For years, a lot of libertarians and paleoconservatives have focused a lot of attention on the Federal Reserve. Some have gone overboard, blaming the Fed on virtually every lost freedom in America. Others have focused too hard at the wrong time; I remember one person speaking at a gun show looking pretty foolish because he was talking about Fed issues while everyone in the audience was concerned about the upcoming passage of Clinton’s Assault Weapons Ban.

On the other side of the coin, our recent economic situation has raised a lot of issues about the role of the Federal Reserve, what alternatives there are to it, and how the system really works in practice. Ron Paul supporters are particularly well-versed on these issues and the general public is becoming more interested in them, as well.

On February 26, Ron Paul introduced legislation to audit “the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal reserve banks” before the end of 2010. While bills introduced by Paul are often disregarded by the rest of Congress, this one is starting to show some legs. According to Paul’s website, the bill now has 71 co-sponsors.

I’ve taken a lot of heat over the years for trying to protect the movement from being disregarded by mainstream Americans because of our internal kook factors. When Ron Paul can obtain 71 sponsors for a bill, it’s time for hesitant libertarians to jump on board the Federal Reserve bandwagon. You might start by contacting your Representative today.

UPDATE: Just received the following on Twitter:

If you don’t think the Federal Reserve issue is too arcane, then I’m up for it! Heard it for a while-can’t pretend I understand it. Freedom!