Ron Paul Republicans throughout the country are not the only people leery of Mitt Romney. Ron Paul is, too.

The Texas Republican congressman has pointedly refused to endorse his party’s presidential contender. Speaking on CNBC recently, Paul argued that neither Romney nor President Barack Obama would make necessary cuts to public spending that would avert a fiscal catastrophe.

“No,” the iconoclastic Libertarian bluntly told CNBC’s “Futures Now,” when asked about whether he was prepared to endorse Romney. He said the former Massachusetts governor and the president are both captives of similar interests.

“Both within the establishment where they need the Federal Reserve as lender of last resort to make sure that you take all the risk in the world,” Paul said. He linked the Fed — his favorite foil — and the Washington political establishment together as part of a “one party system” that refuses to make necessary but difficult choices to cut spending.

In March, Roswell Patch readers held up Paul as a Georgian favorite for the GOP nomination. The state actually went to local son Newt Gingrich, though Romney ultimately won the nomination. During the GOP convention, Paul supporters from around the country worried that the party leaders were trying to "quash" their input.

This article originally appeared on Ankeny Patch.