September 29, 2024 • 23 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Michael Barry Show. Ron Paul is for me, mister libertarian,
and that's how people think of him. But I want
to be clear. Ron Paul is an American patriot. He
is a brave, fearless man. He started his professional career
as a doctor just outside of Houston. He's a fitness
(00:23):
buff and was long before that was in vogue. He
talked about things like what you put into your body
and how you treat your body. And he talked about values, family, children, parenting,
and he talked about things that our forefathers cared deeply about,
(00:46):
principles that sadly most Americans don't think about or talk about.
Things like the government should not be kicking down your door.
The government should not be telling you what to eat,
should not be forcing poison in an injection into your body.
We should not be fighting other people's wars and sending
(01:08):
your sons to die in them. He was so far
ahead of his curve, so early, limited government, free market economics,
non interventionist foreign policy, personal liberty, strict adherence to the
United States Constitution, individual rights. Ron Paul was the inspiration
(01:35):
for so much of what I and many of you
believe today. He was so far ahead of his time,
and then his son, raised up in his wisdom from
his example, now serves that function in the United States Senate,
and I think he's an important part of our nation's
government and cultural and political leadership. Ron Paul retired from
(02:00):
Congress twenty thirteen, and he is still a prominent voice
in libertarian circles. He doesn't travel and speak, he's older,
his health is not what it once was. He runs
the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity. He's a
commentator on issues like government overreach, economic policy, and foreign affairs.
And in order to silence him, what people will do
(02:21):
is they'll take one thing that they don't like about
it and they'll say, look what I did over here.
He hates this group. We wouldn't do that to anybody.
It's not a fair assessment of anyone's work. Just listen
to what the man says, take from it what you may,
apply what you like, and throw out what you don't.
But Ron Paul doesn't get the do he deserves for
(02:46):
his passion for a prosperous, free America and his willingness
to fight for it even when it made him unpopular
in Congress. In the media and beyond. I talked to
him on air. I talked to him on air several times.
But I spoke to him on air in twenty thirteen,
(03:07):
and somebody asked me about Ron Paul this week, and
we got talking about the interview, and Jim mud went
and dug it out of the archives, and Ron Paul
is timeless to my mind. So this week's archive treasure,
which we're going to we found. We're going to dust
it off a little and present it to you all
washed up and ready in its proper presentation. Here is
(03:33):
my conversation with Congressman Ron Paul in twenty thirteen. It
is not pandering to our guests for me to remind
you my audience something I have said over the last year,
and that is that the most intellectually consistent and principled
man in public life over the last fifty years is
(03:54):
former Congressman Ron Paul. So it is a distinct honor
to have him as our guest.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Congressman Michael, it's nice to be on your show.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
It's nice to be with you. I don't know if
Tracy told you, but I've been begging for a three
hour sit down.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
He was telling me about that, and it was I
wasn't quite in the position where I could promise that,
so I thought, it's better that I get thirty.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Minutes on your show, Congressman, I'll take thirty seconds. I
just I really believe, you know. I went back and
was doing some prep on you today and I was
looking back at speeches you've given and comments you've made,
and I say to myself, Yeah, how ridiculous that you're
on the floor of the House of Representatives talking about
(04:38):
Ludwig von Mesis amongst a bunch of boobs who have
no clue what you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Yeah, I know you wonder why I do it, But
you know, I thought about that. And you know, Mesas
is so important because he and other Austrians have explained
the business cycle, which seems to me to be a
pretty important issue on why we have booms and bus
and unemployment. And I thought, how many people in the
Congress have heard of his name? And you're right, there
are several. There are several that do, but I cannot.
(05:08):
I don't believe I have I can name five people
who actually understand the Austrian business cycle explanation, and that
to me is crucial if you don't understand that you
do all this nonsense that we get, you know, teekering
with the tax code and the spending and let the
Fed do whatever they want, then they wonder why things
(05:29):
don't get any better. So, yeah, I've thought about that
very thing. But you know, what I have done over
the years hasn't been with the idea that I was
going to give a powerful speech and convert my fellow colleagues.
If I had done that, I probably would have been
too frustrated to stay there. But I knew that there
might be somebody else listening, and maybe a couple did.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Congressman Ron Paul. I've said numerous times throughout the presidential
election and over the last few years that you don't
have to vote for Ron Paul. You don't even have
to like Ron Paul, but you cannot call him crazy.
