Ron Paul on "The Revolution"

Congressman and Republican presidential contender Ron Paul (R-TX) addressed a crowd at a discussion and signing to promote his new book, The Revolution: A Manifesto, currently a number-one bestseller on Amazon.com. Dr. Paul, who will continue to run for the presidency despite Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) presumed nomination, said the purpose of his book is to “galvanize” the American people and foster enthusiasm about civil liberties and a return to American libertarian principles.


Paul described his main objective as respect for and adherence to the U.S. Constitution, and said that “it’s sad that just obeying the Constitution is a revolutionary idea.” He said he uses the word “revolution” cautiously, and advocates a “nonviolent” one that would restore civil liberties and reduce the influence of the Federal government. He said that Congress and the judicial system “ignore the Constitution” and have allowed the Fourth Amendment to erode over time. After 9/11, Paul said some members of the government “showed cheer” because it represented an opportunity to infringe on civil liberties with measures such as the Patriot Act.

Paul expressed appreciation for young voters, whom he said have grown passionate about preserving the Constitution, and said his supporters have been energized by his “optimism,” which he said means analyzing problems and then seeking solutions. He said the young generation “has to make a decision” about what they want the role of their government to be, and said that he thinks that role is to “preserve liberty, not run our lives, run our economy, and police the world.”

Paul deplored the fact that to oppose war earns the label of a “left-winger,” and said “I don’t think it’s left-wing to say, ‘Why are we fighting a war that was never declared?’” He also said that at one point, his campaign received more donations from military personnel than all other presidential candidates combined. Paul said he thinks “we live in dangerous times,” and that foreign policy occupation will lead to a “crisis” in America. In reference to criticism of former Pres. Bill Clinton as a “nation-builder” during his term in the 1990s as opposed to the current rise in foreign occupation with Pres. Bush’s administration, Paul said that “Americans have very short memories, and Muslims and Arabs never forget anything.”

When asked where he sees the government headed, Paul said he thinks the U.S. is “moving more towards fascism” than lawlessness because of growing governmental intervention in the form of “big corporations,” “secret prisons, and the loss of habeas corpus.” He said he thinks that “the empire will end” because the U.S. cannot sustain its present course and continue to finance its global objectives.

Super Tuesday in a drowning nation

By Ellen Ratner

Twenty-four hour campaigning, 7,000 person rallies, political ads filling every TV and radio spot, political pundits spewing their latest guesstimates … overall, there is a lot of noise and promises, but no one is dealing with two of the biggest issues facing America – debt and health care crises.

In fairness, Ron Paul has attempted to elevate the debt crisis to the national scene, but he has been sidelined. And yes, the Democrats are talking about health care for all, and even Mitt Romney is touting his Massachusetts health care plan, but neither party is taking a hard look at the facts with debt or health care.

According to Demos and the Center for Responsible Lending, credit card debt has almost tripled since 1989 and risen 31 percent in the last three years. Many people are using credit cards as safety nets instead of relying on savings. Low and middle-income households have an average $8,650 in credit-card debt. Most people with this amount of debt have carried it for more than one year. Almost half of all card debtors have used their credit cards to pay for automobile repair. Not just paying the minimums, most people in this study paid $700 last month and are making a median payment of $300 per month. This kind of debt for so many Americans is clearly unsustainable.

On the health care front, the issue has been focused on the ability of people to purchase health insurance policies. Mitt Romney worked with the Democrats in his state to fine people who did not buy health insurance policies and to underwrite part of the costs for people who could not afford it. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama each have plans to get the majority of Americans to be able to purchase health insurance. None of the candidates are discussing the real problem – the cost of health care, whether it is paid by insurance or the government, is going to rise astronomically. Insurance is not going to pay these rising costs because they will go broke doing so. Health care is now almost 17 percent of our GDP, up from 13 percent in 2000, and it is rising about a percentage point a year.

You do not have to be a Nobel laureate in economics to know that these numbers are unsustainable – health care will not be affordable to individuals or taxpayers as it takes a larger and larger chunk out of our overall economy.
Even though the candidates don't want to address these problems, there are solutions. First, on the credit crisis, we can provide real incentives for people to save by providing some kind of matching program in the same way that we are giving out treasury checks in the stimulus program. Congress can support legislation that would provide a tax break to those who save. Second, start making some deals with the credit card companies in the form of tax savings if they stop handing out easy credit and start reducing the monthly interest rates for people with high debt.

In addition, Demos and the Center for Responsible Lending recommend that credit card companies be required to disclose the overall cost of minimum payments and require meaningful underwriting standards so that credit card limits are not pushed beyond what they know can be paid for by the consumer.
With health care taking such a bite out of our GDP, the only solution is to turn the rising health technology costs into a plus on our national balance sheet. Other countries recognize our expertise. Johns Hopkins and the Cleveland Clinic are going to be managing hospitals in the United Arab Emirates. With our advances in equipment and other technology, there is no reason why we can't pay for our increasing health care bill by supporting research and exporting it. We have given tax breaks to tobacco companies to export their products, why not the same for health care innovators and providers?

The above are just a few solutions to major economic problems but nary a word from the major presidential hopefuls. You have to dig deep on their websites to find any in-depth thinking and forget about policy specifics. They are convinced that the American people don't want to hear anything but sound bites. If you don't believe that, watch one of the debates. They simply respond to one generality with another unless it's about "who" said or did "what" "when," and then the exchange becomes so sophomoric, as it did with Sen. McCain attacking Romney last week, that the other candidates have to redirect the focus to real issues when moderator Anderson Cooper lost control.

President Bush is no different than the candidates. He prefers to fly in the stratosphere on issues versus rolling up his sleeves and addressing root causes. He signed an executive order to put together a panel on increasing financial literacy for the greater population; that is great, but it hardly helps people caught in the vise now. Americans aren't dumb; they want real talk about real solutions. Too bad Super Tuesday won't move the candidates to enter into the discussion.

The Ron Paul Approach

Sure, he's a second tier candidate. No, his scrambling around today won't get him more votes of people who are teetering on the Republican side. Instead of shaking hands and kissing babies and running all over Iowa, Ron Paul is addressing a lecture hall of medical students at Des Moines University. Speaking as a doctor and a politician, Ron Paul is focusing on inflation and blames government policies for the rising cost of healthcare.

Ever a libertarian, for a reduced government Paul says, "Healthcare isn't a right. Housing isn't a right...You have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and hopefully someday you will have the right to keep what you earn." He's appealing to young people who are looking forward to the highest national debt in decades. He's appealing to older people who need expensive procedures like heart surgery or pricey prescription medications.

Paul's solution is closing down U.S. military bases abroad. The savings from running those, he proposes, will be enough to reduce the national debt. His tag line is "freedom." Free of choice, freedom of the market. He says that the Founding Fathers were right, we should stay out of foreign entanglements.

This is just another example of Paul, cool as a cucumber, staying out of the melee and doing something unexpected. Giving a lecture for students, some of whom are voting today, some who are not instead of scrambling around Iowa, vote shopping.