I’m going to preface this by stating that I will not be voting for Ron Paul this afternoon in my local caucus. And although I think that some of his ideas have merit (balancing the budget, cutting spending, upholding the constitution, etc.), some of his ideas are simply ridiculous (legalized prostitution and drugs, going back to the gold standard, etc.). I do, however, have a strange fascination with the man. He adds a certain humor and flair to the debates that I appreciate. He also has the tendency to repudiate Newt’s historically slanted “facts,” which is also greatly appreciated. I see Ron Paul as an adorable grandpa figure that is probably going a bit senile. You have to love this guy; he’s just so stinking cute!
In my quest to become more politically-minded I have been following the GOP race. This weekend some of the candidates were in town so some friends and I decided to go check out a Ron Paul rally. Saturday afternoon we went to Bethel University (a staunchly Christian private school), but there were too many people and the room was filled before we were able to get in. Last night we headed down to the Minneapolis Convention Center early for another Ron Paul rally. It was an interesting experience. Before walking into the main event room, there were tables filled with flyers, business cards, and the RON PAUL COOKBOOK! The cookbook made the whole excursion worth it. I really think that was the best part of the rally and I’m excited to try some Paul family favorites. Anyway, we took a bunch of free stuff and headed for the main room. Upon entering the event room a short man, dressed in revolutionary war era clothes was playing a drum… this was going to be one great night! We found some seats in the back, sat down, and listened to two very boring speeches about Ron Paul, and a third that was much more exciting, but strange nonetheless. The last speech focused on how the year 2012 was going to be the year of 212 because water boils at 212 degrees – I guess the Ron Paul revolution is the boiling point or something to that affect. Finally Ronny steps on the stage and there he is, this tiny old man. Man, he’s just adorable! Ron spoke for a while. Some of his ideas were great and if he didn’t ramble on from one topic to the next in random cyclical patterns, he probably would have been much more effective. I consider myself an intelligent, educated individual but it was very difficult to follow his train of thought and the progression of his ideas. I do remember him throwing in the word “tyranny” quite a few times and talking about how we need to fight against tyranny. Combine that with the theme “revolution” and the whole thing had a very eerie feel to it. During his speech, my friend turned to me and said, “He should fire his speech writer.” I wholeheartedly agree, but then after thinking about it for a while, it didn’t seem like he was even looking at anything at all. He seemed to just be going wherever the wind blew him. Maybe he writes his own speeches because I don’t know how you could pay someone the big bucks to come up with that unorganized message. The crowd seemed to love it though. I think he got the most applause when he started talking about ending the war on drugs and legalizing drugs. At that point I turned to my friend and asked, “What percentage of people here do you think are Ron Paul supports simply because he believes in legalizing drugs?” To which she responded, “At least 50%.” And I agree. After taking a long hard look at the mass of people that came together to support Ron Paul, the vast majority of them would fall into the category of 18-30 young people who look like they do not own a razor, shampoo, or soap. Granted, I feel like the Twin Cities has a large hippy population, but the vast majority of the people at the rally were young hippies who may or may not have been high on something. Don’t get me wrong, there were a couple of elderly couples there and a few middle-aged families that brought their kids along, but for the most part the group looked like a bunch of unwashed street bums. It made me wonder what Occupy Wall Street looked like. Anyway, at the end of Ron’s speech the crowd left while chanting, “End the Fed” and “RON PAUL REVOLUTION, GIVE US BACK OUR CONSTITUTION!” While we walked out to the parking garage, we were passed by a group of young men in an SUV who also came from the rally. The gentleman in the passenger’s seat rolled down the window (that wasn’t the only thing he was rolling) and while smoking a joint asked us how we liked the rally. Nice fellow, really… but he totally confirmed my earlier analysis.
Overall, the experience was enlightening and entertaining. After further analysis I find it interesting that people attribute Ron Paul’s enthusiastic following to the youth movement becoming disenfranchised with government and desire to preserve liberty and the constitution; (Let me state that preserving liberty and the constitution are phenomenal objectives and should be part of the movement of the day) however, I really don’t actually think that’s what the real underlying motivation is for his supporters. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are some sincere, educated people out there who truly believe and will fight for the intentions of Paul (and I think his intentions are good), but I can’t help but think that the vast majority of the Ron Paul supports (primarily those coming from the youth) are because Paul is very liberal when it comes to his drug and prostitution views. I think for the most part the young and uneducated (who are the 2 groups that make up the majority of Paul’s following) want to get government out of the way so they can engage in any type of behavior they want without any repercussions from law enforcement. I also think a lot of youngsters join the cause because it is a fad. These self-determined truths are probably disappointing for those people who are supporters of Paul because they see him as a true champion of liberty and the constitution. I really don’t think that most of the Ron Paul followers actually understand what he stands for and the motivation for his stances, which is kind of sad because he does stand for some very good and important things.
