Ron Paul delivers historic speech in last appearance before Congress

[Dawg]

Congressman Ron Paul, who is slated to retire at the end of the year,
delivered his last speech before the House, the latest landmark in a storied twenty year career.

In a 52-minute speech before the House chamber, Mr. Paul lambasted the U.S. government,
politicians, and special interests, saying the U.S. must remain focused on limiting
the powers of the federal government and that the Constitution has failed to
limit the scope of an authoritarian bureaucracy.
http://natmonitor.com/2012/11/14/ron...ongress-video/

[BethsZygote]

will watch. Does he address the failed drug war?

[Dawg]

will watch. Does he address the failed drug war?

Of course.

[BethsZygote]

Of course.

[racerx]

greatest politician in history (last 4 decades anyways)

i hope rand will follow in footsteps, but his endorsements are concerning

[whatsit]

He is/was a rare voice and this is a real loss. imo

[InstigatinMofo]

I for one will miss Paul, while he was dead wrong on many issues, he was one of the very few on both sides that was against waging war and the industrial military complex and he was a hoot in Bruno

[whatsit]

Congressman Ron Paul, who is slated to retire at the end of the year,
delivered his last speech before the House, the latest landmark in a storied twenty year career.

In a 52-minute speech before the House chamber, Mr. Paul lambasted the U.S. government,
politicians, and special interests, saying the U.S. must remain focused on limiting
the powers of the federal government and that the Constitution has failed to
limit the scope of an authoritarian bureaucracy.
http://natmonitor.com/2012/11/14/ron...ongress-video/

[Goo For You]

I try to like Paul as much as I can. Before clicking play I'm praying for just one thing -- for him to have the decency to lay off the borderline conspiracy-theoretical stuff about the evils of Fed and fiat money that ignores all of modern economics.

[mattyfishrip197]

that guy is awesome......great clip d

[HeinousMark]

I can't say I'm 100% on the guy, but he has made many excellent points, and the fact that he's not a strict partisan "Team Player" in his beliefs makes me wish we had more like him...

[RiotGrip]

Although he is a bit too laizzes faire for me on some points, he is still likely the best congressman we have. He voted his beliefs even at a political cost to himself on multiple occasions and for that he has my complete respect. He will be missed

[Goo For You]

What an unfortunate, self-righteous rant for a farewell speech. First of all, the educated world laughs at his claims that liberty (as narrowly defined by Paul) and property rights are the only important sources of prosperity, and that any deviance from a strict adherence to upholding them is automatically bad for the society. Secondly, in politics, sticking to one's principles may sound good on paper, but in reality, it is often little more than an excuse for refusing to learn. Thirdly, every student of economics knows that under a fiat money regime, an independent central bank has the power to inflate away debt that is denominated in that country's currency; therefore, such a country has no default risk; and therefore, the only fiscal cliff America has faced is the one Ron Paul and the Republicans manufactured last year.

I could go on, but I'll spare you...

And this criticism is coming from a libertarian. In my experience, people new to the ideology are attracted to Paul's audacity and his seemingly deep philosophical take on things, and wonder why nobody is listening to him; then, once they get a decent grasp of the relevant subjects, they realize that the man is just cherry-picking theories -- often ones that are outrageously flawed -- and that he is totally incapable of any kind of self-criticism, and can't believe they once used to listen to him.

Ron Paul should be commended for bringing people to libertarianism, but the sad truth is that people like him aren't needed in politics.