Ron Paul, old coot who warned of economic turmoil, thinks he was right

Remember Ron Paul? Congressman Ron Paul?

The long-term libertarian-like representative from Texas who's even older than McCain? The guy with a leased blimp who sought the Republican presidential nomination last year and came within something like 1,000 delegates of upsetting the Arizonan.

Paul lasted a lot longer than Romney, who had to write off some $40 million of his own dough.

And Paul's hundreds of thousands of dedicated supporters way-outraised that preacher Huckabee who's now all over Fox News, which, btw, is the network that barred Paul from its New Hampshire GOP debate because he had no chance. Although, to be fair and balanced, Paul had done better in Iowa than Giuliani or that D.A. Thompson guy, what's his name Frank or Fred. Thank goodness Fox protected its viewers from this Texan, who used to be an ob-gyn.

So Paul marched all the way to St. Paul, past that ex-New York mayor, who the mainstream media said was the certain GOP nominee until he wasn't; Giuliani made it only a few hours past Florida.

Here's how silly Ron Paul is: He set a budget for his campaign and lived within it. Flew commercial. Stayed at Super 8's. No motorcades.

In fact, he ended with no deficit, which is how he thinks the federal government should operate.

In point of fact, Paul ended his campaign with a surplus. Can you imagine anything so silly in this day and age?

Paul warned all during his campaign about a looming economic disaster if government just kept growing and growing and printing more money like Republicans and Democrats wanted. Many said he was loony. His noisy followers too. Today, just because the old geezer predicted correctly, Paul thinks someone will listen to him? Get real!

Paul was on Bloomberg TV on Wednesday, and he absolutely amazed the reporters by patiently explaining that we got into this national financial whirlpool by spending too much government money, and so the solution was probably not to spend even more government money. Ever heard anything so wacky?

You can listen for yourself on the video below. But in a nutshell, here's the craziness Paul peddles: "We should be cutting spending. We should be trying to live within our means and not just try to spend our way out of a recession that was brought upon us by too much spending and too much borrowing and too much printing-press money."

LOL!

Oh, and here's something else. Paul says the reason housing prices are falling is because there's too much housing on the market, something about supply exceeding demand. So, Paul reasons, instead of spending hundreds of billions of deficit dollars to build more houses, making the supply even larger, politicians should risk unpopularity, cut spending and taxes and let the market settle out.

And the startled reporters point out that would mean thousands could lose the homes they can't afford. And Paul said yes, something like 8%. But how much help has spending hundreds of billions been so far? So spending hundreds of billions more will work better?

And they thanked him for his time. Watch for yourself.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Associated Press

Comments

[Irene]

Thank you, Mr. Malcom, for writing this. It is most regrettable and irresponsible hat our great nation will suffer long before such a truth will be grasped... if ever.

[Bill K]

God forbid the American people actually find out they were duped into voting for Mr. Obama when the REAL change was to be found in Ron Paul.

Put a fork in American - she's done.

[HotHotFemale27]

Thanks Andrew!
Have you seen HB1207 yet? It was released by Ron Paul last week, and it's a bill to audit the fed. Did you know that through all of these bailouts and even obama telling people 'There will be visibility' that there still isn't? Most people weren't aware that Bloomberg News even tried to sue the Federal Reserve after the first bailout for not being accountable, and they tried to utilize the Freedom of Information Act to see who got the money. Guess what the fed's response was, which ended the case: "We're not a government agency, you can't use FOIA on us." !!!!!! You can go to Restore the Republic's web page and see an interview from 2007 that Gary Franchi had with the Fed of Chicago's media guru, and the guy wholly and utterly explains how the Federal Reserve is not a part of the government, they are a private bank indeed who loans money to our government at interest. No wonder the debt will never end....
Thanks again Andrew!

