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Thousands Rally at Ron Paul Convention

Flex

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The campaign sold 10,320 tickets to the rally and gave away another 1,000.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/02/paul.convention/index.html

artronpaul02cnn-1.jpg


MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) -- While Republicans pow-wowed in St. Paul, supporters of Ron Paul threw their own party in neighboring Minneapolis.

Texas. Rep. Ron Paul kicked off his political action group Campaign for Liberty at Tuesday's rally.

"Freedom brings people together," Paul said before a sold-out crowd at Tuesday's Rally for the Republic.

Paul, who said he entered the presidential race reluctantly, told the roaring audience, "I lost my skepticism. I hope you lost your apathy."

As the congressman stepped on stage, red, white and blue confetti fell from the ceiling during a two-minute standing ovation.

Paul said he entered the presidential race not because of what he wanted to do but because of what he did not want to do.

"I did not want to run people's lives, I did not want to run the economy and I did not want to run the world. I didn't have the authority to do it, and I didn't have the Constitution behind me to do it," said Paul, who has served in the House of Representatives for more than 30 years.

He withdrew from the presidential race this summer to focus his time on building an organization to help recruit and elect "limited government Republicans."

Paul blasted the government for what he considered overstepping its boundaries in many areas, including foreign policy, education and taxation.

The crowd applauded feverishly when Paul said the country should do away with the Federal Reserve System.


The campaign sold 10,320 tickets to the rally, priced at $17.76, and it gave away about another 1,000 at the door. The event took place at the Target center in Minneapolis, the same arena that will host Rage Against the Machine on Wednesday.

The rally marked the official start of Paul's political action group, the Campaign for Liberty.

Paul, who ran for president as a Libertarian in 1988, never gained much ground during the Republican primary season.

He did better in the caucuses than primaries and managed to come in second in the Nevada and Montana caucuses, which took place before the field was narrowed to just him and John McCain.

He did, however, develop a huge following online. His presidential run was centered around a grass-roots effort that conducted Internet drives for funds. Watch what Paul thinks about this year's candidates »

Paul is a strict constitutionalist who believes in traditional Republican principles like small government, low taxes and a free-market approach to the economy. But he was the only Republican candidate who voted against the war in Iraq.

The hours leading up to his appearance were filled with a lineup of speakers who blasted the current administration and musicians who rallied the crowd.

An energetic group joined in as musician Aimee Allen pumped her fists while singing, "Ron Paul. Start a revolution and break down illegal institutions!"

Former Minnesota Gov. and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura received wild applause as he ranted against both Democrats and Republicans and hinted at his own White House run.

"I am not a Democrat, and I am not a Republican, and I say that very proudly today, because I think these to parties are destroying our country," he said.

Ventura pushed personal responsibility, saying it's up to Americans to hold leaders and the media to higher standards.

"I wrote the book, 'Don't Start the Revolution Without Me.' Well, I'm here!" he said over the applause. "Believe me, with people like myself, Dr. Paul and all the rest of us, let's get the revolution going!"

The rally included appearances from NBC's Tucker Carlson, anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson.

Rally-goer Carrie Duffield said she attended because she is "dedicated to bringing the GOP back to its traditional, conservative roots of low taxes, low spending, national sovereignty, sound money and a non-interventionalist foreign policy."

"I wish the rest of the Republicans would come on home," said Duffield, who is from Swadley, Pennsylvania.

Randy Jennings, from Vernon Center, Minnesota, said he hopes Paul causes both parties to take a better look at themselves.

Paul supporters not able to attend the rally in person were encouraged to watch online as a part of "Take Over the Net Tuesday," and hundreds posted their commentary on the speakers in forums throughout the day.

Other supporters camped out at a dairy farm in Goodhue, Minnesota, for what was being billed as "Ronstock08."

Earlier Tuesday, Paul said he was told he could go to the Republican convention floor, but only under very restricted conditions.

The Republican National Committee told Paul he would have to pick up his pass at the gate and couldn't have any guests.

"Republican congressmen should have a pass to the floor, but they said, 'Your pass will be at the gate, and we'll pick it up when you leave, and you can't take anybody with you,' " he said on CNN's "American Morning."


Paul said he wanted his rally to be a positive event that focused on the issues he thinks other Republicans ignore: "the spending problems, the deficit, our foreign policy, our national defense, our monetary policy."

"We're Republicans. We believe in limited government and personal liberties. We ought to be talking about these things," he said.
 
