Transcript
Interviewer: Ron Paul is packing up his Washington condo this week, preparing to sell it and move back to Texas for good. Paul is retiring from Congress, and last week he gave a farewell address from the House floor, repeating the small-government sermon he first shouted in obscurity, and then injected into the national debate. With his time in Washington DC coming to a close, I sat down with Paul for a kind of ‘exit interview’.
Question: You’ve been here on-and-off since 1976, what would you say the three most damaging special interests are in Washington?
Ron Paul: You know, I see so many, and they’re all the same.
Interviewer: I know, but you much have some that really bother you.
Ron Paul: I think the military-industrial complex is very bad.
Interviewer: That was No.1.
Ron Paul: I don’t know if they should be in order.
Interviewer: Okay, don’t give them in order.
Ron Paul: Another one would be the banking system: how the Federal Reserve works and how it helps big banks. The interest that I would like to see, and that I worked on, was to try to get those people who just want their freedom to take care of themselves, and that’s the one that’s the least influential. Up here, it’s the people who want stuff and who get the benefits by just lobbying for those things that they want.
Interviewer: Another thing you mentioned in your farewell speech is your belief that we need to build coalitions, not necessarily reach compromises. And I wonder if you think your beliefs could be a 51% coalition in your lifetime, or in what timeframe?
Ron Paul: I think if I talk to a crowd of people, no matter which crowd, and say, “Do you believe in the free enterprise system, that people should be able to work and have their earning?” they say, “Yea, I believe that”. And if I asked, “Do you believe that your privacy should be protected, that the government shouldn’t be in your bedroom, that they shouldn’t be spying on you?” people would agree. And, most of the time when I asked, “Do you think we should be the policeman of the world?” they say, “No”. But when it comes to the particulars, they don’t stick with it, and they say, “Yes, but go too far, you want too much freedom”.
Interviewer: Well, this is another thing you touched on in that speech, you said this idea of liberty is popular, has been popular, so why doesn’t it win. It’s kind of a question that you didn’t fully answer in that speech, why do you think it doesn’t win?
Ron Paul: Not a lot of people talk about it, and I did try to explain it in the speech, in that, the concern about freedom was lost because freedom creates so much prosperity, that people get complacent. Then they become materialistic, and all they can deal with is redistribution and they find that with the government, you can make more money by getting a contract from the government than by being a genius and being productive. You know, when I first came here in 1976, I think I was under the impression that if you talk about welfare, you’re talking about those people who won’t work and get food stamps. But I have a very different opinion now. That exists, and it’s not healthy, but that’s minor compared to the food stamps the wealthy get. The wealthy get the contracts and the special deals, and that’s where I think the biggest trouble is.
Interviewer: That’s a way of speaking that most Republicans don’t usually engage in. Your son, the senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul, said recently that the Republican Party is in danger of becoming a dinosaur.
Ron Paul: Yea, but I think the whole government and the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are all dinosaurs.
Interviewer: What’s the future of the Republican Party, though?
Ron Paul: Well, the same as the Democratic Party. The principles are dinosaurs. The parties are going to linger because they’re locked in by law. You know, we’re not allowed to compete, the laws are biased against us from competing. And if you go third-party, you can’t get in the debates and you can’t get on ballots.
Interviewer: You talk about the grip of that two-party system, did you seriously consider running as an independent for President in 2012?
Ron Paul: No.
Interviewer: You didn’t consider it because it’s not practical?
Ron Paul: Not practical, absolutely not practical. Because this would have been a good year to have an alternative, and you can’t get much of a showing either on the Libertarian side or the Green side.
Interviewer: So then, how do we get out of this system, what do us see as the answer to this, or do we just keep bumping along with the way things are? You can’t believe that, that would make you too sad.
Ron Paul: No, you go to the campuses, you rally the young people, and you stir up a whole generation of people. Ideas do have consequences, and that’s where the good news is, because the campuses are alive and well with these views and they know the system is bankrupt. And there is this illusion that you can spend endlessly and print endlessly, and there will always be credit out there. And so far so good, but credit can end quickly, the dollar can crash quickly, and a new system will have to be developed.
Interviewer: One last thing, where do you pride yourself?
Ron Paul: Nothing in particular, other than the fact that the people say, “One thing we can say about you is that you are very consistent”, and they say this in a very nice way.
Interviewer: And you’ve changed the discussion in this country, you must be proud of that.
Ron Paul: Yea, that would be nice, time will tell. But what I always get a charge out of is when they’re so nice and they say, “This is good, you’re very consistent”, they must say to themselves, “But I’m always inconsistent”, and that’s wonderful. And they run the show, I never ran anything, I was just bubbling along here when it came to legislation. So the people who, in a way, admit they’re inconsistent, get to run the Legislative System.
