Rep. Ron Paul has attracted attention in the presidential campaign for taking positions not normally associated with a Texas Republican. Formerly a relative unknown, Paul made national headlines in a May 2007 Republican debate in which he argued that the United States provoked the 9/11 terrorist attacks through its aggressive posture toward the Middle East. Though seen as a longshot, Paul continued to generate great interest on social networking sites on the Internet and his fundraising figures remained respectable into late 2007.

Paul, whose views are strongly libertarian, often stresses his unwillingness to vote for any bill that is not “expressly authorized by the Constitution.” He is the only Republican member of Congress running for president who did not vote to authorize the Iraq war in 2002. He remains critical of U.S. involvement in the region and says the war “was sold to us with false information.” Paul’s campaign focuses on typical libertarian issues: small government, lower taxes, free market policies, and non-interventionism abroad.

Paul is also an obstetrician/gynecologist. He got his start in medicine as a flight surgeon in the Air Force in the 1960s before serving in the House in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1988, Paul ran for president as the Libertarian Party candidate. He then returned to his medical practice for several years before returning to the House in 1997.

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Campaign Issues

U.S. Policy toward Africa

Rep. Paul (R-TX) is a critic of U.S. foreign aid. In response to the White House’s 2005 announcement that it would double economic aid to Africa, Paul wrote, “a federal government with nearly $8 trillion in debt has no business giving money to anybody.”

He attributes widespread African poverty to “corruption that actually is fostered by Western aid.”

Paul was one of three representatives to vote against the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006. He was also the only representative to vote against the Darfur Accountability and Divestment Act of 2007.

U.S. Policy toward India

Rep. Paul (R-TX) has addressed India in terms of U.S. policy towards Iran. He says U.S. “provision of nuclear materials to India is a clear violation of the [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)], which contradicts “anti-Iran voices” claiming that Iran is violating the NPT. In fact, says Paul, Iran is entitled under the NPT to develop nuclear power “for peaceful purposes.” Further, he argued, “If Iran had a nuclear weapon, why would this be different from Pakistan, India, and North Korea having one? Why does Iran have less right to a defensive weapon than these other countries?”

Paul opposed the U.S. and India Nuclear Cooperation Act of 2006.

Military Tribunals and Guantanamo Bay

When asked where he stands on Guantanamo in June 2007, Rep. Paul (R-TX) replied, “Shut it down” (Muckraker Report). “This is an issue that flies in the face of our civic and legal traditions as outlined in the Constitution.” he said.

Paul voted against the Military Commissions Act

Domestic Intelligence

Rep. Paul (R-TX), who subscribes to libertarian views, is critical of any infringements on civil liberties. In a December 2005 PBS interview, Paul said: “We all should be dedicated to protecting the privacy of all Americans, and never giving permission to a narrow group of people in the executive branch.”

Paul voted against the Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act of 2006.

War on Terror

Rep. Paul (R-TX) is strictly non-interventionist and criticizes military campaigns in Afghanistan—where he says the United States replaced “one group of thugs with another”—and in Iraq. He also has opposed many homeland security measures taken in the name of the war on terror, like the implementation of the PATRIOT Act, which he argues undermines “the liberties and privacy of all Americans.”

Democracy Promotion in the Arab World

The noninterventionist Rep. Paul (R-TX) voted against the 2006 Iran Freedom Support Act, which he said was reminiscent of legislation passed in the buildup to the Iraq war (WashTimes).

Energy Policy

Rep. Paul (R-TX) said in 2006: “The last thing we need is centralized government planning when it comes to our precious energy supplies.” Paul voted against the Clean Energy Act of 2007. He has also called for an end to “all subsidies and special benefits to energy companies.” Paul voted against the 2005 Energy Policy Act.

More recently, Paul voted in favor of the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act, which was hailed by environmentalists for its measures promoting clean energy. Paul is against government subsides for ethanol (Grist) and pro-nuclear power.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Rep. Paul (R-TX) has criticized U.S. “meddling” in the Middle East, which, he says, “has only intensified strife and conflict.” He has said U.S. financial aid to Middle Eastern countries is only “adding fuel to the fire” and is “foolish and unconstitutional.” He says Israel does not "need" U.S. aid (Haaretz), and insists he is "not anti-Israel in any way." Though he advocates some U.S. diplomatic role in brokering an end to violence in the West Bank, he says the U.S. “should draw the line at any further entanglement.”

Paul spoke out against a July 2006 House resolution condemning attacks on Israel and “supporting Israel’s right to defend herself.” He argued that the resolution’s “strong message” could lead to an escalation of the war between Israel and Lebanon.

North Korea Policy

Rep. Paul (R-TX) has voiced opposition to sanctions against North Korea. He believes the country could serve as a market for U.S. goods, saying, “Every market we close to our nation's farmers is a market exploited by foreign farmers.”

Cuba Policy

Rep. Paul (R-TX) appears to be generally opposed to sanctions on Cuba. He has worked against the agricultural trade sanctions, which he says, “have done nothing to topple the Castro regime, but they have hurt American farmers and the Cuban people."

In 2000, Paul voted to end trade restrictions on Cuba , which he believes would benefit his constituency of Texas farmers.

