Ron Paul brings his ‘Freedom Revolution’ to Independence Hall Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul spoke to about 3000-5000 people Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.
A report from Ken on the Ron Paul rally in Philly. Ken K is a L friend from the other side of the commonwealth.
You had to be there to hear it. Thousands of people -- yes, thousands! -- cheering a pure libertarian message. Three to five thousand, according to USA Daily. See link above. In my 15 years as a libertarian activist, I have never, EVER seen anything even remotely like it! The word is that it was THE largest Paul rally ever. I believe it.
In his 45-minute speech, Paul covered it all: habeas corpus, eminent domain, the Amero, the War on Drugs, the IRS, the Fed, hemp, Real ID, UN regulating vitamins, WTO, guns on airplanes, Social Security, property rights, North American union, enemies foreign AND DOMESTIC, auditing the gold in Fort Knox, executive orders, etc., etc., etc.!
Everything we as a party have been talking about for thirty five years. And people were actually cheering!
It's like someone flipped a switch and all of a sudden it's became hip to champion the constitution. Un-friggin-believable!
Lots of prominent libs there too, past and present: Babb, Golobek, Gordon, House, Jahn, Keslar, Leard, Magoon, Martin, Nixson, Piotrowski, Schwarz, Sturzenacker, and lots others I'm sure I didn't see or forgot to mention. Lots of third-party types, too. Best of all, there were thousands of people I never saw before. Thousands.
Before the rally there was a private gathering with about 200 MeetUp members. Carol Paul spent about a half hour telling stories and taking questions, then Dr. Paul spoke for about 15-20 minutes and hobnobbed with the audience. He autographed my constitution -- on the same inside cover where John Hospers and Toni Nathan autographed it. Precious.
Also, Dave Jahn put together a great post-rally party with Poker Face playing -- and he put it all together starting one day before the rally! Dave's da man!
I could go on and on, but you can watch it yourself: http://www.justin.tv/ronpaul/46004/ Watch for the YouTube version. It'll have better pictures of the crowd taken from the stage rather than from the ground.
A unique day. I'm left speechless.
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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/vassilaros/s_537063.html
Grassroots is not 'crabgrass'
By Dimitri Vassilaros
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, November 9, 2007
"Crabgrass."
With his exquisite epithet describing supporters of
presidential candidate Ron Paul, wordsmith and political
consultant Frank Luntz spoke volumes about the Republican
Party.
Mr. Luntz is being savaged by Libertarian Party members and
others inspired by the libertarian principles of the Texas
congressman who was born and reared in Pittsburgh.
This from Time magazine: "His supporters are the equivalent
of crabgrass," says GOP consultant Frank Luntz. "It's not
the grass you want, and it spreads faster than the real
stuff. They just like him because he's the most
anti-Establishment of all the candidates, the most likely to
look at the camera during the debates and say, 'Hey,
Washington, (expletive deleted).' "
Rep. Paul also is a life member of the Libertarian Party
and was its presidential candidate in 1988.
Dr. Paul, an OB/GYN, has been called "Dr. No" because he
refuses to support legislation not authorized by the U.S.
Constitution.
He is the voice of those who believe this republic was
founded on the principles of individual liberty and personal
responsibility -- and that it would be a nice idea to stop
the ever-expanding federal government that continually
usurps the rights of its citizens.
In other words, Paul is our generation's Barry Goldwater.
Paul and his supporters should be embraced and cherished by
the GOP instead of being equated with weeds.
However, this GOP is not Goldwater's party or Ronald
Reagan's. It seems that almost every one of the party's
presidential candidates has modified, changed or avoided
mentioning his positions on critical issues.
Except Paul, who easily could be the very definition of a
principled public servant -- even to the GOP's neocons, who
probably wouldn't recognize Goldwater even if they thought
the late former Arizona senator had weapons of mass
destruction.
Luntz says Paul's crabgrass is not the type of people the
party wants and that support for the libertarian's
principled and consistent positions on issues is spreading
faster than support for the GOP's "real stuff" of ... um ...
AstroTurf?
Paul's crabgrass also is supposedly undesirable because it
appreciates his anti-establishment stand and lack of
deference to the wise ones inside the Beltway who lord over
man's existence.
Funny thing, though: Paul, who seemed like a hopeless
longshot when he announced he was running for the GOP
presidential nomination, doesn't seem quite so hopeless
these days.
Paul now holds the record among Republican White House
candidates for fundraising on a single day after getting
$4.3 million in donations on Monday. That brings Paul's
contributions to $7.3 million so far for the final quarter
of this year.
Mr. Luntz's message comes through loud and clear to anyone
-- libertarian or not -- who still believes government
should allow Americans to live as they wish without harming
others.
One man's crabgrass is Ron Paul's grassroots campaign.
John K. says: Except Ron Paul forgot the lesson of Jefferson. That there are bad people out there who wish to harm us and we can't hide behind an ocean if we wish to do business with the world. Now Jefferson sent in 8 Marines and 4 war ships and no lawyers, journalists or swim coaches to solve the problem. Ron Paul needs to get his head out of the sand and stop hiding behind out of work swim coaches who can't get elected and look at the real world.
I wasn't going to mention anything about the nimble-minded shot at an "unemployed swim coach." Then it dawned on me that anonymous pricks need to be taken down a peg or two.
You see my socially-challenged, under-educated "friend," in 2007 some women actually make enough money and enjoy their careers in such a capacity that it allows their husbands to focus on other ventures, namely raising children. Yes, some people describe themselves as swim coaches, because that's a vocation that they enjoy...perhaps with their children.
Also, financial freedoms may allow said spouses the ability to attempt other interests, such as running for office.
In the real world, some people just have the ability and desire to do things that matter. It may only matter to them; however, that's fine as long as no one gets hurt.
Perhaps when our anonymous colleague decides to grow up, perhaps find a spouse and procreates, he'll mature just a tad.
Until then, he'll hide like a pervert in the shadows and throw stones.
Keep up the good work, Mark. We don't always agree politically, but I appreciate your passion.
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