And I find that what's been done to you. And
let's take Bill Crystal for instance, by people like Bill Crystal,
who I think I have a very cynical view of
(06:14):
them and their motives, is they have managed, with a
great number of the unwashed, to convince people. Oh, let's
not even discuss what Ron Paul's talking about, because he's crazy.
And when you can do that, you can prevent an
honest discussion of ideas.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Well. Well, if they can't refute your ideas, the saying
goes that they go after your characters, so they want
to attack character, and therefore they don't have to refute ideas.
So I would make the case that he ought to
talk about the issues. If he thinks my position on
monetary policy is foolish, he should try to refute them
(06:52):
and defend paper money and federal reserves and endless credit
and fifteen trillion dollars bailouts for foreign banks and four government.
He should be put on the defense. But you know,
when he gets on TV, he's never asked those kind
of questions. He gets to, you know, criticize others.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
For forty years, doctor Ron Paul, you've been in public life,
fighting the good fight, politically, intellectually consistent. You ran for
president three times. What is the greatest accomplishment of your life,
your public life, outside of being a doctor, outside of
being a father, outside of being a husband, what's your
greatest accomplishment to date?
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Well, I haven't thought a lot about that because I
think that's somebody else's job. But if I tried to
come up with something, it wouldn't be, you know, precise
and dramatic. But hopefully it's just getting people to think
about important issues and at least think about what I'm
saying and maybe agree or maybe challenge, but challenge me.
(07:52):
But I think it's getting people to pay attention to
the problems. I think there's been a little progress on
that because I've been there a long time, but it
was after the financial crisis hit that the credibility seemed
to improve a hit. So hopefully I have people to
think about why free markets and individual liberty are so
(08:14):
important to both peace and prosperity, because I think that
should be our goal in life, peace and prosperity, so
that we can seek fulfillment in life.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Doctor Ron Paul, I have three minutes left in this segment.
I want to give you time to answer this question
as best you can in that amount of time. Reading
some things about you, one of the things you talk
about was Nixon taking us off the gold standards and
stepping away from Breton Woods. For people who don't understand
the gold standard and for you monetary policy, Why is
that important to the average person that we went off
(08:44):
the gold.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Standard, well, because it gave license to government to expand
and not to be responsible. And this is a deliberate,
a deliberate issue, because from nineteen thirteen on the movement
was a waste from restraint on government spending. But if
governments have a vehicle where they can print money to
(09:05):
pay the bills, they will, and they have done it endlessly.
So when Nixon took us off the finally took us
off the gold standard, even though we weren't on much
of a gold standard in seventy one, but finally he
closed the gold winded window. Foreigners weren't allowed to reclaim
gold for dollars. And on August fifteenth and nineteen seventy one,
I said to myself, you know, this is going to
(09:28):
lead to really serious problems according to Austrian free market economics.
And that is what's happened. I mean, the dollar's worth
about ninety about ten cents. It's lost ninety percent of
its value since nineteen seventy one. It's lost ninety eight
percent of its value since nineteen thirteen. So and look
at the spending and the deficits. If the FED couldn't
(09:50):
print money to buy treasury bills interest rates would go up,
and the Congress would have no other choice than to
cut back on spending. So it's a vehicle to enhance
the welfare state, and it enhances the warfare state too,
because there's a lot of things we do under the
pretense of national defense, but it's really militarism and the
(10:11):
things that Eisenheer warned this against. None of that would
happen if the Fed couldn't print the money. The founders
knew this, and that is why they put in the
Constitution only silver and gold could be legal tender, because
they knew what would happen. They had just gone through
the runaway inflation of the continental dollar. To me, it's
a very very important issue. Hopefully a lot more will
(10:32):
study about it, and quite frankly, a lot of college
people and young people have started reading and studying about
the importance of the Federal Reserve.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
You ran for president twenty four years ago as a Libertarian.
For the last two election cycles, you ran as a
Republican or you a Republican?
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Well, yeah, but I don't know what that really means.
I was elected as a Republican every time I ran
for Congress, and work within the Republican Party, and I
in many ways is what they pretend to be. I
think I could qualify. You know, they talk about limited
government and balanced budgets and personal freedoms and strong national
(11:08):
offense and honest money. So I think in that way,
I may be more republic than Republican than some of
the others who get in office just to think the
Republicans didn't do all that well when we had the
House and the Senate and the presidency, you know, spending continued,
differences exploded, so in that sense, so I don't think
(11:30):
the Republican Party really had a precise philosophy. I always tried.
