Ron Paul the religious
In a television ad airing in Iowa, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) talks about seeing a late-term abortion performed while he was working as an obstetrician and not understanding why it was done.
“Who are we to decide that we pick and throw one away and pick up and struggle to save the other ones?” he asks. “Unless we resolve this and understand that life is precious and we must protect life, we can’t protect liberty.”
A radio version of the ad will air in other early states — Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
It’s not the kind of message normally associated with Paul, who is best known for challenging his fellow Republicans on foreign interventions and government bailouts. But the libertarian-minded lawmaker is actually very religious.
He’s not a member, but officials at First Baptist Church of Lake Jackson, Texas say Paul attends services whenever he’s in town. He left the Episcopalian church in which he was raised in part over its stance on abortion rights.
Thus far, abortion rights, and social issues in general, have not played a big role in the 2012 GOP presidential primary, ceding ground to more pressing economic issues as the U.S. economy struggles to revive itself. But a more socially-conservative message is likely to resound in a state like Iowa with a strong evangelical base.
On gay rights, Paul’s positions are less clear. Paul argues that the federal government should not be involved in marriage at all, but that states should be able to “preserve the traditional definition of marriage.” He supports the federal Defense of Marriage Act as a way of preserving that state right.
On the other hand, Paul has on occasion suggested that government should not have any role in marriage: “I don’t think government should give us a license to get married. It should be in the church.”
Even his belief in the gold standard is framed in religious term, as in a letter the campaign circulated earlier this year…