Who is the Next Ron Paul?

The countdown begins for one of the most noteworthy GOP candidates we've seen in many years. Dr. Ron Paul's run at President of the United States is not over, but for the man who's served 12 terms as Republican representative from Texas in the House of Representatives, it's all finished.

In less than a year, once all the Gallup polls have passed, the confetti has dropped and the country decides on who will lead them for the next four years, there is one thing we know for sure: Ron Paul will no longer be a member of the House of Representatives. Paul said that he was not standing for re-election in the House.

Paul is a rare breed, a man with convictions and dedication to a cause and value that most haven't seen in Washington for many years. And there is no better place to display his tremendous resume and experience than in the race for the GOP candidacy while the three other Republican presidential candidates – and current President – inspect his politics closely.

As Reason.com points out,

“Paul will leave behind a big pair of shoes to fill when it comes to being an indefatigable champion of reducing the size, scope, and spending of the federal government. No politician over the past several decades has been more outspoken and consistent in his views—and votes—for smaller government.”

So who will be replacing the man also known as Dr. No in the House of Representatives? In 2010, the midterm elections brought in 94 new members and many supported the Tea Party policies. The libertarian message and policies that Paul has so firmly instilled into his political career have made an impact in Washington with his opposition to “the government siding with market winners and bailing out market losers; militarization at home and abroad; and economic and social engineering of all stripes.” There are four ideal candidates to take up Paul's message, here is a rundown of Reason's four candidates to replace Ron Paul in the House of Representatives:

4. Rep. John Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn)

The Tennessee Congressman, John Duncan Jr., was the only other sitting House Republican to vote against the Iraq War (along with Paul), every time the issue was at the forefront. Just like Paul, Duncan voted against the war in 2003, against House declaration in support of the war in 2006, and against further funding for the war in 2007. He also voted in favor of a resolution to withdraw all U.S. troops within 90 days of the resolution's passage. Duncan has been in the House since 1988 and has been a member of Paul's Liberty Caucus the entire time. Duncan's voting record mirrors Paul's throughout he terms. Other significant votes of opposition from Duncan are: The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), making the PATRIOT Act permanent and ObamaCare.

Duncan's outlook on foreign policy is probably the most noteworthy and recognizable in comparison to Paul's stance. Duncan has said back in 2007, “The traditional conservative position on foreign policy is a noninterventionist foreign policy, and Congressman Paul has been a very forceful advocate of that.”

When referring to the American “attack first, ask questions later” relm of policy following 9/11, Duncan's noninterventionist values shined, “At some point we're going to have to realize that we can't afford to keep getting involved in every religious, ethnic, and political dispute around the world. It's unconstitutional and unaffordable, and it goes against every traditional conservative position I've ever known.”
Why he's not our number 1 choice: Duncan's domestic policy record is not as consistent as Paul's, being quite mixed with support of vouchers and charter schools, gun rights, and free trade. He still has his Tea Party tendencies as he supports a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and woman, making death penalty appeals harder, banning various types of political ads.

3. Sen. Rand Paul (R- Kentucky)

Although an obvious pick for many as Rand is the fruit of Ron's loins, Rand Paul actually has an interesting mix of libertarian policies while standing his ground on many other issues. Rand's nonconformity is eerily similar to his father as are his conspiratorial theories. But what many seem to like about Rand more than his policies is simply that he reminds them of his father's way of telling the American people what he truly believes. This style of speech commanded Rand to win in the Kentucky Republican primary just around a year ago. Rand's father has been one of the most successful politicians to lose the presidential candidacy bid (multiple times) and has done it by speaking openly and honestly -- although being considered somewhat crazy. And Rand is following suit with the honest/outlandish rhetoric. As for Ron's policies though, he has been Anti-Federal Reserve, against a large amount of federal programs and wanting to return to the gold standard but Rand lacks any serious policy changes such as these.

Rand has believed that the Federal government should not ban private businesses from discriminating and should not be too harsh on oil companies that commit ecological disasters but as Politics Daily columnist David Corn says, “By consistently and candidly expressing his ideological quirkiness, Ron Paul has earned a prominent soapbox and a devoted national following. What child wouldn't look at this and say to himself, "That's the way you do it"?” But you can't always win off of daddy's shoestrings, sadly.

