Ron Paul

Rand Paul's going to be teaching a course on "dystopian visions" at George Washington University next fall. Because of course he is.

An institute named for the father of possible presidential candidate Rand Paul has published a piece saying the Charlie Hebdo massacre, like 9/11, was a false flag operation. The claim comes in piece titled, "Charlie Hebdo Shootings: False Flag?," put online today at the Ron Paul Institute.

Just before the start of the Labor Day holiday weekend, the reelection campaign for Mitch McConnell of Kentucky announced its campaign manager, Jesse Benton, was resigning. Benton was leaving the campaign, Politico reports, "citing potential distractions over renewed attention to a scandal from the…

The chairman of Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign is refusing to answer questions about allegations the campaign paid for endorsements before the Iowa caucuses last year. Jesse Benton, a longtime Paul aide who is now campaign manager for Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, has not replied…

A man alleged to be the campaign manager for senator Mitch McConnell said earlier this year that he was "sort of holding [his] nose" to work for the Kentucky Republican for the next two years.

Fox News host Greta Van Susteren finds Ron Paul supporters in the streets of Poland, where Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is visiting:

St. Cloud, Minn.

St. Cloud, Minn.

Texas governor Rick Perry, a former Republican presidential candidate, has endorsed former Vets for Freedom director Pete Hegseth for Senate in Minnesota.

Ron Paul’s aversion to monetary expansion in the middle of an economic crisis is a fringe libertarian idea—and also widely held in America’s political mainstream, including by some Fed officials. This wave of thinking seems to foreshadow a worrisome trend: the ongoing Japanization of the West.

Pete Hegseth, a 31-year-old Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran and the former director of Vets for Freedom, may be the GOP’s best chance to defeat Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota’s first-term Democratic senator. But he first has to win the endorsement of the state Republican party.

Rick Santorum is leading in his home state of Pennsylvania, according to a new Quinnipiac poll:

At the Daily Caller, Mickey Kaus took a look at the Americans Elect website and answered their policy questions that the group promises will "shape the Americans Elect process." Kaus concludes the Americans Elect effort may end up hurting Obama:

Since Mitt Romney and Ron Paul continue to make the curious claim that former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum isn’t a fiscal conservative, here’s a quick, pocket-sized overview of spending grade point averages (GPAs) during Santorum’s tenure in the Senate — based on grades awarded by the…

During tonight’s GOP debate, Ron Paul took exception to Rick Santorum’s claim that Paul had finished “in the bottom half of Republicans this year” in ratings published by the American Conservative Union (ACU). Santorum made the comment immediately after having highlighted that the National…

During Wednesday night’s debate in Arizona, Rick Santorum had a chance to answer a recent barrage of criticisms from Mitt Romney on Santorum's record on earmarks. While Santorum may have won the analytical arguments, his opponents may have won the dramatic exchanges.

Ron Paul is out with a new TV ad criticizing Rick Santorum. The ad will air in Michigan, where Paul's a distant third place in recent primary polls. Watch the it below:

Roll Call's Jonathan Strong reports that presidential candidate Ron Paul billed the government and private institutions for the same flights, many times: 

CBS News projects Mitt Romney the winner of today's Republican caucuses in Maine. With 502 precincts reporting (of 600), Romney has received 2,190 votes, or 39 percent. Ron Paul appears to have come in second, with 1,996 votes, or 36 percent of the vote. Rick Santorum has so far received 989 votes,…

The results are in from the CPAC straw poll: Mitt Romney has won. Here's the tally:

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll of national Republicans suggests a continuing lack of consensus in the GOP primary more than a month after the Iowa caucuses. Mitt Romney earned 29 percent support among Republicans polled, leading Ron Paul with 21 percent. Newt Gingrich received 19 percent of support, and…

Rasmussen’s latest polling of likely voters shows President Obama leading Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum by slender and nearly identical margins. Obama leads Romney by 1 point (46 to 45 percent) and Santorum by 2 points (46 to 44 percent).  The President also leads Newt Gingrich by 8 points (49 to…

In early May, a little over a week after President Barack Obama ordered the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, Texas congressman Ron Paul staked out his position on the man who plotted the murder of nearly 3,000 people on American soil: The operation to kill bin Laden, Paul said, was…

Courtesy of one friend, an old pro, three perhaps overlooked points in the sea of analysis of South Carolina and beyond:

Lexington, S.C.