It's a vehicle, and other vehicles aren't much available to
us these days because it's very hard for third parties
to get anywhere. It's hard to get on balance or
get into debates and these sorts of things.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
I want to talk to you about that coming up, Congressman,
I have a break here, if you can hold with
you for just a moment, Congressman Ron Paul, Doctor Ron
Paul did not endorse that Romney. I'll ask why not?
And are we better off? Because Rodney law the future
of Rand Paul The TSA Iran and lots more. Stay tuned.
Congressman Ron Paul coming up. When Chuck Norris needs advice,
(12:09):
he tunes into the Michael Berry Show. Chuck Norris support,
that's Paul Revere because we're revering front. Nevermind Congressman Ron Paul,
you ran for president three times. People who support you
don't just support you. They are adamant. Sometimes they drive
(12:31):
me crazy because they are such intense supporters. Nobody else
in politics, not even Barack Obama, has the level of
support that you do. And I don't mean blacks who
support Obama who say, well he's black and I'm black eyed.
I mean they understand everything you stand for. They can
(12:51):
repeat your platform, they can talk about ideas. I don't
think there's been anybody in public life Reagan would come
the closest. It's not even in the same realm. It
may not be fifty one percent of the people, but
it is this following of people who really understand your ideas.
They don't think you're pretty, they don't share your raise,
they don't want to be your friend. They espouse your ideas.
(13:15):
Why can't we get that to fifty one percent?
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Well, in some ways you don't have to worry too
much about that because you concentrate on a small number
of people who influence the fifty one percent. The fifty
one percent is important. They have to endorse the government,
and their endorsement will allow certain governments to exist. But
you have to have people in leadership to expouse something
worth believing in. So I've challenged the status quo. People
(13:42):
the fifty one percent or greater endorse the system because
we've been taught to for the last hundred years, whether
it's foreign policy or a monetary policy, or welfare system
or the inflationary system, it's been endorsed. It's been taught to.
Even those individuals over these last century had instincts that
oppose this. They were browbeating the assistant browbeats them. The
(14:04):
media beat browbeats and the schools, the movies, and the
government to the point where you're totally you're unpatriotic and
you're stupid, and therefore you don't stick to your guns.
But now that this is coming unglued, I think the
opportunity presents itself to allow something else to come about.
(14:25):
And I think the young people, especially are aware of
the seriousness. They're more prone to be believe in in
principle and to look for, you know, consistency. So I
think the opportunity is there. I think I happen to
be at the right place at the right time. But
(14:46):
I think there's a great need for this message. It's
not a Ron Paul message. It's really a message that's
been around for a long time. It's a continuation of
what the founders you actually you know, dealt with in
our early history. And and right now I'm excited because
the young people have you know, been attracted to these views.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
And it's amazing to me what a following of young
folks you've had, and how passionate they are when these
are ideas that typically you arrive at later in life.
As Churchill alluded to, there are things I want to
get to you. I'm trying to say exactly you didn't
you did not endorse Mitt Romney.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Why I didn't have enough agreement with him on his views,
and I didn't want to endorse the views. I happen
to have got along with him real well, and he
was probably one that I talked to and was friendly
with as much as any of them, you know, when
we did our debates. But I think he understood me
(15:48):
pretty well, and I understood him, and you know, when
we talked about family and children and all, we did
quite well. But you know, he didn't quite come to
come close to what I was trying to say, you know,
on the foreign policy. Didn't have a lot of interest
in monetary policy and that sort of thing. So I
(16:11):
just didn't want to endorse somebody that really wasn't going
to do I didn't think would do a whole lot
to move in the direction that I was trying to.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Go in the long run. Is the Republic better off
that he lost?
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Oh? I don't think better off I you know, you
could make the case for either way, and I sort
of come down on it doesn't make a whole lot
of difference. There's a different flavor. And I know, generally,
how how you feel and how I feel generally, and
a lot of people you listen to you feel, you
know about our current president. But the current president hasn't
(16:49):
really changed foreign policy. He doesn't change monetary policy from
the from the Republic. He doesn't change the welfare system.
He might be more aggressive on we'll talk about cutting back,
but the system is ingrained with interventionism. Intervene in our
personal lives, intervene in the economy, intervene in the affairs
of other nations. And Republicans and Democrats, although they have
(17:13):
strong rhetoric and they seem to be fighting and all,
I think a lot of there are some people, you know,
I think there are some very powerful, wealthy people that
are global in nature that really didn't care that much.