In my quest to become more politically-minded I have been following the GOP race. This weekend some of the candidates were in town so some friends and I decided to go check out a Ron Paul rally. Saturday afternoon we went to Bethel University (a staunchly Christian private school), but there were too many people and the room was filled before we were able to get in. Last night we headed down to the Minneapolis Convention Center early for another Ron Paul rally. It was an interesting experience. Before walking into the main event room, there were tables filled with flyers, business cards, and the RON PAUL COOKBOOK! The cookbook made the whole excursion worth it. I really think that was the best part of the rally and I’m excited to try some Paul family favorites. Anyway, we took a bunch of free stuff and headed for the main room. Upon entering the event room a short man, dressed in revolutionary war era clothes was playing a drum… this was going to be one great night! We found some seats in the back, sat down, and listened to two very boring speeches about Ron Paul, and a third that was much more exciting, but strange nonetheless. The last speech focused on how the year 2012 was going to be the year of 212 because water boils at 212 degrees – I guess the Ron Paul revolution is the boiling point or something to that affect. Finally Ronny steps on the stage and there he is, this tiny old man. Man, he’s just adorable! Ron spoke for a while. Some of his ideas were great and if he didn’t ramble on from one topic to the next in random cyclical patterns, he probably would have been much more effective. I consider myself an intelligent, educated individual but it was very difficult to follow his train of thought and the progression of his ideas. I do remember him throwing in the word “tyranny” quite a few times and talking about how we need to fight against tyranny. Combine that with the theme “revolution” and the whole thing had a very eerie feel to it. During his speech, my friend turned to me and said, “He should fire his speech writer.” I wholeheartedly agree, but then after thinking about it for a while, it didn’t seem like he was even looking at anything at all. He seemed to just be going wherever the wind blew him. Maybe he writes his own speeches because I don’t know how you could pay someone the big bucks to come up with that unorganized message. The crowd seemed to love it though. I think he got the most applause when he started talking about ending the war on drugs and legalizing drugs. At that point I turned to my friend and asked, “What percentage of people here do you think are Ron Paul supports simply because he believes in legalizing drugs?” To which she responded, “At least 50%.” And I agree. After taking a long hard look at the mass of people that came together to support Ron Paul, the vast majority of them would fall into the category of 18-30 young people who look like they do not own a razor, shampoo, or soap. Granted, I feel like the Twin Cities has a large hippy population, but the vast majority of the people at the rally were young hippies who may or may not have been high on something. Don’t get me wrong, there were a couple of elderly couples there and a few middle-aged families that brought their kids along, but for the most part the group looked like a bunch of unwashed street bums. It made me wonder what Occupy Wall Street looked like. Anyway, at the end of Ron’s speech the crowd left while chanting, “End the Fed” and “RON PAUL REVOLUTION, GIVE US BACK OUR CONSTITUTION!” While we walked out to the parking garage, we were passed by a group of young men in an SUV who also came from the rally. The gentleman in the passenger’s seat rolled down the window (that wasn’t the only thing he was rolling) and while smoking a joint asked us how we liked the rally. Nice fellow, really… but he totally confirmed my earlier analysis.
Overall, the experience was enlightening and entertaining. After further analysis I find it interesting that people attribute Ron Paul’s enthusiastic following to the youth movement becoming disenfranchised with government and desire to preserve liberty and the constitution; (Let me state that preserving liberty and the constitution are phenomenal objectives and should be part of the movement of the day) however, I really don’t actually think that’s what the real underlying motivation is for his supporters. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are some sincere, educated people out there who truly believe and will fight for the intentions of Paul (and I think his intentions are good), but I can’t help but think that the vast majority of the Ron Paul supports (primarily those coming from the youth) are because Paul is very liberal when it comes to his drug and prostitution views. I think for the most part the young and uneducated (who are the 2 groups that make up the majority of Paul’s following) want to get government out of the way so they can engage in any type of behavior they want without any repercussions from law enforcement. I also think a lot of youngsters join the cause because it is a fad. These self-determined truths are probably disappointing for those people who are supporters of Paul because they see him as a true champion of liberty and the constitution. I really don’t think that most of the Ron Paul followers actually understand what he stands for and the motivation for his stances, which is kind of sad because he does stand for some very good and important things.
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