After the popularity and grassroots enthusiasm of his 2008 presidential bid, Paul announced in July 2011 that he would not seek reelection to Congress in order to focus on his 2012 bid for the presidency.[10] Finishing in the top four with delegates in both races (while winning four states in the2012 primaries), he refused to endorse the Republican nominations ofJohn McCain andMitt Romney during their respective 2008 and 2012 campaigns againstBarack Obama. In May 2012, Paul announced that he would not be competing in any other presidential primaries but that he would still compete for delegates in states where the primary elections had already been held.[11] At both the2008 and2012 Republican National Conventions, Paul received the second-highest number of delegates, behind only McCain and Romney, respectively.
Paul remained active after his retirement from electoral politics, giving speeches promotinglibertarian andlibertarian-conservative ideas on college campuses.[12][13] He also continues to provide political commentary throughThe Ron Paul Liberty Report, a web show he co-hosts onYouTube. At 81, and despite not running, Paul received one electoral vote from a Texasfaithless elector in the2016 presidential election, making him the oldest person to receive anElectoral College vote, as well as the second registered Libertarian presidential candidate in history to receive an electoral vote, afterJohn Hospers in 1972.
Ronald Ernest Paul was born on August 20, 1935, inPittsburgh,[14] the son of Howard Caspar Paul (1904–1997), who ran a small dairy company, and Margaret Paul (née Dumont; 1908–2001). His paternal grandfather emigrated fromGermany,[15] and his paternal grandmother, a devout Christian, was a first-generationGerman American.[16] Ron Paul has four brothers.[17] As a junior at suburbanDormont High School, he was the200-meter dash state champion.[18] Paul went toGettysburg College, where he was a member of theLambda Chi Alpha fraternity.[19] He graduated with aB.S. degree inBiology in 1957.[18]
In 1974, incumbentRobert R. Casey defeated him for the22nd district.[21] PresidentGerald Ford later appointed Casey to theFederal Maritime Commission, and Paul won an April 1976special election to the vacant office after arunoff.[26][27][28] Paul lost the next regular election toDemocratRobert Gammage by fewer than 300 votes (0.2%), but defeated Gammage in a 1978 rematch, and was reelected in 1980 and 1982.[29][30][31] Gammage underestimated Paul's popularity among local mothers: "I had real difficulty down inBrazoria County, where he practiced, because he'd delivered half the babies in the county. There were only two obstetricians in the county, and the other one was his partner."[32]
Paul served in Congress three different periods: first from 1976 to 1977, after he won a special election, then from 1979 to 1985, and finally from 1997 to 2013.[33] In his early years, Paul served on theHouse Banking Committee, where he blamed theFederal Reserve forinflation and spoke against the banking mismanagement that resulted in thesavings and loan crisis.[15][34] Paul argued for a return to the gold standard maintained by the U.S. from 1873 to 1933, and with SenatorJesse Helms convinced the Congress to study the issue.[23] He spoke against the reinstatement of registration for the military draft in 1980, in opposition to PresidentJimmy Carter and the majority of his fellow Republican members of Congress.[35]
Paul proposedterm-limit legislation multiple times, while himself serving four terms in theHouse of Representatives.[35] In 1984, he decided to retire from the House in order torun for the U.S. Senate, complaining in his House farewell address that "Special interests have replaced the concern that the Founders had for general welfare... It's difficult for one who loves true liberty and utterly detests the power of the state to come to Washington for a period of time and not leave a true cynic."[39][40] Paul lost the Republican primary toPhil Gramm, who had switched parties the previous year from Democrat to Republican. Another candidate of the senatorial primary wasHenry Grover, a conservative former state legislator who had lost the 1972 gubernatorial general election to DemocratDolph Briscoe, Jr.[41][42] On Paul's departure from the House, his seat was assumed by former state representativeTom DeLay, who would later becomeHouse Majority Leader.[43]
Following the loss of the 1984 senate race, Paul returned to his obstetrics practice and took part in a number of other business ventures.[15][44] Along with his former congressional chief of staff,Lew Rockwell, Paul founded a for-profit enterprise, Ron Paul & Associates, Inc. (RP&A) in 1984, with Paul serving as president, Rockwell as vice president, Paul's wife Carol as secretary, and daughter Lori Pyeatt as treasurer.The company published a variety ofpolitical and investment-oriented newsletters, includingRon Paul Freedom Report andRon Paul Survival Report,[45] and by 1993 was generating revenues in excess of $900,000.[46]
Paul also co-owned a mail-order coin dealership,Ron Paul Coins, for twelve years withBurt Blumert, who continued to operate the dealership after Paul resumed office in 1996.[47][48] Paul spoke multiple times at theAmerican Numismatic Association's 1988 convention.[47] He worked with his Foundation for Rational Economics and Education on such projects as establishing the National Endowment for Liberty, continuing publication of newsletters, and producing theAt Issue public policy series that was broadcast on theDiscovery Channel andCNBC.[36]