Interviewer: Thank you so much for your time, we really appreciate it.
Ron Paul: You’re welcome.
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He’s very freedom loving American Hero too!
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Because Most Americans are brainwashed idiots, very sad!
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Yep, and in England we failed to elect Tony Benn in his time too.
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because we americans are stoopud
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because we americans are stoopud
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because most people are idiots and the media spreads lies and say hes crazy
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Because you cannot become president telling the truth in this day and age. You have to lie your way to the top.
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When I first saw Ron Paul, I had a gut feeling he was the most qualified candidate for presidency. Gingrich, Santorum, and Romney were seemingly just riding their hype trains…
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i think the elites threatened him.
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i think the elites threatened him.
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so when the law prohibits a third party ballots access and a role in debates, what makes a dual-party state like america better than a single-party state like china?
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Classic ron paul. He’s so genuine. He’s just a normal old mad with an unwavering principal.
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The sad part is that Rand Paul (his son) isn’t like him.
He’s scheduled to meet the Prime Minister of Israel and be indoctrinated as another corrupt puppet politician.
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Ron Paul is a hero!
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Interviewer did great.
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lmao
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I have a lot of respect for the interviewer, he cant be that much older than I am, but is working his hardest as a true journalist.
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Why Ron Paul isn’t our president because that’s against the Elite Luciferian Zionist Globalist Plan and they run this Evil Empire and Ron Paul is against all they stand for plain and simple and most Americans are blinded by the Media and Entertainment to take notice and see the difference between the two..
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Ron Paul: The 1st President of the Constitutional Republic of America. Hail to the Chief.
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I’m sure the Treasury have a say as well. Then Obama went on to say: They (americans) have their own lives on their plates to deal with. You can’t give any more ignorant of an excuse than that to the Americans at large. This was off a youtube video titled something like: Obama thinks Americans are stupid about the economy.. But I have the video too called: JFK exposes Obama. This comment is likely Google censored.
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Because of the American Mainstream media, and the American Entertainment industries have worked so well at fooling the people, into voting for a personal personality and choreography, camera-look, above their plan and substance. Obama had no substance a long time ago when he once said, on record and well noted: The Americans at large are not paying close attention to how a Treasury Auction goes, “they shouldn’t”…The IMF certainly have some involvement/influence in Obama saying that.
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because the elections are rigged and the mainstream media is a bunch of puppets who tell people what to think such as “he cant be president” so that way people with the right idea would get discouraged and not even attempt to over ride the system with unwavering support for the last hope of a peaceful reform of our once great nation. now theres only one solution. A Revolution. there is no other way, at least, not any more.
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The caucuses were rigged and Romney was paid for by the elite. Both Obama and Romney were bought and paid for it didnt matter which one of those won. If you did deep enough you will understand what Im saying. Ron Paul would have wiped the floor with Obama but the rich and powerful couldnt allow that so they made Romney who was a complete idiot get in to run against Obama. This election was the most corrupt publicly we ever had, do some research.
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Reading the all comments was hilarious at first. But then, I realized how some people on this planet have sunk so low to become utterly pathetic, I question the future of humanity.
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Reading the all comments was hilarious at first. But then, I realized how some people on this planet have sunk so low to become utterly pathetic, I question the future of humanity.
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If he had raan as a Democrat he may have primaried Obama..
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yes I do buddy you can find me on facebook Names Andrew Harrison. Hope you had a great Christmas. also have you considered Aquaponics gardening?? looks pretty promising.
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Who is John Galt ?
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I don’t think the Rothschild’s (500 Trillion dollars) like him, being to smart makes a bad puppet.
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because they rigged the election OF COURSE!!!
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This interview just shows some of the fundamental flaws of the American political system. There is no real democracy in a country that does not allow third parties.
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“Lunacy is printing money out of thin air” – money isn’t made out of thin air, but your point was economically illiterate anyway
“going to war with everyone who doesn’t follow America’s system, like Obama does” – yeah, except that was Dubya. Obama hasn’t declared war on anything.
Must be a Lolbertarian. Thanks for playing, clown.
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He made too much sense
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Ron Paul is a man of wisdom!
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Dreams from my dad who I never even knew, for Kenyans are so sad I’ve hoodwinked you. Dreams from my dad I didn’t want to tell you, Davis is my real dad and he’s Communist too. Lenin said go FORWARDS, the cliff can be had and voters want more words. Dreams from my dad, Air Force One we ride, taxpayers are not mad and Benghazi? I must lie! Dreams from my dad biggest fraud in history, Hitler seems like my dad and I’m still a mystery.
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