Ron Paul: Utah turnout wows candidate

[Mars]

Ron Paul: Utah turnout wows candidate

Before a crowd of 1,000, Republican hopeful speaks about foreign policy, war

By Sheena McFarland

The Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated: 09/16/2007 02:38:49 AM MDT

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul speaks to... (Scott Sommerdorf/The Salt Lake Tribune)

More than 1,000 people gathered Saturday at the Union Pacific Depot in Salt Lake City to rally behind U.S. Rep. Ron Paul in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

Paul, an obstetrician from Texas, was impressed with the turnout.

"Wow. If they only knew you existed over in Washington, they'd change things over there," he said as he greeted the cheering crowd.

Paul spoke fervently of his support of smaller government, including the abolition of agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service, and of his support for strictly following the Constitution. He also spoke out against the war in Iraq and any pre-emptive military action.

"Because of our careless attitude about foreign policy and how we go to war, we have allowed our government to build an American world empire," he said. "We are not an empire. We're a republic."

Paul's stances on such topics are "clearly proven" in his voting record, which has earned him the nickname of "Dr. No" in the House of Representatives, said supporter Ronald Levine Saturday.

"I tell people not to listen to what a candidate says before an election or what he does," he said. "I tell them to look at what he has consistently done for the past 20 years."

That voting record is what drives his grass-roots supporters, said Mark Hudson of Syracuse.

"He is the only candidate who attracts everyone from libertarians to constitutional conservatives to true

conservatives," Hudson said.

Paul visited Utah for the free rally and for a $1,000-a-plate brunch that drew fewer than 20 supporters and a $2,000-per-plate dinner. He is the eighth presidential candidate to visit Utah, the fourth Republican. Paul had raised about $13,000 in Utah as of the June 30 filing, according to the Federal Elections Commission.

Though polls show Paul garnering an average of only 2 percent of potential voters, many of his supporters believe the polls don't accurately show how many people support him.

"He's the only candidate I've seen homemade signs for," said Tom Salt, who is studying mechanical engineering at Brigham Young University.

Salt sees many young people supporting Paul.

"We look at his principles and we're too young to be cynical about his chances," Salt said.

The mainstream media has not treated Paul fairly, said Jed Hardman of Springville, and neither have some of the other Republicans in the race, pointing to Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney "openly mocking" Paul after debates.

"They're afraid because as soon as such a true conservative emerges, one who is anti-abortion and has conservative views on taxes, they're going to lose," he said.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/justice/ci_6908779

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[el midgetron]

[Lt_Ripley]

as much as I like Ron Paul as republicans go , I don't think the 'con' party will let him have the big chair.

[Mars]

as much as I like Ron Paul as republicans go , I don't think the 'con' party will let him have the big chair.

I don't know, he won the last 2 republican debates on Fox News. That was very impressive.

And by the way, did anyone see Bill O'Reilly's Ron Paul interview? Bill would ask questions that require a long answer, then Ron Paul would answer him and Bill would quickly say "alright alright lets move on, enough.". Very annoying.

Its like if I asked someone to sum up how the Roman Empire fell, and then required it to be answered it in 6 seconds.

[Guardsman Bass]

I wouldn't say Ron Paul "won" the last debate among Republicans. He did have an interesting back-and-forth with Mike Huckabee, but Huckabee actually came out looking a lot better than Ron Paul did, even though Ron Paul got the last word in.

[Mars]

I wouldn't say Ron Paul "won" the last debate among Republicans. He did have an interesting back-and-forth with Mike Huckabee, but Huckabee actually came out looking a lot better than Ron Paul did, even though Ron Paul got the last word in.

According to the Post-debate polls, Ron Paul won. 33% Ron Paul, with Guilliani coming in second with 16%.

[Guardsman Bass]

According to the Post-debate polls, Ron Paul won. 33% Ron Paul, with Guilliani coming in second with 16%.

My mistake, then. I find it interesting, though, that people would choose Ron Paul as the winner. He barely even spoke, and in my honest opinion, when he had the back-and-forth with Huckabee, Huckabee managed to take the patriotic "high ground", arguing things such as "If we make a mistake, we make it as one nation".