Ron Paul: Secret Service 'A Form of Welfare'

Rep. Ron Paul is the only remaining Republican presidential candidate who does not have Secret Service protection -- and he doesn’t want it, either.

Ron Paul sees himself as an "ordinary citizen". That's why he's opted not to have secret service protection. The other candidates place themselves above the population and consider themselves special. On top of that they're all already RICH as hell.

Why should we have to pay for their protection?

“It’s a form of welfare,” he said. “You know, you’re having the taxpayers pay to take care of somebody, and I’m an ordinary citizen and I would think I should pay for my own protection and it costs, I think, more than $50,000 a day to protect those individuals. It’s a lot of money.”

Also...for good measure (and because it's fun to watch RP kick ass):

reply to post by freakjive

reply to post by freakjive


I'm pretty sure he won't use the secrete service because he doesn't trust them.

He does have protection but he surrounds himself with people he can trust.

Go Ron Paul!

Originally posted by skepticconwatcher
reply to post by freakjive

 

So he should not use their protection then.

He doesn't. That's the point. He says that if protection is needed for a private citizen (such as the GOP candidates), it should be paid for by the candidate and not the taxpayer.

He hasn't said anything about a standing president's use of the SS, but I would think he'd be okay with that, as you're no longer a private citizen and you're now the figurehead of an entire nation.

Originally posted by kbriggss
reply to post by freakjive

 

I'm pretty sure he won't use the secrete service because he doesn't trust them.

He does have protection but he surrounds himself with people he can trust.

Go Ron Paul!

Stars for that line of thinking. As I read this article, I kept thinking that if RP was president he would have to watch out for the tools of the powers that be more than any deranged citizen or GASP "terrorist".

Originally posted by freakjive
Rep. Ron Paul is the only remaining Republican presidential candidate who does not have Secret Service protection -- and he doesn’t want it, either.

Ron Paul sees himself as an "ordinary citizen". That's why he's opted not to have secret service protection.

However, he's not the president of a large country and he's not the target of assassins or assassination threats.

Just to clarify, here's what the Secret Service site says:

By law, the Secret Service is authorized to protect:

The president, the vice president, (or other individuals next in order of succession to the Office of the President), the president-elect and vice president-elect
The immediate families of the above individuals
Former presidents, their spouses, except when the spouse re-marries
Children of former presidents until age 16
Visiting heads of foreign states or governments and their spouses traveling with them, other distinguished foreign visitors to the United States, and official representatives of the United States performing special missions abroad
Major presidential and vice presidential candidates, and their spouses within 120 days of a general presidential election
Other individuals as designated per Executive Order of the President and
National Special Security Events, when designated as such by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

Of all the candidates listed on this page I'm pretty sure that only 4 or 5 qualify for Secret Service protection if they want it. I don't think that Bear Beltzer gets Secret Service protection, for example.

(the whole point of protecting them, I believe, is to help prevent the assassination of one of the top contenders. This is a very real threat and we've seen around the world that elections can be manipulated by assassinating very popular candidates. So it's more to ensure a free election and it does have a very limited term.)

Originally posted by Indellkoffer

However, he's not the president of a large country and he's not the target of assassins or assassination threats.

Respectfully, I think you're missing the point. He's stating that the other GOP candidates electing for SS protection is another form of welfare.

He has not made any statements regarding the standing president or any previous presidents for that matter. This is in regards to the GOP candidates.

All high level crime bosses* have protection.
I think the amount of protection a person surrounds themselves with should be an indicater of their character.



*Some outspoken radio personalities too. However they need the protection to keep from being silenced by lackies of . said crime bosses.

reply to post by kbriggss

I'm pretty sure he won't use the secrete service because he doesn't trust them.

what is he going to do if he gets elected ??

I see his point but i think the secret service should be evaluated starting with who's eligible.I think even expresidents kids have protection till they turn 18.Ever heard of an assasination attempt on an exprezs child??

It's not welfare when someone powerful gets someone, it's their right.

Even if we pay for it.

Wow. I always speculated that Paul wouldn't go for SS protection, but now I'm hearing that he actually is against it. It's good to know that even some random guy who lives far and away from, and has never met, the man could tell you what he'll do and say, he's just that consistent.

