Paul Jacob

Paul Jacob (1960 - ) is an activist, organizer, and advocate for legislative term limits, initiative and referendum rights, and limited government in the United States. He writes a weekly column for Townhall.com and his short radio commentary feature, "Common Sense," is syndicated by the Sam Adams Alliance on over 120 radio stations around the U.S.

Primarily known as a leader of the term limits movement, Jacob ran U.S. Term Limits, the nation's most active term limits lobby, from its inception in 1992 until 1999, becoming the movement's leading voice. Jacob helped citizens in 23 states place limits on their congressional delegations, prompting columnist Robert Novak to call him "the most hated man in Washington." But on May 221995, those state-imposed congressional term limits, encompassing nearly half the U.S. Congress, were struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton. Today, 15 state legislatures, 36 governors and thousands of local officials, including those in nine of the country's ten largest cities, are under term limits. Jacob remains active as a board member of U.S. Term Limits.

Draft resistance

Jacob first came to political prominence in the early 1980s as a draft registration resister. His crusade against forced military service and for the all-volunteer army was featured in Rolling Stone magazine. In 1985, after being convicted of violating the Selective Service Act, he served five and a half months in federal prison, longer than any American draft resister since the Vietnam War. During the trial, Congressman Ron Paul testified on his behalf.

Rise in the Libertarian Party

Jacob served on the National Committee of the Libertarian Party and then in 1987 and 1988 as the party's national director. In 1988, he worked to put Ron Paul on the ballot for president as a Libertarian, winning ballot access in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam.

Political philosophy

Because Jacob emphasizes institutional and procedural reforms, his libertarian philosophy appears more centrist than either Left-libertarian or rightist. Though often writing from a background of cultural conservatism, his frequent criticisms of what he regards as Republican Party "excesses" distances his writing from that of most other columnists usually defined as "on the right".

Political targets

Frequent targets of his commentary include Republicans known for their pork barrel spending, such as Senator Ted Stevens, and both Democrats and Republicans who support campaign spending regulations, such as Senators Russ Feingold and John McCain. Paul Jacob has repeatedly argued that the McCain-Feingold law, and all similar campaign finance reform measures, are clear violations of the First Amendment.

Titles

Jacob is a senior advisor at the Sam Adams Alliance, which produces his Common Sense radio and Internet commentary program: Common Sense (program).

Jacob also serves as president of Citizens in Charge, a group he started in 2001, dedicated to expanding Initiative and referendum rights to more states.

Felony Indictment in Oklahoma

In 2005 and 2006, Jacob worked with an Oklahoma group, Oklahomans in Action, to place on the ballot an initiative, Stop Overspending, one of several measures run in different states known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TaBOR. Among the paid petitioners used were some that had come to Oklahoma from other states, to work on the drive. On October 2, 2007, Jacob was formally indicted in Oklahoma on a charge of conspiracy to defraud the state on the matter of hiring out-of-state petitioners. The maximum fine for this is $25,000, and the maximum sentence is ten years in prison. Jacob was indicted with two others in the case, and each pleaded not guilty. A website was put up in Jacob's defense.

External links

• The Sam Adams Alliance
• Common Sense with Paul Jacob
• Citizens In Charge Foundation
• Paul Jacob, Townhall columnist
• Hero of the Day, column by Steve Stephens