paul's Opinion Of Guantanamo

The following quote is taken from an Interview with the Muckraker Report:

"Shut it down. The current rationale at Guantanamo is based on the false premise that detainees are not entitled to due process protections. I support court decisions recognizing fundamental human rights, such as habeas corpus. Again, this is an issue that flies in the face of our civic and legal traditions as outlined in the Constitution. As such, I see no purpose for continuing the facility."

Ron Paul Touches On Race Relations In The United States

The following are quotes taken from an Interview with the Muckraker Report:

“As I wrote in a recent article, I found it [the Don Imus controversy] very discouraging. The young women on the basketball team are over eighteen and can speak for themselves. I believe that introducing third parties to speak collectively for minority groups is inherently racist, since it denies the rights of minorities to speak as individual people.”

“It points to our society’s uncomfortable obsession with race today, in which people are viewed in terms of racial group identities rather than as unique individuals. The solution to this I believe is liberty, which encourages a sense of personal pride and responsibility, regardless of gender, skin color, or ethnicity. Racism is a sin of the heart, which can be solved only by mutual tolerance and respect, not by government”

Ron Paul's Opinion On Health-Care

The following quote is taken from an Interview with the Muckraker Report:

"As a practicing physician for 30 years, I find the pervasiveness of managed care very discouraging. Patients are paying more and doctors are leaving the profession in droves. It’s time to rethink the whole system. The rise of HMOs has created a harmful collusion between politicians, drug companies, and organized medicine that raises the price of healthcare by stifling competition between providers. And all this in favor of moving us towards universal healthcare! The HMOs didn’t originate in the free-market; they are the result of policy decisions that were made back in the 1970s. One problem is the 1974 ERISA law, which grants tax benefits to employers to provide healthcare, while not allowing the same kinds of incentives for the individual. This creates an unnecessary coupling between employment and healthcare that is very restrictive on patients’ ability to decide which kinds of healthcare are appropriate for them. I believe strongly that patients are better served by having an element of choice in the matter, which is why I support letting the free-market determine healthcare costs. This won’t happen, however, until we unravel the HMO web and change the tax code to allow individuals to fully deduct healthcare costs from their taxes, as employers can."

Ron Paul Addresses Widow's Concerns Regarding 9/11 Reports

The following are quotes taken from an Interview with the Muckraker Report:

9/11 Widow Monica Gabrielle made the following statement: “Addressing all these unanswered questions out there is about more than simply trying to quell conspiracy theories. It’s about making sure Americans are safe by revealing the unfettered truth about the failures. Because you can’t make recommendations on distortions, omissions, and half-truths, which is basically what the 9/11 Commission did.”

As president, would you be in favor of reopening investigation into the 9/11 attacks?

Congressman Paul: "If the 9/11 families aren’t satisfied with the results of the 9/11 Commission, than neither am I. I’m in favor of an independant investigation, provided costs are kept in check."

Ron Paul's Take On Gay Marriage

The following quote is taken from an Interview with the Muckraker Report:

"Just like with abortion, I believe that marriage is an issue best decided by the states, not the federal government. I’m opposed to a federal ban on gay marriage, but it also goes both ways: I’m against the courts at the federal level pressuring the states into accepting same-sex marriage licenses. What we’re talking about in both cases is the redefinition of an ancient social institution by the federal government that’s best left to the people to decide at the local level. I have introduced legislation called the We the People Act to remove deeply personal social issues like marriage and abortion from the jurisdiction of the federal courts so the states and local governments can make the decisions, as the Constitution intends."

Ron Paul On The Environment

The following quote is taken from an Interview with the Muckraker Report:

"Global temperatures have been warming since the Little Ice Age. Studies within the respectable scientific community have shown that human beings are most likely a part of this process. As a Congressman, I’ve done a number of things to support environmentally friendly policies. I have been active in the Green Scissors campaign to cut environmentally harmful spending, I’ve opposed foreign wars for oil, and I’ve spoken out against government programs that encourage development in environmentally sensitive areas, such as flood insurance."

Other Presidential Candidates Call for Ron Paul

Presidential Candidate Calls for Ron Paul
The IdeaLog:
by Andrew Fink

Presidential Candidate Tom Tancredo is calling for Rep. Ron Paul to be included in the Iowa Presidential Forum held on June 30th in Des Moines, Iowa.

“While I don’t see eye-to-eye with Rep. Paul on all issues, he is a respected Congressman, a former presidential candidate, and a man with strong convictions and the courage to express them,” Tancredo stated, “The Republican party is better because he is one of us and he has earned the right to be in all presidential forums and debates.”

The Presidential Forum is co-sponsored by the Iowa Christian Alliance and Iowans for Tax Relief. Candidates scheduled to attend are Rep. Tom Tancredo, Sen. Sam Brownback, Rep. Duncan Hunter, Gov. Tommy Thompson, Gov. Mike Huckabee, and Gov. Mitt Romney. Invitations were also extended to Sen. John McCain, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Gov. Jim Gilmore. Some of these candidates have raised less money than the Ron Paul campaign, and maintain a smaller base of support based on National Polls. Given Rep. Paul's voting record and position on taxation, he would seem a dream candidate for an organizations such as Iowans for Tax Relief.