Paul left theRepublican Party in 1987 and launched a bid for the presidency running on theLibertarian Party ticket. His candidacy was seen as problematic because of the party's platform position of support for freedom of choice on abortions.Native American activistRussell Means, Paul's rival for the nomination, emphasized that he was in favor ofabortion rights.[49] In a forum held prior to the nomination, Means dismissed the greater funds raised by Paul's campaign, commenting that Means was receiving "10 times more press" than the former Congressman and was therefore "100 times more effective".[50]
On September 25, 1988, American psychologist and psychedelic advocateTimothy Leary held a fundraiser for Paul, who attended the event.[51][52][53] Journalist Debra Saunders attended and wrote about her experience.[54] In the 1988 presidential election, Paul was on the ballot in 46 states,[55] scoring third in the popular vote with 432,179 votes (0.5%).[56] Paul was kept off the ballot inMissouri, due to what theSt. Louis Post-Dispatch termed a "technicality," and received votes there only when written in,[57] just as he did inNorth Carolina.[58]
According to Paul, his presidential campaign was about more than obtaining office; he sought to promote his libertarian ideas, often to school and university groups regardless of vote eligibility. He said, "We're just as interested in the future generation as this election. These kids will vote eventually, and maybe, just maybe, they'll go home and talk to their parents."[55] Paul considered running again for president in1992,[59] but instead chose to endorse RepublicanPat Buchanan that year, and served as an adviser to Buchanan's ultimately unsuccessful presidential primary campaign against incumbent PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush.[60]
In 1998 and 2000, Paul defeated Loy Sneary, a DemocraticBay City, Texas, rice farmer and formerMatagorda County judge.[24]In the 2008 Republican primary,[61] he defeatedFriendswood city councilmanChris Peden,[62] with over 70 percent of the vote[63] and ran unopposed in the general election.[64] In the 2010 Republican primary, Paul defeated three opponents with 80 percent of the vote.[65] On July 12, 2011, Paul announced that he would not seek re-election to the House in order to pursue the2012 presidential election.[66][67]
Of the 620 bills that Paul had sponsored through December 2011, over a period of more than 22 years in Congress, only one had been signed into law—a lifetime success rate of less than 0.3%.[68] The sole measure authored by Paul that was ultimately enacted allowed for a federal customhouse to be sold to a local historic preservation society (H.R. 2121 in 2009).[68]
In November 1997, Paul was one of eighteen Republicans in the House to co-sponsora resolution byBob Barr that sought to launch animpeachment inquiry against PresidentBill Clinton.[70][71] The resolution did not specify any charges or allegations.[71] This was an early effort toimpeach Clinton, predating the eruption of theClinton–Lewinsky scandal. The eruption of that scandal would ultimately lead to a more serious effort to impeach Clinton in 1998.[72] On October 8, 1998, Paul voted in favor of legislation that was passed to openan impeachment inquiry.[73]On December 19, 1998, Paul voted in favor of all four proposedarticles of impeachment against Clinton (only two of which received the needed majority of votes to be adopted).[74][75][76][77] Two days prior, on December 16, Paul had stated that he would vote to impeach based on Clinton's military attacks in the Middle East, namely the1998 bombing of Iraq andOperation Infinite Reach, and not necessarily the Lewinsky scandal, which he described as far less serious than the "unconstitutionality of presidents waging wars".[78]
Paul campaigning for president inManchester, New Hampshire, June 2007Supporters outside of the Fox News debate in September 2007
Paul formally declared his candidacy for the2008 Republican nomination on March 12, 2007, onC-SPAN.[83] Few major politicians endorsed him, and his campaign was largely ignored by traditional media.[84] However, he attracted an intensely loyal grassroots following,[85] interacting through internet social media.[86][87][88] In May 2007, shortly after the first televised primary debates, the blogs search engine siteTechnorati.com listed Paul's name as the term most frequently searched for;[86] and Paul's campaign claimed that Paul had moreYouTube channel subscribers thanBarack Obama or any other candidate for president.[89] Paul fundraised more money than any other Republican candidate in the fourth quarter of 2007, as the primary season headed into the Iowa caucuses.[90][91]
Despite benefiting from campaign contributions from individual donors,[92] and the supporters determined to keep his name a frequent topic of discussion on the internet,[86] over the course of the campaign Paul was unable to translate the enthusiasm of his core supporters into large enough numbers of actual primary votes to unseat his rivals. Paul came in 5th place in both the January 4Iowa caucuses (10% of votes cast)[93] and the January 8 New Hampshire primary (8%).[94] With the exception of the Nevada caucuses January 19, where he came in 2nd (14%) behindMitt Romney (51%), he did little better through the rest of January: Michigan 4th (6%), South Carolina 5th (4%), Florida 5th (3%). On Super Tuesday, February 5, he placed 4th in almost every state, generally taking in a mere 3–6% of the votes although he did better in the northern states of North Dakota (21%, 3rd place) and Montana (25%, 2nd place).[95][96]
By March, front-runnerJohn McCain had secured enough pledged delegates to guarantee that he would win the nomination, and Romney andMike Huckabee had both formally withdrawn from the race. Paul, who had won no state primaries, knew that it was now impossible for him to win the nomination, as he had captured only 20[97]—40 pledged delegates compared to more than 1,191 for McCain, yet he refused to concede the race and said that it was unlikely that he would ultimately endorse McCain.[98][99][100] Over the next few weeks, Paul's supporters clashed with establishment Republicans at several county and state party conventions over state party rules, the party platforms, and selection of delegates for the national convention.[101][102][103] In one instance, Nevada's state party leaders in response to Paul's supporters at the state nominating convention, resorted to prematurely shutting down the convention before selecting national delegates, with a plan to reconvene at a later date.[104][105]
