Science and Technology in the 2012 Presidential Election:
http://elections.aaas.org//2012/comparisons/paul.shtml
Ron Paul (Republican)
- http://www.ronpaul2012.com/ - campaign site
- http://twitter.com/#!/ronpaul (@RonPaul) Twitter
- http://www.facebook.com/ronpaul - Facebook
- http://www.youtube.com/ronpaul - YouTube
**UPDATE: Paul effectively suspended his campaign on May 14.**
Ron Paul has represented the 14th congressional district of Texas since 1997. He represented Texas’s 22nd district from 1979-1985. Paul also served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force in the 1960s. Paul serves on the House Financial Services Committee, where he is chairman of the Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology, and on the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Competitiveness and Innovation
Paul is a long-time advocate for limited constitutional government and commodity-backed currency, and has been an outspoken critic of the Federal Reserve, which he would end if elected president.
STEM Education and Workforce
Paul is a strong supporter of home schooling and limited federal involvement in education, noting “the truth is, no big government spending program can or will solve our nation’s education problems.”
Regarding evolution, Paul has stated “I just don't think we're at the point where anybody has absolute proof on either side.” Furthermore, he argued that a stance on evolution is “a very inappropriate question, you know, for the presidency to be decided on a scientific matter.”
Health and Medical Research
Paul supports extensive healthcare reform including: 1) repealing the Obama health care reform, 2) creating a new tax credit and exemption system for medical expenses, people with terminal illnesses and their primary caregivers, and “negative outcomes” insurance, 3) making everyone eligible for a Health Savings Account, 4) stopping Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) “interference” with access to dietary supplements and alternative treatments, and 5) prohibiting the use of taxpayer funds to create a national database of personal health information.
“Paul’s experience in science and medicine only reinforced his belief that life begins at conception, and he believes it would be inconsistent for him to champion personal liberty and a free society if he didn’t also advocate respecting the God-given right to life—for those born and unborn.” Thus, Paul would seek to repeal Roe v. Wade and prevent “activist judges from interfering with state decisions on life by removing abortion from federal court jurisdiction.” Furthermore, Paul would define life as beginning at conception.
While Paul does not oppose stem cell research, he opposes federal involvement and funding of it, noting that “while I certainly sympathize with those who understandably hope such research will lead to cures for terrible diseases, I object to forcing taxpayers who believe harvesting embryos is immoral to pay for it.”
Energy and Environment
Paul feels that “the free market — not government — is the solution to America’s energy needs.” Thus, he would remove restrictions on domestic drilling, repeal the federal gas tax, “lift government roadblocks to the use of coal and nuclear power,” and provide tax credits for the purchase and production of alternate fuel technologies. Paul would also eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), arguing “polluters should answer directly to property owners in court.”
Paul is against any sort of carbon tax. He also argues that “much of the ‘pain at the pump’ Americans are now feeling is due to federal policies designed by environmental alarmists to punish traditional energy production — like oil, coal, and natural gas — in hopes of making energy sources they favor more ‘economical.’”
In late 2009 Paul told Fox Business, "the greatest hoax I think has been around in many, many years, if not hundreds of years, has been this hoax on the environment and global warming."
National and Homeland Security
“Ron Paul believes national defense is the single most important responsibility the Constitution entrusts to the federal government.”
Paul also argues that “acting as the world’s policeman and nation-building weakens our country, puts our troops in harm’s way, and sends precious resources to other nations in the midst of an historic economic crisis.”
Paul’s top priority is securing U.S. borders. He argues for capturing and killing terrorist leaders using constitutional means to avoid "long and expensive land wars," ending nation-building, asking Congress to declare war before one is waged, and no longer “taking money from the middle class and the poor to give to rich dictators through foreign aid.” Paul would also abolish the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), eliminate waste in the military budget, ensure veteran care and benefits, and make sure the efforts of the intelligence community are “directed toward legitimate threats and not on spying on innocent Americans.”
