The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under
the Speaker’s announced policy of January
7, 1997, the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. PAUL) is recognized for 60 minutes
as the designee of the majority leader.
1998 Ron Paul 2:1
Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Speaker, the first session
of the 105th Congress has been
completed and the third year of the
conservative revolution has passed. Current Congressional leadership has
declared victory and is now debating
how to spend the excess revenues
about to flow into the Treasury.
1998 Ron Paul 2:2
As the legislative year came to a
close, the only serious debate was over
the extent of the spending increases negotiated
into the budget. The more
things changed, the more they stay
the same. Control over the Congress is
not seriously threatened, and there has
been no clear-cut rejection of the 20th
century welfare state. But that does
not mean that there is no effort to
change the direction of the country. It’s just that it’s not yet in progress.
1998 Ron Paul 2:3
But many taxpayers throughout the
country are demanding change, and
today there are more people in Washington
expressing a sincere desire to
shrink the welfare state than there
were when I left 13 years ago. The final
word on this has not yet been heard.
1998 Ron Paul 2:4
In contemplating what needs to be
done and why we haven’t done better,
we should consider several philosophic
infractions in which Members of Congress
participate that encourage a loss
of liberty and endanger our national
security and the republic while perpetuating
the status quo.
1998 Ron Paul 2:5
Following are some of the flaws or
errors in thinking about issues that I
find pervasive throughout the Congress:
1998 Ron Paul 2:6
Foreign affairs. Although foreign affairs
was not on the top of the agenda
in the last session, misunderstanding
in this area presents one the greatest
threats to the future of America. There
is near conformity, uniformity of opinion
in the Congress for endorsing the
careless use of U.S. force to police the
world. Although foreign policy was infrequently
debated in the past year and
there are no major wars going on or
likely to start soon, the danger inherent
in foreign entanglements warrants
close scrutiny.
1998 Ron Paul 2:7
The economy, crime, the environment,
drugs, currency instability, and
many other problems are important. But it’s in the area of foreign policy
and foreign interventionism that provokes
the greatest threat to our liberties and
sovereignty. Whenever there are foreign
monsters to slay, regardless of
their true threat to us, misplaced patriotic
zeal is used to force us to look
outward and away from domestic problems
and the infractions placed on our
personal liberties here at home.
1998 Ron Paul 2:8
Protecting personal liberties in any
society is always more difficult during
war. The uniformity of opinion in Congress
is enshrined with the common
clichés that no one thinks through,
like foreign policy is bipartisan; only
the President can formulate foreign
policy; we must support the troops and,
therefore, of course, the war, which is
usually illegal and unwise but can’t
be challenged; we are the only world’s
superpower; we must protect our interests
like oil. However, it’s never admitted,
although most know, our policy
is designed to promote the military
industrial complex and world government.
1998 Ron Paul 2:9
Most recently, the Congress almost
unanimously beat the drums for war,
i.e., to kill Hussein; and any consideration
of the facts involved elicited
charges of anti-patriotism. Yet in the
midst of the clamor to send our planes
and bombs to Baghdad, cooler heads
were found in, of all places, Kuwait.
1998 Ron Paul 2:10
A Kuwaiti professor, amazingly, was
quoted in a proper pro-government Kuwaiti
newspaper as saying,
“The U.S.
1998 Ron Paul 2:11
frightens us with Saddam to make us
buy weapons and sign contracts with
American companies,”
thus ensuring a
market for American arms manufacturers
and United States’ continued
military presence in the Middle East.
1998 Ron Paul 2:12
A Kuwaiti legislator was quoted as
saying,
“The use of force has ended up
strengthening the Iraqi regime rather
than weakening it.”
Other Kuwaitis have suggested that
the U.S. really wants Hussein in power
to make sure his weak neighbors fear
him and are forced to depend on the
United States for survival.
1998 Ron Paul 2:13
In spite of the reservations and reasons
to go slow, the only criticism
coming from congressional leaders was
that Clinton should do more, quicker,
without any serious thought as to the
consequences, which would be many.
1998 Ron Paul 2:14
The fact that of the original 35 allies
in the Persian Gulf War only one remains,
Great Britain, should make us
question our policy in this region. This
attitude in Washington should concern
all Americans. It makes it too easy for
our presidents to start a senseless war
without considering dollar costs or
threat to liberty here and abroad. Even
without a major war, this policy enhances
the prestige and the influence
of the United Nations.
1998 Ron Paul 2:15
These days, not even the United
States moves without permission from
the UN Security Council. In checking
with the U.S. Air Force about the history
of U-2 flights in Iraq, over Iraq,
and their current schedules, I was
firmly told the Air Force was not in
charge of these flights, the UN was. The Air Force suggested I call the Defense
Department.
1998 Ron Paul 2:16
There is much to be concerned about
with our current approach to foreign
policy. It’s dangerous because it can
lead to a senseless war like Vietnam or
small ones with bad results like in Somalia.
1998 Ron Paul 2:17
Individual freedom is always under
attack; and once there is any serious
confrontation with a foreign enemy, we
are all required to rally around the
President, no matter how flawed the
policy. Too often, the consequences are
unforeseen, like making Hussein
stronger and not weaker after the Persian
Gulf War.
1998 Ron Paul 2:18
The role of the military industrial
complex cannot be ignored; and since
the marching orders come from the
United Nations, the industrial complex
is more international than ever.
1998 Ron Paul 2:19
But there is reason to believe the
hidden agenda of our foreign policy is
less hidden than it had been in the
past. In referring to the United States
in the international oil company success
in the Caspian Sea, a Houston
newspaper recently proclaimed, “U.S. views pipelines as a big foreign policy
victory.”
1998 Ron Paul 2:20
This referred to the success of major
deals made by giant oil companies to
build pipelines to carry oil out of the
Caspian Sea while also delivering a
strong message that, for these projects
to be successful and further enhance U.S. foreign policy, it will require government
subsidies to help pay the bill. Market development of the pipelines
would be cheaper but would not satisfy
our international government planners.
1998 Ron Paul 2:21
So we must be prepared to pay, as we
already have started to, through our
foreign aid appropriations. This promotes
on a grand scale a government
business partnership that is dangerous
to those who love liberty and detest
fascism. And yet, most Members of
Congress will say little, ask little, and
understand little, while joining in the
emotional outburst directed towards
the local thugs running the Mideastern
fiefdoms like Iraq and Libya.
1998 Ron Paul 2:22
This attitude, as pervasive as it is in
Washington, is tempered by the people’s
instincts for minding our own
business, not wanting Americans to be
the policemen of the world, and deep
concern for American sovereignty. The
result, not too unusual, is for the politicians
in Washington to be doing one
thing while saying something else when at
home.
