Ron Paul Appearance on The Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart

Congressman Ron Paul appeared on The Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart last night (September 29th, 2009) to discuss his new book, End the Fed. In all, I thought it was a pretty fair interview with Stewart genuinely asking questions about Ron Paul’s solutions. It gave Dr. Paul a chance to explain how the Fed promotes bigger government by financing social and corporate welfare programs and never-ending wars.

This video probably won’t be up long since it’s on YouTube, but here you go. Enjoy!

UPDATE: This video has been taken down. But you can still watch it on Comedy Central’s website.

POLITICO: Ron Paul-Inspired Candidates Make Impact

The movement Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) inspired continues to ripple across the landscape. Photo: AP photo composite by POLITICO

It’s been over a year since Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) energized libertarians with his presidential candidacy, but the movement he inspired continues to ripple across the landscape.

In at least a handful of House, Senate and gubernatorial contests across the country, former Paul supporters have emerged as credible contenders — or possible spoilers — ensuring that his message, once relegated to the fringes of Republican politics, continues to be heard.

Paul began the 2008 presidential campaign as an afterthought but quickly won the attention of a previously dismissive GOP establishment and news media by generating intense grass-roots and online support. He raised a stunning $35 million, largely through the Internet, and set a single-day fundraising record by hauling in $6 million in December 2007.

While he never finished better than a distant second, his supporters remained loyal to him throughout the campaign and Paul even briefly considered a third-party run in the general election.

Now, those supporters are running for office themselves.

Paul’s son Rand is running competitively in the Kentucky Senate race to succeed Republican Jim Bunning, even though the GOP establishment has lined up behind Secretary of State Trey Grayson. Peter Schiff, an economic adviser to Paul’s presidential campaign, has raised $1 million in his bid to win the Republican nomination against Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).

In Texas, a Ron Paul acolyte could have a decisive impact in the Republican gubernatorial primary between incumbent Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. In California, a businessman who backed Paul’s presidential campaign has emerged as a serious contender against Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.), who is a top GOP target.

In total, Paul’s political action committee — the Liberty PAC — will be unveiling a slate of 10 endorsed candidates this fall and is currently in the process of interviewing candidates to determine their electability.

“We’re looking for viable candidates to run in Democratic-held seats and open seats,” said Jesse Benton, former spokesman for Paul’s presidential campaign and vice president of the Campaign for Liberty. “We need people that are viable and principled so they can come to Washington and stand up for liberty.”

So far, the Republican establishment is not embracing the Paul contingent. But it may not matter. By drawing on the successful grass-roots fundraising techniques employed by Paul, several of the candidates are raising enough cash on their own to ensure their viability.

Read the entire article at POLITICO

WSJ: Palin, Sounding Like Ron Paul, Takes on the Fed

Sarah Palin addresses Asian investors. (Associated Press)

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin fired a shot at the Federal Reserve in her coming-out speech in Hong Kong today, blaming the central bank for the current crisis and disagreeing with the idea that the Fed should have a greater role in preventing the next crisis. It was an echo of fellow Republican and Texas congressman Ron Paul, who has led the charge in Congress to perform an audit of the Federal Reserve with an eye to eventually eliminating it.

“How can we discuss reform without addressing the government policies at the root of the problems? The root of the collapse? And how can we think that setting up the Fed as the monitor of systemic risk in the financial sector will result in meaningful reform?” she said. “The words ‘fox’ and ‘henhouse’ come to mind. The Fed’s decisions helped create the bubble. Look at the root cause of most asset bubbles, and you’ll see the Fed somewhere in the background.”

More generally, Mrs. Palin took the tack that the financial crisis occurred because government got in the way of free enterprise.

“Lack of government wasn’t the problem, government policies were the problem. The marketplace didn’t fail. It became exactly as common sense would expect it to,” she said. “The government ordered the loosening of lending standards. The Federal Reserve kept interest rates low. The government forced lending institutions to give loans to people who as I say, couldn’t afford them. Speculators spotted new investment vehicles, jumped on board and rating agencies underestimated risks. So many to be blamed on so many different levels, but the fact remains that these people were responding to a market solution created by government policies that ran contrary to common sense,” she said.

Read the entire Wall Street Journal article.

Does the GOP Need a New Leader?

Party of Sheep?

This whole argument about whether the leader of the GOP is Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney, Mitt Romney, or Sarah Palin is ludicrous. Who ever said the GOP even needs a leader. The Republican Party has had leadership over the past eight years, and it has sunk them down into the ground. I would argue that they don’t need anymore leaders, they need more followers. They need people who know how to follow the Constitution.

Speaking of people who follow the Constitution, Lindsey Graham recently said, “Ron Paul is not the leader of our party…and I’m not going to give this party over to people who cannot win.” Funny, considering that he still has McCain fever. Who lost the presidential election? Oh yeah, McCain. Hmm, in fact, who is the only Republican presidential candidate that was actually successful at winning an election in 2008? Ron Paul. He won the Republican primary for Congress with 70.2% of the vote. Ron Paul is so popular in his district, the Democrats refuse to even run someone against him.