Posted on 09/16/2007 2:18:45 AM PDT by traviskicks
More than 1,000 people gathered Saturday at the Union Pacific Depot in Salt Lake City to rally behind U.S. Rep. Ron Paul in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
Paul, an obstetrician from Texas, was impressed with the turnout.
"Wow. If they only knew you existed over in Washington, they'd change things over there," he said as he greeted the cheering crowd.
Paul spoke fervently of his support of smaller government, including the abolition of agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service, and of his support for strictly following the Constitution. He also spoke out against the war in Iraq and any pre-emptive military action.
"Because of our careless attitude about foreign policy and how we go to war, we have allowed our government to build an American world empire," he said. "We are not an empire. We're a republic."
Paul's stances on such topics are "clearly proven" in his voting record, which has earned him the nickname of "Dr. No" in the House of Representatives, said supporter Ronald Levine Saturday.
"I tell people not to listen to what a candidate says before an election or what he does," he said. "I tell them to look at what he has consistently done for the past 20 years."
That voting record is what drives his grass-roots supporters, said Mark Hudson of Syracuse. "He is the only candidate who attracts everyone from libertarians to constitutional conservatives to true conservatives," Hudson said.
Paul visited Utah for the free rally and for a $1,000-a-plate brunch that drew fewer than 20 supporters and a $2,000-per-plate dinner. He is the eighth presidential candidate to visit Utah, the fourth Republican. Paul had raised about $13,000 in Utah as of the June 30 filing, according to the Federal Elections Commission.
Though polls show Paul garnering an average of only 2 percent of potential voters, many of his supporters believe the polls don't accurately show how many people support him.
"He's the only candidate I've seen homemade signs for," said Tom Salt, who is studying mechanical engineering at Brigham Young University.
Salt sees many young people supporting Paul.
"We look at his principles and we're too young to be cynical about his chances," Salt said. The mainstream media has not treated Paul fairly, said Jed Hardman of Springville, and neither have some of the other Republicans in the race, pointing to Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney "openly mocking" Paul after debates.
"They're afraid because as soon as such a true conservative emerges, one who is anti-abortion and has conservative views on taxes, they're going to lose," he said.
well, I think talking about freedom and introducing bills expanding freedom is a useful endevour. I have the hope that many of Paul’s bills will be passed someday, even if he is not the author when they do.
And I am suppose to be impressed that 1000 lunatics turned up for Paul?
OMG! Al-Qaida is in the front row! < /Paul bashers >
Probably none, since Paul supporters are capable of getting their own means of transportation and don't rely on campaign welfare like Romney & the other candidates do.
And how many are lib Rats trying to help Paul from the left?
Why would liberals help Paul when he's virtually the only Republican who can pull in a coalition of voters & destroy the Rat nominee in the general?
That doesn't explain why the candidates are paying attention to Utah lately. Maybe because the state is a bellwether of conservatism? You really don't get it.
And I am suppose to be impressed that 1000 lunatics turned up for Paul?
A thousand people Johnnie went out of their way to attend a rally for a candidate who's supposedly has no chance of winning or is supposedly at 2% in the polls. 1,000 folks is a very large number. You don't know who the Hell these people are Johnnie. Why don't you step out of your FR cocoon and take a good look at reality, and understand why people from all walks of life are supporting Dr. Paul.
Look at all them terrorists in the crowd! And Code Pinkos! And 9/11 Truthers! Look to the right - it’s Cindy Sheehan!
He would need support for that to happen, and after ten terms in Congress he has absolutely none.
He is all lip service, but you like the talk not the walk obviously so Godspeed.
Lew Rockwell owns the site, but the author of the article was Ron Paul, and the question (repeatedly) asked was for Ron Paul’s explanation of his position on earmarks.
Is there something wrong with linking to an article BY Ron Paul when asked for his opinion on the subject?
So why I should I vote for someone who has his articles that come from that nutbag Lew Rockwell and I why should vote for someone who claims to be a Losertarian and yet votes for Shrimp Earmarks which there is nothing in the Constitution about Shrimp or any kind of Earmarks...
Imagine that, A gathering of 1000 people who like Paul believe in the legalization of marijuana, in the recognition of gay marriage, and in the immediate withdrawal out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe if he can talk Lyndon LaRouche or even Dennis Kucinich into joining him on these speaking engagements he could of pulled in 2000+ Moonbats.
Free Republic Member's Opinion | |||
---|---|---|---|
Fred Thompson | 49.8% | 1,512 | |
Duncan Hunter | 21.0% | 637 | |
Other/undecided | 6.3% | 191 | |
Mitt Romney | 5.9% | 179 | |
Ron Paul | 5.8% | 175 | |
Rudy Giuliani | 5.0% | 152 | |
Tom Tancredo | 2.9% | 88 | |
Mike Huckabee | 2.5% | 77 | |
John McCain | 0.6% | 18 | |
Sam Brownback | 0.3% | 9 | |
100.1% | 3,038 |
“Thompson is a federalist and his views are consistent with Paul’s principles except for foreign policy,”
LOL - - You better add to the exceptions, the legalization of marijuana, and the recognition of gay marriage which are two issues Ron Paul supports and are not supported by Fred and has never been part of the GOP Party platform.
What do you do on Election Day Nov 08 if Ron Paul does not win GOP nomination and is not on the ballot.
a. vote for the GOP candidate
b. Don’t Vote
c. Vote for 3rd party (throw your vote away)
d. Vote for Hillary
I already know what your answer is. In contrast most of us here on the FR that have a favorite candidate (other that Paul) realize how important it is to keep Hilliary out of the white house and come election day will put differences aside and turn out in droves to stop Hillary in her tracks. You?
If Thompson wins the nomination, I will likely vote for him. Alone among the GOP frontrunners, he actually talks about federalism and limits on federal power.
If Giuliani or Romney win the nomination, I will likely write in Ron Paul, since I won’t vote for a gungrabber under any circumstances. The other alternative for me if one of those guys is nominated will be to vote Libertarian.
As of now I’d probably vote for thompson if he wins the (r) nomination. However, I wouldn’t campaign or volunteer to help Thompson’s campaign. Unlike RP’s which I am putting in a good number of hours a week right now. If someone other than Thompson wins, it would be very a hard decision... I’d have to look at their platform at the time, might vote 3rd party, or maybe write in Ron Paul. I dunno.
If RP does win the GOP nomination, the GOP will have the added help of hundreds of volunteers in each major city/town across the country and, of course, free internet advertising (so called ‘spamming’, lol). I doubt too many of the RP supporters will be even mildly enthusiastic about supporting any of the other nominees, perhaps a trickle of support for Thompson. I was a poll watcher in 2004 for Bush, won’t make that mistake again. :)
And voting for a third party isn’t ‘throwing your vote away’, unfortunately, people seem obsessed with voting for ‘winners’, as if their self esteem is reflective on voting for a winning candidate. If everyone just voted for whom they most agreed with we’d be a lot better off, IMO.
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