Congressman Paul speaks at TSU law school

Texas Rep. Ron Paul spoke to an enlivened audience at Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of

Law on Tuesday.

Paul, the Lake Jackson Republican known for his dedication to upholding the Constitution and his belief in limited government, spoke candidly to students and supporters about monetary and foreign policy, the war on drugs and the wars in Iraq and Iran.

“I don’t believe we should be the policemen for the world,” Paul said. “It makes us more enemies than friends and it costs us economically.”

While some Tea Partiers have been outspoken against Islam, Paul said that the unwelcomed US occupation is to blame for terrorism, not Islam.

“This country is moving in the wrong direction,” he said. “Preventative war is aggression and innocent lives are seen as collateral damage.”

In order to achieve a balanced budget and improve foreign relations simultaneously, Paul said the government could take the money they are spending on the war and invest it back into the economy.

Paul argued that by funneling millions of dollars into funding the war overseas, we are bankrupting the US economy.

Paul said another culprit bankrupting America’s economy is the Federal Reserve. He said that the institution has been granted unchecked power to create money out of thin air, and due to their recklessness, the value of the dollar has grossly depreciated.

“Dr. Paul reminded us that government intervention is a one-way road to blowback,” UH political science major Tamara Zalud said. “The growing support for Tea Party candidates illustrates the desire for honest and consistent representation.”

Zalud and her husband, Nick, have been involved in Paul’s Campaign for Liberty since 2008 and both served as delegates to the 2010 Texas gubernatorial Republican convention. They are avid supporters of Paul and regularly attend his events.

“We are always interested in hearing Dr. Paul speak,” Nick Zalud said. “He is the most consistent politician on the hill and his passion does not waiver in the scope of mainstream politics.”

Nick Zalud said his favorite part of the speech was when Paul suggested what the government could have done to help the American people when it noticed the economy tightening.

“Imagine if the government were to say, ‘we are eliminating the federal income tax. Get your houses in order and pay your mortgage,’” Paul said as the audience erupted into applause.

When asked about the possibility of running in the 2012 presidential campaign, Paul said that he is considering it, but added that he is a realist — and unfortunately, our electoral system facilitates two-party domination.

“I think that he is urging liberty minded individuals, from any and all parties, to find a commonality in which they can form a coalition strong enough to rock the boat,” Tamara Zalud said. “As the current political parties remain the same on certain issues and ignore those who favor fiscal responsibility, personal liberty and limited government, a revolution is growing in America.”