1998 Ron Paul 2:23
At home, virtually all citizens condemn
U.S. troops serving under UN
command, and yet the financing and
support for expanding the United Nations’
and NATO’s roles continues as
the hysteria mounts on marching on
Baghdad or Bosnia or Haiti or wherever
our leaders decide the next monster is
to be found.
1998 Ron Paul 2:24
The large majority of House Members
claim they want our troops out of Bosnia. Yet the President gets all the
funding he wants. The Members of Congress
get credit at home for paying lip
service to a U.S. policy of less intervention,
while the majority continue
to support the troops, the President,
the military industrial complex, and
the special interests who drive our foreign
policy, demanding more funding
while risking the lives, property, peace,
and liberty of American citizens.
1998 Ron Paul 2:25
Congress casually passes resolution
after resolution, many times nearly
unanimously, condemning some injustice
in the world, and for the most part
there is a true injustice, but along with
the caveat that threatens some unconstitutional
U.S. military interference,
financial assistance, or withdrawal of
assistance, or sanctions in order to
force our will on someone else. And it’s all done in the name of promoting
the United Nations and one-world government.
1998 Ron Paul 2:26
Many resolutions on principle are
similar to the Gulf of Tonkin resolution,
which became equivalent to a
declaration of war and allowed for a
massive loss of life in the Vietnam fiasco. Most Members of Congress fail to see the significance of threatening violence
against countries like Libya, Somalia,
Rwanda, Bosnia, Iraq, Iran, or
Haiti. Yet our credibility suffers since
our policies can never satisfy both
sides of each regional conflict.
1998 Ron Paul 2:27
In the Middle East, even with all our
announced intentions and military effort
to protect Kuwait, our credibility
is questioned as most Arabs still see us
as pro-Israel, anti-Arab, and motivated
by power, oil and money.
1998 Ron Paul 2:28
America’s effort to prevent a million
casualties in Rwanda doesn’t anywhere
compare to our perennial effort
to get Hussein. It is hardly violations
of borders or the possession of weapons
of mass destruction that motivates us
to get Hussein or drive our foreign policy.
1998 Ron Paul 2:29
We were allies of Iraq when it used
poison gas against the Kurds and
crossed the border into Iran. We support
the Turks even though they murdered
Kurds, but we condemn the Iraqis when
they do the same thing.
1998 Ron Paul 2:30
There are more than 25,000 Soviet nuclear
warheads that cannot be accounted
for, and all we hear about from
the politicians is about Iraq’s control
of weapons of mass destruction.
1998 Ron Paul 2:31
Our policy in the Middle East is totally
schizophrenic and driven by Arab
oil, weapon sales, and Israel. This is especially
dangerous because the history
of the West’s intrusion into the Middle
East for a thousand years in establishing
the artificial borders that exist
today has created a mindset among Islamic
fundamentalists that guarantees
that friction will persist in this region
no matter how many Husseins or Ayatollahs
we kill. That would only make
things worse for us.
1998 Ron Paul 2:32
As much as I fear and detest one-world
government, this chaos that we
contribute to in the Middle East
assures me that there is no smooth
sailing for the new world order. Rough
seas are ahead for all of us. If the UN’s
plans for their type of order is successful,
it will cost American citizens
money and freedom. If significant violence
breaks out, it will cost American
citizens money, freedom, and lives.
1998 Ron Paul 2:33
Yes, I fear a biological and even a nuclear
accident. But I see our cities at a
much greater risk because of our policy
than if we were neutral and friends
with all factions instead of trying to be
a financial and military ally of all factions
depending on the circumstances.
1998 Ron Paul 2:34
The way we usually get dragged into
a shooting war is by some unpredictable
incident, where innocent Americans
are killed after our government
placed them in harm’s way and the
enemy provoked. Then the argument is
made that once hostilities break out,
debating the policy that created the
mess is off limits. Everybody then
must agree to support the troops.
1998 Ron Paul 2:35
But the best way to support our
troops and our liberties is to have a
policy that avoids unnecessary confrontation. A pro-American constitutional
policy of nonintervention would
go a long way toward guaranteeing
maximum liberty and protection of life
and property for all Americans.
1998 Ron Paul 2:36
American interests around the world
could best be served by friendship and
trade with all who would be friends,
and subsidies to none.
1998 Ron Paul 2:37
The balanced budget. There is a naïve
assumption in Washington that the
budget is under control and will soon
be balanced, while believing perpetual
prosperity is here and new programs
can now be seriously considered. It reminds
me of an old Chinese saying,
when words lose their meaning, people
lose their liberty.
1998 Ron Paul 2:38
Even the revolutionaries have
claimed victory. One of the staunchest
Members recently declared, in the end
we achieved a balanced budget for the
first time since 1969. Medicare and welfare
were reformed, all in three short
years, a truly remarkable record on
how far we have come.
1998 Ron Paul 2:39
I can understand a positive spin on
events of the last three years by party
leaders. That is what party leaders do. But the revolutionary members of the
104th Congress should not be taken in
easily or quickly. But Washington has
a strange way of dulling the senses,
and no one enjoys peer rejection or
lonely fights, where one is depicted as
pursuing a fruitless adventure and appearing
negative. Capitulating to the
status quo is the road of least resistance,
and rationalizations are generously
offered up.
1998 Ron Paul 2:40
It has been especially tempting for
Members of Congress to accept the projection
of higher revenues as a panacea
to our budgetary problems. The prevailing
attitude in Washington as 1997
came to a close was that the limited
government forces had succeeded. The
conservative revolution was won, and
now it’s time to move on and make
government work more efficiently.
1998 Ron Paul 2:41
I am sure some know better, but the
real reason for these declarations of
budgetary success is for the sole purpose
of maintaining power. Minority
leaders find themselves frustrated because
they know spending has gone up,
and the higher tax revenues have
helped those in charge.
1998 Ron Paul 2:42
The Republican Congress and President
Clinton benefited, while the
Democratic Congressional leaders
could only ask why can’t more be spent
on welfare if the country is doing so
well? Fundamental problems like the
size of the budget, the deficit, the debt,
higher taxes, currency problems and
excessive regulations were put on the
back burner, if not ignored altogether.
1998 Ron Paul 2:43
While complacency regarding foreign
policy sets the stage for danger overseas,
this naïve attitude regarding the
budget and the deficit is permitting the
welfare state to be reenergized and cancel
entirely any efforts to reduce the
size and scope of government.
