Ron Paul Isn't Thrilled By 'Rather Annoying' Shutdown Debate

Former Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, pauses as he greets voters on March, 3, 2012, in Puyallup, Wash.

Libertarian fans of former Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, may expect the former presidential candidate to be pleased with the partial government shutdown that began Tuesday, forcing federal agencies to furlough workers as Republicans seek a one-year reprieve for citizens subject to the individual health insurance mandate beginning Jan. 1.

But Paul told U.S. News the shutdown isn't as significant as some say and he finds the ongoing squabble between party leaders "rather annoying."

"It's less of an event than everyone's claiming it to be," he said. "The closedown doesn't close down people who want stuff, it didn't close down [the National Security Agency] and all the other things the government may be doing to us. The government marches on."

Paul believes President Barack Obama's 2010 health care law, which forces Americans to buy private health insurance, is "an outrage" that the U.S. Supreme Court should have declared unconstitutional, but he doubts Republican leaders truly believe in individual choice, the purported cause of the current impasse.

[LAWSUIT: Obama Needs to Enforce All of Obamacare]

"Republicans are supposedly on the side of cutting and watching that we don't get too much government intrusion in medical care, but when they were in charge they increased the size and scope of government intervention in medical care," he said, "so I don't think they're sincere about it."

Political leaders, Paul predicted, "will fuss and fume all for political gain it's all political gamesmanship."

"How did the Democrats get away with this idea of, 'No, we're not going to conference' and then blame the Republicans for being extremists when they won't even go to conference? That gets pretty tiring to tell you the truth."

He's been watching news coverage on the TV, and he says he "can imagine why the average American citizen is pretty tired of it all."

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Ron Paul Isn't Thrilled By 'Rather Annoying' Shutdown Debate