Breakfast With Texas Cong. Ron Paul
Sunday, February 25, 2007 at 01:12PM I had about an hour and a half breakfast with Texas Congressman Ron Paul at the Merrimack Diner in Manchester yesterday morning. Some old friends from past campaigns were there as well. About a dozen of us. No press.
Congressman Ron Paul is legendary among many Libertarian-leaning Republican conservatives and Libertarians in general. He is a living, breathing, elected example of what our Founding Fathers had in mind for limited government. From speaking with him I think he realizes that the march FORWARD to the time in our past when US citizens had so much more freedom is going to be long one.
He seems to agree with what I believe could be the starting point of that return to less government, and that would be a financial crisis created by our dependence on foreign banks to float our economy. Many voters pay little attention to our dollar's value. The ones that do pay close attention to Congressman Paul.
Later in the day he was shown a grand evening at a private residence with about 150 people attending. It was set up with the help of one of our CNHT directors. You won't see much in the press about it, but 150 is quite a large crowd for a Congressman this early in the campaign. Enough to make some of his issues part of the debate on the Republican side, I would say.
Here are some of his core principals:
- Rights belong to individuals, not groups.
- Property should be owned by people, not government.
- All voluntary associations should be permissible -- economic and social.
- The government's monetary role is to maintain the integrity of the monetary unit, not participate in fraud.
- Government exists to protect liberty, not to redistribute wealth or to grant special privileges.
- The lives and actions of people are their own responsibility, not the government's.
Congressman Ron Paul is also pro-life and pro-family. Note that his pro-life stance includes ending capital punishment and unnecessary war.
He is for returning to the gold standard.
100% tax fighter! He gets awards consistently from national groups for his anti-tax/big government votes.
Congressman Paul holds an anti-intervention view of foreign military involvement with a provision for hunting down and dealing with terrorists on an individual level.
He is not your average US Congressman by any standard, and a close look at his votes will always stir an interesting debate.
Reader Comments (19)
And, he opposes the war with class, doesn't run off to join some communist organization trying to tear down the country.
What a wonderful man!
I hope and expect New Hampshire voters will take the time to consider Dr. Paul's critique of our nation's failed foreign policy, monetary policy, and drug policy. His wisdom exceeds his eloquence, but ordinary people can easily see his intelligence and sense the sincerity of his passion.
RUN RON RUN!
Mike Nobody is right!
Its better to have the Chinese hold about a trillion US dollars so we can have one big banker we can count on.
I wish you did more of these thoughtful analyses rather than bumbling around like a talk radio idiot all the time. This piece was very well written.
Whether we are on the gold standard or not would have little to do with the Chinese debt situation. They hold a trillion dollars of US debt because as individually we do not save in the aggregate, and collectively as a government we do not like to tax ourselves to pay for what we want. The Chinese, for reasons of their own, are content to collect IOUs and chits on America's wealth. At least for now.
The gold standard idea is a truly nutty idea, as anyone with a little economic training knows. It doesn't stop inflation or deflation, but makes us monetary hostages to mineral drillers.
Libertarian is a philosphy, not a set of policy programs. As a philospohy, it works well, and I don't think anyone who reads the core principles above disagrees in total. The problem for me is many libertarians are cranks who don't seem to be able to compromise their beliefs to fit the real world, so the utility of their policy prescriptions is pretty limited. Still, as a personal moral code, parts aren't bad.
The pro-family label intrigues me. Aren't libertarians pro-pornography, pro-drugs, pro-prostitution, and pro-gay marriage? Where is the pro-family in these positions?
Socialism is a mental disorder.
Are you against gay marriage?
OK, socialism is a mental disorder. Gotcha. There are so many other ways to respond, but what would be the point.
Dave:
Not against gay marriage, not for. It's not particularly my issue. If civil union comes up this term, I will probably vote in favor, for civil liberty reasons. I think in 20 years we will look on the gay marriage "controvery" the same way we think about the miscegenation laws of 40 years ago today.
You said civil union. Are you for or against the legalization of gay "marriage"? Simple question...
We remained on a quasi Bretton Woods gold standard until 1971.
Bank runs and such were the markets way of exposing bank fraud (inflating the money supply) in 1913 the practice was sanctioned by the Federal Reserve act.
In 1929 the inflation o the years since the Fed founding finally took their toll in the most notorious correction in our very short history.
After WWII Bretton woods was established. But by 1971 the world new the FED was inflating wildly again so the world (US citizens excluded) called them on it. The gold window was closed and the FED proceded to all but destroy the US dollar over the next 8 years.
Paul Volker saved the dollar. But had to drive interest rates through the roof to do it. Expunging all that excess money and credit and restoring confidence in the paper dollar.
The current economic system can barely tolerate a string of 1/4 point hikes ... what do you think is going to happen when the chineese, Saudis etc. etc. etc. start walking away from the dollar at a quicker pace?
Soft money has allowed us to use our military and political might to protect our dollar. In the end though the market will speak.
Gold keeps the banks on a short leash. If you think 20 year corrections are bad, wait til you see this next one.