Why he does not top our list: Although Rand has preached the libertarian policies of his father, he isn't a Representative for the state of Texas, which is willing to accept such unorthodox politicians. Rather, Rand is fighting within Kentucky, a state which favors Republicans but has a strong Democrat party with reasonable chance of success in statewide elections. Also, Ron Paul started his political career much more even-keeled without the swooping, let-it-all-hang-out libertarianism that Rand is lynchpinning. Rand came out of the gates quickly and early but has been too closely compared to his father and the way he speaks that it is difficult for Rand to step away from the large libertarian shadow his father has cast. 

2. Rep. Jared Polis (D- Colorado)

Civil liberties are the name of the game for Jared Polis, who has also appeared on another Wealth Wire list (but for much different reasons)...

The young Representative took office in 2009 and although his list of libertarianism-type polices are not nearly as long as Rep. Duncan and his rhetorical tone is not in line with Rand (or Ron), Polis's ideas are powerful. Aside from calling for an end to federal marijuana prohibition, he also opposed the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Fairness Doctrine, voted against the PATRIOT Act's warrantless wiretaps, the suspension of habeous corpus for terror suspects, and domestic spying. He says the Iraq War was a monumental mistake, he supports tourism and travel in Cuba, and did oppose the Detroit bailouts (was not in office to vote for TARP).

Being known by much of a younger demographic, like Dr. No, Polis has the legalization of marijuana bandwagoners, stating that “Ending the failed policy of prohibition with regard to marijuana will strike a major blow against the criminal cartels that are terrorizing Americans and Mexicans on both sides of the border.”

Why he's not number one on our list: It can be easy to forget that with Polis's grand stance on civil liberties, he is still a big-government Democrat with practically everything. Polis has supported the national service initiative, initial stimulus, $40 million for “green public schools”, pro-union Card Check, and many more. He's got a piece of the Paul Puzzle, but not nearly enough of it.

1. Rep. Justin Amash (R- Michigan)

This might be somewhat of a dark horse for the race to fill Ron Paul's shoes, but with such an unorthodox Representative in Paul comes some irregular choices for all. Hence why Wealth Wire feels that Justin Amash, this young, brash Representative, may have what it takes to don the libertarian title once Paul steps down.

Amash has only been in office for close to two months so his voting record neither helps or hurts him. He has some glaring differences with Paul in that he is a social conservative as he supports the Federal Defense of Marriage Act and believes life begins at conception. But even with those significant oppositions to Paul's policies, Amash has many similarities to the Texas Rep.

Amash has, early on, endorsed Paul's presidential candidacy and has vocally supported Paul's small-government philosophy. According to his website, he supports “lower personal and corporate tax rates” with a simpler tax code and broader tax base. He opposes most energy regulations and every single energy subsidy.

The votes he has cast so far show a profound understanding of the many ways in which the federal government currently infringes on personal liberty. Amash has criticized President Obama's health-care legislation for its deleterious effects on small businesses and defended the right of parents to homeschool their children.

One of the bright signs from Amash is his opposition to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as well as many provisions on the PATRIOT Act. He wrote in a letter that was later signed by six other House Representatives and four House Democrats, “"Our Constitution does not permit the federal government to detain American citizens indefinitely without charge or trial.”

Many are intrigued by his stance on all legislation having to point to language in the Constitution that proves its legitimacy and his support of a balanced-budget amendment. In terms of foreign-policy, he voted to ban armed forces in Libya without congressional approval since he wasn't in Congress for the voting on both Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

He's got the right idea when it comes to open and honest politics like Paul has. Amash explains every single vote he casts on his Facebook page which Reason.com's Mike Riggs says “is not simply a pedantic cherry on top: It shows the 31-year-old understands not just 21st-century media but takes seriously the need for a more transparent government.”

...and those youthful libertarians that don't ever want to see Ron Paul go, have something to write home about (or at least on their Facebook status updates) with Justin Amash.