Ron Paul.........hes too good to be real sometimes........get me?
His opting for no protection from the SS (note those initials well....)and its plain they were complicit in the last presidential assassination,.......so no big mystery there......
I wonder what he will do as a sitting prez?
The Secret Service, and other organisations of police style, in the US are very much over staffed and over paid.
The Goverment has probably as many policemen out there as the military has combat soldiers.....
Not only is it a form of welfare for the candidates .............its welfare at a high salary for a whole gamut of fat lazy slobs with guns and badges.......and power over us!

Originally posted by freakjive

Originally posted by Indellkoffer

However, he's not the president of a large country and he's not the target of assassins or assassination threats.

Respectfully, I think you're missing the point. He's stating that the other GOP candidates electing for SS protection is another form of welfare.

He appears to have a very odd definition of "welfare." Candidates aren't protected by new people whose only function is to show up and look defensive. These are professionals, who have been on the payroll for years and their main function is as "security guard." Calling the Secret Service a form of "welfare" is similar to calling a bank security guard job "welfare." I wonder why he doesn't label his office staff "welfare" as well. His staff expenditures have increased every year he's been in office.

I frankly can't find any hard and fast rules about what he deems is "welfare" and what he deems is "not welfare" -- the labels seem almost to be given at whim.

He has not made any statements regarding the standing president or any previous presidents for that matter. This is in regards to the GOP candidates.

Which leads me to wonder "what does he think these people do, anyway?" Their function has always been to protect certain dignitaries and their families. I'm not sure why this would be welfare.

You may not remember it, but I certainly remember the days when events and people had their own "security forces" and these groups were actually very problematic (not very professional, picked fights, illegal methods of control, etc.) It's probably still a problem today -- I'm just not aware of it.

Perhaps you can explain why having a professional dedicated security service for visiting dignitaries and high level politicians who are getting death threats is welfare?

reply to post by Indellkoffer


A bank pays for its own security guards. Presidential candidate's security is provided by the state at the expense of the taxpayers. It makes sense that he views it as "welfare," although of course it's not. He's just pointing out that a bunch of wealthy people in power have to have security paid FOR them, instead of for themselves.

Awesome that he doesn't have SS. If I wanna shake Paul's hand, I don't want four people in my way who think I have a gun.

If Paul were to somehow win the election I'm not sure the Secret Service would keep him out of harm's way if he wasn't doing the bidding of TPTB as they would want it. It appears the SS just got out of the way or possibly even assisted in removing Kennedy.

he just jumped the shark

Originally posted by stirling
Ron Paul.........hes too good to be real sometimes........get me?
His opting for no protection from the SS (note those initials well....)and its plain they were complicit in the last presidential assassination,.......so no big mystery there......
I wonder what he will do as a sitting prez?
The Secret Service, and other organisations of police style, in the US are very much over staffed and over paid.
The Goverment has probably as many policemen out there as the military has combat soldiers.....
Not only is it a form of welfare for the candidates .............its welfare at a high salary for a whole gamut of fat lazy slobs with guns and badges.......and power over us!

Do you realize how hard it is to be an SS agent? Those guys paid there dues.

just when I thought I couldn't respect Dr. Paul any more than I do now, he resfuses SS because its a burden on the taxpayer. What a stud!

If

Originally posted by capone1

Do you realize how hard it is to be an SS agent? Those guys paid there dues.

Actually, I wouldn't be so certain about that. SS was the first agency to grab me after taking my federal exams. I didn't want to work for them and the whole trick with my interview was convincing them not to take me without turning them down and hurting my eligibility to work for another agency. It's true that my offer wasn't for presidential bodyguard duty and the actual functions I would be performing was not fully disclosed to me at the time. There was a reason I was in-demand but I was certainly nobody special nor highly educated or credentialed.

That cost me some time after the Secret Service claimed me and took me off the hiring register but on the next go-around I got to where I wanted to go, sort of. The next trick was to keep from being made into some sort of federal cop for one agency or another. I had no desire to be any kind of authority figure. Eventually I found a really nice fit.

Dr. Paul and I seem to see eye-to-eye on a number of levels. Too bad we never met. He has my vote though.

how can anyone not like this guy??? doesnt take bribes, doesnt take any extra government pay that he is awarded, doesnt take secret service..

that alone makes him one of the greatest men to ever grace politics