"The constitution has failed" - Ron Paul delivers farewell speech to Congress, freedom
316 replies, posted
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q03cWio-zjk[/media]
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[url]http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/11/ron-paul-departs-with-our-constitution-has-failed/[/url]
[quote=ABC News]Rep. Ron Paul, the iconic libertarian congressman from Texas, has delivered what will most likely be his final address to Congress.
In a sprawling, 52-minute speech to the House chamber, Paul lambasted U.S. government, politicians and special interests, declaring that the U.S. people must return to virtue before the government allows them to be free, and that the Constitution has failed to limit the scope of an authoritarian bureaucracy.
“Our Constitution, which was intended to limit government power and abuse, has failed,” Paul said. “The Founders warned that a free society depends on a virtuous and moral people. The current crisis reflects that their concerns were justified.”
For the retiring Republican, 77, the “current crisis” isn’t quite what it is for other members of Congress, who routinely use that word to describe the economic recession that followed the 2008 financial crash. To the Texas Republican, that’s part of it, but the causes are deeper, and it’s also a crisis of governmental authoritarianism and the vanishing of personal liberty.
“If it’s not accepted that big government, fiat money, ignoring liberty, central economic planning, welfarism, and warfarism caused our crisis, we can expect a continuous and dangerous march toward corporatism and even fascism with even more loss of our liberties,” said Paul, an obstetrician-gynecologist by training.
The problem isn’t just government’s size, but its use of force, both in starting preemptive wars and as it coerces U.S. citizens with police power. To Paul, this is the fault of Americans who no longer prioritize liberty, and it will lead to the unraveling of orderly society unless people change.
“Restraining aggressive behavior is one thing, but legalizing a government monopoly for initiating aggression can only lead to exhausting liberty associated with chaos, anger and the breakdown of civil society,” Paul said. “We now have a standing army of armed bureaucrats in the TSA, CIA, FBI, Fish and Wildlife, FEMA, IRS, Corp of Engineers, etc., numbering over 100,000 civil society.”
More than coercive, to Paul the government is also corrupt: “All branches of our government today are controlled by individuals who use their power to undermine liberty and enhance the welfare/warfare state-and frequently their own wealth and power,” he said.
Throughout his speech, Paul questioned not only the fundamental health of America’s social compact, but specifics like fiat money, the power of the Federal Reserve, the PATRIOT Act, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act modifications, undeclared war, the illegalization of medical marijuana, mandatory sentencing requirements for drug crimes, the illegalization of hemp, TSA searches, federal debt and borrowing, the White House’s authority to assassinate those it declares terrorists, the legalization of detaining U.S. citizens for national-security purposes, the political power of AIPAC, and the regulation of light bulbs and toilets in people’s homes.
For Paul, the list of grievances is long, and he might not have accomplished much in Congress: “In many ways, according to conventional wisdom, my off-and-on career in Congress, from 1976 to 2012, accomplished very little,” he said. “No named legislation, no named federal buildings or highways, thank goodness. In spite of my efforts, the government has grown exponentially, taxes remain excessive, and the prolific increase of incomprehensible regulations continues. Wars are constant and pursued without congressional declaration.”
In thinking about the champions of liberty, his lesson is a bitter one: “History has shown that the masses have been quite receptive to the promises of authoritarians which are rarely if ever fulfilled,” but his prescription is hopeful.
Paul left the podium, for the last time, offering an “answer” to all of these problems: that people should choose liberty and limit government, and seek change within themselves.
“The number one responsibility for each of us is to change ourselves with hope that others will follow,” Paul said, urging an end to two motives that have hindered U.S. society: envy and intolerance.
“I have come to one firm conviction after these many years of trying to figure out the plain truth of things. The best chance for achieving peace and prosperity, for the maximum number of people worldwide, is to pursue the cause of liberty. If you find this to be a worthwhile message, spread it throughout the land.”[/quote]
-snip, terrible post revoked, I apologize-
This is how the world ends.
It didn't have to end like this.
1000 years of darkness, here we go!
