State of the Republic Address

Hopes for the Future

With the election behind us, our country turns hopeful eyes to the future.  I have a few hopes of my own.

I congratulate our first African-American president-elect.  Martin Luther King, Jr. certainly would be proud to see this day.  We are stronger for embracing diversity, and I am hopeful that we can continue working through the tensions and wrongs of the past and become a more just and colorblind society.  I hope this new administration will help bring us together, and not further divide us.  I have always found that freedom is the best way to break down barriers.  A free society emphasizes the importance of individuals, and not because they are part of a certain group.  That’s the only way equal justice can be achieved.

We will face more tough economic problems during this new administration.  In fact, the worst is yet to come.  A vast amount of problematic mortgages have not begun to reset their variable interest rates and go into default.   We already have unprecedented deficits, spending is out of control, and more big industries are coming to government with their hands out.  My hope is that this administration will handle this economic crisis better than the interventionists and big government spenders of the 1930’s, the bureaucrats that prolonged the Depression.  I hope that new government programs and spiderwebs of red tape do not pop up to interfere with American productivity, and that we can quickly get our financial footing again.  We have to understand that an economic correction needs to take place and the only way out of the coming recession is to go through it.  Efforts to avoid it can only prolong it.  I hope we can somehow find our way back to sound money and reject corporate cronyism.

We cannot address our budget problems at home without changing our disastrous foreign policy abroad.  I am hopeful that the new administration can take on the mantle of peace and diplomacy in foreign policy that many Americans feel they were promised.  Many other nations also have this hope, which exudes from their congratulatory sentiments offered after the election.  They hope that national sovereignty will be respected.  They hope that through diplomacy violence and war can be averted.  I hope so too.  One thing is unquestionable: our aggressive foreign policy of the past has been costly, in blood and in treasure.  Our treasure is running out, and fewer volunteers are stepping up to enable that foreign policy.  So for these reasons, if we are to continue to have an all-volunteer military, and see prosperity again in the future, I have every reason to hope our foreign policy will change.  In order for it to remain the same, mandatory military service would have to return, as well as accelerated theft through debt and inflation to pay for it.  I have a hard time imagining popular support for these policies, simply for the sake of war and conquest, when we clearly want peace.

I have many hopes for the future in this time of transition.  But I have seen this country face many forks in the road, and sadly take the wrong one too many times.  We have heard a lot of talk, and it remains to be seen what actions and specific policies that talk will translate into.  So while I may be hopeful, I remain deeply concerned about our future.

-- Dr. Ron Paul

Thank You

For 17 months we brought the message of peace, freedom, and prosperity to millions of Americans. The response overwhelmed me: more Americans believe in liberty and the Constitution than I ever imagined. I am deeply moved and honored by your hard work and sacrifice on behalf of our cause.

However, after much serious thought, I have decided to end my campaign for the Presidency of the United States. It is now time to take the energy this campaign has awakened and channel it into long-term efforts to take back our country. We have some exciting plans and projects to move the revolution forward that will come together in the next several months. Watch for them.

I will work until my last breath on behalf of this great message. That I promise you. We don't have to live in the kind of America the two major parties have in store for us. Together, let us continue to lay the foundation for an America worthy of our Founding Fathers.

Ron Paul

Why is Ron Paul still running?

Dr. Paul spoke to NEWSWEEK's Sarah Elkins about why he keeps campaigning, his qualms about McCain and his thoughts about Ralph Nader. Here is an excerpt:

"I think what I've done over the years is different from other people running for office, because most of the time people run for only one reason, which is to win a political office. They go out and they take polls and figure out what they need to say because the goal of winning comes before anything else. In my case, winning is important, but I need to win on principles that are important to me. If I win on other peoples' principles, I lose."

Read the rest of the interview at Newsweek.com.

Statement on Earmark Reform

While I support reforms designed to shine greater sunlight on the process by which members seek earmarks, I fear that some of my colleagues have forgotten that the abuses of the earmarking process are a symptom of the problems with Washington, not the cause. The root of the problem is an out-of-control federal budget. I am also concerned that some reforms proposed by critics of earmarking undermine the separation of powers by eroding the constitutional role Congress plays in determining how federal funds are spent.

Ron Paul's Message to Supporters

Ron Paul Wins In Texas

Responding to the win, Dr. Paul made the following remarks:

I am honored that the voters in the 14th District expressed their continued confidence in my leadership by overwhelmingly reelecting me to the House of Representatives. I have no Democrat opponent in November and will serve another term in Congress where I will continue my battle in behalf of taxpayers.

My message of limited-government and upholding the Constitution has once again been endorsed by the conservative-minded voters in my district. They understand and support the battle I have waged for thirty years to make the federal government smaller, to reduce wasteful government spending, to balance the budget, and to promote a foreign policy that always puts America first.

Some Washington insiders would have you believe that Republicans no longer believe in the principles our country and party were founded upon, but the voters in my district have once again proven them wrong.

The message of freedom is popular, and I will continue to trumpet it in Congress and across America as I fight on behalf of the conservative, common sense values which made our country so great.

In conclusion, I would like to offer my thanks and gratitude to all of the wonderful people who supported me in this campaign. I look forward to representing all of the good people of the 14th District of Texas in Congress in the years to come.