[Darryl Schmitz]

We complain that politicians are liars and thieves, and that there is never an honest candidate to vote for.
Lo and behold, an honest candidate appears on the scene. He tells us the truth - unpleasant as it might be - and has a track record of consistent, principled adherance to the Constitiution.
So what do we do? We ignore him and vote for the liars and thieves.
What does that say about us?

[terriblysmart]

I love you, Malcolm.

[Crystal]

It's ashme there aren't more "kooks" out there,eh? ;)

[Desh]

Is this a joke?

[TJ]

That's good stuff. He IS getting alot more airtime now that this whole mess has come about. He was on 3 different networks Tuesday.

"and came within something like 1,000 delegates of upsetting the Arizonan"

- I nearly spewed my brown sugar cinnamon Pop-Tart all over the desk when I read that. A coworker shouted "what's so funny?". Hilarious.

Andrew, I know you've missed all of us.

[Tyler Burk]

Maybe more people should listen to Dr. Paul and vote for the candidate who shares their views instead of who they've been told has a chance of winning (hacks handpicked by the media). The crisis is upon us.

[Cesar]

I voted for Ron Paul and I stand by my decission. in my view history will prove that he was right.

[JAmes]

Excellent Article. Thanks Andrew.

[USAF Vet Dan]

As a "Paultard" supporter of this wacky old coot, I must admit to my delusions that many Americans are starting to see that the Emperor (a.k.a. big government) has no clothes... that the polls that show the vast majority oppose the bailouts with only about 1 in 4 supporting it... that our elected public servants would pass these nefarious bills in spite of such overwhelming opposition proves we have lost our representative form of government.

How idiotic I was to donate $2,100 to this old nut's campaign... and how stupid I am to not accept the Marxist "change" that the Messiah Obama is bringing to our country. And finally, how archaic I am to still believe that the Constitution is worth fighting for.

I should turn myself in to the Thought Police like a good comrade.

Thanks, Malcolm, for pointing out how stupid Ron Paul and his supporters are. ;-)

[lightofliberty]

As all RP supporters understand, ideas do have consequences. Dr. Paul is running on a platform of ideas. Radical? Why yes! More importantly, it's causing a real stir within the political class (Republicrats/Demopublicans) that is challenging their very existence. The rEVOLution has them on the run. They'll run and hide under every promise with a wink-and-nod but the LIGHT OF LIBERTY casts a long shadow. Yeah, I get him alright. I scanned across the political spectrum in my lifetime and found a home with silent majority who desire to live in freedom and peace.

[Luke Welch]

I'm glad someone can point out how kooky Ron Paul is with his "don't spend what you don't have" and "accept your problem instead of making it worse" mentality.

If anyone like him got into office, we might end up reversing our spiral, and that, my friends, would be absolute insanity!

=)

[Tim Moore]

Ron Paul is exactly right! He has been for a long time and will continue to be. The powers of the market are greater than any government intervention. Government intervention only lengthens the pain. If the market was left alone last year, we would already be on a path to recovery. Sad. Real history will show that ron Paul, Peter Schiff and Jim Rogers were all right. However, liberal history books will show Obama lifted us out of the depression as FDR did in the 30's. The facts are WWII/war/death/imprisonment lifted us from the depression. We will either fall like the USSR or end up in WWIII, those are our only options. Both will suck, get prepared.

[Silentboom]

Keep writing articles like this and I might just get around to trusting you someday. End the Fed.

[marc]

Don't blame me, I voted for him.

[Jim]

I hope that this is just sarcasm. He makes perfrect sense to me.

[spinnikerca]

It is amazing to me that the administration, even after watching the prior administration race off the economic cliff pursuing Keynsian policies, is following the exact same people, falling even further, towards bottom.

Why NOT listen to those who predicted it, instead?

Ron Paul should be president, but isn't. He doesn't have cooties though (at least I'm relatively sure an M.D. would care for himself better than that) and Obama surely knows his phone number.

[PainfullyAware]

I am amazed at how mentally minuscule the author is.

You Can Come To Any Conclusion If You Limit The Data To Only Factors That Support You Paradigm.

