Ron Paul Accurately Predicts Future Crises in 2002 Speech
The common knock against Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is that he is out of touch with too much of the electorate to possibly win the presidency.
If that's true, perhaps it's the electorate's problem, not Paul's.
In a chilling speech on April 24, 2002, the Texas Congressman outlined numerous issues he predicted would transpire over the next decade and why. Watch Paul's address to Congress, juxtaposed with the reports of the news he saw coming, here:
Basically, Ron Paul accurately predicted:
- The invasion of Iraq
- The failure of the government of Afghanistan
- Both political parties endorsement of military interventionalism
- The erosion of U.S. civil liberties and the Constitution
- Americans becoming poorer over the ensuing decade
- An international financial crisis that would decimate U.S. government finances, trigger a recession and resulting in exploding deficits for years
Paul concluded his speech saying he hoped he would be wrong on all accounts. Can anyone really argue that he was - or that he's out of touch now?
Republican Debate Highlights: Ron Paul Edition!
Some viewers of Sunday's Republican debate remarked that the coverage of said debate sorely lacked for Ron Paul, who is running second in New Hampshire polls.
With that in mind, we present a video montage that should more than make up for that - highlights from Sunday morning's NBC/Facebook debate, Ron Paul style!
Despite being more or less dismissed by many pundits as having no chance at the White House, Paul finished a strong third in Iowa and may top that in New Hampshire.
His message strikes a chord with a motivated section of the electorate. The only question is whether he can grow it. Check out some of the candidate's answers Sunday:
GOP Debate: Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich Spar on Foreign Policy
It's hard not to see how Dr. Paul got the better of this one.
At last night's GOP presidential debate in New Hampshire, Newt Gingrich was asked to respond to Ron Paul referring to has a Chicken Hawk in the past.
After a long-winded, largely irrelevant response by Gingrich, Paul said that description of Newt was correct, launching into his own opinions on veterans affairs.
When it comes to the power to wage war, and foreign affairs in general, Paul is unflinching in his views, even if they're diametrically opposed to his counterparts'.
Moreover, Paul reiterated that he, despite being married with children, served in the Vietnam War when drafted. Watch the heated exchange below:
Nephew of Rick Santorum: Vote Ron Paul!
Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum catapulted himself to the top tier of the Republican presidential race this week, losing the Iowa caucus by just eight votes.
With newly-minted contender status comes increased scrutiny, however. Santorum was booed off stage in New Hampshire yesterday for comments about gay marriage.
Not everyone in his own family is convinced he's up to the task, either. This week his nephew penned an editorial for the Daily Caller in support of ... Ron Paul.
"If you want another big-government politician who supports the status quo to run our country, you should vote for my uncle, Rick Santorum," John Garver writes.
Garver, a 19-year-old student at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, continues:
"America is based on a strong belief in individual liberty. My uncle’s interventionist policies, both domestic and foreign, stem from his irrational fear of freedom not working.
It is not the government’s job to dictate to individuals how they must live. The Constitution was designed to protect individual liberty. My Uncle Rick cannot fathom a society in which people cooperate and work with each other freely.
When Republicans were spending so much money under President Bush, my uncle was right there along with them as a senator. The reason we have so much debt is not only because of Democrats, but also because of big-spending Republicans like my Uncle Rick.
Rand Paul: Stop Trying to Marginalize Ron Paul!
Ron Paul's son and campaign surrogate Rand Paul is making the media rounds, laying into his competition and challenging the notion that Paul is unelectable.
The U.S. Senator from Kentucky says his dad, who claimed one of three tickets out of Iowa, has a lot of money to continue pursuing the Republican presidential nomination.
He fears, however, the oft-repeated media theorem that Ron Paul can't win will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The "unelectable" argument is one he adamantly refutes.
Specifically, Rand Paul took issue with Rick Santorum's foreign policy in an interview with CNN, suggesting that he, not Paul, is the one out of the mainstream.
Listen to Rand's comments below and see if you agree:
Ron Paul Declares Himself One of Three Winners in Iowa Caucus
If Ron Paul was disappointed in last night's Iowa caucus results, it didn't show.
The Republican Congressman from Texas finished a strong third behind Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, but certainly served notice that he's a factor in 2012.
Paul wanted some legitimacy and a bigger platform for his movement, and by securing over 20 percent in the first-in-the-nation caucuses, he's on his way.
On stage before a cheering crowd Tuesday, Paul said winning elections is the best way to promote a cause, and that he was one of three winners last night:
Claiming a ticket out of Iowa, Paul vowed to continue his fight, even as GOP rivals such as Newt Gingrich, Romney and Santorum dismiss him as unelectable.
Iowa voters thought otherwise, taking to Paul’s small-government, anti-war and pro-civil liberties message in enough numbers to lift him into the top tier.
Evangelicals, home schoolers, young people, moderates, libertarians and disaffected Democrats formed an unlikely coalition that led to his strong showing.
Can it be replicated or improved upon elsewhere? That's the key question.