The buzz on political blogs is that Iowans for Tax Relief Director, and Senior Advisor to the John McCain campaign in Iowa, Edward Failor is blocking the inclusion of Rep. Ron Paul for political purposes.

Tancredo concluded his statements with the following, “I hope the organizers of this forum will reconsider and extend him an invitation.”

For a copy of the release, please the Tancredo website at: http://teamtancredo.org/tancredo_news_press.asp

My Favorite Ron Paul Video

Why Ron Paul?

Why Ron Paul?
June 20, 2007
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa

WASHINGTON—I was dumbfounded last week when three radio stations, one in Spain and two in Latin America, asked me to explain who American presidential hopeful Ron Paul is and why his candidacy in the Republican primaries has generated such a buzz. The congressman from Texas has hardly registered in national polls but is a political celebrity in the blogosphere and on cable TV Web sites, and has been the subject of front-page stories in The Washington Post and other major news outlets. Apparently, he is making waves around the world too.

The obvious appeal of this uncharismatic, straight-talking physician is that he opposes the U.S. military presence in Iraq. In a Republican Party in which most presidential candidates compete to claim the most "macho" foreign policy credentials, Paul—who once suggested that President Bush allow private bounty hunters to pursue Osama bin Laden rather than have the U.S. invade Afghanistan—stands out.

But Paul's opposition to the war is probably not enough to explain the appeal of this 71-year old libertarian among many young people. It would have been simplistic to attribute the counterculture of the 1960s to the Vietnam War, even though opposition to that conflict gave impetus to the moral liberation we associate with that era. And it may be simplistic to attribute the current symptoms of rebellion against the party elites in the United States, of which the Ron Paul buzz seems to be an unlikely manifestation, to the disgust with the war in Iraq.

In an age in which technology has given young people the tools to exercise personal choice in ways previous generations could not dream of—for instance, by substituting customized information and group communication through the Internet for traditional media—one senses a growing revulsion against the intrusion of the authorities into people's lives. The exasperation with established institutions affects both parties, but the most blatant target is the Republican Party.

The GOP, whose discourse paradoxically stresses individual responsibility, has come to be associated with two powerful forms of intrusion: the use of force abroad and of moral bullying at home. The first is a courtesy of, but is not limited to, the neoconservatives; the second is a child of the religious right. Although the Democrats have traditionally been the big-government party, the perception today even among many Republicans is that the GOP has pushed the boundaries of authority beyond reasonable limits. The younger generations of Republicans seem to have found a spokesman in Paul, who calls for limiting the reach of government on all fronts—foreign policy, moral issues, economic activity.

Paul probably comes across as more consistent than his fellow Republican candidates because his stands fall in line with the republic the Founding Fathers envisaged. His positions—including the abolition of the income tax—are on the fringe of the political debate because of how much the country has moved away from the spirit of the 18th century. But Paul's eccentric qualities also send a stern message to the party elite.

There is no telling whether these are the initial stages of a cultural transformation or a passing fad. No one foresaw, at the end of the 18th century, the extent of the liberal reaction against theocracy in the American colonies ("liberal" in the classical, not the contemporary, sense), and yet it grew so powerful that it soon gained control of key academic institutions, including Harvard, originally founded as a training ground for orthodox Puritans. No one foresaw, two and a half centuries later, that the marginal beatniks of the 1950s would usher in the counterculture earthquake of the 1960s.

We cannot predict whether the current signs of grass-roots rebellion against the political elites will be seen a few years from now as the harbinger of something bigger. But there is enough iconoclastic sentiment out there for us to wonder if we are not in the presence of an explosion of individualism that will transform the politics of the Republican Party into something less intrusive, bringing it closer to the small-government discourse it has preached in the past.
The phrase "time will tell" is one I dislike because people often use it to evade responsibility. But culture, that Protean beast, adopts so many unpredictable forms that one can never be sure of what shape it will take next. Something, however, seems to be building—and it could be interesting.

What a Success

Ron Paul Meet-up Campaign - June 23rd

Last night was the first of many Meet-up Campaigns for Ron Paul in Louisville, Kentucky. The number of attendees was more than double what was expected!!! We took sometime to get and know each other, and tossed around many ideas concerning the nature and direction of our campaign.

Next weekend, June 30th, current members will be organizing campaign material at the Qdoba on Bardstown Rd. and Eastern Blvd., and planning events for the Forth of July week. Last night, the "Window Writing" campaign officially began. Everyone is encouraged to either write, "Who is Ron Paul?" or "RonPaul2008.com" across the rear window of their vehicle.

If you are interested in hearing more about a Presidential Candidate that emphasizes personal freedom, honestly believes in lowering taxes (in ten terms in Congress he has NEVER voted for any legislation to raise taxes), and cares about the security and sovereignty of this nation; please come out and join us.

There's no time left for excuses. You are not alone. Your vote can count. We can reclaim our country, our lives, and our futures.

(Our next Meet-up is scheduled for Saturday, June 30th at Qdoba on Bardstown Rd. and Eastern Pkwy. See you there...)