Ron Paul the unlikely star of state GOP convention
Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
San Francisco Chronicle September 18, 2011 04:00 AM
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Los Angeles --
At California's usually staid GOP state convention, hundreds of unlikely Republican activists - many sporting porkpie hats, dreadlocks and tie-dyed shirts - lined up Saturday to cast ballots in the party straw poll, then jammed meeting rooms and hallways to ecstatically greet their favorite candidate.
"President Paul! President Paul!" they chanted, carrying signs proclaiming the "Paul Revolution," as Rep. Ron Paul of Texas swept from event to event at the convention and decisively won Saturday's straw poll with 44.9 percent of the vote.
The object of all the passion and excitement was not a show-horse presidential candidate like Texas Gov. Rick Perry or Tea Party darling Rep. Michele Bachmann - but the longshot and somewhat rumpled renegade Paul. The ardor bestowed on the unlikely star was clearly a matter of discomfort at the convention, which attracted more than 1,000 GOP activists.
"It's everyone, all walks of life," said Orange County commodities broker Allan Bartlett, looking around at a packed hall. "What they crave is a consistent political philosophy."
Paul far outdistanced his nearest rivals in the straw poll. Perry finished second with 29 percent, Mitt Romney was third with 9 percent and Bachmann came out fourth with just 8 percent of the 833 total ballots cast.
In an interview with The Chronicle, Paul appeared nonplussed by the adulation, saying that his views - admittedly unorthodox by GOP standards - separate him from the rest of the pack and attract Americans who "value freedom."
"They're young people, mostly, who realize our country's in a mess ... and they're very open to the ideas of liberty," said Paul, 76. "They'd just as soon assume responsibility for themselves ... be left alone, get the government off their back and get out of wars."
Paul declined to rule out a possible independent presidential run if he fails to secure the GOP nomination. But, he emphasized, "I have no plans to do it."
"It's the wrong thing to think about," he said. "If I go around here and talk to people, and I said, 'Well, I guess our Plan B is when we lose in January, we have to start a third-party movement' - that would be so negative."
"We should always be cautious about the unintended consequences of our policy ... that it could come back to haunt us," he said. "People want to twist it and say because I'm critical I blame America. And they're not fair ... because I blame its policies."
Paul acknowledged that his core belief in individual freedom extends to the position that the federal government should never mandate what many view as basic health and safety requirements - vaccines for polio, whooping cough, or even seat belt laws.
"I don't like mandates," he said simply.
Asked about Tea Party cheers at the last debate on a question regarding an uninsured man who might die in the streets without government aide, Paul said his view that entitlement programs such as welfare and health care need to be dramatically slashed is both compassionate and constitutionally sound.
Paul organizer John Dennis, who ran last year as an unsuccessful Libertarian candidate against Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, drew cheers from the crowd when he seconded that philosophy.
"I believe in a strong, robust and efficient safety net. I just don't think the federal government should be involved in it," he said. "I think it's time that we start working toward the end of those programs."
Still, Paul is fighting an uphill battle, even with his own party. State GOP officials publicly invited Perry, Romney and Bachmann to speak. They snubbed Paul, who showed up anyway. On Saturday, most party officials steered clear of his events.
An added benefit, he noted wryly, was that "you're lowering the average age of Republican delegates by about 30 years."
Paul told The Chronicle that while he has run for president before, this time is different. Younger voters are involved in social media such as Facebook where "hundreds of thousands" of them are spreading his message.
"The only way we'll find out is what happens in January, whether that translates into real votes," he said. "We see the enthusiasm ... and the volunteers. But under our system, the litmus test is: Do they come to the polls and vote? We'll see."
At California's usually staid GOP state convention, hundreds of unlikely Republican activists - many sporting porkpie hats, dreadlocks and tie-dyed shirts - lined up Saturday to cast ballots in the party straw poll, then jammed meeting rooms and hallways to ecstatically greet their favorite candidate.