Ron Paul Takes Shot at Jon Huntsman on Twitter
Politicians (or at least interns with access to official campaign accounts) need to fall in line with the rest of celebrity culture and talk trash on Twitter more often.
On a night in which he finished a strong third after the hotly-contested Iowa caucus results were tabulated, Ron Paul took a hilarious shot at Jon Huntsman online.
Paul personally did not write this, but someone with access to his Twitter did, and the campaign even owned up to it, rather than use the "hacking" defense. Look:
Huntsman, the former Utah governor who skipped Iowa to focus on next week's primary in New Hampshire, has been hitting Paul in the latter state in recent days.
Paul's campaign hasn't engaged him directly, but they clearly noticed.
The Tweet was nixed shortly after it posted, but Paul spokesman Gary Howard said it was mistakenly deleted and was later re-posted. He told Politico the following:
"I think someone mistakenly deleted it. I think our IT guy didn't know it was being tweeted when he saw it, thought someone hacked it. But it wasn't hacked."
"It was our tweet. We said what we wanted to say."
Huntsman spokesman Tim Miller said in response:
"We find it odd that Congressman Paul would attack Gov. Huntsman in such a childish fashion. Just the latest in a long line of odd statements from him."
Game on in New Hampshire, gentlemen!
Iowa Caucus Results: Mitt Romney Wins By Eight Votes Over Rick Santorum!
The closest Iowa caucus results in history produced a near draw, with Mitt Romney winning by just eight votes over Rick Santorum and Ron Paul a close third.
Romney, considered the favorite in the Republican presidential race quest, did not notch a commanding win that could have ended the primary process early.
However, a win's a win, and after a year in which one candidate after another sought to be the conservative alternative to him, a pretty impressive one at that.
Even more remarkable was the finish of Rick Santorum, whose candidacy was so moribund just weeks ago that many wondered why he was still in the race.
The former Pennsylvania Senator was neck-and-neck with Romney, the one-time Governor of Massachusetts, for all of Tuesday night and into this morning.
Romney being declared the winner by a mere eight ballots early Wednesday. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was a close third with 21 percent of the caucus votes.
“We will go on,” he said in an upbeat speech. “There is nothing to be ashamed of.”
The race was so close, Romney couldn't even claim victory in his speech. With 99 percent of the vote counted, he and Santorum each had 24.6 percent.
Ron Paul on Rick Santorum: What a Liberal!
With just one day remaining before the Iowa caucuses kick off the GOP primary process, Ron Paul dinged surging rival Rick Santorum for being a fiscal liberal.
Paul said the former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and staunch social conservative, who has gained traction of late, voted for too much spending while in Congress.
"I mean, have you looked at his record? Go look at his record," Paul told CNN.
Accompanied by son Rand Paul, Ron continued: "He spends too much money. He wasn't leading the charge to slash the budgets and vote against big government."
Rand Paul, who was elected to the U.S. Senator from Kentucky in 2010, added that Santorum's voteing history proved he wasn't a true conservative.
"He voted to double the size of the Department of Education," Rand Paul said. "He voted to expand Medicare and add free drugs for seniors and he has voted for foreign aid."
"Those are not conservative principles ... 77 percent of the American people are opposed to foreign aid and Rick Santorum has voted for it every time it's come down."
Ron Paul, who is running neck-and-neck with Mitt Romney and Santorum in Iowa, again addressed a potential third-party bid should he fail to win the GOP nomination.
"I have no plans in doing that," Paul said. "Tomorrow is a big day. We'll see what happens but I have no intention of doing that, no plans and no desire."
Michele Bachmann Iowa Campaign Director Quits, Joins Ron Paul, Denies Payoff
Michele Bachmann is railing against Ron Paul and Kent Sorenson, who left his post as head of her Iowa campaign effort to go work for her rival instead.
Presidential hopeful Bachmann implied that Paul, who is running much stronger in Iowa, bought off her key staffer a week before the state's caucuses.
"Kent Sorenson personally told me he was offered a large sum of money to go to work for the Paul campaign," Bachmann said in a statement to Fox News.
"Kent campaigned with us earlier this afternoon and went immediately afterward to a Ron Paul event and announced he is changing teams."
"Kent said to me yesterday that 'everyone sells out in Iowa, why shouldn't I?' then he told me he would stay with our campaign," Bachmann added.
"The Ron Paul campaign has to answer for its actions."
In response, Paul's campaign said Bachmann's Iowa political director "unequivocally stated Kent Sorenson's decision was in no way financially motivated."
Sorenson attributed his decision to Paul's higher standing in polls, where he is battling Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum for the top spot.
Jesse Benton, Paul's national campaign chairman, welcomed the endorsement from Sorenson, himself an Iowa State Senator, before the Jan. 3 vote:
"Congressman Paul is delighted to accept the endorsement of Senator Kent Sorenson, whose blessing and assistance carry a great deal [of] weight."
"He doesn't take this decision lightly, which says a lot about the senator and Ron Paul." He also picked up an endorsement from Kelly Clarkson this week.
Can he pull off a masterstroke and upset the field next week? Stay tuned.