This morning on C-SPAN, the boss said he thinks it would be good for the Republican party to part ways with Ron Paul. (Watch the video here.)

Ankeny, Iowa

A new poll of South Carolina primary voters, the latest from PPP, shows Mitt Romney with a lead over Newt Gingrich, 29 percent to 24 percent. Ron Paul just edges out Rick Santorum for third place there, with 15 percent and 14 percent support, respectively.

A national CBS News poll taken after Iowa and released today shows that no one in the Republican presidential field has the support of even 20 percent of GOP primary voters. The poll shows Mitt Romney leading with 19 percent support, followed relatively closely by Newt Gingrich (15 percent), and…

Manchester, N.H.

Conservative leader Gary Bauer warns of the dangers of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul in the latest Emergency Committee for Israel ad:

Ankeny, Iowa

David Brooks: "Workers of the World, Unite!"

As voters get their first formal chance to weigh in on the Republican presidential nomination process, here are five questions that will be answered during tonight’s Iowa caucuses:

CNN's Dana Bash touted her interview with Texas congressman Ron Paul and his son, Kentucky senator Rand Paul, by noting on Twitter that the elder Paul "ruled out running outside" the Republican party if he fails to win the GOP nomination for president. But that's not exactly what Ron Paul said.…

A new survey of Iowa Republicans from GOP firm InsiderAdvantage shows a close, tough race the day before the Iowa caucuses. National front-runner Mitt Romney has a miniscule lead at 22.7 percent over Ron Paul at 22.4 percent. Rick Santorum, who is surging in many recent polls in the Hawkeye State,…

Des Moines

PPP polled likely Iowa GOP caucus voters on Saturday and Sunday and found that the race is "headed for a photo finish":

It’s started early this time. Nobody in Iowa has cast a vote in the 2012 Republican presidential caucuses. It’s not even 2012. But the quadrennial calls for an end to Iowa’s first-in-the-country caucuses have begun.

The latest poll of Republican Iowa caucusgoers by the Des Moines Register finds Mitt Romney maintaining a slight lead over his Republican rivals with 24 percent support. In the survey, conducted over four days in the last week, Ron Paul comes in a close second with 22 percent, and Rick Santorum…

In an article at the New York Times, James Kirchick focuses on Texas congressman Ron Paul's "penchant for conspiracy theories":

Des Moines

SaintPetersBlog: "Latest Florida poll: Mitt Romney 27%, Newt Gingrich 26%; no one else in double digits"

The Mitt Romney campaign is doing double duty this weekend, airing this new TV ad in New Hampshire markets while the candidate himself physically stumps in both Iowa and New Hampshire. Watch below:

Los Angeles Times: "Ron Paul: Sanctions against Iran are 'acts of war'"

Rick Perry’s presidential campaign released a tough new ad Thursday targeting Rick Santorum and his history of supporting earmarks in Congress. Why is Perry attacking a candidate who has been mired in single digits in Iowa despite living there for most of the past several months?

CNN: "Romney's Iowa confidence grows"

Jon Huntsman has a new web ad out hammering Ron Paul's racist, anti-Semtic, conspiracy-minded newsletter:

Des Moines

Des Moines

Des Moines

The latest CNN poll of Iowa and New Hampshire Republicans show Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, in the lead in both states. The New Hampshire poll confirms Romney's long-held advantage over his GOP opponents at 44 percent, 9 points up from a similar poll conducted by CNN earlier…

Dyersville, Iowa

In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer Tuesday afternoon, Newt Gingrich unloaded on Ron Paul's extreme foreign policy views and the conspiracy theories, racism, and anti-Semitism in Paul's newsletter. Asked if he could vote for Paul if he were the GOP nominee, Gingrich initially says, "No." But…

