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Ron Paul


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Ron Paul, 76, is a Texas congressman who has built a reputation in Washington for cutting his own path -- primarily because he says he doesn’t vote for anything unless it is specifically authorized by the Constitution.

His political beliefs include support for auditing the Federal Reserve, making gold and silver legal tender and withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. His campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination attracted avid online supporters, if few votes.

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Paul graduated from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania and the Duke University School of Medicine in North Carolina. He served as a flight surgeon in the Air Force and in 1968 moved to Texas, where he established a medical practice as an obstetrician.

He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in an April 1976 special election, lost his seat that November, then was returned to the House in 1978. In 1984, he gave up his House seat for an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate. In 1988 Paul was the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president, winning 431,750 votes, or 0.5 percent of the total.

Paul has written several books, including “Challenge to Liberty,” “The Case for Gold” and “A Republic, If You Can Keep It.” He and his wife, Carol Paul, have five children and 18 grandchildren. Paul’s high profile in Republican politics helped propel one of his sons, eye surgeon Rand Paul, to a U.S. Senate seat from Kentucky in 2010.

Ron Paul News

  • Ron Paul Raises $4.5 Million for Campaign in January

    U.S. Representative Ron Paul’s presidential campaign said today it had raised $4.5 million last month, bringing its total to more than $30 million.

  • Paul Could Force Fed Changes on GOP

    Ron Paul, trailing in delegates needed for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, could be positioning himself to force his party to accept changes in the way the Federal Reserve operates.

  • Republicans Running as Outsiders Getting Taxpayer-Paid Pensions

    While campaigning on calls to reduce government spending, three of the four Republican presidential candidates are receiving or will be eligible to draw taxpayer-financed pensions. Ron Paul is eligible, but he has opted out of the plan.

  • Ron Paul Presidential Campaign Sues Anti-Huntsman YouTube Video’s Makers

    Presidential candidate Ron Paul’s campaign committee sued the unidentified makers of a video attacking ex-Republican rival Jon Huntsman claiming it falsely implies it was made or endorsed by the Texas congressman.

  • Republicans Who Didn’t Serve Draw Veteran Support

    Polls show that in the U.S. Republican presidential primary two candidates without any personal military experience, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, are running stronger than two veterans, Ron Paul and Rick Perry.

  • Paul May Gain Republican Convention Clout With Wins That Gain Delegates

    Four years ago, Ron Paul arrived at the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, with just 15 delegates and was shunned by party elites who gave him no speaking role. Paul probably will be a more forceful presence at this summer’s Tampa, Florida, convention, to the consternation of some Republican leaders.

  • Ron Paul Attacks Santorum as Spendthrift

    Ron Paul called former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum a spendthrift with federal money as the Texas congressman began a five-day New Hampshire campaign push he said will highlight his Republican presidential rivals’ backing for “big government.”

  • Paul Hits Santorum’s Conservative Credentials

    Texas Representative Ron Paul blasted former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum as a spendthrift with federal money, starting a five-day New Hampshire campaign push Paul said will highlight his Republican presidential rivals’ backing for “big government.”

  • Paul: I’m ‘Electable’ and ‘Mainstream’

    U.S. Representative Ron Paul of Texas dismissed criticism from Republican presidential rivals that his views are outside the U.S. political mainstream, saying he is “pretty electable.”

  • Paul’s Raw Milk Freedom Pitch Reflects Offbeat Campaign on Rise

    When about 500 voters packed into a New Hampshire town hall last week to hear Ron Paul speak, they saved their biggest applause for something no other Republican presidential candidate is talking about.

Opinion From Bloomberg View

Presidential Campaign News

  • Ohio’s ‘Little People’ Implore Republicans to Aid Working Class, Not Banks

    Updated 34 minutes ago

    They drive trucks. They wait on tables. Some still have factory jobs. And they likely will determine which Republican presidential candidate walks away with one of Super Tuesday’s biggest prizes.

  • Iranians Vote in Parliamentary Elections as Foreign Sanctions Hit Economy

    Updated 18 minutes ago

    Iranians voted today in the country’s first election since the disputed presidential contest of 2009 sparked mass protests, as sanctions targeting the country’s nuclear program squeeze the economy.

  • Princeton’s Paxson Named Brown’s President

    Updated 27 minutes ago

    Christina Hull Paxson, dean of Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, will become Brown University’s 19th president.

  • Cash Hoard Expands by $187 Billion in Untaxed Offshore Corporate Accounts

    Updated 1 hour, 14 minutes ago

    U.S. companies led by General Electric Co. and Pfizer Inc. stockpiled an additional $187 billion in untaxed overseas profits over the past year, boosting their offshore holdings by 18.4 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

  • Putin Favored Spurring SocGen to Recommend Buying Calls: Russia Overnight

    Updated 1 hour, 13 minutes ago

    Investors are too bearish on Russian equities and should bet on a rally using options as Vladimir Putin will probably win the presidential election and implement reforms to stay in power, according to Societe Generale SA.

  • Iran Ambitions Dominate as Netanyahu Heads to White House Talks With Obama

    Updated 1 hour, 8 minutes ago

    After Eliot Engel and Jerrold Nadler, two Democratic congressmen from New York, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem last month, Engel’s wife summed it up:

  • Christie Expects to Win Passage of Limited School-Voucher Program in 2012

    Updated 1 hour, 11 minutes ago

    New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said he expects to win passage of a limited school-voucher program this year, even as the state’s largest teachers union tries to block it.

  • Iranians Vote in Parliamentary Elections as Foreign Sanctions Hit Economy

    Updated 1 hour, 8 minutes ago

    Iranians voted today in the country’s first election since the disputed presidential contest of 2009 sparked mass protests, as sanctions targeting the country’s nuclear program squeeze the economy.

  • U.S. Food-Stamp Use Hit Record 46.5M in Dec.

    Updated 59 minutes ago

    U.S. food-stamp use, which Republicans have cited as evidence of a failing economy, rose 0.5 percent to a record in December, the government said.

  • Russia Prepares For Presidential Election

    Updated 2 hours, 3 minutes ago

    <p>Vladimir Putin may ride out a wave of protests and return to the presidency on the back of an economic track record that he says marks Russia out from the turmoil sweeping parts of Europe.</p><p>Polls show Putin, 59, may win about 60 percent of the vote in a March 4 election, enough to avoid a runoff. While that's down from the 71 percent he captured in 2004's election and the 70 percent garnered by Dmitry Medvedev four years later, it suggests that protests since a December parliamentary vote have failed to undermine his authority.</p><p>Left, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, a candidate in the country's presidential election, speaks to campaign activists in Moscow, on Feb. 29.</p> Source: Photograph by Alexei Druzhinin, Government Press Service/AP

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