Republicans Rejected A Return To The Gold Standard 30 Years Ago

Courtesy of CSPAN

People have been buzzing about  the recent announcement that the 2012 Republican Platform will include a commission to study returning to the gold standard. Here's something we didn't know: Republicans already studied the idea, 30 years ago. And they rejected it.
As New York Times columnist Bruce Bartlett observes today, in the fall of 1980, Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina and Representative Ron Paul of Texas had an amendment attached to a bill regarding the International Monetary Fund that required establishment of a commission to study “the role of gold in domestic and international monetary systems.” 
Two years later, the commission had its conclusion: most members of the commission “believe that a return to the gold standard is not desirable.”
They go on to explain why:

"For most of us there are two major problems in contemplating the feasibility of a return to a domestic gold standard. One is the absence of a sound guide on how to determine the fixed dollar price of gold at which resumption of a gold cover requirement could be introduced. The other one is the absence of a sound guide on the extent of feasible convertibility of domestic dollar obligations. 

That's not all. If the Treasury began issuing convertible gold notes at a given coupon, the government would end up essentially betting against the market.
And something else: inflation, one of the principal fears expressed by gold bugs, was far worse at the time of the study than it is now.
But Republican Ohio Rep. Chalmers Wylie says that any discussion of inflation by the commission would be countermanding the group's mission — but why it was included anyway.

"The Congressional Record of September 18, 1980 pp. H9136-7 records the brief discussion between Representatives Paul and Neal prior to the unanimous consent acceptance of Representative Paul's amendment which created the Gold Commission. The word "inflation" was not used even once during the entirety of the consideration of the amendment in the House of Representatives which created the Gold Commission."

Finally, there's this from Rep. Henry Reuss, a Democrat from Wisconsin who served on the committee: "Very few citizens believe an expanded and restored role for gold would serve any useful purpose. But those few do have the wherewithal to make themselves heard."