On June 12, 2008, Paul withdrew his bid for the Republican nomination. He later said that one of the reasons he did not run in the general election as a third-party candidate, after losing the primaries, was that, as a concession to gain ballot access in certain states, he had signed legally binding agreements to not run a third-party campaign if he lost the primary.[106] Some of the $4 million remaining campaign contributions was invested into the political action and advocacy group calledRon Paul's Campaign for Liberty.[107]
At a September 10, 2008, press conference, Paul announced his general support of four third-party candidates:Cynthia McKinney (Green Party);Bob Barr (Libertarian Party);Chuck Baldwin (Constitution Party); andRalph Nader (independent). He said that each of them had pledged to adhere to a policy of balancing budgets, bringing the troops home, defending privacy and personal liberties, and investigating the Federal Reserve. Paul also said that under no circumstances would he be endorsing either of the two main parties' candidates (McCain—Republican Party, or Obama—Democratic Party) because there were no real differences between them, and because neither of them, if elected, would seek to make the fundamental changes in governance that were necessary. He urged instead that, rather than contribute to the "charade" that the two-party election system had become, the voters support the third-party candidates as a protest vote, to force change in the election process.[108][109] Later that same day, Paul gave a televised interview with Nader saying much the same again.[110]
Two weeks later, "shocked and disappointed" thatBob Barr (the Libertarian nominee) had pulled out of attending the press conference at the last minute and had admonished Paul for remaining neutral and failing to say which specific candidate Paul would vote for in the general election, Paul released a statement saying that he had decided to endorseChuck Baldwin, theConstitution Party candidate, for president.[111] Paul withdrew from active campaigning in the last weeks of the primary election period. He received 42,426 votes, or 0.03% of the total cast, in the general election.[112]
Paul speaking at a rally atLindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, March 2012
Paul won several early straw polls for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination[113] and formed an official exploratory committee in late April 2011.[114][115] He participated in the first Republican presidential debate on May 5, 2011[116] and on May 13, 2011, formally announced his candidacy in an interview onABC'sGood Morning America.[117] He placed second in the 2011Ames Straw Poll, missing first by 0.9%.[118] Paul indicated in a June 2011 interview that if nominated, he would consider former New Jersey Superior Court judgeAndrew Napolitano as his running mate.[119]
In December 2011, with Paul's increased support, the controversy over racist and homophobic statements in severalRon Paul newsletters in the 1980s and early 1990s once again gained media attention.[120] During this time Paul supporters asserted that he was continually ignored by the media despite his significant support, citing examples of where television news shows would fail to mention Paul in discussions of the Republican presidential hopefuls even when he was polling second.[121][122][123]
Ron Paul's presidential campaign managersJesse Benton, John Tate and Demetri Kesari were all found guilty of paying former Iowa state senatorKent Sorenson $73,000 to switch his support from Rep.Michele Bachmann to Paul.[124] In court papers filed in August 2014, Sorenson said that he had been paid by both presidential campaigns for his endorsement and pled guilty to criminal charges stemming from the incident.[125]
Paul came in third in theIowa Republican Caucus held on January 3, 2012. Out of a turnout of 121,503 votes, Paul took 26,036 (21%) of the certified votes.Rick Santorum andMitt Romney finished in a virtual tie for first place with 25% each,[126] although Ron Paul had ultimately won[127] Iowa at theRepublican National Convention gathering 22 delegates to Mitt Romney's 5. In theNew Hampshire primary held on January 10, 2012, Paul received 23% of the votes and came in second after Romney's 39%.[128]
Sign in support of Paul inAnn Arbor, Michigan on the day of the 2012 Michigan primary
Paul's results then declined, despite the withdrawal of candidatesMichele Bachmann,Jon Huntsman andRick Perry. He had fourth-place finishes in the next two primaries, on January 21 in South Carolina (with 13% of the vote)[129] and on January 31 in Florida (where he received 7% of the vote).[130][131][132]
On February 4, Paul finished third in Nevada with 18.8% of the vote.[133] Three non-binding primaries were held on February 7; Paul took 3rd place in Colorado[134] and Missouri[135] with 13% and 12% of the vote, respectively. He fared better in Minnesota[136] with 27%, finishing second toRick Santorum. On May 14, Paul's campaign announced that due to lack of funds (though despite financial backing from financiersPeter Thiel andMark Spitznagel)[137] he would no longer actively campaign for votes in the 11 remaining primary states, including Texas and California, that had not yet voted.[11][138] He would, however, continue to seek to win delegates for the national party convention in the states that had already voted.