I think their interests would be protected, you know, with
either president. So I don't think that we're better off
(17:35):
or worse off. I think we're only going to be
better off if we change the direction of our country
by changing our attitude. What the role of government ought
to be? And nobody seems to want to ask the
precise question, what should the role of government be? This
is what the founders ask, and they try to describe
what the role of government should be in the Constitution.
(17:56):
But today the role of government, for you know, ninety
percent of the people in government is always, you know,
run to nanty state, have a welfare system, print the
money when you need it. Deficits don't matter that much.
We have an obligation to be involved in other countries,
and that we if we don't like somebody, we send
them a drone missile over there and kill them, even
if we kill a bunch of kids. And both sides
(18:18):
have been doing that. So I just think that we
have to ask that precise question, what should the role
of government be?
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Ron Paul is our guest. Am I hearing you say
in that last answer that there's not a dime fororth
of difference between the two parties.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
I think on the surface they pretend to be different,
but long term policies don't change, you know. I think that,
you know, from my viewpoint of strict philosophy, I don't
think there's a whole lot of difference. But I don't
even think they pretend there'd be a lot of difference.
They want to, you know, sort of meld themselves into
(18:55):
the same thing. You know, Republicans don't want to be
seen as being cold hearted and not believe the welfare state.
You know, they have to, you know, endorse that. And
if Democrats say, well, we shouldn't be fighting so many wars,
then oh, we'll be weak on defense. So they have
to show how tough they are and they have to
go start another war. So I think ultimately there's not
(19:17):
not any significant difference on the.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Results is the Ron Paul is our guest, is the
threat by Iran to American security overstated grossly.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
So, I mean, it's a third world nation, and they
don't have a significant army, they don't have intercontinental ballistic missiles,
and they've been harassed for a long time. They haven't
invaded a neighboring country in centuries, and and if we're
honest with ourselves, we can look and see what. Well,
(19:52):
you know, why why are they angry at us? Why
are they why are they annoyed with the US government? Well,
maybe it's because we through their elected leader out in
the nineteen fifties and ushered in the radicalism you know
of the Iotola by nineteen seventy nine, and then when
(20:12):
we encouraged and supported Iraq fighting the Iranians, when the
Iranians say, well, why are the Americans always wanting to
kill us? You know? And why are they're getting involved?
But they don't have an army. Maybe, I mean there's
six seven thousand miles from us. They haven't threatened us,
they don't have a nuclear weapon. Just think of the
(20:33):
time we have spent over the concern about a nuclear
weapon that doesn't exist, and yet we lived through and
I was in the military during this time. We lived
through the Cold War when the Soviets had thirty thousand
of them and some of them ninety miles off our shore.
I mean in comparison, I mean we just look and
looking for trouble, and now all we do is put
(20:54):
sanctions on these people, try to starve them and punish
the people. Then they get angrier at us, which ruins
the dissidence in Iran. I would like to get rid
of their ruthless leaders. But we do all these things
and they think, well, that means they'll get mad at
their leaders. Now they get mad at us and they
(21:15):
have to rally around their leaders. So I think our
foreign policy is so foolish, and Iran just as not
pose a threat to us. I think it's it's it's
there to stir the people up and always always have
an enemy out there. First it was Iraq. Remember how
they built up the Iraq War. They were about to
(21:37):
bomb us and invade us, and they had nothing, They
had zero, and we were their allies for thirty years.
It's just on again, off again, that you know, is disgusting.
Think of all those years we pumped these billions and
billions of dollars into Egypt. Now the radical throw.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Ten seconds left. I would be remiss if I didn't
say on behalf of our listeners, for folks who voted
for and those who wish they had. You are a
true American patriot. I have a lot of respect for you, sir.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Thank you for having me on, Thank you for being on.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
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(22:29):
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(22:54):
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(23:17):
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(23:42):
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The Michael Barry Show. Ron Paul is for me, mister libertarian,
and that's how people think of him. But I want
to be clear. Ron Paul is an American patriot. He
is a brave, fearless man. He started his professional career
as a doctor just outside of Houston. He's a fitness
(00:23):
buff and was long before that was in vogue. He
talked about things like what you put into your body
and how you treat your body. And he talked about values, family, children, parenting,
and he talked about things that our forefathers cared deeply about,
(00:46):
principles that sadly most Americans don't think about or talk about.