"President Paul! President Paul!" they chanted, carrying signs proclaiming the "Paul Revolution," as Rep. Ron Paul of Texas swept from event to event at the convention and decisively won Saturday's straw poll with 44.9 percent of the vote.
The object of all the passion and excitement was not a show-horse presidential candidate like Texas Gov. Rick Perry or Tea Party darling Rep. Michele Bachmann - but the longshot and somewhat rumpled renegade Paul. The ardor bestowed on the unlikely star was clearly a matter of discomfort at the convention, which attracted more than 1,000 GOP activists.
Disregarding polls, pundits
The youthful crowd who make up the congressman's brigade call themselves "Paulistas." They insist they are unfazed by polls showing Paul to be a mere footnote in the race or by media pundits who dismiss him as fringe and even fanatical. They invaded the halls of the Marriott hotel, chanting "End the Fed!" and wearing T-shirts saying "I'm voting for peace." And they overwhelmed the typically unremarkable straw poll when huge crowds waited to cast ballots for their man."It's everyone, all walks of life," said Orange County commodities broker Allan Bartlett, looking around at a packed hall. "What they crave is a consistent political philosophy."
Paul far outdistanced his nearest rivals in the straw poll. Perry finished second with 29 percent, Mitt Romney was third with 9 percent and Bachmann came out fourth with just 8 percent of the 833 total ballots cast.
In an interview with The Chronicle, Paul appeared nonplussed by the adulation, saying that his views - admittedly unorthodox by GOP standards - separate him from the rest of the pack and attract Americans who "value freedom."
"They're young people, mostly, who realize our country's in a mess ... and they're very open to the ideas of liberty," said Paul, 76. "They'd just as soon assume responsibility for themselves ... be left alone, get the government off their back and get out of wars."
Paul declined to rule out a possible independent presidential run if he fails to secure the GOP nomination. But, he emphasized, "I have no plans to do it."
"It's the wrong thing to think about," he said. "If I go around here and talk to people, and I said, 'Well, I guess our Plan B is when we lose in January, we have to start a third-party movement' - that would be so negative."
Focus on individual freedom
Addressing a matter that earned him boos in the most recent Tea Party debate, Paul told The Chronicle that he stood by his criticisms of the United States' policies - not the country, he insisted - after Sept. 11."We should always be cautious about the unintended consequences of our policy ... that it could come back to haunt us," he said. "People want to twist it and say because I'm critical I blame America. And they're not fair ... because I blame its policies."
Paul acknowledged that his core belief in individual freedom extends to the position that the federal government should never mandate what many view as basic health and safety requirements - vaccines for polio, whooping cough, or even seat belt laws.
"I don't like mandates," he said simply.
Asked about Tea Party cheers at the last debate on a question regarding an uninsured man who might die in the streets without government aide, Paul said his view that entitlement programs such as welfare and health care need to be dramatically slashed is both compassionate and constitutionally sound.
Paul organizer John Dennis, who ran last year as an unsuccessful Libertarian candidate against Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, drew cheers from the crowd when he seconded that philosophy.
"I believe in a strong, robust and efficient safety net. I just don't think the federal government should be involved in it," he said. "I think it's time that we start working toward the end of those programs."
Still, Paul is fighting an uphill battle, even with his own party. State GOP officials publicly invited Perry, Romney and Bachmann to speak. They snubbed Paul, who showed up anyway. On Saturday, most party officials steered clear of his events.
Reaching younger voters
Former state party Chairman Shawn Steele, a member of the Republican National Committee, was the exception, telling Paul's supporters they were infusing the GOP with "a whole bunch of raw energy that we haven't had in the party for decades."An added benefit, he noted wryly, was that "you're lowering the average age of Republican delegates by about 30 years."
Paul told The Chronicle that while he has run for president before, this time is different. Younger voters are involved in social media such as Facebook where "hundreds of thousands" of them are spreading his message.
"The only way we'll find out is what happens in January, whether that translates into real votes," he said. "We see the enthusiasm ... and the volunteers. But under our system, the litmus test is: Do they come to the polls and vote? We'll see."
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