1998 Ron Paul 2:44
Under Reagan, as in the early parts
of the Republican control of Congress,
some signs of deceleration in the
growth of government were seen. But
even then, there was no pretense made
to shrink the size of government. And,
once again, the path of least resistance
has been to capitulate and allow government
to grow as it has been for decades. Heaven forbid, no one ever again
wants to be blamed for closing down
nonessential government services. Only
cruel and heartless Constitutionalists
would ever suggest such a politically
foolish stunt.
1998 Ron Paul 2:45
And it’s not going to happen. 1997 has
proven what many have suspected, that
reversing or arresting a welfare state
cannot occur by majority vote. With
apparent wealth abundance in the
United States, the reversal assuredly
will not come with ease. Once redistribution
of wealth is permitted by the
democratic vote, destruction of production
will occur before the majority will
choose to curtail their own benefits.
1998 Ron Paul 2:46
The end is closer than most realize,
considering the optimistic rhetoric
coming from Washington, plus the fact
the majority of citizens are beneficiaries
of the system, and even the
producers have grown dependent on
government protection, grants, contracts
and special subsidies.
1998 Ron Paul 2:47
Although the session ended on a modestly
happy bipartisan note, I suspect
in time 1997 will be looked upon as a
sad year, in that the limited government
revolution of 1994 was declared
lost by adjournment time in November.
1998 Ron Paul 2:48
That does not mean the fight for liberty
is over, but the hope that came by
reversing Congressional rule after 40
years has been dampened and a lot
more work is necessary for success. The real battle is to win the hearts and minds of Americans outside of Washington
to prepare the country for the
day when the welfare state ceases to
function due to an empty treasury and
the dollar, not worth its weight, comes
under attack.
1998 Ron Paul 2:49
Specifics worth pondering: The budget
for current fiscal year 1998 calls for
expenditures of $1.69 trillion, or $89 billion
above last year. The 1997 budget
was $22 billion over ’96. The so-called
balanced budget bragged about is to
occur in the year 2002, with more cuts
being made in the year 2001 and a level
of spending far above today’s. The expenditures
in the year 2002 are expected
to increase to $1.9 trillion, over $200
billion more than this year.
1998 Ron Paul 2:50
Increased revenues obviously accomplish
the job of a theoretically balanced
budget, but also these projections
do not take into account the
huge sums borrowed from Social Security. Even if things go well and as
planned, the optimism is based on deception,
wishful thinking and a huge
raid on the Social Security and other
trust funds. In spite of this, the politicians
in Washington are eagerly planning
on how to spend the coming budgetary
surpluses.
1998 Ron Paul 2:51
All these rosy projections are dependent
on economic strength, steady low
interest rates, and no supplemental appropriations. Every session of Congress
gets supplementals, and if the economy
takes a downturn, the higher the appropriation.
1998 Ron Paul 2:52
The last three years aren’t much to
brag about. Domestic spending has
gone up by $183 billion. In the prior
three years, when Democrats controlled
the Congress, spending increased
by $155 billion. Tax increases
are now inevitably referred to as revenue
enhancement and closing of loopholes.
1998 Ron Paul 2:53
In spite of some wonderful IRS bashing
by nearly everyone and positive
hearings in exposing the ruthless tactics
of the IRS, Congress and the President
saw fit to give the IRS a whopping
$729 million increase in its budget, hoping
the IRS will become more efficient
in their collection process. Real
spending cuts are not seriously considered.
1998 Ron Paul 2:54
Congress continues to obfuscate by
calling token cuts in previously proposed
increases as budget cuts. And the
media and the proponents of big government
welfare obediently demagogue
this issue by decrying why the
slashes in the budget are inhumane and
uncaring.
1998 Ron Paul 2:55
Without honesty in language and
budgeting, true reforms are impossible. In spite of the rhetoric, bold new educational and medical programs were
started, setting the stage for massive
new spending in the future. New programs
always cost more than originally
projected. The block grant approach
to reform did not prompt a decrease
in spending, and frequently
added to it. The principle of whether or
not the Federal Government should
even be involved in education, medicine,
welfare, farming, et cetera, was
not seriously considered.
1998 Ron Paul 2:56
The 1998 budget is the largest ever
and represents the biggest increase in
the domestic budget in eight years. Those in charge threw in the towel and surrendered all efforts this past year to
cut back the size of government. And in
this fiscal year, many concede the deficit
will actually go up, even without a
slowing in the economy.
1998 Ron Paul 2:57
In this year’s budget, Medicare and
Medicaid increased four to five times
the rate of inflation. This is not a complete
surprise to the logical skeptics
when it comes to fiscal matters, but it
is just a little exasperating to hear the
positive pronouncements of current
leaders who just a few years ago would
have been only too eager to point out
the shortcomings of deceptive arithmetic.
1998 Ron Paul 2:58
Power is a corrupting influence, but,
for now, at least, a Congressional
power shift is not in the making. There
are still a lot of recipients that are
happily reassured that additional revenues
can be found. The new management
is welcomed, and it’s hoped the
new guys on the block can salvage for
a while a system that many deep down
in their hearts are convinced is not
manageable for much longer.
1998 Ron Paul 2:59
There is a sense of relief the welfare
state has received a reprieve. One can
almost hear the sigh amplified by hearing
of the problems in the Southeast
Asia countries with their currency and
stock market problems, not realizing it’s the U.S. taxpayers and the dollar
that will be called upon for the bailout
of this financial crisis.
1998 Ron Paul 2:60
The great danger of all of this is the
false sense of economic security Congress
feels, that has prompted total
abandonment of efforts to actually cut
any spending and with plans being laid
for spending increases.
1998 Ron Paul 2:61
The message is this: The politicians
will never limit spending, but, eventually,
the market will. It has already
done so in Thailand, South Korea, the
Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.
1998 Ron Paul 2:62
International currency crisis:
Congress lacks concern and understanding
of the significance of the
Asian currency crisis. Monetary policy
has never excited many Members of the
Banking Committee, let alone other
members of Congress. A handful of
Members do consistently complain to
the Chairman of the Federal Reserve,
but inevitably it’s to object to the
high interest rates and not enough
credit being available to either the
poor or the rich beneficiaries of Central
Bank credit largesse.
1998 Ron Paul 2:63
The Southeast Asian currency and
economic bailout will exceed $100
billion. We will be propping up these currencies
by sending American taxpayers’
dollars, the same thing we did
in Mexico in 1995. Multilateral efforts
through the IMF, the World Bank and
other development banks are used, and
in each one the United States is the
most generous donor.