Things like the government should not be kicking down your door.
The government should not be telling you what to eat,
should not be forcing poison in an injection into your body.
We should not be fighting other people's wars and sending
(01:08):
your sons to die in them. He was so far
ahead of his curve, so early, limited government, free market economics,
non interventionist foreign policy, personal liberty, strict adherence to the
United States Constitution, individual rights. Ron Paul was the inspiration
(01:35):
for so much of what I and many of you
believe today. He was so far ahead of his time,
and then his son, raised up in his wisdom from
his example, now serves that function in the United States Senate,
and I think he's an important part of our nation's
government and cultural and political leadership. Ron Paul retired from
(02:00):
Congress twenty thirteen, and he is still a prominent voice
in libertarian circles. He doesn't travel and speak, he's older,
his health is not what it once was. He runs
the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity. He's a
commentator on issues like government overreach, economic policy, and foreign affairs.
And in order to silence him, what people will do
(02:21):
is they'll take one thing that they don't like about
it and they'll say, look what I did over here.
He hates this group. We wouldn't do that to anybody.
It's not a fair assessment of anyone's work. Just listen
to what the man says, take from it what you may,
apply what you like, and throw out what you don't.
But Ron Paul doesn't get the do he deserves for
(02:46):
his passion for a prosperous, free America and his willingness
to fight for it even when it made him unpopular
in Congress. In the media and beyond. I talked to
him on air. I talked to him on air several times.
But I spoke to him on air in twenty thirteen,
(03:07):
and somebody asked me about Ron Paul this week, and
we got talking about the interview, and Jim mud went
and dug it out of the archives, and Ron Paul
is timeless to my mind. So this week's archive treasure,
which we're going to we found. We're going to dust
it off a little and present it to you all
washed up and ready in its proper presentation. Here is
(03:33):
my conversation with Congressman Ron Paul in twenty thirteen. It
is not pandering to our guests for me to remind
you my audience something I have said over the last year,
and that is that the most intellectually consistent and principled
man in public life over the last fifty years is
(03:54):
former Congressman Ron Paul. So it is a distinct honor
to have him as our guest.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Congressman Michael, it's nice to be on your show.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
It's nice to be with you. I don't know if
Tracy told you, but I've been begging for a three
hour sit down.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
He was telling me about that, and it was I
wasn't quite in the position where I could promise that,
so I thought, it's better that I get thirty.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Minutes on your show, Congressman, I'll take thirty seconds. I
just I really believe, you know. I went back and
was doing some prep on you today and I was
looking back at speeches you've given and comments you've made,
and I say to myself, Yeah, how ridiculous that you're
on the floor of the House of Representatives talking about
(04:38):
Ludwig von Mesis amongst a bunch of boobs who have
no clue what you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Yeah, I know you wonder why I do it, But
you know, I thought about that. And you know, Mesas
is so important because he and other Austrians have explained
the business cycle, which seems to me to be a
pretty important issue on why we have booms and bus
and unemployment. And I thought, how many people in the
Congress have heard of his name? And you're right, there
are several. There are several that do, but I cannot.
(05:08):
I don't believe I have I can name five people
who actually understand the Austrian business cycle explanation, and that
to me is crucial if you don't understand that you
do all this nonsense that we get, you know, teekering
with the tax code and the spending and let the
Fed do whatever they want, then they wonder why things
(05:29):
don't get any better. So, yeah, I've thought about that
very thing. But you know, what I have done over
the years hasn't been with the idea that I was
going to give a powerful speech and convert my fellow colleagues.
If I had done that, I probably would have been
too frustrated to stay there. But I knew that there
might be somebody else listening, and maybe a couple did.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Congressman Ron Paul. I've said numerous times throughout the presidential
election and over the last few years that you don't
have to vote for Ron Paul. You don't even have
to like Ron Paul, but you cannot call him crazy.
And I find that what's been done to you. And
let's take Bill Crystal for instance, by people like Bill Crystal,
who I think I have a very cynical view of
(06:14):
them and their motives, is they have managed, with a
great number of the unwashed, to convince people. Oh, let's
not even discuss what Ron Paul's talking about, because he's crazy.
And when you can do that, you can prevent an
honest discussion of ideas.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Well. Well, if they can't refute your ideas, the saying
goes that they go after your characters, so they want
to attack character, and therefore they don't have to refute ideas.
