Category Archives: Ron Paul

Ron Paul. Photo: U.S. House of Representatives.

The "intellectual godfather" of the Tea Party movement, Ron Paul represented the voters of Texas in Congress for nearly a quarter-century -- raising Cain the whole way. He's criticized the war on drugs and the war in Iraq, supported less government spending and lower taxes, and even called Ronald Reagan's term as president "disgraceful." A libertarian at heart, there's probably not a voter on either the right or the left that he hasn't irked at one time or another over four decades of government service.

Paul retired from Congress in 2013 and now heads the Voices of Liberty website, where he seeks to "rally liberty-minded activists, influence the climate of ideas, and offer actionable solutions on issues of importance to American liberty and freedom." We reached out to Paul to hear his thoughts on how foreign relations and foreign policy are impacting the U.S. economy in general, and U.S. defense companies in particular.

Here's what he had to say, in his own words.

The Motley Fool: Dr. Paul, you recently argued on Voices of Liberty that "military spending, like all government spending, hampers private sector growth by taking resources away from investors, entrepreneurs, and consumers while contributing significantly to the national debt." You highlighted China's smallerdefense budget -- $188 billion -- as one reason its economy appears to be outperforming ours, and urged that America "return to the policy of peace and free trade."

Could you expand on that?

Ron Paul: The U.S. is hardly a beacon of free trade, though it ought to be. As to the military, its job is not to serve the investment banks and exporters by attacking "bad actors," but to protect the lives and property of the American people in America from foreign enemies. A good first step would be to stop creating foreign enemies by ending our interventionist foreign policy. ...

The current role of the U.S. military is to enable the U.S. and its crony companies to dominate the globe. This is not compatible with free-market capitalism or peace. ... States seeking to dominate the globe militarily often find themselves bankrupted and resented, ultimately dominated by those who were once on the receiving end. It is far better to engage in mutually beneficial free trade which boosts the American economy while creating friends instead of enemies overseas. No empire!

TMF: The Pentagon is budgeted to spend more than $615 billion this fiscal year. What do you think a more appropriate level of defense spending might be? What specific programs do you think deserve to be cut?

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You Thought Ron Paul Was Outspoken When He Was in Congress? You Won't Believe What He's Saying Now

State Senator Bribed By Ron Paul Campaign
Iowa State Senator Kent Sorenson admits to taking bribe to switch his support from Michele Bachmann to Ron Paul. Plus, Mitch McConnell #39;s campaign manager implicated by the bribery story......

By: Sam Seder

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State Senator Bribed By Ron Paul Campaign - Video

Patiot #39;s Lament with Daniel McAdams
Daniel McAdams, executive director for the Ron Paul Institute, joins us for an hour. We talked about Ron Paul #39;s new institute, and his ongoing work for Liberty. Daniel gave us some behind the...

By: radiofreefairbanks

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Patiot's Lament with Daniel McAdams - Video

America #39;s Forum | Ron Paul talks about what our role should be in Syria and Iraq
(R-TX): Former Congressman and Presidential candidate talks about what our role should be in Syria and Iraq. He also discusses the National Debt and reports ...

By: NewsmaxTV

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America's Forum | Ron Paul talks about what our role should be in Syria and Iraq - Video

NATO sat-image credibility dubious: Ron Paul Inst for Peace Prosperity Exec Dir
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Russian troops had entered Ukraine. The statement came as NATO released satellite images that it claimed showed Russian self-propelled...

By: RT

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NATO sat-image credibility dubious: Ron Paul Inst for Peace & Prosperity Exec Dir - Video

Ron Paul and Peter Schiff Talk Iraq, Perry, Rand, Fed, IRS
Listen to The Peter Schiff Show on http://www.SchiffRadio.com Buy my newest book at http://www.tinyurl.com/RealCrash Friend me on http://www.Facebook.com/PeterSchiff Follow me on http://www.Twitter...

By: Peter Schiff

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Ron Paul and Peter Schiff Talk Iraq, Perry, Rand, Fed, IRS - Video

Ron Paul is not a truther (as hes quick to tell you), but he has some ideas about 9/11 namely, that the U.S. government may have known that terrorists would fly passenger jets into iconic American buildings, and that they hid that information from the public to this day.

Numerous reports indicate that George W. Bush received at least one memo stating that al-Qaeda was plotting an attack on American soil prior to the attacks. Paul went a step further, though. He said, I believe that if we ever get the full truth, well find out that our government had it in the records exactly what the plans were, or at least close to it, during a Money and Markets podcast, in which he and host Charles Goyette discussed the remaining classified pages of the House and Senates investigation into 9/11 pages that Paul believes hold no threat to national security.

But again, hes not a truther, get it straight:

Its politically very risky to talk about [questioning the 9/11 attacks], because the left and the government defenders are really, really quick to discredit anybody who raises any question whatsoever, said Paul. They paint you, and they say oh you question this, that means youre a truther. I was always amazed, if you question and you want the truth, how they took a word like truther and turned it into a terrible, terrible word.

And, technically, he would be right: 9/11 truthers believe that the U.S. government actually plotted and executed the attacks in order to justify an invasion of the Middle East, while Paul is simply questioning whether the U.S. chose not to act on their intelligence and refuses to take responsibility to this day. One is a crackpot theory, and the other questions the integrity of the federal government.