In June, a group of 132 supporters of Paul, demanding the freedom as delegates to the upcoming Republican Party National Convention to cast votes for Paul, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against theRepublican National Committee and 55 state and territorial Republican party organizations for allegedly coercing delegates to chooseMitt Romney as the party's presidential nominee.[139] The suit alleged that there had been "a systematic campaign ofelection fraud at state conventions", employing rigging of voting machines, ballot stuffing, and falsification of ballot totals. The suit further pointed to incidents at state conventions, including acts of violence and changes in procedural rules, allegedly intended to deny participation of Paul supporters in the party decision-making and to prevent votes from being cast for Paul. An attorney representing the complainants said that Paul campaign advisorDoug Wead had voiced support for the legal action.[139] Paul himself toldCNN that although the lawsuit was not a part of his campaign's strategy and that he had not been advising his supporters to sue, he was not going to tell his supporters not to sue, if they had a legitimate argument. He said, "If they're not following the rules, you have a right to stand up for the rules. I think for the most part these winning caucuses that we've been involved in we have followed the rules. And the other side has at times not followed the rules."[140]
Paul declined to speak at the Republican National Convention as a matter of principle, saying that the convention planners had demanded that his remarks be vetted by the Romney campaign and that he make an unqualified endorsement of Romney.[141] Paul had felt that "It wouldn't be my speech... That would undo everything I've done in the last 30 years. I don't fully endorse him for president."[141] Many of Paul's supporters and delegates walked out of the convention in protest over rules adopted by the convention that reduced their delegate count and that would make it harder for non-establishment candidates to win the party's nomination in future elections.[142] Supporters and media commentators had noted that the delegations from states where Paul had had the most support were given the worst seats in the convention hall, while delegations from regions with no electoral votes, such as the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico, were given prime seats at the front.[143][144]
As in 2008, Paul ultimately refused to endorse the ticket selected by the Republican Party in 2012. He said that there was no essential difference between Romney and his Democratic opponent, President Obama, on the most critical policies: "I've been in this business a long time and believe me there is essentially no difference from one administration to another no matter what the platforms... The foreign policy stays the same, the monetary policy stays the same, there's no proposal for any real cuts and both parties support it."[145] Paul received 26,204 write-in votes, or 0.02% of the total cast in the election.[146]
Throughout his entire tenure in Congress, Paul has represented his district as a member of the Republican Party; however, he has frequently taken positions in direct opposition to the other members and the leadership of the party, and he has sometimes publicly questioned whether he really belonged in the party. Paul voted forDwight D. Eisenhower for president in 1956 when he was 21 years old.[147] He had been a lifelong supporter of the Republican Party by the time he entered politics in the mid-1970s.[147] He was one of the first elected officials in the nation to supportRonald Reagan's presidential campaign,[148] and he actively campaigned for Reagan in 1976 and 1980.[149] After Reagan's election in 1980, Paul quickly became disillusioned with the Reagan administration's policies. He later recalled being the only Republican to vote against Reagan budget proposals in 1981,[150][151] aghast that "in 1977,Jimmy Carter proposed a budget with a $38 billion deficit, and every Republican in the House voted against it. In 1981, Reagan proposed a budget with a $45 billion deficit—which turned out to be $113 billion—and Republicans were cheering his great victory. They were living in a storybook land."[148] He expressed his disgust with the political culture of both major parties in a speech delivered in 1984 upon resigning from the House of Representatives to prepare for a (failed) run for the Senate, and he eventually apologized to his libertarian friends for having supported Reagan.[150]
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By 1987, Paul was ready to sever all ties to the Republican Party, as he explained in a blistering resignation letter: "Since [1981] Ronald Reagan and the Republican Party have given us skyrocketing deficits, and astoundingly a doubled national debt. How is it that the party of balanced budgets, with control of the White House and Senate, accumulated red ink greater than all previous administrations put together? ... There is no credibility left for the Republican Party as a force to reduce the size of government. That is the message of the Reagan years."[147][149] A month later, he announced he would seek the 1988 Libertarian Party nomination for president. During the 1988 campaign, Paul called Reagan "a dramatic failure"[149] and complained that "Reagan's record is disgraceful. He starts wars, breaks the law, supplies terrorists with guns made at taxpayers' expense and lies about it to the American people."[152] Paul predicted that "the Republicans are on their way out as a major party,"[150] and he said that, although registered as a Republican, he had always been a libertarian at heart.[150][151]
