Congressional Gold Medal

[swissmiss]

Hey all

What made me fall in love with Ron Paul many years ago was the fact, that he voted against giving a CGM to Rosa Parks. Not because I am a racist but because it showed his tremendous courage and an adherence to principle I admire.

But other people don't think that way and use it to call him a racist. So I researched his voting record on other CGMs to counter this argument. Most are not kept. He voted against giving one to Arnold Palmer but for giving one to Neil Armstrong et al. (New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal Act). Can anyone explain why?

Thank you so much in advance

[Crickett]

Yes, I most certainly can. If you read about Davy Crockett's time in Congress, then you will see that Ron follows his example. It is not THEIR money that they want to spend on a medal--it is money from us, the taxpayers! Davy and Ron both felt that giving medals was not a proper use of taxpayer funds. Davy slapped a dollar down, and I believe Ron slapped down $20. He said if Congress wanted to give a medal to someone with no vote from taxpayers, then they should just do it out of their OWN pockets, and both did agree the medal should be given, personally. Many who pay taxes may disagree with giving whoever a medal, anyway, and is really a personal decision--thus, Congresspeople's own funds.

[LibertyEagle]

Cricket, that still did not answer his question. Why did he vote for giving on to Armstrong?

He voted against giving one to Arnold Palmer but for giving one to Neil Armstrong et al. (New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal Act).

[Crickett]

Perhaps (and I am not sure, but it would make sense) that a congressional medal is authorized for someone directly involved in a governmental project like that? I see what you mean. Perhaps someone should ask Ron, next chance they get. There are ample opportunities around, to see him.

[gls]

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/New_Fr...Gold_Medal_Act

The Secretary of the Treasury may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medals.

It appears that these particular metals were paid for by the sale of bronze duplicates to the public.

[specsaregood]

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/New_Fr...Gold_Medal_Act
It appears that these particular metals were paid for by the sale of bronze duplicates to the public.

That explains that.
And these are others he voted against:

Besides Parks and the other aforementioned medal recipients, Paul has also voted against Congressional Gold Medals given to Tony Blair, Ronald Reagan and the Dalai Lama. In the case of Tony Blair, Paul said that spending $30,000 to award "the most unpopular man in Great Britain" with a Congressional medal violated the sanctity of the medal itself in addition to robbing taxpayers. Paul also lamented the "supreme irony" of awarding a Buddhist leader with such a costly material gift when Buddhism eschews worldly possessions in favor of spiritual wealth.

[Neghlucky]

Hi there. I am a Ron Paul supporter just so you know where I'm coming from in advance.
I've been debating the guy who runs http://www.lowgenius.net/ who was apparently a Ron Paul supporter and then switched to the democrats because of social issues and he has been a vocal opponent of Ron Paul to the extreme for 10 or 20 twenty years.

He was claiming Ron Paul is a liar so I asked him to provide one example, his first was a failure when he tried to claim that one of Paul's votes for tax credits equaled a subsidy.
But his second claim I'm having more trouble with and this forum post here is one of the only things google has been able to pick up on the subject.

Reading through this I was not convinced by the response "It appears that these particular metals were paid for by the sale of bronze duplicates to the public."
When I presented this argument to him, he told me that all congressional medals are awarded in this particular fashion and not just the one example of the Astronaut vote. There were also 2 other votes by Paul for military units to receive medals.. I was thinking maybe it has to do with government functions, but he voted against giving them to government people as well. So I'm really having a difficult time finding details and the reasoning for why Paul voted for some congressional awards and against others. Was hoping some of you people could help me out?

Also, even if this was Ron Paul's first inconsistency and at worst "lie" it wouldn't change my opinion of him much. I still think he is the best candidate/politician hands down in my lifetime. Cheers and thanks for any info.

[RonPaulRevolution!]

Hi there. I am a Ron Paul supporter just so you know where I'm coming from in advance.
I've been debating the guy who runs http://www.lowgenius.net/ who was apparently a Ron Paul supporter and then switched to the democrats because of social issues and he has been a vocal opponent of Ron Paul to the extreme for 10 or 20 twenty years.

He was claiming Ron Paul is a liar so I asked him to provide one example, his first was a failure when he tried to claim that one of Paul's votes for tax credits equaled a subsidy.
But his second claim I'm having more trouble with and this forum post here is one of the only things google has been able to pick up on the subject.

Reading through this I was not convinced by the response "It appears that these particular metals were paid for by the sale of bronze duplicates to the public."
When I presented this argument to him, he told me that all congressional medals are awarded in this particular fashion and not just the one example of the Astronaut vote. There were also 2 other votes by Paul for military units to receive medals.. I was thinking maybe it has to do with government functions, but he voted against giving them to government people as well. So I'm really having a difficult time finding details and the reasoning for why Paul voted for some congressional awards and against others. Was hoping some of you people could help me out?

Also, even if this was Ron Paul's first inconsistency and at worst "lie" it wouldn't change my opinion of him much. I still think he is the best candidate/politician hands down in my lifetime. Cheers and thanks for any info.

Slap the idiot your talking to for claiming his decision is based on Ron Paul being a liar and this is his only argument in support of it when our entire gov't is littered with scum.

[Neghlucky]

Slap the idiot your talking to for claiming his decision is based on Ron Paul being a liar and this is his only argument in support of it when our entire gov't is littered with scum.

Hahaha. I have given him thorough vocal abuse for being so petty, still would be helpful if I could get some kind of explanation. I'd like to think Ron Paul has a flawless record when it comes to his honesty.

[giovannile07]

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/New_Fr...Gold_Medal_Act



It appears that these particular metals were paid for by the sale of bronze duplicates to the public.

Hmm, so that means, they basically made replications of the medal in bronze form and sold it hoping to raise enough profit for the real gold medals to them?

That explains that.
And these are others he voted against:

Could I see your source for that? Thanks.

[Neghlucky]

Could I see your source for that? Thanks.

Here's two links that should help you out. This one shows some of the other awards he refused to vote for and with his reasoning attached.
http://www.dailypaul.com/196533/brea...nal-gold-medal

And this link shows the source records for all voting, but requires a little more energy to search through.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes.xpd

[tunk999]

I wrote a whole faq on the issue of "racism". See section #7 for stuff on gold medals.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/76280303/P...ettersFaq-Tunk

[Neghlucky]

I wrote a whole faq on the issue of "racism". See section #7 for stuff on gold medals.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/76280303/P...ettersFaq-Tunk

No one has made the claim of racism. This has to do with why Ron Paul voted for some congressional medals, and against others.
With no clear reason as to why some weren't worth tax payer dollars, and some were. We have the speeches for all his speeches against giving medals, but I haven't seen the transcript for any of his speeches for the ones he voted for or any explanation from him or anyone yet.

[Neghlucky]

Still no explanations here? Maybe I should check a different forum..

[crh88]

Still no explanations here? Maybe I should check a different forum..

If you find out, let us know. Someone may need to ask Dr. Paul directly. I'm sure he has a reason; he always does.

[loveshiscountry]

When I presented this argument to him, he told me that all congressional medals are awarded in this particular fashion and not just the one example of the Astronaut vote.

The link on New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal Act that gls gave us shows a date enacted of August 7, 2009. All since that date maybe.