Farewell, Ron Paul

by David Boaz

David Boaz is the executive vice president of the Cato Institute and has played a key role in the development of the Cato Institute and the libertarian movement.

Added to cato.org on November 16, 2012

This article appeared in The Blaze on November 16, 2012.

Rep. Ron Paul gave a farewell address to Congress on Wednesday. Ed Kilgore of the Progressive Policy Institute wrote in a Capitol Hill newspaper that he is "not going to miss Paul's tirades." Yes, establishment Washington is tired of hearing about peace and civil liberties, freedom and sound money.

The remarkable thing about Paul's farewell is how much it sounded just like what he's been saying since he was first elected to Congress in 1976: The federal government is spending too much, printing too much money, and launching too many wars.

For most of that time Paul labored in the semi-obscurity that befalls most members of the House of Representatives. But over the past six years he has become an Internet sensation, attracted college students like the Pied Piper, and made libertarianism part of the political debate.

David Boaz is the executive vice president of the Cato Institute and has played a key role in the development of the Cato Institute and the libertarian movement.

His 2008 presidential campaign exploded out of nowhere when he clashed over foreign policy with the now-forgotten Rudy Giuliani in a nationally televised debate. But his 2012 campaign was much more successful in attracting votes and delegates. Paul didn't change much in four years. What did?

In 2007 (which is when he got the most attention in the last cycle), Ron Paul warned that an economy based on debt and cheap money from the Federal Reserve was not sustainable, but the economy was booming and nobody wanted to listen. After the crash of 2008, they started listening.

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Farewell, Ron Paul