1998 Ron Paul 2:64
IMF bailouts, just as our military
foreign intervention, are generally supported
by the leadership of both parties. The establishment has firm control
in these two areas and who, out of
ignorance or neglect, the Congress as a
whole provides little resistance. When
the stronger currencies, and in this case
the dollar, props up a weaker currency,
it is nothing more than an example of
an international transfer of payment
that helps our banks and international
corporate investors who have financial
exposure in the country or the currency
under attack.
1998 Ron Paul 2:65
These bailouts will work, to some degree,
until the dollar itself comes
under attack. Our relatively strong
economy and the current perceptions
of undue dollar strength allows great
leverage in this extremely expensive
and risky bailout operation.
1998 Ron Paul 2:66
The genius of it all is that Federal
Reserve credit expansion and its off-budget
budgeting permits these funds
to be spent without oversight. IMF appropriations
are not even counted toward
the deficit, and credit expansion
is under complete control of the Federal
Reserve.
1998 Ron Paul 2:67
Long-term, the average American
citizen suffers through higher interest
rates, rising prices, recessions and
lower standard of living, but the cause
and effect is conveniently hidden from
the public and the Congress.
1998 Ron Paul 2:68
After the Mexican bailout, her citizens
lost 50 percent of their purchasing
power, a dramatic pay cut. Yet the
great danger is that some day we will
be forced to pay, possibly with a dollar
crisis that will make the Asian currency
crisis look small in comparison.
1998 Ron Paul 2:69
All currency crises are serious and
usher in economic and political problems
for the country involved, and
since no one likes it, blame is generally
misplaced.
1998 Ron Paul 2:70
When the dollar comes under attack,
since it’s the reserve currency of the
world, a much more serious crisis than
we are currently witnessing in Asia
will occur. Only a universal acceptance
of a single worldwide commodity
standard of money can prevent these
periodic devaluations and disruptions
in trade that are so prevalent today.
1998 Ron Paul 2:71
The day before we adjourned the first
session of the 105th Congress, the Banking Committee
held hearings on the Asian currency
crisis, but it was more an attempt
to reassure the financial community
than to sort out the cause and
do something about it.
1998 Ron Paul 2:72
Instead, the dollar was crowned king,
and Greenspan promised stability. Our
real interest rates, balance of payments,
our current account deficit and
budgetary deficits were conveniently
ignored, because if they had been
looked at seriously, it would have been
recognized that the U.S. and the world
faces a major financial crisis once the
dollar can no longer be used to bail out
the world financial system.
1998 Ron Paul 2:73
Currency issues are serious and a
much bigger problem than Congress realizes. Even the Fed has convinced
itself that it is quite capable of managing
our fiat currency and our financial
markets through any crisis. The money
managers are every bit as powerful as
the Congress, which taxes and spends,
but the Federal Reserve’s actions are
much less scrutinized.
1998 Ron Paul 2:74
But when push comes to shove, the
markets always win out. Interest rates
are less than one percent in Japan,
have not prompted borrowers to come
forth nor bankers to lend. The proposed
$25 billion injection by the Bank of
Japan won’t solve the problem either. Even central bankers cannot push on a string.
1998 Ron Paul 2:75
The sad part is that all these shenanigans
will cause undue suffering to
the innocent who lose their jobs, suffer
from price inflation and see their
standard of living shrink.
1998 Ron Paul 2:76
Eventually, everyone though is
threatened by the political disruption
that can ensue with a currency mishap. Our greatest concern should be for our loss of liberties that so often accompany currency crises. Congressional attitude toward monetary policy is not
likely to change soon, so we can expect
a lot more turmoil in the currency
markets in the months ahead.
1998 Ron Paul 2:77
Two special areas. Congress in the
past year capitulated in the two significant
areas by not only failing to cut spending,
but massively increasing government’s
role in medicine and in education. House Republicans bragged
that 7 out of 8 educational initiatives
passed the House, many of them being
quite expensive. Charter schools cost
over $100 million, funding for vouchers
was increased, $3 billion was appropriated
to extend student loans, and a
new $210 million reading in excellence
program was initiated. A program for
high-tech training and one designed to
help children with disabilities was also
started.
1998 Ron Paul 2:78
Clinton’s new health care program
for children was accepted by Congress,
which will eventually cost billions and
further centralize medical care in
Washington, while quality of care is diminished. Billions of dollars increased in NIH, AIDS research and preventative
health care were also approved.
1998 Ron Paul 2:79
The Federal Government has been involved
in education and medicine more
than in any other domestic area. This
has caused a serious price inflection for
these two services, while undermining
the quality and results in both. The
more we spend, the higher the cost, the
worse the service, and the greater the
regulations. So what did Congress do to
solve the problems in the past year? Even in this so-called age of cutting back and a balanced budget, it expanded
government precisely in the
two areas that suffer the most from big
government.
1998 Ron Paul 2:80
This is strong evidence that we have
not yet learned anything in the past 50
years, and the 1994 revolution hasn’t
yet changed things. We can expect
more HMO’s and PPO mismanagement,
rationing medical service and price
control of all medical services. Shortages
of quality health care and education
will result.
1998 Ron Paul 2:81
Devolution. Block grants are the popular
vehicle to restore local control of
the Federal bureaucracy. The housing
bill, the first major change to public
housing since the Depression, did not
cut spending, but actually increased
funding through the block grant system
of devolving power to the States. A token effort similar to this was made
in the early 1970s under Nixon called
revenue-sharing. It didn’t work and
was dropped.
1998 Ron Paul 2:82
This new method won’t work either. Whether the bureaucrats are in
Washington or in the State capitols, it
will not change the dynamics of public
housing. Public ownership, whether
managed locally or federally, cannot
replace the benefits of private ownership. Besides, the block grant method
of allocating funds does not eliminate
the need to first collect the revenues
nationally and politically distribute
the funds to the various State entities. Strings will always be attached no matter how many safeguards are written
into the law. The process of devolution
is an adjustment in management
and doesn’t deal with the philosophic
question of whether or not the Federal
Government or even the State governments
ought to be involved. The high
hopes that this process will alter the
course of the welfare state will, I am
sure, be dashed after many more years
of failures and dollars spent.
1998 Ron Paul 2:83
There is essentially no serious consideration
in Washington for abolishing
agencies, let alone whole departments. If the funding for the pornographic NEA can’t be cut, which agency of
government should we expect to be? The devolution approach is not the proponents of big government’s first
choice, but it is acceptable to them. Early adjournment meant the call for more spending was satisfied and the
supporters of big government, in spite
of the rhetoric, were content. Searching
for a partisan issue, the minority
was content with campaign reform and
the questions surrounding illegal voting.
