Texas congressman, libertaria agitator, and Internet deity Ron Paul has decided to wrap up his 12-term legacy of automatic "no" votes to every single bill. He will not run for his House seat in the next election. Good for him! If he stayed around much longer, he'd run the risk of becoming a bitter old crank.

This is all a moot point, though, since he's going to be elected president in the next election anyway. And it's that ongoing presidential campaign of his that's now going to get the 75-year-old representative's full attention. From Brazoria County's The Facts, to whom he broke the news:

LAKE JACKSON - 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."

This isn't too surprising, since he's an old man who hates his life. But after decades of whining fruitlessly about his ultimate career goal — eliminating the Federal Reserve — he finally won the chair of the House's monetary policy subcommittee in January. Why give up now, when he has the power to call hearings and scream at Ben Bernanke, and even change the world? Probably because being retired and playing golf and stuff is more fun.

[Image via AP]