Although he officially abandoned his presidential bid last summer, Texas Congressman Ron Paul’s star continues to brighten. Once shunned by the mainstream media and marginalized by the national leadership of the Republican Party, the modest Ob-Gyn-turned-congressman has become something of an éminence grise these days, feted and fawned over by the likes of Fox News, which once dismissed him as a quack.

The reason? Dr. Paul’s unexpected fundraising prowess during his presidential campaign turned more than a few heads, and the bestseller status of his book The Revolution: A Manifesto attracted further attention. But besides the growth of his Campaign for Liberty and the swelling ranks of followers, recent events have proven Congressman Paul right time and time again. What once seemed to those with no understanding of so-called “Austrian economics” as dour paranoia has turned out to be spot on, as the Mother of All Speculative Bubbles has imploded.

According to David Weigel of the Washington Independent:

A funny thing has started happening to Paul since his long-shot presidential campaign ended quietly in the summer of 2008. More Republicans have started listening to him. There are the media requests from Fox Business Channel and talk radio, where he’s given airtime to inveigh on sound money and macroeconomics. There is HR 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009, a bill that would launch an audit of the Federal Reserve System, and which has attracted 112 co-sponsors.

Particularly surprising has been the sudden interest in the Federal Reserve System. Congressman Paul has long advocated scrapping the Fed and returning to a full-fledged gold standard such as the United States has not had since the early 1930s. But such proposals have never been given much of a political shake, owing to the supposed ignorance and lack of interest among the general public in economics and finance. “I’ll admit it. I was dead wrong in my first reaction when I heard Ron talking about the Fed on the campaign trail,” admitted Thomas Woods, bestselling author of A Politically Incorrect Guide to American History and Meltdown. “I said, ‘This is too complicated for most Americans. This isn’t going to galvanize people.’ I was wrong! He’s taken an issue that wasn’t even an issue, and he’s got a lot of Americans suddenly fascinated by the Fed, by monetary policy, by the Austrian business cycle theory.”

The unexpected rise to prominence of H.R. 1207 has been a direct consequence of this. As Weigel put it, “it’s been a rapid rise for an idea that, only months ago, was located firmly in the political fringe. The John Birch Society, the far-right group that Paul has often defended from media criticism, was one of the first groups to encourage members to contact their members of Congress to support an audit of the Fed. Paul’s own coalition, the Campaign for Liberty, has engaged in a months-long grassroots campaign for the bill.”

The twin campaigns have borne spectacular fruit, with both Republicans and Democrats signing on in droves. Said freshman Congressman Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), “the Federal Reserve should have come clean with the American people a long time ago. The Fed is disbursing trillions of dollars and the taxpayers have a right to know who is getting it.”

Not only that, Congressman Paul’s weekly luncheons have been attracting more congressmen than has tended to be the case in the past. The luncheons, designed to educate fellow congressmen on the Constitution and free-market economics, have recently featured guest speakers like Woods and journalist James Bovard. Prominent among them has been Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who attends the luncheons weekly and is currently reading Woods’ book on the economic crisis, Meltdown, according to Weigel. Bachmann recently took both Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to issue on the constitutionality of their actions.

On a personal note, this author has seen the influence of Ron Paul wax strong in academia, or at least at the eastern state university where I teach. One faculty member approached me recently with the idea of starting a libertarian society, while another (the chair of my academic division) responded favorably when I mentioned Ron Paul during my annual review. Ron Paul has all but become a household name these days, allowing the Good Doctor to wield possibly more influence than any other GOP congressman – especially in these days of Republican discontent.

We have a long way to go before the philosophy of liberty regains currency in Washington, D.C. But the fact that, for the first time in modern history, no less than the Federal Reserve has come under serious political fire and stands a fair chance of having its wings clipped, is nothing less than a political miracle. And for this Congressman Ron Paul — though he would modestly deny it — deserves no small credit.