And Paul drew that distinction clearly: Does that prove the fact that our president and others actually sat down and laid the plans and did this? I dont think it does.

[h/t Washington Free Beacon] [Image via Albert H. Teich / Shutterstock.com]

>> Follow Tina Nguyen (@Tina_Nguyen) on Twitter

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Ron Paul: The U.S. Government Knew 9/11 Was Going to Happen

Published August 29, 2014

WASHINGTON A former Iowa state senator who was a key official in Rep. Michele Bachmann's 2012 presidential campaign pleaded guilty Wednesday to illicitly concealing payments he received to switch his support from Bachmann to then-Texas Rep. Ron Paul.

Former GOP state Sen. Kent Sorenson received thousands of dollars in "under the table payments," according to the Justice Department, to ditch Bachmanns campaign, where he had served as Iowa chairman. He endorsed Paul instead.

The Department of Justice brought charges against him for allegedly lying to federal investigators about the money.

Sorensons support was seen as a key endorsement in the 2012 Iowa contest, which is the first-in-the-nation test for candidates seeking their party nomination.

Sorenson was named Bachmann's state campaign chairman in June 2011. But by the fall, Bachmann's momentum in the polls had stalled. Six days before the Iowa Republican caucuses, Sorenson announced his support for Paul.

In the plea agreement, Sorenson admitted concealing payments of $73,000 after secretly negotiating to switch his support. The payments came in monthly installments of roughly $8,000, according to DOJ.

The former lawmaker pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and causing a campaign to falsely report expenditures. Sorenson could face up to 20 years in prison for obstruction of justice, and as many as five years on the second charge.

After Sorenson's switch in December 2011, Bachmann immediately claimed Sorsenson told her he was offered "a lot of money" by Paul's people.

Sorenson, though, denied the claim in a December 2011 interview with Fox News. He said he was "never offered a nickel."

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Pol admits taking payments to back Ron Paul in '12

The reelection campaign of Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell was sent into something of a shock on Friday thanks to the sudden and somewhat unexpected announcement that Jesse Benton, who was managing his reelection and had managed Rand Pauls 2010 campaign and Ron Pauls 2008 and 2012 presidential campaign, was stepping aside with less than nine weeks to go until Election Day.

Jesse Benton, the campaign manager for U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, will resign his post as a bribery scandal from the 2012 presidential campaign threatens to envelop Benton and become a major distraction for McConnells campaign.

Benton told the Herald-Leader that he met with McConnell on Friday afternoon and offered his resignation, which McConnell reluctantly accepted.

Benton said he offered his resignation, effective Saturday, with a heavy heart.

He maintained his innocence, faulting inaccurate press accounts and unsubstantiated media rumors.

This decision breaks my heart, but I know it is the right thing for Mitch, for Kentucky and for the country, Benton said.

(.)

In a statement provided first to the Herald-Leader, Benton said there is no more important cause for both Kentucky, my new home I have come to love, and our country than electing Mitch McConnell Majority Leader of the United States Senate.

I believe this deep in my bones, and I would never allow anything or anyone to get in the way, Benton wrote. That includes myself.

Benton said in his statement that there have been inaccurate press accounts and unsubstantiated media rumors about me and my role in past campaigns that are politically motivated, unfair and, most importantly, untrue.

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McConnell campaign manager resigns, amid probe into Iowa bribery scandal

(CNN) -

A little more than two months before Election Day, Sen. Mitch McConnell's campaign manager, Jesse Benton, stepped down Friday, resigning amid a long-brewing controversy involving Benton's ties to Ron Paul's presidential bid in 2012.

"With a heavy heart, I offered Sen. McConnell my resignation this afternoon and he reluctantly accepted," Benton said in a statement issued by McConnell's campaign. "Effective Saturday, August 30th, I will no longer be the 'Team Mitch' campaign manager."

Benton was chairman of Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign. This week a former Iowa state senator, Kent Sorenson, pleaded guilty in federal court to accepting payment from Paul's campaign in exchange for supporting the former Texas congressman ahead of the Iowa GOP presidential caucuses in January 2012.

It's unknown whether Benton was aware of those payments, but according to the Washington Post there have been media reports indicating Benton was involved in the courting of Sorenson.

Sorenson had previously been a supporter of rival Rep. Michele Bachmann's campaign - from whom he also accepted money, he admitted - and his departure was considered a controversial move at the time.

Benton did not elaborate on the issue or mention Sorenson by name in his statement, only saying, "there have been inaccurate press accounts and unsubstantiated media rumors about me and my role in past campaigns that are politically motivated, unfair and, most importantly, untrue."

"However, what is most troubling to me is that they risk unfairly undermining and becoming a distraction to this reelection campaign," he added, referring to McConnell's campaign.

The Senate Republican leader is in a tight race against Democratic nominee Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky.

Ron Paul's son, Sen. Rand Paul, is currently laying the groundwork for a presidential bid of his own. Benton served as Rand Paul's campaign manager in his 2010 Senate campaign in Kentucky.

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Benton fights allegations of payoffs to politicians for support