So I would make the case that he ought to
talk about the issues. If he thinks my position on
monetary policy is foolish, he should try to refute them
(06:52):
and defend paper money and federal reserves and endless credit
and fifteen trillion dollars bailouts for foreign banks and four government.
He should be put on the defense. But you know,
when he gets on TV, he's never asked those kind
of questions. He gets to, you know, criticize others.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
For forty years, doctor Ron Paul, you've been in public life,
fighting the good fight, politically, intellectually consistent. You ran for
president three times. What is the greatest accomplishment of your life,
your public life, outside of being a doctor, outside of
being a father, outside of being a husband, what's your
greatest accomplishment to date?
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Well, I haven't thought a lot about that because I
think that's somebody else's job. But if I tried to
come up with something, it wouldn't be, you know, precise
and dramatic. But hopefully it's just getting people to think
about important issues and at least think about what I'm
saying and maybe agree or maybe challenge, but challenge me.
(07:52):
But I think it's getting people to pay attention to
the problems. I think there's been a little progress on
that because I've been there a long time, but it
was after the financial crisis hit that the credibility seemed
to improve a hit. So hopefully I have people to
think about why free markets and individual liberty are so
(08:14):
important to both peace and prosperity, because I think that
should be our goal in life, peace and prosperity, so
that we can seek fulfillment in life.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Doctor Ron Paul, I have three minutes left in this segment.
I want to give you time to answer this question
as best you can in that amount of time. Reading
some things about you, one of the things you talk
about was Nixon taking us off the gold standards and
stepping away from Breton Woods. For people who don't understand
the gold standard and for you monetary policy, Why is
that important to the average person that we went off
(08:44):
the gold.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Standard, well, because it gave license to government to expand
and not to be responsible. And this is a deliberate,
a deliberate issue, because from nineteen thirteen on the movement
was a waste from restraint on government spending. But if
governments have a vehicle where they can print money to
(09:05):
pay the bills, they will, and they have done it endlessly.
So when Nixon took us off the finally took us
off the gold standard, even though we weren't on much
of a gold standard in seventy one, but finally he
closed the gold winded window. Foreigners weren't allowed to reclaim
gold for dollars. And on August fifteenth and nineteen seventy one,
I said to myself, you know, this is going to
(09:28):
lead to really serious problems according to Austrian free market economics.
And that is what's happened. I mean, the dollar's worth
about ninety about ten cents. It's lost ninety percent of
its value since nineteen seventy one. It's lost ninety eight
percent of its value since nineteen thirteen. So and look
at the spending and the deficits. If the FED couldn't
(09:50):
print money to buy treasury bills interest rates would go up,
and the Congress would have no other choice than to
cut back on spending. So it's a vehicle to enhance
the welfare state, and it enhances the warfare state too,
because there's a lot of things we do under the
pretense of national defense, but it's really militarism and the
(10:11):
things that Eisenheer warned this against. None of that would
happen if the Fed couldn't print the money. The founders
knew this, and that is why they put in the
Constitution only silver and gold could be legal tender, because
they knew what would happen. They had just gone through
the runaway inflation of the continental dollar. To me, it's
a very very important issue. Hopefully a lot more will
(10:32):
study about it, and quite frankly, a lot of college
people and young people have started reading and studying about
the importance of the Federal Reserve.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
You ran for president twenty four years ago as a Libertarian.
For the last two election cycles, you ran as a
Republican or you a Republican?
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Well, yeah, but I don't know what that really means.
I was elected as a Republican every time I ran
for Congress, and work within the Republican Party, and I
in many ways is what they pretend to be. I
think I could qualify. You know, they talk about limited
government and balanced budgets and personal freedoms and strong national
(11:08):
offense and honest money. So I think in that way,
I may be more republic than Republican than some of
the others who get in office just to think the
Republicans didn't do all that well when we had the
House and the Senate and the presidency, you know, spending continued,
differences exploded, so in that sense, so I don't think
(11:30):
the Republican Party really had a precise philosophy. I always tried.
It's a vehicle, and other vehicles aren't much available to
us these days because it's very hard for third parties
to get anywhere. It's hard to get on balance or
get into debates and these sorts of things.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
I want to talk to you about that coming up, Congressman,
I have a break here, if you can hold with
you for just a moment, Congressman Ron Paul, Doctor Ron
Paul did not endorse that Romney. I'll ask why not?
And are we better off? Because Rodney law the future
of Rand Paul The TSA Iran and lots more. Stay tuned.