Paul returned to his private medical practice and managing several business ventures after losing the 1988 election; but by 1996, he was ready to return to politics, this time running on the Republican Party ticket again. He said that he had never read the entire Libertarian platform when he ran for president as a Libertarian in 1988, and that "I worked for the Libertarians on my terms, not theirs."[153] He added that in terms of a political label he preferred to call himself "a constitutionalist. In Congress I took an oath to uphold the Constitution, not the (Republican) platform."[153] When he lost the Republican Party presidential primary election in 2008, Paul criticized the two major political parties, saying that there was no real difference between the parties and that neither of them truly intended to challenge the status quo. He refused to endorse the Republican Party's nominee for president,John McCain, and lent his support to third-party candidates instead.[154][155]
In the 2012 presidential campaign, during which he acknowledged it was unlikely that he would win the Republican Party nomination,[156] Paul again asserted that he was participating in the Republican Party on his own terms, trying to persuade the rest of the party to move toward his positions rather than joining in with theirs.[157] He expressed doubt that he would support any of his rivals should they win the nomination, warning that, "If the policies of the Republican Party are the same as theDemocrat Party and they don't want to change anything on foreign policy, they don't want to cut anything, they don't want to audit the Fed and find out about monetary policy, they don't want to have actual change in government, that is a problem for me."[158] On that same theme he said in another interview, "I would be reluctant to jump on board and tell all of the supporters that have given me trust and money that all of a sudden, I'd say, [all] we've done is for naught. So, let's support anybody at all ... even if they disagree with everything that we do."[159]
Paul has been described asconservative andlibertarian.[15] According toUniversity of Georgiapolitical scientist Keith Poole, Paul had the most conservative voting record of any member of Congress from 1937 to 2002,[160][161] and is the most conservative of the candidates that had sought the 2012 Republican nomination for president.[162] Other analyses have judged Paul much more moderate. TheNational Journal, for instance, rated Paul only the 145th-most-conservative member of the House of Representatives (out of 435) based on votes cast in 2010.[163][164] TheNational Journal's analysis gave Paul a 2011 composite ideological rating of 54% liberal and 46% conservative.[165]
The foundation of Paul's political philosophy is the conviction that "the proper role for government in America is to provide national defense, a court system for civil disputes, a criminal justice system for acts of force and fraud, and little else."[166] He has been nicknamed "Dr. No", reflecting both his medical degree and his insistence that he will "never vote for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution."[24][34] In 2008, Paul spoke at theJohn Birch Society's 50th-anniversary celebration.[167][168]
Paul voted for theAuthorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists in response to theSeptember 11 attacks, but suggested war alternatives such as authorizing the president to grantLetters of Marque and Reprisal targeting specific terrorists, in lieu of launching anAfghanistan invasion. An opponent of theIraq War as well, and potential war withIran, he has criticizedneoconservatism and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, arguing that both inadvertently cause terrorist reprisals against Americans, such as the 9/11 attacks. Paul has stated that "Israel is our close friend" and that it is not the place of the United States to "dictate how Israel runs her affairs". Paul, a critic of the US's implementation of mostforeign aid, said in 2011 that "it was our foreign aid that helpedMubarak retain power to repress his people in the first place."[171]
Paul is a proponent ofAustrian School economics; he has authored six books on the subject, and displayed pictures of Austrian School economistsFriedrich Hayek,Murray Rothbard, andLudwig von Mises (as well as of PresidentGrover Cleveland andChicago School economistMilton Friedman)[179] on his office wall. He regularly voted against almost all proposals for new government spending, initiatives, or taxes;[180] he cast two thirds of all the lone negative votes in the House during a 1995–1997 period.[24]
Paul pledged never to raise taxes,[181] and states he has never voted to approve abudget deficit. Paul believes that the country could abolish the individualincome tax by scaling back federal spending to its fiscal year 2000 levels;[182][183] financing government operations would be primarily byexcise taxes and non-protectionisttariffs. He endorses eliminating mostfederal government agencies, terming them unnecessary bureaucracies. On April 15, 2011, Paul was one of four Republican members of Congress to vote against RepresentativePaul Ryan's budget proposal, known as "The Path to Prosperity".[184]
