Ron Paul: “50-50 that I’ll run again” in 2012

Ever since the 2% rEVOLution of 2008, the supporters of Ron Paul have been hoping and yearning for him to run again in 2012, this time with possible Tea Party backing.

Report from CBS News:

Republican Rep. Ron Paul, known for bucking his party in favor of his libertarian principles, says there’s a chance he’ll make another run for the presidency.

“I’d say it’s at least 50-50 that I’ll run again,” Paul told the New York Times in a profile of the 75-year-old congressman. His decision will reportedly hinge in part on how the economy fares.

Paul won less than 2 percent of the vote in his 2008 Republican primary presidential bid, but he won a dedicated fan base that supported him strongly online and financially. He is often credited for spawning the Tea Party movement, which swept into office this year more congressmen that hold his stringent libertarian views on issues like fiscal policy, including his son, Sen.-elect Rand Paul of Kentucky. (The Times notes that Ron Paul and Rand Paul will be roommates in Ron Paul’s Virginia condo while they serve in Congress together.)

I personally think Paul will do just fine where he is in congress given his fiscal discipline and desire to reign in government spending.

The validation the Tea Party gave to Paul’s views may have helped him secure the chairmanship of the House Domestic Monetary Policy Subcommittee, according to reports. As leader of that congressional panel next year, Paul will have oversight of the Federal Reserve. While he’s written a book entitled “End the Fed,” Paul said last week he will “not right up front” push to abolish the central bank.

Nobody has been willing to tackle this issue and I applaud the House GOP for giving Paul this post. As to whether he’ll run for president, that remains to be seen but he hasn’t ruled it out.