1998 Ron Paul 2:84
Devolution is said to be a return to
States rights since it is inferred that
management of the program will be decentralized. This is a new 1990s definition of the original concept of States
rights and will prove not to be an adequate
substitute.
1998 Ron Paul 2:85
At the same time these token efforts
were made in welfare, education and
human resources reform, Congress gave
the Federal Government massive new
influence over adoption and juvenile
crime, education and medicine. Block
grants to States for specific purposes
after collecting the revenues at the
Federal level is foreign to the concept
that once was understood as States
rights. This process, even if temporarily
beneficial, will do nothing to
challenge the underlying principle and
shortcomings of the welfare State.
1998 Ron Paul 2:86
Real battles. The real battles in the
Congress are more often over power
and personalities than philosophy. Both sides of most debates represent
only a variation of some interventionist
program. Moral and constitutional
challenges are made when convenient
and never follow a consistent pattern. These, along with the States rights arguments,
are not infrequently just excuses
used to justify opposing or approving
a program supported for some
entirely different reason. The person
who makes any effort at consistency is
said to be extreme or unyielding.
1998 Ron Paul 2:87
After giving a short speech criticizing
the inconsistency of our foreign
policy, another Member quickly rose to
his feet and used the Walter Emerson
quote to criticize my efforts saying,
“A
foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of
little minds adored by little statesmen
and philosophers and divines.”
Criticizing
another Member for following a
consistent freedom philosophy and
strict adherence to the Constitution is
more of an attempt to reassure the
critics themselves who are uneasy with
their own position. Obviously, criticizing
one for consistency either means
that pragmatism and inconsistency is
something to be proud of, or there is
little respect for the philosophy that is
consistently being defended, a truth
the critics are not likely to admit.
1998 Ron Paul 2:88
Public relation debates. Oftentimes
the big debates in Congress are more
public relation efforts than debates on
real issues. This is certainly true when
it comes to preventing foreign aid
funds from being used by any organization
for abortions. I agree with and
vote for all attempts to curtail the use
of U.S. taxpayers’ for abortion
within or outside the United States. But many in the pro-life movement are not interested in just denying all birth
control, population control and abortion
money to everyone, and avoid the
very controversial effort to impose our
will on other nations. Believing money
allocated to any organization or country
is not fungible is naïve, to say the
least. The biggest problem is that
many who are sincerely right to life
and believe the Mexico City language
restriction on foreign aid will work are
also philosophic believers in internationalism,
both social and military.
1998 Ron Paul 2:89
The politics of it has allowed temporary
withholding of IMF and U.N. funds in order to pressure the President
into accepting the restrictive
abortion language. Withholding these
funds from the United Nations and the
IMF in this case has nothing to do with
the criticism of the philosophy behind
the United Nations, the IMF, the World
Bank, and why the international government
agencies are tax burdens on
the American people.
1998 Ron Paul 2:90
It is conceded by the majority on
both sides of this debate that the U.N.,
the IMF, the development banks and
even the funds for population control
are legitimate expenditures and eventually
will be funded. The question is
only whether or not a public relations
victory can be achieved by the radical
pro-abortion supporters of the President’s
or the pro-life supporters.
1998 Ron Paul 2:91
We have at least started to debate
the merits of any money at all going to
population control, the United Nations
or the IMF. This is where the debate
should be. Even though the restrictions
that the Mexico City language might
place on foreign expenditures probably
won’t change the number of abortions
around the world, the vote itself
does reflect, through Congress, the sentiment
of the American people, and
therefore, its importance cannot be denied. But I am convinced that if the American people had the option of
whether or not to send any money at
all, they would reject all the funding,
making the restriction debate moot.
1998 Ron Paul 2:92
Most would agree with the
fungibility argument, even when funds
are sent for reasons other than family
planning and abortion like military assistance. The amazing thing is how important the debate can appear by
threatening to withhold greatly sought
after IMF funds for an argument that
does not get to the heart of the issue. What should be debated is whether or not Congress has the moral and Constitutional
authority to use force to
take funds from American citizens for
social engineering around the world,
much of which results in resentment
toward America.
1998 Ron Paul 2:93
The weak and ineffective conditions
placed on foreign aid money to prevent
abortions is hardly a legitimate reason
for continuing the illegal funding in
the first place. At times, efforts to
get more swing votes to endorse Mexico
City language, some pro-life forces
not only won’t challenge the principle
of our funding for birth control
and population control overseas, but
believe in increasing the appropriation
for the program. If the Constitutionists
cannot change the nature of the debate,
we will never win these arguments.
1998 Ron Paul 2:94
Corporatism. Congress and the administration
is greatly influenced by
corporate America. We truly have a
system of corporatism that if not
checked will evolve into a much more
threatening form of fascism. Our welfare
system provides benefits for the
welfare poor and, in return, the recipients
vote to perpetuate the entire system. Both parties are quite willing to
continue the status quo in not questioning
the authority upon which these
programs are justified, but the general
public is unaware of how powerful corporate
America is in changing and influencing
legislation. Even those programs
said to be specific for the poor,
like food stamps, housing, education
and medicine, have corporate beneficiaries. These benefits to corporate
America are magnified when it is realized
that many of the welfare
redistributionist programs are so often
not successful in helping the poor.
1998 Ron Paul 2:95
But there are many other programs
precisely designed to satisfy the special
interests of big business. A casual
observer that might think the political
party that champions the needs of the
poor would not be getting political and
financial support from the rich. But
quite clearly, both parties are very
willing to receive financial and political
support from special interests representing
the rich and the poor, business
and labor, domestic and foreign.
1998 Ron Paul 2:96
We should not expect campaign reform
or reliable revelations of campaign
fund-raising abuse in today’s political
climate. There are strong bipartisan
reasons to keep the debate on
only a superficial level. All the rules in
the world will never eliminate the motivation
or the ability of the powerful
special interests to influence Congress. Loopholes and illegal contributions
will plague us for as long as Congress
continues with the power to regulate,
tax, or detax, or punishes essentially
everyone participating in the economy.
1998 Ron Paul 2:97
The most we can ever hope for is to
demand full disclosure. Then, if influence
is bought, at least it would be in
the open. The other most difficult task,
and the only thing that will ever
dampen special interest control of government,
would be to radically reduce
the power of Congress over our lives
and our economy. Taxpayer funding of
campaigns would prove disastrous.
