Is Ron Paul a Reaganite?

A friend wants to know, after reading a newspaper column 0n the subject, whether Ron is a Reaganite. Here is a very brief sketch on the history of Ron and Ronnie. In 1976, Ron did endorse Reagan for president over the incumbent, Gerald Ford; he was one of the very few elected officials to do so. This is the source of that famous Ron-Ronnie photo op.

When Reagan was president--we later learned from Treasury official Manuel Johnson--the first proposed Reagan budget was balanced, and the White House asked for a deficit of $100 billion, a lot of money in those days. (Deficits were always the order of the Reaganite day.)

Despite much pressure, Ron Paul would not vote for it; hilariously, he and the others were promised there would never be a Reagan deficit again. Ron was the lone Republican dissenter for economic sanity, as has so often been the case. He did not vote for any of Big Government Reagan's six huge tax increases, nor his greater and greater spending, nor his greater and great deficits. Indeed, Reagan asked for more spending than the Democrats passed. Tip O'Neill was a restraint on him.

One evening, I answered the phone in Ron's congressional office; it was the White House; the militarist Reagan wanted to put the arm on Ron. It was for some horrible flying murder machine, the B-something or other. Ron politely said no, of course, again and again, despite much pressure.  Reagan never lobbied Ron--nor anyone else--for less spending. Indeed, he once vetoed a foreign aid bill for being too small. He vetoed almost nothing else, of course.

Once Ron, on a PR flight to Houston, had a chance to ask the president if he believed in the gold standard. Ronnie said yes, after all he wore an Corum gold-coin watch! He did agree to the US Gold Commission, but to try to destroy the idea (Ron Paul defeated him on that one with his Case for Gold.)

After Ron Paul voluntarily left congress, in accord with his term-limit promise, a Texas senate seat opened up. His opponent in the primary was Phil Gramm. Now, Reagan always claimed not to intervene in primaries, and never to speak ill of a fellow Republican, his idiotically named "11th commandment." Of course, the White House attacked Ron Paul, and backed the pro-war, pro-bankster Gramm to the hilt. There were even dirty tricks by some famous Reagan conservatives against Ron Paul, even involving an office break-in.

There is much more to say, but the notion of Ron Paul as a Reaganite is nonsensical. Ron is no more a Reaganite than he is a Bushite. He is far better than that. Ron Paul courageously, creatively, and extensively opposed both stato-presidents from his own party.

BTW, for more on the Ronster, see Murray Rothbard.

UPDATE Of course, Ron also opposed Reagan's foreign policy, from the invasion of Grenada and Lebanon to the secret war against Nicaragua, but not his decision to bring the Marines home from Lebanon after some were killed.