The Atlantic has the scoop on Paul’s ads – old and new… but Ron Paul just picked up a huge chunk of TV time in Iowa and New Hampshire.

And the ad is damn good:

ABC News has the story, too.

The irony is dripping off this one. A couple days ago, I wrote about the House Republicans’ effort to repeal the phase out of production of the incandescent light bulb.

I argued – essentially – that Republicans were right to repeal the 2007 law, but they went two steps too far by then federalizing light bulb production. Curiously enough, I was tipped off to the news by this post, which lambasted Tennessee Republicans for co-sponsoring the repeal-plus-federalization.

From the post:

The Republicans are the conservatives right?
The Republicans are the good guys, right?
The Republicans obey the Constitution, right?

HA! That’s what you thought.

On Monday 7/11 the Republicans in Congress will vote to federalize
lightbulbs!
And EVERY Tennessee Republican in Congress is cosponsoring this bill!
Here is a list of all of the cosponsors.

The bill (HR2417) known as The BULBS Act is being sold to the people by saying that it will repeal the coming ban on all incandescent bulbs, but in reality it usurps state and local powers and does an end-run around the 9th and 10th Amendment. You can read the text of the legislation
here.

In effect this bill will say that all regulations and laws about consumer types of lightbulbs will now be handled at the federal level. The 10th AmendmentCLEARLY says: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”

WHY are the Tennessee Republicans supporting this bill? Why not support the other bill that repeals the incandescent lightbulb ban WITHOUT trampling the Constitution in the process? It already exists, has lots of cosponsors, and is listed here.

Can these elected officials not read the Constitution? Why do they want to federalize all laws about lightbulbs and take power from the states? Why are they expanding the reach and size of the federal government?

Maybe you should contact your Congresscritter and let them know what you think about this and tell them you are NOT going to fall for their deceit and unconstitutional antics.

While the by-line is anonymous (TN Sons of Liberty is hardly a real person), it’s pretty obvious it was written by a Ron Paul supporter.

Well… heh heh heh… The House voted last night at 6:45 on the BULBs Act, and who do we have here…

Both Texas Congressman Ron Paul and his protégé Michigan Congressman Justin Amash voted in favor of federalizing light bulb production and taking the authority out of the hands of the states.

The bill ultimately failed, but it makes me wonder: Why does Ron Paul hate the 10th Amendment and the U.S. Constitution?

Essentially, I’ve employed one of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules” here – Make the enemy live up to his own book of rules.

Ron Paul and his supporters are certainly not enemies, but I’ve put them in an impossible position to defend. Calling the Tennessee Republican delegation out for supporting the bill means calling Ron Paul and Justin Amash out. Hmmm.

Just sayin’…

According to The Facts:

After serving almost 24 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Ron Paul told The Facts this morning he will not be seeking another term for the District 14 seat.

Paul, 75, will instead focus on his quest for the presidency in 2012.

“I felt it was better that I concentrate on one election,” Paul said. “It’s about that time when I should change tactics.”

His announcement will give enough time for anyone with aspirations for his seat to think about running, he said. Paul didn’t want to wait for filing in the 2012 primary to let people know he wasn’t seeking reelection.

“I didn’t want to hold off until in December,” he said. “I thought it shouldn’t be any later than now.”

Texas allows candidates for President to also appear on the ballot in other places, which is how Paul ran for both President and Congress in 2008.

While I believe it’s highly unlikely that Paul will get the Republican nod for President next year, I do believe he has done an excellent job opening the door for his son, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, to seek higher office in the future.

Additionally, the Texas Congressman has established a nationwide grassroots network of liberty-loving activists in Campaign for Liberty and Young Americans for Liberty.

UPDATE: It looks like Paul may have been a casualty of Republican redistricting in Texas. Take a look at the map at the bottom of this story. If you click on the 14th District and look at the before and after, Paul loses a ton of the western portion of his district, and post-redistricting, the TX-14 creeps east toward Louisiana. From another article:

Paul’s new 14th District is smaller, nudging closer to the Louisiana border to Beaumont, areas Paul hasn’t represented before, with a greater proportion of black voters. Victoria and other western counties that have long supported Paul tacked onto first-term Rep. Blake Farenthold’s 27th district instead.

Still, the seven-term Congressman has overcome redistricting challenges before. He faces a steeper challenge in a G.O.P. field that’s criss-crossing Iowa ahead of the Ames straw poll, where he’s banking on making a big splash.

According to a CNN report, Texas Congressman Ron Paul is pulling out his secret weapon to campaign in Iowa: Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky will head to the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa later this month to campaign for his father’s bid for the White House.

The younger Paul’s Iowa swing will come just before the Ames, Iowa, straw poll. GOP Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who’s making his third run for the presidency, is putting a lot of money and effort into doing well in the crucial straw poll.

This is the first time Rand Paul will campaign for his father since Ron Paul formally announced his run for president May 13. But the senator did stump for his father during swings through Iowa and New Hampshire, the first in the nation primary state, earlier this year before the elder Paul announced his candidacy.

Ron Paul headed to Kentucky twice last year to campaign for his son’s bid to win the open Senate seat.

The Paul presidential campaign told CNN the two men will not appear together during Rand Paul’s events in Iowa. The elder Paul is holding campaign events in Marshalltown and Cedar Falls, Iowa Wednesday.

“Rand Paul’s message strikes a strong chord with the Tea Party here in Iowa,” said Drew Ivers, Ron Paul’s Iowa chairman, in a statement. “His message of stopping out of control federal spending is exactly what the Republican party needs at this time.”

Earlier this year, Rand Paul considered a White House run of his own if his father passed on making a bid.

While the Elder Paul has been spreading a libertarian message in Congress for years, the Younger Paul is much more equipped to communicate that message.

Senator Paul grew up in a political household and founded a taxpayer advocacy group, which he still chairs, in Kentucky. While many of the Congressman’s beliefs may be attractive to the American people, I often find his explanations of these issues to be hard to follow and policy heavy. The newly-elected Senator has a much more folksy, easy-to-follow message.

Rand will be making stops in ten or so cities.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Congressman Paul is much more serious about Iowa this year than he was in 2007/2008. He’s purchased prime real estate at the Ames Straw Poll, shelling out $31,000 for the best piece of real estate available.

And while I ultimately don’t think Ron Paul will win the Republican nomination, I do think Rand’s willingness to stump for his father open’s the door to a potential Presidential bid in the future. Perhaps 2016 or 2020? Sure, Rand may be the Mr. Smith of our time — a guy who sort of stumbled into the U.S. Senate — but he’s got real promise.

On the campaign trail, the Younger Paul touted his belief in term limits. If Senator Paul continues with this belief, he may have to run for President to remain in office (not that his goal is to remain in office).

The on-the-ground experience in Iowa this year will give Senator Paul an intimate view of how to run a Presidential campaign in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. While he won’t be touring with his father, it’s almost certain he’ll know the strategy and provide input.

Could Rand Paul be Ron’s secret weapon in Iowa? Who knows… but having him on the campaign trail certainly doesn’t hurt.