A former Ron Paul staffer named Eric Dondero, who worked closely with the Texas congressman and presidential candidate over the course of 15 years, has issued a statement in which he both defends his old boss from charges of racism and anti-Semitism and reveals damning new details about about the…

Sioux City, Iowa

The Republican Jewish Coalition announced this month that congressman Ron Paul would not be among the six guests invited to participate in its Republican Presidential Candidates Forum. “He’s just so far outside of the mainstream of the Republican party and this organization,” said Matt Brooks,…

Charles Krauthammer: "The GOP’s payroll tax debacle"

National Journal: "McConnell Breaks With Boehner, Says House Should Pass Payroll Extension"

Jamie Kirchick writes about Ron Paul's newsletters in the most recent issue of THE WEEKLY STANDARD. Interestingly, Paul's response has been, essentially, to say that he never read them before they were published and then to say he "disavows" the newsletters anyway. This is just what he did…

Wall Street Journal: "The GOP's Payroll Tax Fiasco"

New York Times: "New Focus on Incendiary Words in Paul’s Newsletters"

Politico: "Will Ron Paul kill the caucuses?"

Manchester, N.H.

Robert J. Samuelson: "Bye-bye, Keynes?"

Plaistow, N.H.

The latest PPP survey shows six Republican candidates with double-digit support in Iowa but no one with even 25 percent support. The poll shows Ron Paul leading with 23 percent support, followed by Mitt Romney at 20 percent, Newt Gingrich at 14 percent, and Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Rick…

Well, Scott Rasmussen's been busy since he stepped off THE WEEKLY STANDARD cruise last week. Take a breath:

George Will: "Newt Gingrich commits a capital crime"

Jonah Goldberg: "Newtzilla to the rescue"

The new Des Moines Register poll shows Newt Gingrich with a 7-point lead in Iowa over Ron Paul, and a 9-point lead of Mitt Romney.  “It’s a three-person race, but there’s a clear leader,” says J. Ann Selzer, the Register’s pollster. The last poll conducted by Selzer — the recognized expert in Iowa…

A new national poll of likely Republican primary voters from Rasmussen Reports shows Newt Gingrich with a 21-point lead over Mitt Romney. According to Rasmussen, this is the largest lead held by any GOP candidate this cycle. Thirty-eight percent of those surveyed prefer Gingrich while only 17…

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul sat down last night with Steve Hayes, Bret Baier, Charles Krauthammer, and Juan Williams for a roundtable interview:

The latest polls from CNN/Time show that Mitt Romney is leading or tied for the lead in all four of the first states to vote in the Republican primary next year.

Public Policy Polling (PPP) has a new survey showing Barack Obama may be in real trouble in Ohio, the perennial swing state that he won by just over 260,000 votes in 2008. According to PPP, Obama's approval rating in Ohio is at 43 percent, with only 39 percent of independents approving of his job.

This afternoon, Congressman Ron Paul released his “Plan to Restore America,” which would cut $1 trillion in spending during the first year of the Paul administration.

A new poll from a Republican polling firm shows Herman Cain could be gaining strength in New Hampshire, even though the state's long-time front-runner Mitt Romney maintains a comfortable lead among the state's Republican primary voters.

At the beginning of the second hour of Tuesday night's debate in Hanover, New Hampshire, moderator Charlie Rose prompted each candidate to ask another candidate a question. More than half the candidates used the opportunity to take on Romney.

A new poll from Harvard University and Saint Anselm College shows Herman Cain moving into a solid second place behind front-runner Mitt Romney among New Hampshire primary voters.

