I’m a part of the local and national homeschooling culture. (We are all different, my group is more suburban — the Moms have usually been to college and have worked prior to having children).
About 2/3 of my homeschooling friends love Ron Paul. Leigh Bortins, the founder of Classical Conversations with its thousands of members, endorsed him.
I’m also in the tea party.
The local Republicans lament the lack of youth involvement, while doing nothing about it except snarling at new ideas. The local tea party laments the lack of youth involvement ... Except, there is one old lady who is for Ron Paul, and whenever there’s a rally, she’ll dependably find some young people.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a candidate that young people fought for? I remember Reagan was a big hit in 1980 with them.
There’s something about Mr. Paul that appeals to them.
I think Newt is going to be hard-pressed to garner their fervent support.
I write this as simply an observer.
BTTT.
Ron Paul is Christian and attends a Baptist church in his Texas hometown, but as far as I can tell, regards the Christian faith in terms of personal salvation and guidance in personal behavior. His worldview is essentially secular, characteristic of the followers of the Austin School. In that respect, Paul differs fundamentally from conservative Christians, whether Catholic, Reformed, or dispensational, who represent the large majority of homeschoolers. In terms of the Founders, he is closer to Thomas Jefferson than to Patrick Henry. Most conservative Christian historians (David Barton, Rousas Rushdoony) regard the foundations of the nation and the main influences on colonial and early Republican society as primarily Biblical.
Both Michelle Bachmann and Rick Santorum have strong sympathies with the homeschooling movement. They are also Christians with a Biblical worldview, unlike Paul. They both have, as far as I know, squeaky clean personal lives, a plus in today's environment. Yet the support among conservative Christians and homeschoolers for these two candidates is minimal.
As for young people and conservatism, let me relate a story about attending a Tea Party meeting recently. All the members were middle aged and elderly. My father was a member of the John Birch Society in the 1960s and we sometimes hosted meetings at our house. The Birchers were mostly middle aged and elderly. The current Tea Party members were teenagers or young adults at the time, probably too busy with school, work, or partying to be politically active or were still young skulls filled with mush. It reminded me of the saying attributed to Winston Churchill that anyone who wasn't a liberal at age 20 had no heart, while anyone who was still a liberal at age 40 had no brain.
It would be very good for informing the general public if you or any of the many young people supporting Ron Paul would express your own experience(s) as a historical foundation for Paul’s ideas. For example years of living under the power of the Fed Reserve I believe, as I think Paul does, that it should be abolished and the USA go back to USA money instead of international bankers. However, very differently, I believe that history and my life’s experience shows that the Muslim culture has been eroding the basis of our Founder’s Constitution. Have the young lived long enough or through these changes to understand what has been the history of Muslim culture on western civilization and do these young people favor a Muslim influenced society which I believe Ron Paul does?
As far as young people supporting him, go to your city's local crack pipe supplier and you will see Ron Paul campaign signs and propaganda all over the place. One good example is Central Texas' "Planet K", which are basically head shops and local campaign offices for Ron Paul.
Ron Paul - Islam's Useful idiot in the US House.
As far as young people supporting him, go to your city's local crack pipe supplier and you will see Ron Paul campaign signs and propaganda all over the place. One good example is Central Texas' "Planet K", which are basically head shops and local campaign offices for Ron Paul.
Ron Paul - Islam's Useful idiot in the US House.