Ron Paul

Political Party: Republican
Current Position: Congressional Representative (since 1997)
State: Texas
Political Experience: Former Representative from Texas (different district), 1976-1977 and 1979-1985

This is not official reporting. All information has been compiled from Ron Paul's campaign web site.

Known as a libertarian Constitutionalist, Ron Paul claims on his campaign web site that he "never votes for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution." For many of his political positions, Paul argues for a strict interpretation of the Constitution and maintenance of states' rights. Although some of Paul's ideas stray from those of the average centrist American – such as the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Reserve – he is gaining popularity on the Internet and in grassroots groups. He set a record for fundraising in a 24-hour timeframe of any U.S. presidential campaign on Dec. 16, 2007 by raising over $6 million.

Consistent with Constitutionalist policies, Paul believes in an isolationist foreign policy. He is the only Republican candidate running in the 2008 Presidential election who voted against the Iraq War in 2002 and declared that Congress, as is stated in the Constitution, can only declare war. Likewise, he proposes to withdraw from the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other binding international treaties in hopes to preserve and maintain national sovereignty.

Instead of concentrating on foreign affairs, Paul wants the United States to focus on internal issues like illegal immigration. He opposes granting amnesty to illegal immigrants and citizenship to children born to illegal immigrants. In addition, he voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which authorized 700 miles of fencing on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Paul follows similar interpretations of the Constitution for economic issues. He finds that Congress does not have the power to enforce the income tax and sponsored the Liberty Amendment in 2003 with hopes to repeal the 16th amendment, which legalized the income tax. According to his campaign site, he has never voted to raise taxes or for an unbalanced budget.

Paul is noted for his popularity on the Internet. More people visit Paul's campaign site than that of several Republican top-runners including Giuliani, McCain and Romney, according to Alexa Internet. As stated by James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times, "Paulites tend to be tech savvy…But after that, they defy categories…[including] Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and Constitution Party followers."