Ron Paul talks ethanol in Iowa

Iowans Fueled with Pride has posted a video of Republican Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul fielding a question about ethanol at the Iowa State Fair on YouTube.

Watch the video:

Transcript of Ron Paul's comments on ethanol:

Iowans Fueled with Pride: Congressman, the recent introduction of the EPA appropriations bill would effectively ban E15…

Ron Paul: It would ban what?

Iowans Fueled with Pride: It would ban E15 ethanol gasoline. 

Ron Paul: Yeah?

Iowans Fueled with Pride: I was wondering if you would oppose that bill?

Ron Paul: I don’t want to ban anything. But I don’t want any mandates either.

I want ethanol to exist, but I don’t want to artificially boost it.

I don’t want to ban ethanol, but I want the market to determine, you know, which is the best energy.

I don’t believe much in tariffs or mandates, but I wouldn’t have banning anything.

What would that do, it would ban would ban the production of ethanol?

Iowans Fueled with Pride: Yup, the introduction of E15 gasoline, 15% blend. It would ban that. 

Ron Paul: Yeah, but I wonder. You would think the environmentalists would want that. There are some people who want to ban it?

I think the market should decide if it’s a good idea and it’s economic.

Iowans Fueled with Pride: Its Republican Congressmen from the oil states that have introduced it.

Ron Paul: Oh, they want to do that?

See, one minute they give an answer to one person, the other one has to come back and give an answer for themselves. All this stuff can be sorted out through the marketplace.

No appropriations and no mandates. If you try to apply those, everything’s voluntary and the consumer gets to decide which products will survive.

For instance, we have the ethanol from corn because of subsidies. We have tax imports as well as mandates. In Texas they could raise sugar cane like they raise sugar cane in Brazil. But we don’t allow it because we don’t give the same tax credits and things.

So you want the market to work and sort it out.

You don’t want to mandate it or prohibit it. 

Ron Paul vs Rand Paul for President?

Last week, during an interview with ABC news, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) suggested that a presidential run may lie in his political future. This week, it is his father who is making headlines. USA Today reports that Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) will participate in The Family Leader's Iowa-based presidential lecture series on March 7, 2011. Could New Hampshire's 2012 Republican presidential primary feature a Ron Paul vs Rand Paul match up?

All signs point to "No". As Rand Paul noted in his interview with ABC News, he's only been in Washington for about a month now. If he's going to run for president, it would make sense for him to wait until 2016. Strategically speaking, it seems unlikely that he is ready to take on his dad, who has spent decades building a nationwide network of grassroots supporters. At least for now, Rand Paul's political future seems inextricably tied to the Ron Paul Nation. He simply can't afford to alienate his father's supporters.