1998 Ron Paul 2:98
The special areas of the budget that
are of specific benefit to corporate
America are literally too numerous to
count, but there are some special programs
benefiting corporations that
usually prompt unconditional support
from both parties. The military industrial
complex is correctly recognized for
its influence in Washington. This same
group has a vested interest in our foreign
policy that encourages policing
the world, Nation building, and foreign
social engineering. Big contracts are
given to friendly corporations in places
like Haiti, Bosnia and the Persian Gulf
region. Corporations benefiting from
these programs are unable to deal objectively
with foreign policy issues,
and it’s not unusual for these same
corporate leaders to lobby for troop deployments
in worldwide military intervention. The U.S. remains the world’s
top arms manufacturer and our foreign
policy permits the exports to world
customers subsidized through the
Export-Import Bank. Foreign aid, Overseas
Private Investment Corporation,
Export-Import Bank, IMF, World Bank,
development banks are all used to continue
bailouts of Third World countries
heavily invested in by our corporations
and banks. Corporations can get special
tax treatment that only the powerful
and influential can achieve. For instance,
pseudo-free trade legislation
like NAFTA and GATT and the recent
Fast Track legislation shows how
much big business influences both congressional
leaders and the administration.
1998 Ron Paul 2:99
While crumbs are cast to the poor
with programs that promote permanent
dependency and impoverishment,
the big bucks go to the corporations
and the banking elites. The poor welcome
the crumbs, not realizing how
much long-term harm the programs do
as they obediently continue to vote for
a corporate-biased welfare state where
the rich get richer and the poor get forgotten. Since generally both parties support a different version of interventionism,
one should not expect the programs
for the rich to be attacked on
principle or cut in size. The result of
last year’s legislative session should
surprise no one.
1998 Ron Paul 2:100
Both types of welfare expenditures
benefit from a monetary system that
creates credit out of thin air in order
to monetize congressional deficits
when needed and manipulate interest
rates downward to nonmarket levels to
serve the interests of big borrowers and
lenders. Federal Reserve policy is an
essential element in serving the powerful
special interests. Monetary mischief
of this type will not likely be
ended by congressional action, but will
be eventually stopped by market
forces, just as has recently occurred in
the Far East.
1998 Ron Paul 2:101
Voluntary contracts. There is little
understanding or desire in Congress to
consistently protect voluntary contract. Many of our programs to improve
race relations have come from
government interference in the voluntary
economic contract. Government’s
role in a free society should be
to enforce contracts, yet too often it
does the opposite. All labor laws, affirmative
action programs and consumer
protection laws are based on the
unconstitutional authority of government
to regulate voluntary economic
contracts. If the same process were applied
to the press, it would be correctly
condemned as prior restraint and ruled
unconstitutional.
1998 Ron Paul 2:102
Throughout the 20th century, economic
and personal liberties have undergone
a systematic separation. Rules
applying to the media and personal relationships
no longer apply to voluntary
economic transactions. Some
Members of Congress are quite vocal in
defending the First Amendment and
fight hard to protect freedom of expression
by cautioning against any effort
at prior restraint. They can speak eloquently
on why V chip technology in
the hands of the government may lead
to bad things, even if proponents are
motivated to protect our children from
pornography. Likewise, these partial
civil libertarians are quite capable of
demanding the protection of all adult
voluntary sexual activity. They mount
respectable challenges to the social authoritarian
who never hesitates to use
government force to mold society and
improve personal moral behavior.
1998 Ron Paul 2:103
But these same champions of personal
liberty do not hesitate at all to
use the same government force they
readily condemn in social matters to
impose their vision of a fair and equitable
economic system on all of us.
1998 Ron Paul 2:104
Thousands of laws and regulations
are on the books to assure equality in
hiring, pay, and numerous other conditions
of employment and for theoretical
consumer protection.
1998 Ron Paul 2:105
Ironically, the enemies of the voluntary
contract, when dealing with the
media and personal associations, are
the best defenders of economic liberty
and the voluntary economic contract.
1998 Ron Paul 2:106
Unless this glaring inconsistency is
reconciled, the republic cannot be
salvaged. Too often, the two sides compromise
in the wrong direction. Economic
libertarians concede too much
to the welfare proponents and the social
libertarians concede too much to
the authoritarians who eagerly try to
legislate good behavior. This willingness
to compromise, while at the same
time criticizing those who have firm
beliefs and being overly rigid, serves as a
serious threat to the cause of liberty.
1998 Ron Paul 2:107
A consistent defense of all voluntary
associations does not preclude laws
against violence, fraud, threat, libel
and slander. To punish acts of aggression
and protect non-violent economic
and social associations is the main purpose
of government in a constitutional
republic. Moral imperfections cannot
be eliminated by government force any
more than economic inequalities can
be eliminated through welfare or socialist
legislation.
1998 Ron Paul 2:108
Once government loses sight of its
true purpose of protecting liberty and
embarks on a course where the generous
use of force is used to interfere in
the voluntary social and economic contracts,
liberty will be diminished and
the foundation of a true republic undermined.
1998 Ron Paul 2:109
That is where we are today. The effort
on both sides to do “good” threatens
personal liberty. There is no evidence
that laws designed to improve
personal sexual habits, the quality of
the press or the plight of the poor have
helped. The poor, under all programs of
forced redistribution of wealth, always
become more numerous. And the State
inevitably abuses its power when it
tries to regulate freedom of expression
or improve personal behavior.
1998 Ron Paul 2:110
Too often both sides allow the principle
of government force to be used to
interfere in the internal affairs of other
nations at a great cost and risk to
American taxpayers, while accomplishing
little to promote a firm hatred
of America for the interference. This itself is a threat to our security. The resulting conditions of international
conflict are often used as an excuse
to curtail the civil liberties of all
Americans.
1998 Ron Paul 2:111
In recent years, freedom of the press
has been severely challenged when we
are actively involved in military operations. Our young people are
threatened as they are needlessly exposed to
enemy fire and medical experimentation
and there is an economic cost
through higher taxes.
1998 Ron Paul 2:112
National sovereignty designed to protect
liberty in a republic is challenged
as our foreign operations are controlled
by U.N. resolutions, not Congress. Under these conditions, our cities are
more likely to be targeted by terrorists
for the hatred our policies fuel. Draft
registration remains in place just in
case more bodies are needed for our
standing U.N. armies. The draft remains
the ultimate attack on volunteerism
and represents the most direct
affront to individual liberty. This
is made that much worse when one realizes
that it’s highly unlikely that we’ll
ever see American troops in action
under anything other than a U.N.-sponsored
war or military operation.