The author has no understanding of the ROOT CAUSE of why we are where we are.

Some Links To Help With Your Education; The Real Reason The Economy Is Tanking.

Shadow Banking System: Death from Nowhere
http://seekingalpha.com/article/123750-shadow-banking-system-death-from-nowhere

In Support of Transparency: Reveal Securitization Certificateholders
http://seekingalpha.com/article/121827-in-support-of-transparency-reveal-securitization-certificateholders
(Read The Comments)

The Result Of No Confidence In The Market:

Series: BORROW, Total Borrowings of Depository Institutions from the Federal Reserve
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/borrow

If you are not shocked by this information you do not understand what is happening.

Ron Paul appears to be the only representative that is willing to use Reason And Rational to address issues not Emotional Hasty Generalization based upon symptoms.

[John No]

I'm glad sir that you helped bring down his candidacy! America doesn't deserve him. It deserved an administration that is like itself. America will be a historical lesson for powers that follow her. What will Asia learn from America? My advice to her is to look at Proverbs 13:22, Proverbs 21:20, Proverbs 13:11, Romans 13:8, Proverbs 16:18, Proverbs 22:7, Leviticus 25:35-38... there are so many relevant passages.

[Mucker]

I voted for Ron Paul in the presidential election. I wish he had won.

[Ben Straub]

He is a very honorable man. Don't forget that he packs a sack lunch, has turned down the congressional pension, and returns a portion of his pay to the treasury every year.

[Mike]

The sad thing for the Republicans is that they still don't understand why they were smoke - top to bottom - last election cycle.
When will Republicans embrace conservatism?

[belle]

Quite a turnaround, Andrew Malcolm, from your previous articles about Ron Paul. We - meaning the R3VOLutionaries - knew all this and don't need you to enlighten us. Not that I mind your giving Ron Paul the acclaim he deserves and has earned - unlike most other Republicans. So I forgive you your trespasses and will allow you atone by writing more laudatory articles about the GOP (Grand Old Paul) of the GOP.

[charleydan]

Not sure if it is the stupidity of Americans, Politicians or Media that thinks a government that produces nothing, can steal from me and give to another is stimulation.

Wealth Distribution is now called stimulating. Stimulation of Politicians favor pets.

then want to call it freedom. LOLOLOLOLOL

[TJ]

Wow ... that's a pretty horrible hit piece. Whoever wrote this one obviously doesn't understand anything about economics and is just interested in smearing a man than an idea.

Grow up you moron and read a book for once in your life you might learn something

[Mark Atkins]

A couple of additional bits of trivia about Dr. Paul is that he RETURNS a portion of his Congressional budget money to the Treasury EVERY year, and he continues to "get it right" on the issues. Had people elected Dr. Paul instead of Barack HUSSIEN O(b)SAMA we would now be well on the way back to prosperity, we would be OUT of Iraq, Afghanistan, and all of the places where we are "peacekeeping", and the IRS/income tax would be HISTORY! Who is laughing at him now?

[Matt]

Way to much common sense in this article for me. I like burdening future generations with massive debt! It's fun like punching babies or swallowing nails.

[A.Vijil]

That crazy Ron Paul. Can you imagine him in the White House? Speaking the truth,upholding the Constitution. Liberties and freedom-that is so 1776!

Thank God that the people were educated in the good ol' USA and were smart enough to see through his lunacy.

[Zach]

How dare he suggest we apply common sense to government!

[Brad Fleming]

Andrew, you just exemplified the man that we as Dr. Paul supporters tried to expose you and others to way back in 2007. Yet, you continuously dismissed and discredited him with your articles. I understand that your answer to our frustrations would probably have something to do with journalistic integrity or something like that. We weren't expecting you to gush over the man and proclaim his greatness. Quite the opposite, we only wanted you to look past the man and focus on his ideals, after all, that is why we love him, because we love his message. It's never been about him and it's too bad that only now you seem to be realizing that.