Hypocrisy86

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:tear: God bless Dr.Paul

wish i was there....
 
Flex

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My father almost skipped an event he practices all year round for to make it to the rally.

It was the DCA's, which is pretty much the superbowl of drum corp shows.
 
Braaq

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If I could worship God or Ron Paul... I chose Ron Paul :hide:

Seriously though, I wish like hell I could have been there :tear:
 
Flex

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If I could worship God or Ron Paul... I chose Ron Paul :hide:
Easiest decision of all time right here. Both choices are the same.

:coolguy:
 
Mygeeto

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say hello to a more Nationalist, rational, intelligent and self-responsible future :)
 
alex

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a wonderful and inspiring personality!!wish we had more of them
 
Ironslave

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Easiest decision of all time right here. Both choices are the same.

:coolguy:

God doesn't get paid 6 figures a year to go down on chicks.

Ron Paul > everyone.
 
Hypocrisy86

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He's like the Hugh hefner of politics,
the Donald trump of attitude,
the ab lincoln,Franklin of our time.
 
Oloz

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I was talking to my mother about this yesterday too. Very inspiring. How old is he again? I'm hoping he makes a run for president in another 4 years.
 

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Ironslave

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He's like the Hugh hefner of politics,
the Donald trump of attitude,
the ab lincoln,Franklin of our time.

Ron didn't like Lincoln at all.

I was talking to my mother about this yesterday too. Very inspiring. How old is he again? I'm hoping he makes a run for president in another 4 years.

Turned 73 around 2 months ago, so he'd be 76 for most of the campaigning. But, he's healthy as a horse and I'd like to see it still.
 
Beefcake

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Why can't anyone see that while all is well and good with his campaign, Ron Paul will likely never be president. I'm all for Ron Paul as president, but the odds of it happening are slim. As long as the same people are in the gov't running office it will always be more McCain or Bush type bullshit.
 
Mygeeto

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we aint going to give up :) giving into dispair is what keeps people like Bush in office, while inspiration gives rise to newer, better candidates.
 
Beefcake

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we aint going to give up :) giving into dispair is what keeps people like Bush in office, while inspiration gives rise to newer, better candidates.

Yer. I'm all for change. I'd be happy if Paul got voted in, but why can't everyone give it a rest for 4 more years? He's not going to win this election, so why keep trying? I understand that support is cheering for your guy even if he won't win, but it's like still cheering for Ronnie Coleman to win the '08 Olympia. He's not even competing, so it's much like the same thing as Ron Paul. You could still support Coleman because he's your favorite (he's my favorite bodybuilder), but since he's not in the running, what good does it do you to ride his nuts and pop a tent-pole at the mention of his name? In 4 years, I'll be hoping Paul gets a party nomination and is in the running, but until then I could care less about him. :dunnodude:

(Keep in mind I don't follow politics much anymore, and only call it like I see it. I try and stay away from the politics section because I tend not to even care about american politics. But it's just my opinion. Don't flame me for expressing myself. Even though I know someone will)
 
Flex

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Yer. I'm all for change. I'd be happy if Paul got voted in, but why can't everyone give it a rest for 4 more years? He's not going to win this election, so why keep trying? I understand that support is cheering for your guy even if he won't win, but it's like still cheering for Ronnie Coleman to win the '08 Olympia. He's not even competing, so it's much like the same thing as Ron Paul. You could still support Coleman because he's your favorite (he's my favorite bodybuilder), but since he's not in the running, what good does it do you to ride his nuts and pop a tent-pole at the mention of his name? In 4 years, I'll be hoping Paul gets a party nomination and is in the running, but until then I could care less about him. :dunnodude:
Don't ever compare a campaign to a bodybuilding show, that is a terrible analogy. This isn't about him becoming president, this is about changing our country back to the old roots....

...When we didn't stick our nose into every other country's business.

When we didn't have worthless programs that tax payers' waste their their money everyday on.

When the U.S. government wasn't spending billions dollars every day on another country's war.

When the government didn't spend hundreds of billions of dollars on a war against drugs.

When congress worried more about protecting our borders rather than making sure athletes arn't getting ahold of steroids.

