Ronald Ernest Paul born August 20 1935 is an American author activist physician and retired politician who served as the US representative for Texass 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985 as well as for Texass 14th congressional district from 1997 to 2013 On three occasions he sought the presidency of the United States as the Libertarian Party nominee in 1988 and as a candidate for the Republican Party in 2008 and 2012 A selfdescribed constitutionalist Paul is a critic of several of the federal governments policies especially the existence of the Federal Reserve and tax policy as well as the militaryindustrial complex the war on drugs and the war on terror He has also been a vocal critic of mass surveillance policies such as the USA PATRIOT Act and the NSA surveillance programs In 1976 Paul formed the Foundation for Rational Economics and Education FREE and in 1985 was named the first chairman of the conservative PAC Citizens for a Sound Economy both freemarket groups focused on limited government He has been characterized as the intellectual godfather of the Tea Party movement a fiscally conservative political movement started in 2007 and popularized in 2009 that is largely against most matters of interventionism
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