Posted 5/22/2005 01:20:00 PM by Douglas

My congressman, Dr. Ron Paul. You should be so lucky to be represented by such a person.

An obstetrician-gynecologist who occasionally delivers babies for free, he has been nicknamed "Dr. No" because of his legislative votes, which frequently conflict with the position of his Republican colleagues and the White House. This week Paul was the only member of the House to vote against a homeland security appropriations bill.

Now, Paul's libertarian-leaning votes speak for the people of Galveston and many suburbs of Houston rather than only the rice farms, coastal plains and Austin bedroom communities that he represented in earlier terms.

This philosophy has led Paul to vote against bills that could help his home district, including federal farm subsidies, welfare initiatives and government housing programs.

Paul's "yes" votes follow traditional libertarian values: lowering or abolishing federal taxes, slashing government spending and limiting federal regulation and international intervention.

Maybe he won't run unopposed in 2006, and I'll actually have a reason to vote.