Ron Paul

Ronald Ernest Paul, MD (born August 20, 1935) is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 14th congressional district (map). First elected in 1976, he served through 1984, and then returned to Congress in 1996.

Elected as a Republican, he professes a limited government libertarian ideology, which frequently conflicts with Republicans and most other Congressional colleagues. His regular votes against almost all proposals for government spending, initiatives, or taxes, and his frequent dissents in otherwise unanimous votes have earned him the nickname "Dr. No".

Ron Paul was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Dormont High School, Dormont, Pennsylvania 1953. He received his B.A. from Gettysburg College (1957) and M.D. from Duke University School of Medicine (1961). He did his internship and residency training at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan from 1961 to 1962. He was a flight surgeon in the United States Air Force from 1963 to 1965. He went on to do obstetrics and gynecology training at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1965-1968. In 1968 he and his wife Carol moved to Surfside Beach, Texas.

He became a delegate to the Texas state Republican convention in 1974. He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for election to Congress in 1974 against entrenched liberal Democrat Robert R. Casey. When Casey was appointed head of the Federal Maritime Commission by President Gerald Ford, a special election was held in April 1976 to replace him. Paul won that election but lost six months later in the general election to Democrat Robert A. Gammage although he defeated him in a 1978 rematch. He went on to be re-elected in 1980 and 1982. He was the first Congressman to propose term limit legislation for the House of Representatives. In 1984, citing his term limits proposal, he did not seek reelection to the House, although he unsuccessfully contested the Republican primary for Senate. He was succeeded by Tom DeLay, a now prominent Republican congressman. From 1985 he returned to medical practice as an OBGYN.

In 1988, Dr. Paul won the nomination of the Libertarian Party for the U.S. Presidency. He eventually placed third (with 0.3% of the popular vote) behind George H. W. Bush and Michael Dukakis.

In 1996, Paul was again elected to the House as a Republican. Mainstream Republican Party figures backed the incumbent, Greg Laughlin, a Democratic representative who had switched parties in the wake of the Republican takeover of Congress. Laughlin attempted to portray Paul's views as extreme and eccentric. However, Paul won the primary and went on to win the general election.

Leaders of the Texan Republican Party made similar efforts to defeat him in 1998, but he again won the primary and the election. The Republican congressional leadership then agreed to a compromise: Paul votes with the Republicans on procedural matters and remains nominally Republican in exchange for the committee assignments normally due according to his seniority. This is arguably similar to the deal that Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont has with the Democratic Party (though Jeffords was elected as a Republican and is now officially independent). He was convincingly re-elected in 2000 and 2002. He was elected unopposed in 2004 to his ninth term in the Congress. He is a member of the Republican Liberty Caucus.

External links

• Official web site of Congressman Ron Paul
• National Taxpayers Union Honors Ron Paul as one of 29 Congressman who are "Taxpayer's Friends"
• Commentary by Rep. Paul on U.S. policy in the Middle East

References

• Gwynne, Sam (Oct. 1, 2001). Texas Monthly.
• Bernstein, Alan (May 23, 1996). Newsletter excerpts offer ammunition to Paul's opponent; GOP hopeful quoted on race, crime. The Houston Chronicle, p. A33.

Preceded by: David Bergland

Libertarian Party Presidential candidate 1988 (lost)

Succeeded by: Andre Marrou