Paul voted for a 2001 House bill which would stop enforcement of travel restrictions on Cuba once Castro released political prisoners and extradited those sought by the United States.

U.S. Policy toward China

Rep. Paul (R-TX) has called China “one of the most brutal,anti-American regimes in the world.” Still, Paul was one of only five representatives to vote against the Political Freedom in China Act of 1997.

Paul was also the only member of the House to vote against a 2006 resolution condemning religious persecution in China.

Paul voted against the U.S.-China Trade Relations Act of 2000, as well as the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act in 2001.

Defense Policy

Rep. Paul (R-TX), a noninterventionist with libertarian views, voted against the 1999 resolution that sent U.S. troops to join NATO peacekeeping forces in Kosovo. He also voted against the resolution authorizing air strikes on Yugoslavia in 1999. That resolution failed in the House. In 2003, Paul voted against the 2003 resolution for the reconstruction of Iraq.

Iraq

Rep. Paul (R-TX) is one of the Republicans most critical of the Iraq war and one of only six House Republicans to vote against the 2002 resolution authorizing the war. Paul cosponsored the Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007, which, if passed, would have stopped the troop surge in Iraq and begun redeployment of U.S. troops by May 1, 2007. That act was never voted on.

Trade

Rep. Paul (R-TX), who sits on the House Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology, voted against free trade agreements with Oman, Chile, Singapore and Peru. He was a strong critic of CAFTA, of which he said “I believe in free trade, but this is not free trade. This is regulated, managed trade for the benefit of special interests.” In 2005, Paul supported legislation that would have withdrawn U.S. approval for the World Trade Organization. On his campaign website, Paul criticizes the WTO, which, he says, “has forced Congress to change our laws, yet we still face trade wars.” He has also been critical of NAFTA, which he says “is just one part of a plan to erase the borders between the U.S. and Mexico.”

Homeland Security

Rep. Paul (R-TX), who holds strong libertarian views, voted against a number of homeland security measures that he considered to be infringements on personal liberties. Further, he implied in a May 2007 Republican debate that he would do away with the Department of Homeland Security, which he called a “gigantic bureaucracy.” Paul voted against the Patriot Act in 2001. He was one of only four Congressmen to vote against the 2006 DHS Authorization Act. He also voted against implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendation Act in 2007, the Real ID Act of 2005, and the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Paul voted against the Homeland Security Department Authorization Act FY06.

Iran

In a speech before the House in April 2007, Paul (R-TX) criticized what he sees as neoconservative efforts to drum up support for military action against Iran. Paul said that although the country “is hardly a perfect democracy, its system is far superior to most of our Arab allies about which we never complain.” The Texas congressman warned that a war against Iran would be disastrous and dismissed the justifications for military action against Iran as “propaganda,” saying that “Iran doesn’t have a nuke and is nowhere close to getting one, according to the CIA.” Instead, Paul advocates a policy of non-interventionism.

Climate Change

Rep. Paul (R-TX) believes "the key to sound environmental policy is respect for private property rights," according to his campaign website. He says the free market prohibits pollution of one's "neighbor's land, air, or water." Paul acknowledges that "some" of climate change is related to human activity, but, he warns, it is extreme "to assume we have to close down everything in this country and in the world because there's a fear that we're going to have this global warming and that we're going to be swallowed up by the oceans," he told Grist in October 2007.

Paul opposes the Kyoto treaty and a carbon tax. He is also critical of the Environmental Protection Agency. "It's a bureaucratic, intrusive approach and it favors those who have political connections."

Immigration

On the Texas Congressman’s campaign website, Paul stresses the importance of secure borders and lists a six-point plan for immigration policy that says the U.S. must secure borders, enforce visa rules, and end birthright citizenship. Paul is against amnesty and “welfare for illegal aliens.” Paul voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act of 2006.

United Nations

Rep. Paul (R-TX) strongly opposes the United Nations. He introduced the American Sovereignty Restoration Act in 2003, which would withdraw the United States from the United Nations and would “evict the organization from its New York headquarters.” That act has never been passed. He argues that the United Nations cannot be reformed and that it “is inherently illegitimate, because supra-national government is an inherently illegitimate concept.”

U.S. Policy toward Russia

Rep. Paul (R-TX) advocates a “strong national defense and a policy of non-intervention abroad” to ensure a Russia policy that “seeks our national interest.”

In January 2007, Paul cosponsored a resolution to suspend the antidumping duty orders on imports of solid urea—a substance used in fertilizers, plastics, and animal feed—from Russia and Ukraine. That bill failed.

Paul was the only member of the House to vote against a 2007 resolution “noting the disturbing pattern of killings of numerous independent journalists in Russia since 2000, and urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to authorize cooperation with outside investigators in solving those murders.”

U.S. Policy toward Pakistan

Rep. Paul (R-TX) opposes U.S. aid to Pakistan’s government. In 2005, he criticized the granting of $638 million in aid to Pakistan as unconstitutional.

In December 2007, Paul criticized the U.S. alliance with Pakistan as a provocation to al-Qaeda. He also criticized those advocating military action against terrorists in Pakistan. Threatening Pakistan “makes no sense whatsoever,” he said at an August 2007 Republican debate.