You could've prevented this, you only had to listen
Wait, Ron Paul is leaving politics at the end of the year? This year just keeps getting better.
:(
I actually really like Ron Paul :(
[QUOTE=Jomali;38462085]Wait, Ron Paul is leaving politics at the end of the year? This year just keeps getting better.[/QUOTE]
[img]http://imgkk.com/i/02-4.png[/img]
lol fuck off ron paul you're terrible even by libertarian standards
Why didn't you stop it?
[QUOTE=smurfy;38462144][img]http://imgkk.com/i/02-4.png[/img][/QUOTE]
I love Ron Paul but I don't care for his son that much.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;38462218]I love Ron Paul but I don't care for his son that much.[/QUOTE]
Ron Paul is honestly a joke.
I have a picture of him as my desktop background so I can laugh when I turn the computer on.
[QUOTE=Bobie;38462157]lol fuck off ron paul you're terrible even by libertarian standards[/QUOTE]
I'm sorry, I haven't read up on Paul. Could anyone tell me why this is?
[QUOTE=Fhux;38462382]I'm sorry, I haven't read up on Paul. Could anyone tell me why this is?[/QUOTE]
Basically believes that government should be extremely minimalist and everything should be ran by the free market/private interests, because the government is inefficent and expensive while private interests are not. I.E. no more public schools (only private), the interstate highway system should have never been done (despite all the benefits it has had, including the creation of jobs to build it), etc.
I really love the guy as a politician and he's got the right mindset about a lot of stupid bullshit that goes on in congress right now but fact of the matter is his political ideology is incredibly outdated and broken
[QUOTE=Fhux;38462382]I'm sorry, I haven't read up on Paul. Could anyone tell me why this is?[/QUOTE]
Minus being Libertarian (which is bad enough), he wants to privatize everything up to and including the kitchen sink, is a creationist and has delusions of grandeur.
Meanwhile, in the oval office....
[img]http://www.imgur.com/PA1hx.jpeg[/img]
[url=http://www.animateit.net/data/media/353/ehlxld.gif]It has only just begun[/url]
[QUOTE=koeniginator;38462449]Meanwhile, in the oval office....
[img]http://www.imgur.com/PA1hx.jpeg[/img][/QUOTE]
That's an awesome album cover.
nothing of value was lost
one more old white guy to consign to the wrong side of history.
i love paying for education ron paul 2012
Good.
So is he finally done running for president?
Oh come on guys, he's spot on about a lot of things in that speech. I disagree with a lot of his ideology but I admire the man.
[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;38462519]So is he finally done running for president?[/QUOTE]
He is.
However, Rand Paul 2016.
[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;38462528]Oh come on guys, he's spot on about a lot of things in that speech. I disagree with a lot of his ideology but I admire the man.[/QUOTE]
Except ~welfarism~ doesn't lead to corporatism. It's like it the opposite mindset direction
[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;38462528]Oh come on guys, he's spot on about a lot of things in that speech. I disagree with a lot of his ideology but I admire the man.[/QUOTE]
I agree, I almost wish he could have gone against obama because it would have been a really interesting election IMO
It's just hes about as extremo libertarian as it gets. I like libertairianism on a small scale (non-essential government programs being properly budgeted and maintained if not cut, reducing the power of lobbying and such, etc), but stuff like public schools, health care, etc are all government essentials. There's also stuff like the prision system which flat out should not be privately ran. And stuff like infrastructure is extremely important for the government to spearhead.
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;38462413]Minus being Libertarian (which is bad enough), he wants to privatize everything up to and including the kitchen sink, is a creationist and has delusions of grandeur.[/QUOTE]
but don't worry!!!!! his personal beliefs won't crowd his policy!!!!!!!!
[spoiler]they would have[/spoiler]
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;38462318]Ron Paul is honestly a joke.
I have a picture of him as my desktop background so I can laugh when I turn the computer on.[/QUOTE]
Sobotnik if I recall correctly last time you took a photo of yourself everyone laughed at you for a year.
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