Ron Paul, With Nothing Better To Do, Asks To Delay Bernanke Confirmation

Ron Paul found that he could not be elected President and in most of the United States could not make a solid run for dog catcher. He spends most of his time in Washington agitating for positions which very few voters care about. One of those is a program to mandate outside auditing of the Fed, an action which the bank has already agreed to in principal.

Paul has also suggested that the Federal Reserve be abolished, but has had a difficult time explaining what should take its place as the little Dutch boy when the dam spring a leak.

Paul’s latest notion is to block the confirmation of Fed chief Ben Bernanke, who ultimately has nothing to do with either the auditing or abolishment of the central bank. That is, as Paul has made clear, a matter that rests with Congress.

According to The Wall Street Journal, “In a letter they will send to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd this afternoon, Reps. Ron Paul (R., Tex.) and Alan Grayson (D., Fla.) will ask that the Senate hold off on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s confirmation hearing until the central bank releases more information about its rescues.”

The public knows that Bernanke’s future has no relationship to whether the Fed releases the data on banks that it has provided capital, and so do other members of Congress. Paul is content to spend his time confusing those issues.

Douglas A. McIntyre