Paul has consistently warned ofhyperinflation and called for a return to thegold standard as far back as 1981.[185][186] From 1999 until his retirement, he introduced bills into each Congress seeking to eliminate theFederal Reserve System in a single year,[187][188][189] a position he outlines in his 2009 bookEnd the Fed. Paul is a strong proponent offree trade, once saying that "free trade is an answer to a lot of conflicts around the world".[190] He rejects membership in theNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and theWorld Trade Organization as "managed trade".[191] He has also advocated for open trade and better relations with the country ofCuba. In addition, Paul argued in 2012 that "as well intentioned assanctions are, they almost always backfire and hurt the people."[190]
Paul has described his interest in ending wars and loweringmilitary spending as partly an "economic issue", adding, "We'd save a lot of money by not being engaged [in overseas conflict] like this."[192]
Paul has stated, "The government shouldn't be in the medical business." He pushes to eliminate federal involvement with and management ofhealth care, which he argues would allow prices to decrease due to the fundamental dynamics of a free market.[195] He also opposes federal government influenzainoculation programs.[196]
Paul has stated thatsecession from the United States "is a deeply American principle" and that "If the possibility of secession is completely off the table there is nothing to stop the federal government from continuing to encroach on our liberties and no recourse for those who are sick and tired of it."[201] Paul wrote the remarks in a post on his Congressional website in one of his final public statements as a member of Congress, noting thatmany petitions had been submitted to the White House calling for secession in the wake of the November 2012 election.[202]
Citing theNinth andTenth Amendments, Paul advocatesstates' rights to decide how to regulate social matters not cited directly by the Constitution. He opposes federal regulation of such matters as thedeath penalty[203] (although he opposes capital punishment),[204] of education,[205] of drugs, and of marriage. Regardingsame-sex marriage, he stated in 2011 that "My personal opinion is government shouldn't be involved. The whole country would be better off if individuals made those decisions and it was a private matter."[206] He endorsed revising the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy to concern mainly disruptive sexual behavior (whether heterosexual or homosexual).[207] His abortion-related legislation, such as theSanctity of Life Act in 2005, is intended to negateRoe v. Wade and to get "the federal government completely out of the business of regulating state matters."[208] Paul says his years as an obstetrician led him to believe that life begins atconception.[209][210]
Paul was critical of theCivil Rights Act of 1964, arguing that it sanctioned federal interference in the labor market and did not improverace relations. He once remarked: "The Civil Rights Act of 1964 not only violated the Constitution and reduced individual liberty; it also failed to achieve its stated goals of promoting racial harmony and a color-blind society".[211] Paul opposesaffirmative action.[212]
Paul opposes the federalWar on Drugs,[213] and advocates that states should decide whether to regulate or deregulate drugs such asmedical andrecreational marijuana, and other substances.[214][215] In 2001, he joined with Democratic CongressmanBarney Frank in helping pass the States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act (H.R. 2592), an attempt to stop the federal government from preempting states' medical marijuana laws.[216] Paul again partnered with Frank in support ofonline gambling rights. In 2006, both strongly opposed H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act, and H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-LeachInternet Gambling Prohibition Act.[217][218]
In June 2018, Paul posted a tweet containing a racist cartoon and a caption which invoked theCultural Marxism conspiracy theory. The tweet read "Are you stunned by what has become of American culture? Well, it's not an accident. You've probably heard of 'Cultural Marxism,' but do you know what it means?" The tweet was later deleted with an apology, stating that a staff member had inadvertently posted what Paul described as an "offensive cartoon".[219][220][221] In August 2022, Paul expressed support for Republican state governments he described as "fighting back against so-called'Woke' Capitalism".[222][independent source needed]
In June 2013, Paul criticized theNSA surveillance program and praisedEdward Snowden for having performed a "great service to the American people by exposing the truth about what our government is doing in secret".[225] In April 2015, Paul began appearing ininfomercials forStansberry & Associates Investment Research, warning about an upcoming financial meltdown as a result of the imminent crash of the world's currencies.[226][227] In March 2017, Paul predicted a market downturn again.[228]
