Ron Paul Gets Double the Crowd in Iowa
by James Buchanan
According to one blog, Ron Paul spoke before a packed house with easily double the audience of the “official” Republican forum in Iowa, which had excluded Dr. Paul. A recent news article reports “Outsider Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul headlined a raucous campaign rally Saturday after a multi-candidate GOP forum in Des Moines to which the Texas congressman was not invited. An audience of more than 600 GOP activists turned out for the Paul event, held in Hy-Vee Hall next door to where six candidates addressed a subdued crowd of much the same size earlier. ‘Today we want to celebrate and we want to be very positive,’ Paul said. ‘We’re here to talk about life and liberty, and quite frankly they are inseparable.’ Paul has built a loyal following of people attracted to the politician’s libertarian stance on constitutional rights and opposition to the war in Iraq. But organizers for the forum, held by Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Christian Alliance, left Paul out of their lineup, citing his lack of campaign organization in Iowa. The decision sparked loud protests from Paul supporters and prompted his campaign staff to plan its own rally. During Paul’s rally, he proposed getting rid of the Internal Revenue Service, Selective Service, income tax and the Federal Reserve, and withdrawing from the United Nations. He received cheers from the audience of Iowans and supporters from other states after each point. The loudest reception came during his call for an immediate end to the war in Iraq. ‘The policy of nonintervention is the policy of the founding fathers,’ said Paul, who was one of the few Republicans who voted against the 2002 resolution authorizing the invasion of Iraq. ‘Republicans would do well if they changed their position in this regard.’ ”
First of all the excuses for “not including Ron Paul” in the Iowa forum appear to change on a daily basis. The latest one is that Paul has a “lack of campaign organization” in Iowa. Well, if that’s the case, how was Paul able to attract double the audience of the “popular” candidates? The latest statement from Ed Failor Jr., who organized the event, was that Ron Paul was excluded from the Iowa debate because it would have made the event go on too long. (I guess we’re supposed to believe Failor’s ties to McCain had absolutely nothing to do with it.)
The two biggest issues facing America at this time are the Iraq War and the illegal alien problem. Ron Paul has called for an end to “birth-right citizenship” also known as “anchor babies.” Ron Paul has also called for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. Of all the candidates, Paul is the only one who is “two for two” on these key issues. Americans have grown tired of all the overused neocon slogans, which appear targeted more for children than for adults. Keeping our troops in a shooting gallery while accomplishing nothing is NOT supporting the troops. (more…)