When terrorists were not on the U.S. payroll

When we used something that was actually worth something as money rather than a fucking piece of paper that becomes more and more worthless everyday

When we didn't replace country leaders with our puppets so they will do anything we please

When our government didn't lie to us day in and day out

When we had an actual conservative to vote for as president
 
Flex

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If you read the article, you'd know that this convention was the official start of his campaign for liberty. It's basically a revolution against the corrupt U.S. government, which has to start somewhere. You "not caring" about Ron Paul sums up the problems this country has, because the U.S. government works for us! NOT the other way around. If enough people decide they've had enough of their government, there will be no other options other than a revolution. However, it's very tough to convince American public, since some are scared we'll "be attacked by terrorists" or some other bullshit they've been brainwashed with. Most others don't see a problem with the U.S. government, since they have no clue what is going on around the world (we're still looking for osama bin laden! we're making sure iraq has no nuclear bombs! we are getting payback for september 11th! etc etc)

Moral of the story, it's the beginning of the end of the United States government. How long it will take for a revolution? I have no idea, but it will happen eventually. Will it happen in our lifetime? Very very doubtful. But, at least we're not sitting on our ass deciding between the "lesser of two evils."
 
Tonyk212000

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Don't ever compare a campaign to a bodybuilding show, that is a terrible analogy. This isn't about him becoming president, this is about changing our country back to the old roots....

...When we didn't stick our nose into every other country's business.

When we didn't have worthless programs that tax payers' waste their their money everyday on.

When the U.S. government wasn't spending billions dollars every day on another country's war.

When the government didn't spend hundreds of billions of dollars on a war against drugs.

When congress worried more about protecting our borders rather than making sure athletes arn't getting ahold of steroids.

When terrorists were not on the U.S. payroll

When we used something that was actually worth something as money rather than a fucking piece of paper that becomes more and more worthless everyday

When we didn't replace country leaders with our puppets so they will do anything we please

When our government didn't lie to us day in and day out

When we had an actual conservative to vote for as president



Very powerful stuff there


Edit: being serious here
 
Beefcake

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This isn't about him becoming president

Then what is it about? Campaign for Liberty?

Can you not see what my problem is? You can say it's not about becoming president all you want, but in reality you'd have to be a mook not to think that this is not just another rally for someone that wants to become president. If it's such a revolution, then why is it not happening now? I guess you could say it is to argue a point, but as far as I'm concerned he's simply another presidental cantidate.

Maybe I'm biased because I'm Canadian and don't take the same level of intensity about U.S. politics that you or Ironslave have, but who knows. :tiphat:
 
Flex

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Then what is it about? Campaign for Liberty?

Can you not see what my problem is? You can say it's not about becoming president all you want, but in reality you'd have to be a mook not to think that this is not just another rally for someone that wants to become president. If it's such a revolution, then why is it not happening now? I guess you could say it is to argue a point, but as far as I'm concerned he's simply another presidental cantidate.

Maybe I'm biased because I'm Canadian and don't take the same level of intensity about U.S. politics that you or Ironslave have, but who knows. :tiphat:
You have no idea what you're talking about.

Ron Paul doesn't even want to be president, he wants his country back. Kurt Snyder (who passed away recently) had to practically beg Ron to run for president in 2008.

As for asking why the revolution isn't happening right now, you obviously didn't read my post thoroughly. That, or you're just very very slow. People are sheep, they get their news from CNN, Fox News, or their newspaper. All have the same controlled/biased information, thus they can spoon feed whatever the fuck they want to the American public. Look what's happening with Georgia, everyone approves feeding billions of dollars to this country overseas to fight the "big bad evil Russia."

Ron Paul will never be president, sad but true. Let's face it, he's too honest; making him sound "cooky" because he's not reading off a script like almost all other candidates. He's too intelligent; the average American can't even comprehend what he's saying, they'd rather hear the simple things like "9/11 was bad." He'd attempt to make too many changes the American public can handle; Everyone wants change, but they are too scared to actually make it (like i said before, brainwashed). He's a terrible speaker; if Ron Paul could speak as well as Obama, people would take him far more serious as a candidate. On top of all that, he's getting too old; I believe he'd be 76 in 2012, which is about 5 years older than McCain is right now. I'm actually hoping Pat Buchanon runs as a Republican sometime in the near future.

You think 12,000 people piled up in that stadium because they want him to win in 2008? No. Those people are there because they believe in limited government. Ron Paul probably won't even run for president in 2012, he'd be about 76. So for you to say "oh, he's just some fag trying to become president," is about as ignorant of a statement as you could possibly make.
 
Beefcake

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Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. I don't really even care at this point. :wutyousay:
 
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