Mitt Romney and Ron Paul both trail President Barack Obama by one percentage point in Florida, according to Public Policy Polling. In a survey released today, PPP found that in hypothetical general election matchups, Obama edges out Romney 46-45 and Paul 45-44. Rick Perry, meanwhile, would be 7…

In addition to its main results, which John McCormack reported earlier, the latest CNN poll asked all respondents (not screening for likely or registered voters) whether a given candidate “has the personality and leadership qualities a President should have.” In that vein, here’s how President…

Rasmussen's latest survey of likely voters in New Hampshire shows Mitt Romney with a 21-point lead over Rick Perry. The poll, which was taken before last night's debate in Orlando, showed Romney with 39 percent of the vote among Republican primary voters in the Granite State, with Perry having 18…

A new Suffolk University poll of 400 likely voters shows former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney with a commanding lead in New Hampshire's GOP presidential primary, traditionally the first primary of the campaign season. At 41 percent, Romney is 27 points ahead of his closest rival in the state,…

Phil Klein: "House investigators rip Solyndra execs"

Since Ron Paul arrived in Washington more than 30 years ago, he has been spreading the same message of personal freedom and limited government, based on the Constitution and Austrian economics. Sound familiar? It should—Paul’s philosophy shares the same foundation that the Tea Party is built from.

A CBS News/New York Times poll taken from September 10th-15th (both before and after the most recent debate) shows Rick Perry with a 7-point edge (23 to 16 percent) over Mitt Romney among registered voters who intend to vote in a Republican primary or caucus. Newt Gingrich has moved into a tie with…

Jon Stewart skewers the Obama administration on Solyndra.

Washington Post: "U.N. showdown over Palestinian statehood tests limits of U.S. influence"

Jon Huntsman, Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum have taken the stage in Tampa, Florida for the Tea Party Express/CNN debate. Moderator Wolf Blitzer announced that all 8 GOP presidential candidates were on stage. But they aren't . . .…

Texas congressman Ron Paul is out with a new ad attacking Texas governor Rick Perry for his support of Al Gore in the 1988 presidential election, when Perry was still a registered Democrat. Watch the ad below:

Congressman Ron Paul is holding steady in early polls—even pulling ahead of Michele Bachmann in Gallup’s report last week—prompting many to ask why he isn’t getting more attention from the press. (The Washington Post provides its own explanation here.)  But while we were busy not covering Paul this…

Gallup is out with a new poll showing four of the Republican candidates for president beating or within striking distance of Barack Obama among registered voters. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has the greatest advantage, beating Obama 48 percent to 46 percent.

Rasmussen has just released a new poll of the GOP presidential candidates, and after less than a week in the race, Texas governor Rick Perry leads Mitt Romney by 11 points:

Byron York: "Obama: I reversed recession until 'bad luck' hit"

A reader, inspired, he says, “by the sudden outburst of poesy at THE WEEKLY STANDARD,” sends in this reflection on last night’s debate:

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg: "I have message to the person who attacked us and the people who are behind it: You're not going to destroy us. You're not destroying our democracy and our work for a better world. We're a small country but a very proud country. No one can bomb us to be…

"Obama campaign to go on the offensive against conservative critics of Israel stance"

Two resolutions on the Libya intervention failed in the House of Representatives today. One sought to authorize military action, while the other would have limited funding for the operation. Only eight Republicans voted for the authorization measure, and 89 Republicans joined with most of the…

At last night's debate, one audience member raised the issue of energy infrastructure:

The Faith and Freedom Conference, organized by former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed, met in Washington this weekend and previewed several Republican presidential primary candidates—including Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty, who are both committed to seeking the GOP nomination, as well as…

I was interviewing Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky on February 17, in his temporary office in the Russell building on Capitol Hill, when his chief of staff Doug Stafford entered the room.

There’s no GOP operative for whom I have higher regard than former RNC chair and senior Bush advisor Ed Gillespie. He deserves to be taken seriously when he says (according to Politico): "For all intents and purposes, the field is set. The waiting is over. It's possible someone may get in later on,…

So much for the budget deal: "But the picture already emerging is of legislation financed with a lot of one-time savings and cuts that officially 'score' as savings to pay for spending elsewhere, but that often have little to no actual impact on the deficit."

Yesterday, Ron Paul issued a statement saying that opposition to the Ground Zero mosque "is all about hate and Islamaphobia," and is driven by "the neo-conservatives who demand continual war in the Middle East and Central Asia and are compelled to constantly justify it."