[al]

why don't you learn about economics before you start commenting on ron paul. It is very obvious you are have little or no knowledge of how the financial markets work.

[Mark Dranias]

Next thing you know, we will audit the Federal Reserve and people will start to wonder why we have a federal reserve system and not gold and silver coins.

[BD]

Ha! Loved it!

[vlad]

nice work, it took a second for me to realize the article was satire.

[Arno]

Very funny article, but strangely misplaced since the L.A.Times belong to the voices who have ridiculed him in the past.

So many have drank the cool-aide and then it is like Steve Colbert once said; "If you hear truth like that, you need to wash it down."

I pray for the US that people start to listen to other's who may have a different ideas on how to change the economy, because change is indeed needed.

[Jesse Smith]

Ron Paul is a true American Freedom Fighter. The only member of congress who understands that when goverments print, borrow and spend money, they are transfering wealth from productive areas of the economy, to unproductive areas.

The answer to our problems is not borrowing and spending, but saving and producing.

[Cubic Malcolmium]

I can't believe I'm the first post on an Andrew Malcom blog + Ron Paul.

Your point is well made Malcom, just a shame you stole the shtick from Colbert and his "Ron Paul's so crazy he claims the earth spins around the sun" routine.

[ron paul]

thanks for the article.

[Louella]

Yes, what a wacky guy. A guy I'm going to listen to from now on....should have listened much sooner.

[Motopimp]

Hey Andy,

How silly are you working for Laura Bush!? You knocking anything that Ron Paul says, is equivalent to saying, "It's morons like me that helped cause this great mess we're in, and instead of adhering to the principles of the Constitution, I'll just keep rambling on with my mindless jibber jabber." Get a life, and get a real job!

[David Kretzmann]

Dr. Paul is the only consistent, principled man in Washington today. He is a true Statesman, a man of the people. I highly encourage people to e-mail and call their Representatives about Paul's new Federal Reserve Transparency Act, H.R. 1207. The Federal Reserve has operated in secrecy for long enough.

Thank for the article on Ron Paul, keep it up.

Best,

David Kretzmann
http://www.davidkretzmann.com/

[Tannim]

See? We told you he was right!

You should've listened!!!!!!!

[Ron]

Excellent!

[Dr Ward Ciac II]

Dr. Paul will be back in 2012 and we'll be there to help him, stronger than last time.

[Scott Harmon]

Andrew, your back, with drenching sarcasm to boot. Well, you must have just finished watching Bernanke--the great "student" of the Depression. He's a student alright; by the time he graduates we'll be in one. As for the Super 8 and Ron Paul's thriftiness, it's quite refreshing in light of the Imperial Presidency we adore, now. But I'm listening to Bernanke and that other dim bulb, Krugman, by trying to spend as much as I can to hope that my debt goes away or I get a bailout. (If I run up the cards enough, I'll be too big to fail.) As for the Global Warming problem, this being the 12th coldest season on record, I think that one's been solved. Just in time, too, before the Elites and their special-interest buddies can shove a tax down our throats.

[MikeK]

My goodness! The next thing you know, that crazy Congressman might say something completely Kooky like he wants to protect the rights of the individual and uphold the Constitution.....

Thanks Malcolm

[David]

Predicting the crisis and being right about the Fed when everyone else was wrong and not blowing sunshine up the rears of viewers like the other Republicans in the 2008 CNBC economics debate because he correctly and honestly described the real state of financial affairs - and it doesn't matter. And it didn't matter in 2007 or 2008. Fox News and its ilk banished Paul because he railed against the Iraq war. After 9/11/2001, if you are not a war hungry constitution shredding imperialist you are marginalized and even you economic views will not be given air time.

Most people still don't know who Ron Paul is, primarily because he was right about the war on terror when it wasn't politically correct to be against preemptive aggressive war and be a Republican.

[Brent Burk]

I like Paul. He was right before, he is right now.
And I like the LA times for giving him some, blogspace? :)