1998 Ron Paul 2:113
Only with a greater understanding
and respect for individual liberty and
the importance of voluntary associations
in all areas of social and economic
life will we be able to preserve
our liberty, and peace and prosperity. This
is required for the republic to survive.
1998 Ron Paul 2:114
Congress reflects the nation’s current obsession
with political correctness. The strange
irony is that this whole movement has been
encouraged by groups and individuals who in
the past have been seen as the champions of
free expression and civil liberties. These efforts
to interfere with freedom of expression
come from a desire to punish those in economic
superior positions. Political correctness
encourages promotions or firings for casual
and rude statements once ridiculed by merely
ignoring them. The age of victimization demands
political correctness be carried to an illogical
conclusion and the plan for perfect economic
equality demands language that reflect
these goals. It’s truly an area that reflects a
complete lack of understanding of the principles
of liberty and is an understandable result
of this century’s division of liberty into two
parts. The motive seems to be to make people
better by forcing them to use only correct language and to provide special benefits to
groups that are economically disadvantaged. It’s not uncommon to hear of people losing
their jobs and reputation over harmless comments
or telling off-colored jokes. Talk about
discrimination, this is the worst.
1998 Ron Paul 2:115
The concept of “hate crimes” is now enmeshed
in all legislation. Pretending we can
measure motivation and punish it is preposterous. Varying penalties, thus placing more
value on one life than another, is a totalitarian
idea.
1998 Ron Paul 2:116
The political correctness movement and the
concept of hate crimes will lead to laws
against “hate speech.” Clearly the constitution
is designed to protect protesters, even those
who express hatred at times and is not limited
to the protection of non-controversial speech. Freedom of expression is indeed under serious
attack in this country. Already there are
laws in two countries prohibiting even questioning
the details of the Holocaust. In America
that’s certainly not permitted under the rules of
political correctness.
1998 Ron Paul 2:117
Some still believe that “hate crimes” in
America are limited to identifying the racial
and religious motivation behind a violent
crime. But it’s scary when one realizes that
already we have moved quickly down the path
of totalitarianism. In 1995, 57% of all hate
crimes reported were verbal in nature. These
crimes now being prosecuted by an all powerful
federal police force, at one time were considered
nothing more than comments made by
rude people. The federal police operation is
headed up by the Office of Civil Rights of the
Department of Education and can reach every
nook and cranny of our entire education system
as it imposes its will and curriculum on
teachers and students.
1998 Ron Paul 2:118
Whatever happened to the child’s logic of
“sticks and stones will break my bones but
names will never hurt me?” This basic philosophy
offered a logical response to taunts by
bullies. Today, the bully is the government
which is determined to regulate, enforce, and
imprison anyone who doesn’t tow the line of
political correctness, multi-culturalism and follow
government dictated social and economic
rules.
1998 Ron Paul 2:119
But why can’t we consider a solution that incorporates
the healthy skepticism of those opposing
government mandated V-chips and
telephone monitoring devices with those who
see the foolishness and danger of political correctness,
especially seen when it comes to
enforcing crimes against hate speech. Too
often the same people who understand the
hate crimes issue are the ones that believe
government ought to be able to monitor our
telephone and computer and censor television
programming.
1998 Ron Paul 2:120
This confusion is becoming structural and
the longer it’s an accepted principle, the greater
the threat to the Republic and our liberties.
1998 Ron Paul 2:121
As long as it is fashionable or humorous
to refer to one who consistently defends
individual liberty as a “hobgoblin
of little minds” our liberties will be
threatened. Accepting and rationalizing
any inconsistency while rejecting
the principal defenders of a free society
as impractical represents a danger to
the republic. A strict adherence to the
Constitution is surely not something
that should be encouraged or tolerated,
according to these critics.
1998 Ron Paul 2:122
By insisting that all government action
be guided by tolerance and compromise
in any effort to protect liberty,
it is only natural that strict observance
to standards in other areas
would be abandoned. And it is true, we
now live in an age where life has relative
value, money has no definition,
marriage is undefinable, moral values
are taught as relative ethics in our
classrooms, good grades in the classroom
no longer reflect excellence, success
in business is often subjected to
doubts because of affirmative action,
and corporate profits depend more on
good lobbyists and influence in Washington than creative
effort.
1998 Ron Paul 2:123
Pragmatism and interventionism are
popular because of their convenience
and appeal to those who crave governing
over others and those who expect
unearned benefits. This process can
last a long time when some incentives
to produce remain in place. But eventually
it leads to an attack on the
value of money, confiscatory taxation,
over-regulation, excessive borrowing on
the future and undermining of trust in
the political process. Once this system
is entrenched, it becomes difficult, if
not impossible, to gracefully reverse
the process.
1998 Ron Paul 2:124
The usual result is the various
groups receiving benefits become highly
competitive and bitter toward each
other. Eventually, it leads to a time
when compromise and government
planning no longer look practical or
fair. In the next few years, we can expect
this to become more evident as
Congress will be forced to acknowledge
that the budget has more problems
than was admitted to in the closing
days of the first session of the 105th
Congress.
1998 Ron Paul 2:125
If we do not define the type of government
we are striving for and reject
interventionism as a doctrine, the endless
debate will remain buried in details
of form and degree of the current
system with no discussion of substance. Merely deciding where to draw
the line on government involvement in
our lives will consume all the energy of
the legislative process. Whether or not
we should be involved at all will receive
little attention.
1998 Ron Paul 2:126
In order to direct our efforts toward
preservation of liberty, in lieu of planning
the economy and regulating people,
we must have a clear understanding
of rights. But could British Prime
Minister Tony Blair be telling us something
about Western Civilization and government’s
responsibility to the people? Blair was quoted in a recent visit with
the President, saying,
“I tell you, a
decent society is not based on rights, it’s based on duty. Our duty to one another. To all should be given opportunity,
from all responsibility demanded.”
1998 Ron Paul 2:127
This sounds just a tad authoritarian
and closer to the Communist Manifesto
than to the Magna Carta or the Bill
of Rights.
1998 Ron Paul 2:128
A free society is just the opposite. I
argue that a free society is the only
“decent” society and the only one that
I care to live in. A free society depends
entirely on personal rights for which
all individuals are naturally entitled. This was the bedrock of the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution
and the principle upon which our
republic rests.
1998 Ron Paul 2:129
Yet today most of the West, now engulfed
by Keynesian welfarism, sadly
accepts the Blair philosophy. Duty and
responsibility, as Blair sees it, is not
the voluntary responsibility found in a
free society but rather duty and responsibility
to the State. He’s right
about one thing. If duty to the State is
accepted as an uncontested fact, rights
are meaningless. And everyday our
rights are indeed becoming more
threatened.
