In a way, no one is more "Washington, DC" than Ron Paul, contrary to what many of us have believed. Oh, the man goes overboard ideologically sometimes, but he's a decent guy, right? One of the few really good guys in Congress. Mr. Clean?
Rep. Ron Paul is captivated by gold. Over the past two decades, he has written books about the virtues of gold-backed currency. He has made uncounted speeches about the precious metal. He even took a leadership post on the House subcommittee that oversees the nation's monetary policy, mints and gold medals.
But his focus on gold goes beyond the theoretical.
In recent years, Paul (R-Tex.) has poured hundreds of thousands of his own dollars into stocks of some of the world's largest gold-mining operations, according to a review of his financial disclosure forms by The Washington Post. In 2008, while advocating for the United States to reinstate a gold standard, he reported owning up to $1.5 million in shares of at least nine gold-production companies. In addition, he disclosed up to $200,000 in silver stocks. In all, those holdings represented close to half of his assets.
The intersection of Paul's investments, policy convictions and congressional duties is acceptable under the ethics rules that govern lawmaker investing, a code of behavior that stands in stark contrast to the stricter regulations that government and private executives typically must follow. ...WaPo
Tempting as it is to jump all over Ron Paul for (probably) not being the man we thought he was, let's focus instead the "stark contrast" between the rules that apply to "government and private executives" and those which Congress sets up for itself. It's not just about Ron Paul who says he "consciously never taken any legislative action that would directly benefit his gold investments." The Post reports that it's about committee chairs and ranking members who make out like bandits.
On the Democratic side, the Post has the goods on Jane Harmon, Frank Lautenberg and Thomas Carper.
