Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) represents the Texas 14th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Elected as a Republican Party candidate, he professes a limited government libertarian ideology, which frequently conflicts with his fellow Republicans and indeed all of his colleagues. His regular votes against almost all government spending, taxes, and new programs as well as the fact that he is often the lone dissenter in otherwise unanimous votes have earned him the nickname "Dr. No".

History

Ron Paul was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received his B.A. from Gettysburg College (1957) and M.D. from Duke University School of Medicine (1961). He served as a surgeon for the United States Air Force in the 1960s. In 1968 he and his wife Carol moved to Texas, where they reside in the town of Surfside Beach.

Dr. Paul was first elected to the House of Representatives in a 1976 special election to replace Robert R. Casey. He lost his bid for a full term in the November 1976 election to Democrat Robert A. Gammage but defeated him in a 1978 rematch. In 1984, he did not seek reelection and returned to private practice as an OBGYN.

In 1988, Dr. Paul won the nomination of the Libertarian Party for the U.S. Presidency. He spent the year campaigning across the country on country on a platform of limited government, low taxes, and personal liberty, eventually placing third behind George H. W. Bush and Michael Dukakis.

In 1996, he was again elected to the House. Because Texas ballot access laws prevented him from running as a Libertarian, he ran as a Republican. Knowing that he was actually a Libertarian, the Republican Party backed his challenger in the primary; however, he won it and went on to win the general election. The Republican Party made similar efforts in 1998, but he again won the primary and the election. The Republicans, having twice failed to defeat him, 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 similar to the deal that Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont has with the Democratic Party. Paul remains a member of the Libertarian Party, as well as of the Republican Liberty Caucus. He was convincingly re-elected in 2000 and 2002, and is unopposed in 2004.

A Libertarian Party spokesman George Getz said thousand of libertarians across the United States donate money to Ron Paul's campaign funds. Texas Democrats allege he uses those campaign funds to present himself as having more moderate positions than his Congressional votes [1]."

Ron Paul's views

Although his economic views have earned him a reputation as a conservative, he has strongly criticized the United States' intervention in Iraq and what he charges is the use of the war on terror to curtail civil liberties. He believes in the complete abolition of income tax, most Cabinet departments, the Federal Reserve and American withdrawal from the United Nations. Paul has referred to the Internal Revenue Service as the Gestapo [2].

He has been criticized at times for his unique voting record, opposing such measures as banning the date-rape drug GHB and being the only dissenting vote against giving Rosa Parks the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor. Paul believes that Congress is not authorized by the Constitution to undertake any of these tasks. "When he was criticized for voting against the medal, he chivied his colleagues by challenging them to personally contribute $100 to mint the medal. No one did, of course. At the time, Paul observed, "It's easier to be generous with other people's money."" Texas Monthly reported

District and contact information

The 14th Congressional District of Texas stretches from the Gulf Coast south of Houston almost to Corpus Christi; north through Victoria and west close to San Antonio; extending north to Hays county near Austin. From Hays county, the District stretches east to Fayette and Colorado counties, south through Wharton county, and back to the Gulf through the lower half of Brazoria county. In all, the district encompasses more than 22,000 square miles.

• Washington: 203 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515. Phone Number: (202) 225-2831
• Freeport, Texas: 200 W 2nd Street, Suite 210, Freeport, TX 77541. Phone Number: (979) 230-0000
• Victoria, Texas: 312 S Main Street, Suite 228, Victoria, TX 77901. Phone Number: (361) 576-1231

External links

• Official web site of Congressman Ron Paul
• Story on Ron Paul by Fox News
• National Taxpayers Union Honors Ron Paul as one of 29 Congressman who are "Taxpayer's Friends"