Ron Paul: Tea Party activists similar to Egyptian protesters

Tea Party activists are similar to pro-democracy protesters in Egypt, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said Tuesday. 

The libertarian congressman, who is a favorite of some Tea Party groups, said that like the protesters in Egypt, the small government movement does not have a defined leader and has many different factions.

Asked by CNN if he would prod the Tea Party movement to “do more” to push for spending cuts, Paul said that would do no good.

{mosads}”Nobody controls the Tea Party people. They’re restless,” he said. “It’s sort of like looking at those people who finally rebelled in Egypt and saying, OK, what is the consensus on what you want?”

Paul supports the pro-democracy protests in Egypt, saying the people there should be able to determine their own destiny. He has proposed legislation that would reduce U.S. aid to Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, as a spending cut. 

The former presidential candidate said the proposal would receive more support if it were not perceived as pushing against the established principle of U.S. foreign aid.

“Why do we keep giving money to these foreign countries. This would include Egypt,” he said. “Why did we invest $70 billion overseas to Egypt and we had to buy their friendship?”

He similarly praised the Tea Party groups and protesters for questioning the status quo.

“Nobody puts down a list of things about what everybody believes in,” he said. “They’re just disgusted with the status quo.”