Ron Paul: The Most Forceful Advocate of Limited Government

Roll Call magazine is celebrating 60 years with a weekly “Throwback Thursday Congressional Quiz.”

Yesterday, one of the questions was, “What freshman lawmaker was described as ‘somewhat cocky and questioning’ in 1976?”

The answer? Campaign for Liberty Chairman Ron Paul. That quote comes from a brief Roll Call profile from 1976:

“Rep. Paul, somewhat cocky and questioning, is the most forceful advocate of the purely philosophical position on government.

‘As far as a total perspective goes, I’m an advocate of limited government,” he says. ‘Less government, with less clout.’ He points to Rep. Phil Crane (R-Ind.) as one of the most able leaders in the Congress – yet a man ‘who is never given the credit he is due.’

‘Actually, I’m optimistic basically,” he continues. ‘We have to work very hard. All I’ve found in Congress is divisiveness, and a basic downhill course for America. It’s a course I want to turn around.”

Rep. Paul clearly doesn’t ‘expect (Members)… to convert to my way of thinking. But if less of them were floating in the sea without a rudder, it would be easier to see which direction we (Americans) were moving.’

He believes the changing attitude of the Membership of Congress is something that cuts across party lines and philosophical lines.

‘The mandate up until now has been for free spending,’ he says. ‘But a lot of the younger guys are against this. Soon things will change. I hope.’

Almost forty years later, Ron Paul is still the most forceful advocate of limited government in America. And while I would not call him “cocky” (because Ron Paul is one of the most humble and polite men I have ever met), he continues to question big government, and he continues to work very hard to spread the message of liberty.

Today, the Liberty Movement inspired by Dr. Paul is a major force in American politics. Under Dr. Paul’s leadership, Campaign for Liberty is working to continue to grow this movement and increase its effectiveness. Please join our efforts.

(H/T: My good friend and  former RP staff alumni Daniel McAdams at the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity).