Ron Paul Addresses Hurricane Irene, Says 'There's No Magic About' FEMA (VIDEO)

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul told NBC News on Friday that "there's no magic about" the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He said that he doesn't see the need for a federal response to Hurricane Irene as the powerful storm makes its way up the east cost.

"We should be like 1900, we should be like 1940, 1950, 1960," said the Texas congressman in weighing in on the matter during a stop in New Hampshire. He regarded FEMA as a "great contribution to deficit financing."

The presidential contender explained that he lives on the Gulf Coast back in the Lone Star State. He said, "We deal with hurricanes all the time. Galveston is in my district."

The Hill notes:

A catastrophic storm hit Galveston in 1900, killing thousands.

"We should be coordinated, but coordinated voluntarily with the states," Paul explained. "A state can decide. We don't need somebody in Washington."

Click here for the latest updates on Hurricane Irene. Below, a clip of Paul's remarks.

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Comments

[wolverina23]

05:30 PM on 09/02/2011

In my opinion Dr. Ron Paul is the only candidate with the right thinking who can save our country from the One World Government and those who support and promote such clearly unconstitutional ideas. If we want to remain a free nation, we need a radical change. No other candidate is voicing such clearly obvious needs for our immediate future. Vote for Ron Paul....long over due.

[EmmaNYC]

01:02 AM on 09/03/2011

Oh, no, it's the 'One World Government' conspiracy again! LOL!

And don't worry, we'll remain free long after Pappy Paul gets sent back to Texas to wrangle some more little dogies.

[libertyearl]

01:49 AM on 10/26/2011

Well Emma, if you think the Patriot Act, warrentless wiretapping, and the TSA are keeping you free, then by all means be free. But in my world it is anything but free.

[maxhnb]

01:07 PM on 09/01/2011

Ron Paul may have opposed Fannie and Freddie but he opposes almosat everything the governement does. He is not a leader in the House. Fannie and Freddie were created to serve the movement to get every American to buy a home no matter how much debt they had to incur. The reason Fannie and Freddie failed was because of the deregulation of the mortgage industry in disposing of the strict conditions that were established after the thrift crisis. This was the act of the Republican party, and the ibertarian ron paul. Deregulation allowed for the over leveraging and over extension of the credit markets at ridiculously low rates.

[libertyearl]

01:40 AM on 10/26/2011

Unlike you, who only sees it as a Republican caused problem, Ron Paul called out both Republicans and Democrats for causing the housing crisis. While Paul was one of a few trying to get Congress' attention of a looming housing crisis, members like Barney Frank were dismissing him (they both served on the same committee, Frank as chairman at the time). Here's a video of Frank's 2005 speech concerning the housing bubble:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW5qKYfqALE

The housing crisis was created by several pieces of legislation: namely The Community Reinvestment Act (Democratically sponsored), which allowed the FDIC to lower a bank's rating if it didn't meet its quota for home loans (many of them high risk). The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Republican sponsored), which modified the Glass-Steagall Act to remove separation between investment banks and commercial banks, thus making the transfer and sale of mortgage backed securities easy, and assigning high ratings to securities which were actually high risk/low rating. Freddie/Fannie would buy the loans on a secondary market from the originating bank, then bundle them as mortgage-backed securities for sale as investments. This would further entice banks to make high risk loans, as once they were bought by Freddie/Fannie they were no longer on the banks' books and not the responsibility of the banks. Feddie/Fannie didn't fail because of deregulation, they were the enablers. Paul was a lone voice in Congress about what was going on.

[libertyearl]

01:41 AM on 10/26/2011

As far as Paul being a leader in the House....your and the media's opinion is slanted. In the opinion of govtrack.us which does a party blind analysis of each Congressman, Paul is considered a moderate Republican and high on the legislative leadership scale. You can see it here:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400311

People like you need to understand that we have a duopoly in Washington, both Democrats and Republicans are responsible for what ails this country. Finger pointing at one group does not solve any problems. It's easy to point across the aisle and lay blame, but Paul is one of a few that has the balls to stand up to his own party and tell them when they are wrong.

[joeyfoto]

08:38 AM on 09/01/2011

The strategy of a loose confederacy of Libertaria­n states was tried.
That inability to act as a nation, rather than a gaggle of individual states with competing interests, states is a major reason why the South lost the Civil War.

Ron Paul flogs the foolish design for a failed state.

I think Dr. Paul is a decent and sincere man, who has been barking up the wrong tree for a long time.

[joeyfoto]

12:11 AM on 09/01/2011

The strategy of a loose confederacy of Libertarian states was tried.
That's why the South lost the Civil War.

Ron Paul flogs the foolish design for a failed state.

I think he is a decent and sincere man, but Dr. Paul has been barking up the wrong tree for a long time.

[leslymill]

02:15 PM on 08/31/2011

Both sides are afraid of Ron Paul. He is legitimate.

[First NamePaul Woodward]

06:01 AM on 08/31/2011

What is you Left wing fanatics guff with RP anyway? Because he is a Libertarian? Have you ever seen any of his speeches ever?

[maxhnb]

01:09 PM on 09/01/2011

Yeah I have seen his speeches. He is a cold blooded reptile . A doctor who is phobic about people so he became a politican. He is dead set against giving anything to anybody if they cant afford it , even emergency care. His opposition to war is great, but his oppsosition to life is not.

[First NamePaul Woodward]

07:03 PM on 09/01/2011

So then you know how he was able to audit for the first time in history the all powerful 'Federal" reserve? A central bank our fathers so bravely opposed, even if it meant their heads. He is against the welfare state, and for the growth of individual spirit. By the way look at the video interview with RP and Anderson Cooper. Cooper got burned hard, maybe next time he won't think so highly of himself towards a humble spirit.

[EmmaNYC]

01:08 AM on 09/03/2011

He is also anti-women's rights and anti-civil rights. He's against child labor protection laws, food safety laws, environmental and workplace protections, unions and anything else that provides a better life for people. His model for good government is Dodge City, circa 1840.

[mrorangevale]

04:31 PM on 08/30/2011

Maybe he was just joking ? Like Michele Bachmann.

[TheyDidntListentoNoah]

03:44 PM on 08/30/2011

FEMA was kind of a joke during Katrina but given the fact that natural disasters appear to be skyrocking they are probably around to stay.

[Brian Gilmer]

04:38 PM on 08/30/2011

The head of FEMA and he DHS were jokes during Katrina. FEMA provided the information needed to policy makers but they failed to grasp the situation.

[First NamePaul Woodward]

05:59 AM on 08/31/2011

Kind of a joke? -_-

[relentless63]

02:50 PM on 08/30/2011

Ron Paul yearns for gentler times. The year is 1900 and in the wake of the devastating Galveston storm, Texan helps Texan put their world together again. There was no FEMA. Why do republicans dream of times long ago and govern as though we were back there?

[TheyDidntListentoNoah]

03:51 PM on 08/30/2011

Back then, people had stronger families and stronger bonds of community. Also, extended families were the norm and as long as you had a roof over your head and a garden you were good to go. I suppose conservatives yearn for a return of that value system and sense of community.

Some libertarians act like we are all pioneers wanting to 'do our own thing' on our little plot of prairie land out in the middle of nowhere. It just doesn't work that way anymore. We are a dense, urban society and everyone's habits and activities have a collective impact on the whole.

[MyP2PU]

12:30 PM on 08/30/2011

One of the main problems is when a state is hit hard, the actual state agencies response times can be affected by the disaster itself. In other words, state agencies are not immune from filling the chilling effects of the disaster. Reaction time can mean the difference between life and death for many people. If FEMA response times were still as bad as it was during Katrina, I would say end it. However, FEMA functions really well now and is a lifesaver for many people. Abolish FEMA and you will inadvertently cost the lives of many people.

Obama/Giffords 2012!

[Aryeh Melaris]

11:25 AM on 08/30/2011

F.E.M.A.= Futile Efforts Months Afterward

[Mark128]

11:23 AM on 08/30/2011

Ex Director of FEMA Michael Brown went on FOX this morning and pretty much validated everything Paul said lol

[Turukano]

10:27 AM on 08/30/2011

The history of democratic nation-states since the 19th century proves that Macaulay, and von Mises, and Hayek, as well as lesser lights like Patri Friedman, have been right to argue that democracy is incompatible with libertarianism. Every modern, advanced democracy, including the United States, devotes between a third and half of its GDP to government, in both direct spending on public services like defense and transfer payments. Given the power to vote, most populations will not only vote for some system of government-backed social insurance, but also for all sorts of interventions in individual behavior that libertarians object to, from laws banning nudity in public to laws mandating that people support their children, do not torture or neglect their pets and water their lawns during droughts according to scheduled rationing.

[Aryeh Melaris]

11:45 AM on 08/30/2011

Every government in any conceivable political scenario seeks to feed off of its subjects as a result of a natural desire to survive and necessarily seeks the reinforcement and strengthening of political power toward that end. Our government walks a fine line between symbiosis and parasitism and as citizens, we have a duty to ourselves first, and our government second.

Government must serve as a preventative force to ensure that individual wills are not imposed on others, through legislation or other means, and in this respect, by all counts, our government has failed. Libertarianism does not propose to eliminate democratic government, it is not by any means Anarchist. It merely seeks to remove powers held by government beyond those intended by the Constitution.

Libertarianism is not incompatible with Democracy, it is necessary to ensure that Democracy does not degrade into Imperialism or Socialism and eventual collapse. In fact, one of the most important fathers of Democracy, Adam Smith, held forward principles that can only function in a liberal democracy and which by modern standards, were purely Libertarian.

[Brian Gilmer]

04:46 PM on 08/30/2011

The problems a some libertarians see it is that with only 16% or so of the population able to identify with Libertarian ideas it is impossible to achieve enough control of a democracy in order to effect positive changes. They point Ron Paul as a success in getting 1.6% of the Republican vote in his run for President.

[maxhnb]

09:59 AM on 08/30/2011

Ron Paul is one ofose irrelevant Congressmen from districts that have been severely ravaged by disasters and received federal assistance which is now decried by Paul who has never worked a day in his life.

[Aryeh Melaris]

11:09 AM on 08/30/2011

Hardly irrelevant, Paul is the only candidate who, when polled against Obama, showed any advantage.

Dr. Ron Paul delivered over 4,000 babies as an OBGYN, often working 36 hour shifts.

FEMA is an embarrassment, and actually encumbers disaster recover far more than aiding it. Are you old enough to remember Katrina?

[Sethj8888]

01:38 PM on 08/30/2011

Apple meet orange. Orange, apple.

[Brian Gilmer]

04:48 PM on 08/30/2011

The poor response to Katrina was not laid on FEMA but on the Administration.

[IdahoBlue777]

09:58 AM on 08/30/2011

Why should you even expect the state to help you? Let Individuals be responsible for their own disasters. In fact, why should we even have to pay for any kind of insurance at all? That's the ticket! Fend for yourself Vermont and New York. I don't have hurricanes in my state. Why should I pay for yours? Move to a state that has no disasters. I want to save every dime that I make so I can take it with me when I die. Isn't that what they tell me to do in church every Sunday?

[miltonc4l]

12:40 PM on 08/30/2011

"I don't have hurricanes in my state. Why should I pay for yours?"

Precisely. The risk I take by knowingly living in a hurricane zone is my responsibility, not yours. You should not be FORCED, by government, to pay for the consequences of choices other people made of their own free will. If you are so kind as to WILLINGLY donate some of your funds to people in need, then I salute your generosity. Your wealth shouldn't be confiscated from you for this purpose however.

[Sethj8888]

01:40 PM on 08/30/2011

Yes, let's all move out of "hurricane zones"

Everybody near the Gulf Mexico and the Eastern Seaboard, pack your stuff!!!

[Robert SF]

04:35 PM on 08/30/2011

Uh, that was satire you replied to.

[Brian Gilmer]

04:50 PM on 08/30/2011

What state does not suffer natural disasters?