Ron Paul.(REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE)(Biography)

"I'm Ron Paul, I'm a congressman from Texas, serving in my 10th term. I am the champion of the Constitution."--R. Paul.

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Ron Paul believes that the U.S. government is unconstitutionally regulating this country out of liberty and into bankruptcy. He wants to change that. He summed up his stand in a speech at Ames, Iowa: "I do not want to run your life, your family, or your religious beliefs. I do not want to run the economy, and I do not want to police the world. I don't know how. I don't have the [constitutional] authority, and it doesn't work."

Ron Paul was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After graduating from medical school, he served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force. Dr. Paul began his medical practice in Texas, specializing in obstetrics/gynecology, and has delivered more than 4,000 babies. He and his wife, Carol, have five children and 17 grandchildren.

Dr. Paul's interest in economics, particularly in the "Austrian" (free market) school of economics, eventually led him to enter politics. That fateful decision came on August 15, 1971, when President Nixon called for the U.S. dollar's complete departure from the gold standard. Paul recalls, "After that day, all money would be political money rather than money of real value. I was astounded."

A review of Dr. Paul's 10-term congressional career in the House of Representatives reveals him to be a leading advocate for freedom. He is the only member of the House or Senate to earn a 100-percent cumulative score in the Freedom Index in the current Congress. His voting record shows that he favors limited government, low taxes, a noninterventionist foreign policy, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies. He uses the Constitution as a guide as to how to vote. In fact, Dr. Paul makes a point of never voting for a bill unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution. As a result, this has earned him the nickname "Dr. No."

Iraq War: Dr. Paul opposed the Iraq War from the outset, believing that Iraq was no threat to us and was not involved in the 9/11 attacks. He does not believe that America should go to war without the constitutionally required declaration of war, and he does not believe we should launch preemptive strikes. He would end our interventionist foreign policy and bring the troops home not only from Iraq but from around the world.