Congressman Ron Paul coming up. When Chuck Norris needs advice,
(12:09):
he tunes into the Michael Berry Show. Chuck Norris support,
that's Paul Revere because we're revering front. Nevermind Congressman Ron Paul,
you ran for president three times. People who support you
don't just support you. They are adamant. Sometimes they drive
(12:31):
me crazy because they are such intense supporters. Nobody else
in politics, not even Barack Obama, has the level of
support that you do. And I don't mean blacks who
support Obama who say, well he's black and I'm black eyed.
I mean they understand everything you stand for. They can
(12:51):
repeat your platform, they can talk about ideas. I don't
think there's been anybody in public life Reagan would come
the closest. It's not even in the same realm. It
may not be fifty one percent of the people, but
it is this following of people who really understand your ideas.
They don't think you're pretty, they don't share your raise,
they don't want to be your friend. They espouse your ideas.
(13:15):
Why can't we get that to fifty one percent?
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Well, in some ways you don't have to worry too
much about that because you concentrate on a small number
of people who influence the fifty one percent. The fifty
one percent is important. They have to endorse the government,
and their endorsement will allow certain governments to exist. But
you have to have people in leadership to expouse something
worth believing in. So I've challenged the status quo. People
(13:42):
the fifty one percent or greater endorse the system because
we've been taught to for the last hundred years, whether
it's foreign policy or a monetary policy, or welfare system
or the inflationary system, it's been endorsed. It's been taught to.
Even those individuals over these last century had instincts that
oppose this. They were browbeating the assistant browbeats them. The
(14:04):
media beat browbeats and the schools, the movies, and the
government to the point where you're totally you're unpatriotic and
you're stupid, and therefore you don't stick to your guns.
But now that this is coming unglued, I think the
opportunity presents itself to allow something else to come about.
(14:25):
And I think the young people, especially are aware of
the seriousness. They're more prone to be believe in in
principle and to look for, you know, consistency. So I
think the opportunity is there. I think I happen to
be at the right place at the right time. But
(14:46):
I think there's a great need for this message. It's
not a Ron Paul message. It's really a message that's
been around for a long time. It's a continuation of
what the founders you actually you know, dealt with in
our early history. And and right now I'm excited because
the young people have you know, been attracted to these views.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
And it's amazing to me what a following of young
folks you've had, and how passionate they are when these
are ideas that typically you arrive at later in life.
As Churchill alluded to, there are things I want to
get to you. I'm trying to say exactly you didn't
you did not endorse Mitt Romney.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Why I didn't have enough agreement with him on his views,
and I didn't want to endorse the views. I happen
to have got along with him real well, and he
was probably one that I talked to and was friendly
with as much as any of them, you know, when
we did our debates. But I think he understood me
(15:48):
pretty well, and I understood him, and you know, when
we talked about family and children and all, we did
quite well. But you know, he didn't quite come to
come close to what I was trying to say, you know,
on the foreign policy. Didn't have a lot of interest
in monetary policy and that sort of thing. So I
(16:11):
just didn't want to endorse somebody that really wasn't going
to do I didn't think would do a whole lot
to move in the direction that I was trying to.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Go in the long run. Is the Republic better off
that he lost?
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Oh? I don't think better off I you know, you
could make the case for either way, and I sort
of come down on it doesn't make a whole lot
of difference. There's a different flavor. And I know, generally,
how how you feel and how I feel generally, and
a lot of people you listen to you feel, you
know about our current president. But the current president hasn't
(16:49):
really changed foreign policy. He doesn't change monetary policy from
the from the Republic. He doesn't change the welfare system.
He might be more aggressive on we'll talk about cutting back,
but the system is ingrained with interventionism. Intervene in our
personal lives, intervene in the economy, intervene in the affairs
of other nations. And Republicans and Democrats, although they have
(17:13):
strong rhetoric and they seem to be fighting and all,
I think a lot of there are some people, you know,
I think there are some very powerful, wealthy people that
are global in nature that really didn't care that much.
I think their interests would be protected, you know, with
either president. So I don't think that we're better off
(17:35):
or worse off. I think we're only going to be
better off if we change the direction of our country
by changing our attitude. What the role of government ought
to be? And nobody seems to want to ask the
precise question, what should the role of government be? This
is what the founders ask, and they try to describe
what the role of government should be in the Constitution.
