Paul vs. Sneary

Human Events, Jun 26, 1998

When he began practicing medicine in the late 1960s, Dr. Ron Paul had an unusual way of dealing with patients covered by Medicare. "I would treat them at a greatly reduced cost and even extend payments over a long period of time-but just so long as they didn't try to pay me through these government programs," he says. "I didn't believe in Medicare or Medicaid, so how could I accept money from them?"

The Texas obstetrician and gynecologist practiced at home what he preached to his patients. When his five children suggested federal student loans for college or medical school to take the pressure of funding their education off him, he replied that there was no pressure at all, that he would see they had all they needed to secure their higher education-"but no student loans!"

Throughout four terms in the House from 1976-84. Paul did his utmost to put into action-"without much success," he ruefully notes-the themes of freedom from Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Milton Friedman and Russell Kirk that he had embraced as a medical student and in the Air Force. One of the first proponents of term limits, Paul termed himself out at age 51 and, predictably, declined the congressional pension his tenure had entitled him to.

He reentered politics as the Libertarian Party candidate for President in 1988. He knew he had no chance of winning, but welcomed the opportunity to promote his view that the modem version of the federal government was radically different from that envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

Two years ago, at age 60 and a grandfather of nine, Paul returned to the House. He remains what he has always been: one who owes nothing to anybody, who could not care less if people mock him as "wacky" or "out of it," and who has freedom as his lodestar.

"I came back after 12 years," said the loner from the Lone Star State, "because the Republicans' winning control of the House in 1994 stimulated me and I felt that, if I were there again, at least my issues would have a chance at success. "Now I'll admit the Republican Congress has been disappointing in a lot of areas-no tax cuts, no curbing the influence of the United Nations, and not closing down the Department of Education, the IRS, the Federal Reserve Board or a single government agency. But at the same time, it's more fun in the sense that things I have fought for are at least getting a public hearing and sometimes a vote."

A case in point he cited was his bill last year to get the U.S. out of the UN.

"When the Democrats were in charge, a bill like that would never get a hearing or a vote;' explained Paul. "but last year it came to the floor and we got 54 votes for it. So, yes, the atmosphere has changed. It helps to have [New York GOP Rep.] Jerry Solomon as chairman of the Rules Committee."

In decrying the fact that House members "endorse the principle of government intervention in education or other areas-unlike me," Ron Paul dauntlessly pursues his agenda of freedom. Most recently, he has dusted off the Liberty Amendment, a popular conservative proposal of four decades ago that would not only repeal the 16th Amendment (the income tax) but also ensure that government has no more powers than those specified in the U.S. Constitution.

"What good is it," he asks, "to repeal the income tax if politicians still look for ways to raise revenue for these programs that should not have been created in the first place? The Liberty Amendment would keep government out of business it shouldn't be in."

Apparently fearing the electoral attraction of Paul's devotion to principle, his Democratic opponent this year attempts to style himself a conservative. But the record of former Matagorda County Judge Loy Sneary is not very convincing on this score. He raised his own pay and that of other county officials in 1997 and hiked his travel allotment by nearly 400%. In addition, he saddled on his constituents a new license plate fee that is estimated to cost about $150,000 per annum and created a new bureaucracy known as a "County Development Organization"-funded in part by a sales tax increase enacted in Bay City and Palacios.

"Tax increases, government bureaucracies and largesse-all the things I've spent my life fighting-my opponent is for," says Paul. He adds with a laugh, "And you know what? He always saying I'm `out of step with Washington: Well, I hope he keeps saying that. I am-and always will be."

(Ron Paul for Congress, 837 West Plantation Dr., Clute, Tex. 77531; 1-800Ron Paul)