Paul was a critic of President Trump's plans to increase the number of military personnel in Afghanistan. In August 2017, he said that Americans don't see Afghanistan as a threat to their personal security and being aggressive in foreign policy only loses Trump some of his support base.[229] Paul has also called for Trump to bring American troops back from Syria in April 2018, on the grounds that the threat fromISIS has been eliminated.[230] He continues to voice his disagreements regarding foreign policy, and more recently, regarding the events involving America and Iran.[231][232]
In 2013, Paul established the Ron Paul Channel, an Internet broadcast. Its slogan was "Turn Off Your TV. Turn On the Truth".[233][234] In 2015, Paul ended all relationships with the Ron Paul Channel in order to start a new Internet program, which he co-hosts with Daniel McAdams, calledThe Ron Paul Liberty Report.[235]
Paul endorsed his son, SenatorRand Paul, in the 2016Republican primary and campaigned for him in Iowa.[236] After his son dropped out, Paul said that no Republican or Democratic candidate even came close to holding libertarian views.[237] Paul expressed disappointment in former New Mexico GovernorGary Johnson's Libertarian Party nomination for president, and told independent voters thatGreen Party nomineeJill Stein was a better candidate for those who "lean towards progressivism and liberalism", while emphasizing that he was not endorsing her.[238]
Paul received one electoral vote from a Texasfaithless elector,South Texas College political science professor William Greene (who had been pledged toDonald Trump),[239] in the 2016 presidential election,[240][241] making Paul the oldest person ever to receive an electoral vote, and the second Libertarian Party member to receive an electoral vote, afterJohn Hospers in1972.[242]
In the 2020Democratic primary, Paul described Hawaii RepresentativeTulsi Gabbard as "the most intelligent" and "the very, very best" option of the Democratic candidates, primarily for her views on foreign policy, adding, "We probably wouldn't agree with too much on economics."[192]
In April 2023, in an episode ofThe Ron Paul Liberty Report titled "President Kennedy?", Paul praised then-Democratic (later Independent) presidential candidateRobert F. Kennedy Jr. for his stances on noninterventionism, thepharmaceutical industry, andcronycorporatism, saying "[Kennedy's] baggage is telling the truth" and advocated for his participation in the major party presidential debates.[243]
A few days before the election,Elon Musk expressed interest in having Paul join the proposedDepartment of Government Efficiency during asecond Trump presidency, which Musk has suggested could help cut theU.S. federal budget by up to US$2 trillion. Paul responded that he was happy to discuss the idea with Musk, although declined any "official position" within the new department.[244][245]
Paul at a rally inErlanger, Kentucky, in October 2010, along with his son, senatorial candidateRand Paul of Kentucky, and his grandson, William Paul(pictured from right to left)
Paul has been married to Carol (Carolyn) Wells since 1957.[246] They met in 1952 when Wells asked Paul to be her escort to her 16th birthday party.[247][248] They have five children, who werebaptizedEpiscopalian:[15] Ronald, Lori,Randal, Robert, and Joy. Paul's son Randal (Rand) is the junior United States senator from the state of Kentucky. Raised aLutheran, Paul later became aBaptist.[249] Since 1995, Carol Paul has published theRon Paul Family Cookbook, a collection of recipes she and her friends contributed, and which was sold in part to support Ron Paul's political campaigns.[250] His life and career is the subject of the 2012 filmRon Paul Uprising.[251] Paul and his wife reside inLake Jackson, Texas.[252]
On September 25, 2020, Paul was hospitalized after slurring his words while speaking during a livestream event. Paul later posted a photo of himself in a hospital bed to his Twitter page, along with the statement "I am doing fine. Thank you for your concern."[253] In April 2021, following Paul's absence from his daily show, theRon Paul Liberty Report, his co-host Daniel McAdams revealed Paul's daughter, Lori Pyeatt, had recently died.[254]
Paul, Ron (1983).Abortion and Liberty. Lake Jackson, TX: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education.ISBN978-0-912453-02-6.OCLC9682249.
Paul, Ron (1983).Ten Myths About Paper Money: And One Myth About Paper Gold. Lake Jackson, TX: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education.OCLC11765863.
Paul, Ron (2002).The Case for Defending America. Lake Jackson, TX: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education.OCLC49744552.
Paul, Ron (2002).The Ron Paul – Liberty In Media Awards–2001. Jersey City, NJ: Palisade Business Press.ISBN978-1-893958-84-5.
Paul, Ron (2003).The Ron Paul – Liberty In Media Awards – Vol. 2–2002. Jersey City, NJ: Palisade Business Press.
Paul, Ron (2004).The Ron Paul – Liberty In Media Awards – Vol. 3–2003. Jersey City, NJ: Palisade Business Press.ISBN978-1-893958-24-1.
Upton, Fred; Paul, Ron (2005).Indecency in the Media: Rating and Restricting Entertainment Content: Should the House Pass H.R. 3717, the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act?. Washington, DC:Congressional Digest Corp.OCLC81150568.
