Rep. Ron Paul Addresses Congress for the Last Time

Ron Paul (Credit: AP)

Texas congressman, noted libertarian, and former Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul on Wednesday delivered his farewell address to Congress.

“At the end of the year I’ll leave Congress after 23 years in office over a 36 year period,” Rep. Paul said. “My goals in 1976 were the same as they are today:  promote peace and prosperity by a strict adherence to the principles of individual liberty.”

The nostalgia didn’t last long as Rep. Paul launched an all-out attack on government overreach.

“The wealth that we enjoyed and seemed to be endless, allowed concern for the principle of a free society to be neglected. As long as most people believed the material abundance would last forever, worrying about protecting a competitive productive economy and individual liberty seemed unnecessary,” he said.

“This neglect ushered in an age of redistribution of wealth by government kowtowing to any and all special interests, except for those who just wanted to left alone. That is why today money in politics far surpasses money currently going into research and development and productive entrepreneurial efforts,” he added.

But perhaps the most interesting moment of his speech occurred when he spoke about the nation’s youth and education.

“Expect the rapidly expanding homeschool movement to play a significant role in the revolutionary forms needed to rebuild a free society with constitutional protections,” Rep. Paul said.

“We cannot expect a federal government controlled school system to provide the intellectual ammunition to combat the dangerous growth of government that threatens our liberties,” he added.

In the end, the congressman urged his colleagues to avoid envy and “isms,” to uphold the “golden rule,” and fight only for the cause of liberty.

“I have come to one firm conviction after these many years of trying to figure out ‘the plain truth of things.’ The best chance for achieving peace and prosperity, for the maximum number of people world-wide, is to pursue the cause of liberty,” he said.

“If you find this to be a worthwhile message, spread it throughout the land,” he concluded.

Watch the congressman’s full speech here:

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Full text of his speech can be found here.

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(H/T: Daily Paul). Front page artwork courtesy Carl Bork.