First there was Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas). Then there was Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Might there soon be Sen. Robert Paul (R-Texas, left) also? The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that this youngest of Ron Paul’s sons, a family-practice physician living in Fort Worth, is indeed considering a run for the U.S. Senate in 2012 to replace retiring Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
I have thought about running, Robert Paul told the Star-Telegram. I am very happy as a physician, but (I) have a lot of concern about the debt.
This would not be the first time federal financial follies motivated a Paul to enter politics. Ron Paul first ran for Congress in 1974 in response to Richard Nixons complete abandonment of the gold standard, which set the stage for that decades stagflation and the debasement of the currency that continues to this day. Just as politicians talked about beating back inflation in the 1970s but did very little to accomplish their stated aims (remember Gerald Fords Whip Inflation Now campaign?), so today most of Washington Ron and Rand Paul and a few others excepted yammers on about stopping runaway deficits while engaging in gimmickry that allows spending to continue to rise at unsustainable rates. Perhaps the time is ripe for a Robert Paul run.
Robert seems to have first caught the political bug during the 2008 presidential campaign, when he often stumped for his father. A March 2008 Star-Telegram article indicated that he might run for office, having been urged to do so by the Ron Paul wing of a local Republican organization. Now he appears to be getting serious about it. For instance, he has a Facebook page called Robert Paul for U.S. Senate 2012, a fairly strong indication that he intends to run.
What, exactly, would a Robert Paul platform look like? Most likely it would greatly resemble that of Ron Paul. All of Ron Pauls children have worked on their fathers campaigns. His eldest son, Ronnie, is the director of Ron Pauls Campaign for Liberty, and his daughter Lori Paul Pyeatt is the treasurer of her fathers LibertyPAC. And, of course, one Paul son has already reached the Senate on a very Ron Paul-esque platform.
Judging from a speech Robert Paul gave at a 2007 Ron Paul rally, his views are also quite similar to his fathers. In that speech Robert stated the principles that animate his father and that he believes are the qualities of a true Republican: lower taxes, a balanced budget, smaller government, protection of the unborn, and support for a strong national defense. That strong national defense, however, need not be as enormous as the current U.S. military nor be deployed in so many foolish and unconstitutional excursions. The 2008 Star-Telegram article noted that Robert, following in his fathers footsteps, had strongly criticized the Iraq war and learned how to defend his position after encountering resistance from other Republicans.
Robert Paul also has the endorsement of Ron Pauls onetime chief of staff, Lew Rockwell. Back in 2008, when rumors of his running for office first began to circulate, Rockwell, who said he has known Robert since he was a little boy, stated that he would make a great colleague for his dad.
As the Star-Telegram points out, however, if Robert Paul does get into the Senate race now, hes going to have a lot of catching up to do in terms of fundraising. Other announced candidates already have raised anywhere from $500,000 to $1.1 million each; and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, considered the frontrunner should he enter the race, is enormously wealthy and could easily finance his own campaign. But as the Washington Independent remarks, the Pauls have little trouble fundraising and with the public support of his father and brother, Robert would likely be able to scrounge up a few million for his campaign in short order.
The Kennedy and Bush dynasties have been quite detrimental to American liberty. A Paul dynasty, on the other hand, might help to undo the damage those other families have done. The Pauls, after all, have a message that goes back to the founding principles of the United States and is the only message capable of reversing the nations descent into the abyss of socialism and bankruptcy. The message, Robert Paul declared in his 2007 speech, is important. Its freedom. Its liberty. Its the Constitution. It is what our Republic is all about. It is definitely worth fighting for.
