Laurens County Tea Party

Ron Paul

www.ronpaul.com

Education:

1957: BS in biology from Gettysburg College

1961: MD, Duke University

Religion: Raised Lutheran, children baptized as Episcopalians, currently attends a conservative Baptist church in his Texas district.

Family: Parents ran a dairy farm. Two brothers are ministers, one is a CPA, another is a math professor. Married to Carol since 1957. They moved to Texas in 1963.

Bio:

Ran for president in 1988 as the nominee for the Libertarian party, and again in 2008 on the Republican ticket. Served as a flight surgeon from 1963-68 first in the USAF, then the US Air National Guard.

Trained as an OBGYN, and worked as a private physician before entering politics in the 1970’s. He has served in Congress three different periods totaling 12 two-year terms: first from 1976–77, after he won a special election, then from 1979–85 and finally from 1997 to today.

Memberships:

CFR: No

Paul serves on the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and Financial Services, and on the Joint Economic Committee. He is the chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology, where he has been an outspoken critic of American foreign and monetary policy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Paul

Republican Liberty Caucus, Congressional Rural Caucus, Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus

Issues:

Pro-life:

-Life begins at conception.

-A states’ rights issue; not within constitutional purview at the federal level

-Limited stem cell research

-Defund Planned Parenthood

-Abortion is an act of aggression against an innocent party.

Immigration:

Pragmatic opposition on economic grounds

It’s an economic issue more than anything. If our economy was in good health, I don’t think there’d be an immigration problem. We’d be looking for workers and we would be very generous.”

-Amnesty-Against it on economic grounds. It incentivizes illegal immigration.

-Deportation: Against it on civil rights and humanitarian grounds.

“This would hardly be a Good Samaritan approach to the problem. It would be incompatible with human rights.”

-Birth rite citizenship: Against it. Amend the Constitution (14^th amendment) to end birth rite citizenship

-Border Fence: finds it offensive and says it won’t solve our problems.

-Opposes immigrant ID fearing it will lead to a national ID card which is part of a fear-based government.

-Numbers USA Grade: “F” https://www.numbersusa.com/content/action/2012-presidential-hopefuls-immigration-stances.html

Health care:

-Privatize it.

-Corporatism is driving up prices and has driven benevolent hospitals out of business.

-Opposed to socialized medicine because it does not work.

Global warming/climate change

-Purely a hoax.

Energy: Energy Independence

-the government contributes to our energy woes and that government should stay out of the energy business.
-Supports drilling in ANWR and that we should use our own natural resources to be energy independent.
- To achieve energy independence, Paul says we need to build new oil refineries, cut government subsidies and repeal the gas tax.

Foreign policy:

Isolationist, non-interventionist approach

-Get out of Afghanistan. -This is an expensive, bloody, endless exercise in futility.

-Shouldn’t have invaded Iraq.

-Unable to afford Middle East Wars

-Not tie trade with China to human rights

-Iran: Sanctions are not diplomacy, but a precursor to war. Should be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.  Follow a policy of peace, stay out of their business, bring our troops home. They have the right to develop nuclear weapons.

-Cuba: Time to stop the sanctions and open up dialogue.

- no foreign aid to any country.

Civil Rights in general:

Libertarian

-Government should stay out of the gay and lesbian agenda.
-No affirmative action for any group.
-Restore habeas corpus saying rights belong to people and not groups.
-The PATRIOT act should not be made permanent.
-Voted yes on protecting Pledge of Allegiance.
-Voted against federal funding for gay adoptions.
-Thinks preferential treatment based on race should not be allowed in college admissions.
- He does not believe that the war on terror should be used to curtail civil liberties.
-Paul believes that liberty promotes peace which promotes prosperity.
-Washington should not be able to dictate personal behavior. For legalization of illegal drugs.

- Congress should not write laws regarding church and state
-Government hostility to religion is wrong

-Personal prayer should be allowed in schools but not required.
-Freedom of speech includes the internet and it should not be regulated or taxed.
-Eminent domain should be illegal.

Israel:

-No preferential treatment.

-Israel should act in her own interest.

-no foreign aid.

Economy and Business: Pro-business, low regulation, somewhat protectionist

-Inflation is caused by big business’ demand for easy money.
-Not let shareholders vote on executive compensation.
-Replace illegal export tax breaks with $140B in new breaks.
-The minimum wage limits opportunities.
-Unemployment benefits should stay at 39 weeks and that extending them encourages people to remain jobless.

 

Taxes & Deficit:

Small government, fiscal conservative

-Cut taxes; cut spending dramatically

-Only spend within constitutional limitations

-Reduce federal spending to constitutional limitations

-Pay down deficit

-Supports a Balanced Budget Amendment.

-The deficit will be our downfall.
-Must start paying off our debt with drastic reductions in spending.
-Borrowing from foreign countries gives them power over us and it should be stopped.
-Eliminate Departments of Energy, Education and Homeland Security.

Education:

-Thinks that shutting down the Department of Education will improve the quality of education. He wouldn’t dismantle public schools.

-Encourage homeschooling and private schools with tax write-offs.

Federal Reserve:

-Notion of a central bank and a federal reserve system is absolutely contrary to the US Constitution.

-Opposed to a fiat currency.

Support for the Constitution:

Strict constructionist with Libertarian leanings

Judiciary:

Opposed to judicial activism from the bench

Gun Rights:

Strong 2^nd Amendment advocate

-Repeal the five-day waiting period and the “instant” background check, which enables the federal government to compile a database of every gun owner in America.

-Repeal the misnamed ban on “semi-automatic” weapons, which bans entire class of firearms for no conceivable reason beside the desire of demagogic politicians to appear tough on crime.
-Amend the Gun Control Act of 1968 by deleting the “sporting purposes” test, which allows the Treasury Secretary to infringe on second amendment rights by classifying a firearm (handgun, rifle, shotgun) as a “destructive device” simply because the Secretary believes the gun to be “non-sporting.”

United Nations:

-A threat to our freedoms in America

-Opposed to US interests

-UN should be de-recognized.

-Membership should be terminated.

-Threatens our sovereignty and economic well-being.

Capital Punishment:

Opposed

-No longer trusts the U.S. government to invoke and carry out a death sentence under any conditions

Is there anything in the candidate’s past history that would seriously damage their chances of election or hurt the party?

-Has stated that he thinks an eventual goal of American foreign policy is to occupy Pakistan

-Has stated that the attack of 9/11 was to some degree provoked by a US policy of intervention.

Liabilities as a candidate:

-Age: 75 years old

-Libertarian stripe

-Current views on death penalty, immigration, Iran should be allowed to go nuclear.

Endorsements:

-Jesse Ventura, former state governor

- Alex Jones, radio host^[103]

-Andrew Napolitano, political and legal analyst

-John Stossel, media pundit

-Chuck Norris, martial artist and actor

-Barry Manilow, American singer-songwriter

-Rand Paul (son) US Senator, Kentucky

-Justin Amash, United States Representative from Michigan’s 3rd congressional district^[76]

-Walter B. Jones, United States Representative from North Carolina’s 3rd congressional district^[77]