Ron Paul: “Starting, Spreading Wars, Damaging to Nation”
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul opened his Up-state South Carolina HQ on Pleasantburg Dr. in Greenville, Thursday, to thunderous cheers by about three hundred enthusiastic followers. A majority of the attendees were local, however, several came from Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and elsewhere.
“Looks like we have a revolution,” the 72 year-old Congressman said, adding: “I had no idea so many young people would get involved.”
Paul is an eleven-term congressman from Texas who was first elected to Congress on the Libertarian ticket and continues to espouse conservative libertarian views on some issues.
Dr. Paul, a physician before being elected to Congress, shares the views of conservative Republicans on support of the US Constitution, limited government and most domestic issues, but departs from many conservative Republicans on foreign policy, especially that pertaining to the war in Iraq.
“My position on Iraq is very simple. We need to just come home. Don’t you think it is about time to come home from Korea, and come home from Europe?” he asked.
Dr. Paul volunteered his view on the current situation in Iran and the US response to Iranian development of nuclear weapons. “Right now, we are in a position in our history where we are the ones who are starting wars and threatening to spread wars. That is very damaging and horrible. So one of the first things that I would do as president is move away from Iran. Stop threatening them.”
His explanation for his low national poll numbers is that “a lot of people are not getting polled.” He said fundraising is going fantastically and he expects to stay in the contest, “while some candidates are running out of money and using their own money… Our numbers are growing by leaps and bounds.”
Paul insists that government needs to defend born and unborn life.
Ron Paul’s rhetoric on the campaign trail is consistent with his two decades long record in Congress. “It’s due time we talked seriously about getting rid of the Federal Reserve.
“I want to abolish the IRS.
“I like the flat tax as long as it is zero.
“The creation of new money is counterfeit and a tax on people.
“All we have to do is follow the Constitution and we will get our government back.”
Referring to history of the British Empire, Dr. Paul said that when the British currency collapsed the British Empire collapsed. He sees the USA following the same pattern.
“The dollar is dropping rapidly,” Paul said. He sees more inflation, higher interest rates and a weakened economy in our future unless we reduce government spending drastically. “We are borrowing $800 billion a year from foreigners to keep this charade going.
“My argument is that we can cut hundreds of billions if we reject this idea of a foreign empire. There is no need to throw anyone out on the street who is dependent on government programs if we stop sending billions out of the country.”
He was greeted with applause and yells when he said, “We need to get out of the United Nations and these trade treaties, the World Trade Organization and the World Court.”
Dr. Paul believes that patients and doctors, not corporations and government bureaucrats, need to be making medical decisions.
Ron Paul does not talk about his profession of faith frequently in the political arena. He has issued a signed statement for those who are interested.
“I freely confess that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior, and that I seek His guidance in all that I do. I know, as you do, that our freedoms come not from man, but from God. My record of public service reflects my reverence for the Natural Rights with which we have been endowed by a loving Creator.”
Why is Ron Paul running for president?
“I am running for president to restore the rule of law and to stand up for our divinely inspired Constitution. I have never voted for legislation that is not specifically authorized by the Constitution. As president, I will never sign a piece of legislation, nor use the power of the executive, in a manner inconsistent with the limitations that the founders envisioned.”
What is the origin of Ron Paul’s ideas on war?
“I have acted to protect the lives of Americans by my adherence to the doctrine of ‘just war.’ This doctrine as articulated by Augustine, suggests that war may only be waged as a last resort – for a discernible moral and public good, with the right intentions, vetted through established legal authorities (a constitutionally required declaration of the Congress), and with a likely probability of success.”
Ron Paul observes that “Many have given up on America as an exemplar for the world, as a model of freedom, self-government, and self-control. I have not. There is Hope for America.”
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