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Ron_Paul_Fan said:

	... WOOT! Ron Paul!
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May 06, 2009
Votes: +13

Canadian Ron Paul Fan said:

	... Could it be that finally enough people will begin to see the light and America will ultimately be saved from the evil that resides within? Up North here in Canada, we are rooting for the people of the U.S. and hope that they will find a way to take their country and their rights back.
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May 06, 2009 | url
Votes: +21

James Orleans said:

	Our "should-be" President I hope it's not too late to implement some of Mr. Paul's ideas before Mr. Obama bankrupts us.
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May 06, 2009
Votes: +16

Lew Garrett said:

	... Canadian Ron Paul Fan: Thank you for your comments and good wishes. It means alot that so many more citizens of this country and the well wishing citizens of other countries are beginning to see clearly.
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May 07, 2009
Votes: +13

x2x said:

	Campaign for Liberty It is time for America to meet a real hero : Dr. Ron Paul !
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May 07, 2009
Votes: +18

Marcus said:

	Go ron go!!!! Maybe we're seeing the beginning of a campaign for the chairmanship of the republican party. Look out Steele!!
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May 07, 2009 | url
Votes: +7

Silentboom said:

	!!!! Dr. Ron Paul is already my President!!!!!!!
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May 07, 2009
Votes: +13

Listen2elvis said:

	... Thank you for this article. What a relief to see Dr. Paul getting the respect he deserves!
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May 07, 2009
Votes: +11

Billy Kilford said:

	RP I smell a rEVOLution
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May 07, 2009
Votes: +12

TerjeP (say tay-a) said:

	... Down here in Australia we are also hoping liberty makes a come back. If Ron Paul could abolish the federal income tax what a ripple of hope and possibility that would send across the world.
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May 07, 2009
Votes: +12

Independence Hall said:

... I sincerely believe that one day Congressman Ron Paul will be considered, by most U.S. citizens, as a founding father of the re-birth of American liberty. In many ways, we are fortunate to be living at this time in our nation’s history. We have an opportunity to advance the cause of individual liberty and Constitutional government in the face of increasingly vigorous forces of collectivism and statism. The potential to advance the cause of liberty not just in the U.S., but also for all people and nations, is as great now as any time in decades.

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May 07, 2009
Votes: +17

Flu-Bird said:

	Ron Paul 2012 Lets hope that RON PAUL runs in 2012 and soundly defeats BARACK OBAMA and his band of crinimals
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May 07, 2009
Votes: +8

Scott Harmon said:

Decentralization (Entropy) is the Way of the Future I agree and applaud Paul's efforts. But, on top of these efforts, the nature of many ordered (structured) systems is to disintegrate and regroup into more practical and efficient systems as the artificial "enforcement" mechanisms become impractical, outdated, or unbelievable. The govt strives to make unnatural systems "believable," through enforcement and propaganda, but as more people recognize he limitations of the artificial structure, the "old" systems begin to fail. The Federal Reserve is one such example. Its source of power has been its secrecy or anonymity; but now that people see what a ridiculous notion this is, to have some group of quasi-govt bankers make decisions about other peoples' monies, regardless of basic economic laws or input from the people, and without seeming regard for popular concerns, the entire thing is coming down. People naturally go about decentralization in their daily lives; over-centralized systems usually bog down and quit working over time. I suppose "faith" and "trust" hold old ideas (or ideologies) in place; but when these go, the weak structures they protect must go too.

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May 07, 2009
Votes: +8

John D. said:

	Ron Paul is my President! The good doctor is finally getting the recognition he deserves.
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May 07, 2009
Votes: +5

neo said:

	Take actions for what you wish for He's the hero, but pals, we need more actions: 1. elect more people of the likes of Ron Paul, like Peter Schiff, and don't forget Rand Paul; 2. dems and reps they are coorperating against every one potentially threaten their status, so we need to get an audit of them as well.
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May 07, 2009
Votes: +8

newbie said:

	Ron Paul is the modern day Thomas Jefferson nice article!!
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May 07, 2009
Votes: +5

Jim Brown said:

