Suddenly, Ron Paul Feels the Love

(NEWSER) - Barney Frank is working on the biggest legislation of his career, and no one seems to care. Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is preparing for markup sessions on a bill to revolutionize America’s financial regulatory structure. “It’s been eclipsed obviously in the public’s mind by health care,” Frank tells the Boston Globe, “which I am troubled by a little bit, to be honest with you.” More»

For first time in nine tries, amendment goes to House floor

(NEWSER) - For Ron Paul, it's got to be sweet. The financial regulatory reform bill that opened for debate in the House today contains Paul's amendment to subject the Fed to congressional audit—his ninth try in 11 years in office to get a Fed-curbing proposal into play. Until now, none of them has even been brought up for committee debate; this one's gone to the floor with the support of more than 300 of the lower chamber’s 435 members More»

Agency would formalize what feds are already doing in money crisis

(NEWSER) - The idea of creating a federal agency to dispose of the toxic debt at the heart of the credit crisis is gaining traction in Washington, the New York Times reports. The proposed agency would resemble one set up in 1989 to resolve the savings and loan crisis—but in a controversial extension would also acquire assets not backed by federal deposit insurance. More»

Candidate returns to Washington to spar with Fed chief

(NEWSER) - Ron Paul may have a presidential race to run, but he's never too busy to return to DC to do a little Fed bashing. Paul grilled Ben Bernanke today, declaring in his opening statement that "what we are witnessing today is the end stages of a grand experiment," reports the Wall Street Journal. The Fed's control of the money supply isn't working, said Paul, who once again called for a return to a gold and silver standard, notes ABC News . He even asked Bernanke whether he did his own grocery shopping. "Yes I do," came the reply. More»

He's nearly brought libertarianism into mainstream: Charles Krauthammer

(NEWSER) - The "biggest story yet of this presidential campaign"? Easy, writes Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post . It's Ron Paul. He has just about brought libertarianism "to a position of prominence in a major party," doing for his cause what Jesse Jackson did for African-Americans in the 1980s and Pat Buchanan for social conservatives in the early 1990s. Paul could well wind up with the second highest number of delegates behind Mitt Romney, which will give him much clout with the crafting of the party platform, not to mention "a prime-time speaking slot" at the convention. More»