(17:56):
But today the role of government, for you know, ninety
percent of the people in government is always, you know,
run to nanty state, have a welfare system, print the
money when you need it. Deficits don't matter that much.
We have an obligation to be involved in other countries,
and that we if we don't like somebody, we send
them a drone missile over there and kill them, even
if we kill a bunch of kids. And both sides
(18:18):
have been doing that. So I just think that we
have to ask that precise question, what should the role
of government be?
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Ron Paul is our guest. Am I hearing you say
in that last answer that there's not a dime fororth
of difference between the two parties.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
I think on the surface they pretend to be different,
but long term policies don't change, you know. I think that,
you know, from my viewpoint of strict philosophy, I don't
think there's a whole lot of difference. But I don't
even think they pretend there'd be a lot of difference.
They want to, you know, sort of meld themselves into
(18:55):
the same thing. You know, Republicans don't want to be
seen as being cold hearted and not believe the welfare state.
You know, they have to, you know, endorse that. And
if Democrats say, well, we shouldn't be fighting so many wars,
then oh, we'll be weak on defense. So they have
to show how tough they are and they have to
go start another war. So I think ultimately there's not
(19:17):
not any significant difference on the.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Results is the Ron Paul is our guest, is the
threat by Iran to American security overstated grossly.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
So, I mean, it's a third world nation, and they
don't have a significant army, they don't have intercontinental ballistic missiles,
and they've been harassed for a long time. They haven't
invaded a neighboring country in centuries, and and if we're
honest with ourselves, we can look and see what. Well,
(19:52):
you know, why why are they angry at us? Why
are they why are they annoyed with the US government? Well,
maybe it's because we through their elected leader out in
the nineteen fifties and ushered in the radicalism you know
of the Iotola by nineteen seventy nine, and then when
(20:12):
we encouraged and supported Iraq fighting the Iranians, when the
Iranians say, well, why are the Americans always wanting to
kill us? You know? And why are they're getting involved?
But they don't have an army. Maybe, I mean there's
six seven thousand miles from us. They haven't threatened us,
they don't have a nuclear weapon. Just think of the
(20:33):
time we have spent over the concern about a nuclear
weapon that doesn't exist, and yet we lived through and
I was in the military during this time. We lived
through the Cold War when the Soviets had thirty thousand
of them and some of them ninety miles off our shore.
I mean in comparison, I mean we just look and
looking for trouble, and now all we do is put
(20:54):
sanctions on these people, try to starve them and punish
the people. Then they get angrier at us, which ruins
the dissidence in Iran. I would like to get rid
of their ruthless leaders. But we do all these things
and they think, well, that means they'll get mad at
their leaders. Now they get mad at us and they
(21:15):
have to rally around their leaders. So I think our
foreign policy is so foolish, and Iran just as not
pose a threat to us. I think it's it's it's
there to stir the people up and always always have
an enemy out there. First it was Iraq. Remember how
they built up the Iraq War. They were about to
(21:37):
bomb us and invade us, and they had nothing, They
had zero, and we were their allies for thirty years.
It's just on again, off again, that you know, is disgusting.
Think of all those years we pumped these billions and
billions of dollars into Egypt. Now the radical throw.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Ten seconds left. I would be remiss if I didn't
say on behalf of our listeners, for folks who voted
for and those who wish they had. You are a
true American patriot. I have a lot of respect for you, sir.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Thank you for having me on, Thank you for being on.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
If you like The Michael Berry Show and Podcast, please
tell one friend, and if you're so inclined, write a
nice review of our podcast. Comments, suggestions, questions, and interest
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directly to the show at our email address, Michael at
(22:29):
Michael Berryshow dot com, or simply by clicking on our website,
Michael Berryshow dot com. The Michael Berry Show and Podcast
is produced by Ramon Roebliss, the King of Ding. Executive
producer is Chad Nakanishi. Jim Mudd is the creative director.
(22:54):
Voices Jingles, Tomfoolery and Shenanigans are provided by Chance McLean.
Director of Research is Sandy Peterson. Emily Bull is our
assistant listener and superfan. Contributions are appreciated and often incorporated
into our production. Where possible, we give credit. Where not,
(23:17):
we take all the credit for ourselves. God bless the
memory of Rush Limbaugh. Long live Elvis, be a simple
man like Leonard Skinnard told you, and God bless America. Finally,
if you know a veteran suffering from PTSD, call Camp
Hope at eight seven seven seven one seven PTSD and
(23:42):
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