	... This is not about Ron Paul, Bush or Obama this is about the message of getting the federal government out of lives and keeping our hard earned money. Thanks to Dr. Paul for the enlightenment. JB
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May 07, 2009
Votes: +11

mary said:

	Great article! I think Ron Paul is more of a household name then when he was running for president. It seems that anyone I talk to about him is familiar (or at least aware) of who he is and what he stands for. I see more and more Ron Paul bumper stickers now, and unlike before...I don't know the drivers!!!
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May 07, 2009
Votes: +6

kestudi said:

	Great echo, but.. I'm not sure you have enough original work here to call yours an article, when you paraphrase or quote the Independent for about 85% of your content...
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May 07, 2009
Votes: -3

Another Canadian Ron Paul Fan said:

	WTG Ron Paul And here another Canadian who hopes that Ron Paul's philosophy gains influence. America was the beacon of hope for freedom, peace and prosperity for the whole world, please dont let this great experience fail.
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May 07, 2009
Votes: +6

Douglas said:

Smart Honest Man Ron Paul is a smart and honest man. He may be too honest to be elected president. The SPLC and their ilk will never allow him to gain much traction. The media is too well controlled in this country. It will take dramatic actions to change our country now. I do not think we will ever be able to have honest elections especially in major cities with ACORN running illegal voting scams and obama about to use the census to change our voting. Still, I try to be an optimist. Ron Paul is energizing and refreshing.

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May 07, 2009
Votes: +6

jordan said:

	... Dr. Paul is an obstetrician/gynecologist, not a pediatrician. [Thank you for pointing out the error, which we corrected. - Editor]
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May 07, 2009
Votes: +2

Bob Samson said:

	Mr. Samson Ron Paul...one cooooool daddy.
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May 08, 2009
Votes: +4

Terry said:

... Too much emphasis is placed on the President. We are not a monarchy. Had Ron Paul been elected President he would have been opposed at every turn by the forces that control our government today. To me the real value of Ron Paul is what he has done to awaken the public to issues that directly impact their lives such as the Federal Reserve and its synchophants like the Council on Foreign Relations. I'm glad RP is out there continuing to stir the soup and is being paid attention to. Now, We have to do our part and stir it along with him and most particularly place in office Ron Paul Constitutionalists, particularly in the House where all spending bills are supposed to (according to the Constitution anyway) arise. If we had even 20 Ron Paul oriented Representatives in the House the impact would be far larger than one as President. The Presidency can wait. Most important is to put Representatives in office that like Ron Paul actually uphold their oath of office. A Constitutional President will naturally arise from that achievement whether it be Ron Paul or someone else.

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May 08, 2009
Votes: +6

mike said:

	... Unfortunately, I see the morons in the republican party propping up Sarah Palin to be the candidate in 2012. to me, she's no less a puppet than Obama
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May 09, 2009
Votes: +1

Phil said:

More in store after HR 1207 I would like to second what Terry has stated earlier. It takes more than the president. We need more people in office like Ron Paul, both in the congress and Senate. In addition to HR1207, he has proposed HR 2755, The act to abolish the FED. This is even more critically in need of passage than the HR 1207. But getting the HR 1207 would be a nice start. Make sure you write, call, or email your representatives and let them hear your voice on both of these bills. This is just the first of many steps needed to take back control of our government and give it back to the citizens who it is supposed to be representing. Make sure you tell your friends, neighbors, relatives, and coworker about both of these bills, HR1207 and HR2755 and request they tell contact their congress and senate reps and ask for their support in passing these bills into law. PS.... Obama has just announce his support for the FED to police over our financial system as a means to repeats of our current mess... Can you believe it? The same band of scoundrels who are neck deep now being touted as the ideal administrators of future oversight???...

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May 10, 2009
Votes: +3

KS said:

	Ron Paul, I can't get enough of your good stuff! Ron Paul is really the taxpayers best friend.
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May 11, 2009
Votes: +2

JT said:

	Retired I agree with Jim Brown, Terry and Phil. Also if you want to have gas prices drop dramatically, abolish the fed.
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May 12, 2009
Votes: +3