1998 Ron Paul 2:130
We have come to accept it as immoral
and selfish to demand individual
rights. Today, rights are too frequently
accepted as being collective, such as
minority, gay, women, handicapped,
poor, or student rights. But rights are
only individual. Everyone has a right
to life, liberty and property, and it
comes naturally or is a God-given gift.
1998 Ron Paul 2:131
And the purpose of the State is to protect
equally everyone’s rights. The whole
purpose of political action should be to
protect liberty. Free individuals then
with a sense of responsibility and compassion
must then strive for moral excellence
and economic betterment. When government loses sight of the importance
of rights and assumes the responsibility
reserved to free individuals
and sets about to make the economy
equally fair to everyone and improve
personal nonviolent behavior,
the effort can only be made at the expense
of liberty with the efforts ending
in failure.
1998 Ron Paul 2:132
National governments should exist to
protect individual liberty at home by
enforcing laws against violence and
fraud and from outside threats. The
bigger and more international government
becomes, the more likely it is
that the effort will fail.
1998 Ron Paul 2:133
The original challenge to the champions
of freedom centuries ago was always
to limit the powers of the king. Today the challenge, every bit as great
but harder to define, is to limit the
power of democratic parliaments and
congresses. Democratic elections of
leaders is one thing, but obsession with
determining all rights by majority vote
has now become liberty’s greatest
enemy.
1998 Ron Paul 2:134
Throughout this century, and as the
movement grows for one world government,
the linchpin is always democracy,
not liberty or a constitutionally
restrained republic as our Founders
preferred. As long as the democratic
vote can modify rights, the politicians
will be on the receiving ends of bribes
and money and will be the greatest influence
on legislation.
1998 Ron Paul 2:135
When government’s sole purpose is to
protect the lowliest of the minority,
the individual, there will be no market
for influence buying. Regulating the
peddlers of graft will only make things
worse for the rules will further undermine
the right of the individual to petition
and seek his own redress of
grievances.
1998 Ron Paul 2:136
Detailed rules on political donations
and lobbyist activities can easily be circumvented
by the avaricious. Only a
better understanding of rights and the
proper role of government will alter
the course upon which we have embarked.
1998 Ron Paul 2:137
Political leaders no longer see their
responsibility to protect life and liberty
as a sacred trust and a concept of
individual rights has been significantly
undermined throughout the 20th century. The record verifies this. Authoritarian governments, in this the bloodiest
of all centuries, have annihilated
over 100 million people, their own. Wars have killed an additional 34 million, and only a small number of these
were truly in the defense of liberty.
1998 Ron Paul 2:138
The main motivation behind these
mass murders was to maintain political
power. Liberty in many ways has
become the forgotten cause of the 20th
century. Even the mildest mannered
welfarist depends on government guns
and threats of prison to forcibly extract
wealth from producers to transfer
it to the politically connected. This same government force is used by
the powerful rich to promote from the
programs designed to benefit them.
1998 Ron Paul 2:139
The budgetary process and the transfer
of wealth that occurs through monetary
inflation is influenced more by
the business banking and elite than by
the poor. The $1.7 trillion budget is not
an investment in liberty. The kings are
gone and I doubt that we will see another
Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot or Mao,
but the “majority” in our legislative
bodies now reign supreme with one
goal in mind: maintaining power.
1998 Ron Paul 2:140
To do this they must satisfy the
power brokers, pretending they are humanitarian
saviors while ignoring their
responsibilities to protect liberty.
1998 Ron Paul 2:141
“Democracy” is now the goal of all
those who profess progress and peace,
but instead they promote corporatism,
inflationism, and world government.
1998 Ron Paul 2:142
The question is, where will our alternative
come from? Which group or individual
truly speaks for liberty and
limited government? The speeches, the
rhetoric, the campaigns rarely reveal
the underlying support most politicians
have for expanding the State, especially
when coming from those who
are thought to be promoting limited
government.
1998 Ron Paul 2:143
Those who believe in welfare and socialism
are frequently more straightforward. But we are now hearing from
some traditional “opponents” of big
government, admonishing us to stop
“trashing” the government. Instead, we
should be busy “fixing it.” They do it
without once challenging the moral
principle that justifies all government
intervention in our personal lives and
economic transactions.
1998 Ron Paul 2:144
William Bennett strongly condemns
critics of big government saying,
“. . . some of today’s antigovernment
rhetoric is contemptuous of
history and not intellectually serious. If you listen to it, you come away with the impression that government has
never done anything well. In fact, government
has done some very difficult things quite well. Like . . . reduced the
number of elderly in poverty . . . passed civil rights legislation . . . insure bank deposits and insure that air and water remains clean.”
1998 Ron Paul 2:145
Bennett’s great concern is this.
“Disdain
of representative government (democracy)
however, makes it virtually
impossible to instill in citizens a noble
love of country”
(the State rather than
liberty). Bennett complains that Americans
no longer love their country because
of their
“utter contempt some
have directed against government
itself.”
In other words, we must love
our government ruled by the tyrannical
majority at all costs or it is impossible
to love freedom and America.
1998 Ron Paul 2:146
Any effort to limit the size of government
while never challenging the
moral principle upon which all government
force depends, while blindly defending
majoritarian rule for making
government work, will not restore the
American republic. Instead, this approach
gives credibility to the authoritarians
and undermines the limited
government movement by ignoring the
basic principles of liberty. Only a restoration
of a full understanding of individual
rights and the purpose of a constitutional
republic can reverse this trend. Our republic is indeed threatened.
1998 Ron Paul 2:79
Here, the C-Span video omits about 2 seconds of coverage. The text of CongressionalRecord is used.
1998 Ron Paul 2:101
When Ron Paul said, Congress and the administration is he probably should have said, Congress and the administration are.
1998 Ron Paul 2:114
When Ron Paul said firm beliefs and being he probably should have said, firm beliefs as being, which is the way CongressionalRecord quotes him. Listen to the C-Span clip at 16:15:01 local time.
1998 Ron Paul 2:118
When Ron Paul says, accomplishing little to promote he probably meant, accomplishing little except to promote, which is how CongressionalRecord quotes him. Listen to the C-Span clip at 16:16:22 local time.
1998 Ron Paul 2:122-129
This part of the text was inserted in CongressionalRecord as an extension of remarks and was not spoken on the House floor.
1998 Ron Paul 2:122 language that reflect these goals probably should have been language that reflects these goals.
1998 Ron Paul 2:127 government dictated probably should be hyphenated: government-dictated.