Rangel, Charles B.; Paul, Ron (2006).Compulsory National Service: 2006–2007 Policy Debate Topic: Should the All-Volunteer Force be Replaced by Universal, Mandatory National Service?.Bethesda, MD: Congressional Digest Corp.OCLC84912971.
Paul, Ron (2015).Swords Into Plowshares: A Life in Wartime and a Future of Peace and Prosperity. Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.ISBN978-0-9964265-0-3.
Paul, Ron (2017).The Revolution at Ten Years. Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.ISBN978-0-9964265-5-8.
Paul, Ron; Hayashi, Terry; Pardo, Victoriano & Fisher, Edwin (August 1, 1969). "Evaluation of Renal Biopsy in Pregnancy Toxemia".Obstetrics and Gynecology.34 (2). American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists:235–241.PMID5798269.
Vieira, Edwin Jr. (1983).Pieces of Eight. Paul, Ron (foreword). Fort Lee, NJ: Sound Dollar Committee.ISBN978-0-8159-6226-7.OCLC9919612.
von NotHaus, Bernard, ed. (September 1, 2003).The Liberty Dollar Solution to the Federal Reserve. Paul, Ron (Chapter 21: Abolish the Fed).Evansville, IN: American Financial Press.ISBN978-0-9671025-2-8.
^abcSummer, Sean P. (2008)."Ron Paul biography".Pennsylvania Center for the Book. Penn State University Libraries. Archived fromthe original on October 12, 2011.
"On the 25th of September we're going to have, in the room upstairs, a bone fide candidate for the President of the United States. The Libertarian Party, he's running ... his name is Ron Paul. Many of you are probably closet Libertarians..." (@ 56:27)
^Nugent, Franklin (November 7, 1988). "If You Don't Like Bush Or Dukakis … Libertarian Candidate Offers Common-Sense Policies For America".St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, MO: 3C.
^"Paul Backers Claim Chunk of State Party".Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Los Angeles Times. March 24, 2008.
^Mannies, Jo (March 18, 2008). "Ron Paul's Missouri Backers Muscle Up: They Say Caucus Strategy was to Get GOP to Return to Roots".St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
^von Sternberg, Bob; Duchschere, Kevin (April 8, 2008). "Paul Backers Manage to Nab Delegates—in Minnesota and Elsewhere, Their Tactics Raised Eyebrows, but They're Hoping to Earn Him Stage Time at the GOP National Convention".Star Tribune. p. 1B.
^abRoberts, Jerry (September 17, 1988). "Libertarian Candidate Rolls Out His Values".San Francisco Chronicle.
^abcNichols, Bruce (March 15, 1987). "Ron Paul Wants to Get Americans Thinking: Republican-Turned-Libertarian Seeks Presidency".The Dallas Morning News.
^abcdKutzmann, David M. (May 24, 1988). "Small Party Battles Big Government Libertarian Candidate Opposes Intrusion into Private Lives".San Jose Mercury News: 12A.
^Paul, Ron (September 22, 2008)."A New Alliance".Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty. Archived fromthe original on September 23, 2008. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2012.
^Jackson, Jon (March 7, 2022)."Ron Paul says Putin replaced COVID as excuse for government's failures".Newsweek.Archived from the original on April 2, 2022. RetrievedApril 8, 2022.He went on to write that sanctions imposed on Russia gives the government an excuse to raise gas prices, even while it doesn't ban Russian oil imports. Paul also suggested that the Putin-ordered invasion gave the Federal Reserve an opportunity to postpone what he said were "planned interest rate increases." "The Ukraine crisis also provides an excuse for Congress to do what Congress does best: increase federal spending. President Biden has requested Congress provide an additional $10 billion in emergency military aid to Ukraine," the former congressman wrote. "Congress will likely quickly approve the President's request. This will not likely be the last time Congress rushes billions of 'emergency' money to Ukraine." He theorized another consequence of the invasion could be lobbyists for military industries seeking to expand the country's military budget, in which Congress would likely agree to, he said.
^Five Myths About the Gold Standard, Congressman Ron Paul, Congressional Record. 97th Congress, First Session. Volume 127, Part II. February 23, 1981. No. 28: "I believe such a standard to be not only desirable and feasible, but absolutely necessary if we aim to avoid the very real possibility of hyperinflation in the near future, and economic collapse. But in Washington today we have five myths about the gold standard."
^McDevitt, Caitlin (November 29, 2011)."Ron Paul's family publishes 2012 cookbook".Politico. RetrievedJune 16, 2013.. For earlier versions see:Paul, Carol (1997).The Ron Paul family cookbook. Clute, TX. p. 16.OCLC793200538.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) andPaul, Carol (2002).The Ron Paul family spring cookbook: including "The American dream, through the eyes of Mrs. Ron Paul". Clute, TX. p. 32.OCLC793200539.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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