Bradley in DC
02-04-2008, 09:57 AM
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/feb/04/numbers-dont-dim-hope-for-supporters-of-ron-paul/
Numbers don't dim hope for supporters of Ron Paul
By Robert Wilson
Monday, February 4, 2008
Among the youngest of presidential candidate Ron Paul’s supporters was Taylor Mann, 3, who danced to the music of Piney Ridge at a rally and cookout Saturday in Townsend.
Robert Wilson / Special to the News Sentinel
Ernie Brewster was among supporters lining a sidewalk along U.S. Highway 321 in Townsend on Saturday to support Ron Paul.
TOWNSEND - In what are acknowledged as tough economic times, there seem to be mostly two types of signs in Blount County front yards: "Elect Ron Paul" and "For Sale."
Whether there is any connection - beyond a mortgage crisis, a looming recession and a presidential candidate who places a strong economy and property rights among his priority campaign planks - is anybody's guess.
But even a brief talk with Paul's supporters reveals a grassroots disdain for much of what is happening in the nation's capital, a desire for a return to fundamental ideals and a strong conviction that Paul, a veteran congressman from Texas, is the path to their vision of America.
Never mind that the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll released Sunday has Paul with only 7 percent support among Republican voters. U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona has 48 percent, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has 24 percent, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has 16 percent.
Even faced with that data, supporters at a rally and cookout at Ron Paul headquarters in Townsend on Saturday vowed to press on, even though McCain could lock up enough convention delegates in Tuesday's "Super Tuesday" primaries to essentially clinch the Republican nomination.
Bob Stern, a math instructor at Pellissippi State Technical Community College, said he might even support an Independent run by Paul if the candidate fails to get the GOP nomination.
Stern says he got "an awakening in 2005" when he attended a meeting of opponents to the Iraq war.
"The first thing they said is that we don't have a legitimate government," said Stern, 57, who describes himself as a "traditional Jewish liberal from New York," one who actively protested the Vietnam war during his college years and has remained left-leaning in his politics ever since, supporting such presidential candidates as Walter Mondale and John Kerry.
After hearing Paul's positions on issues and doing research on Web sites, the West Knox County resident spanned what would initially appear to be an ideological chasm and supports Paul, a man who calls himself a Constitutionalist and whose views can be on either side of the conservative/progressive divide.
If Paul pulls out of the campaign after a GOP candidate is selected, Stern said he might look for a "minor-party candidate" to vote for.
Another supporter at Saturday's event was Ernie Brewster, 40, who joined nearly 20 others on that sunny afternoon waving signs and placards to passing motorists on U.S. Highway 321 in Townsend. A remarkable number of those motorists shouted, waved and honked their approval of Paul in response.
Unlike Stern, Brewster said he has been pretty much apolitical in years past, not actively working for any candidate because he did not think his voice "mattered."
He said he never really felt good about any candidate since he started voting in the 1980s.
"I just always voted for the lesser of the evils," he said.
But he said he considers Paul "a statesman, not a politician. A statesman is in it for the people."
He supports Paul, he said, because of the candidate's call for lower taxes and "his honesty. He has never wavered. What he stands for today is what he always stood for."
Brewster said he did much Internet research before falling in line with Paul's backers.
And, he said, that 7 percent support level does not represent "a losing battle. It has raised the profile of his beliefs even if he doesn't win."
Brewster said he does not know who he will vote for if Paul is eliminated from the race.
"Some think his views are outrageous," he said. "But they are constitutionally driven, and there is no outrage in that."
He said he cannot see voting for any of the Democratic candidates and doesn't have much enthusiasm for any GOP candidates besides Paul.
If Paul is eliminated, he said, he might just sit out the election.
Numbers don't dim hope for supporters of Ron Paul
By Robert Wilson
Monday, February 4, 2008
Among the youngest of presidential candidate Ron Paul’s supporters was Taylor Mann, 3, who danced to the music of Piney Ridge at a rally and cookout Saturday in Townsend.
Robert Wilson / Special to the News Sentinel
Ernie Brewster was among supporters lining a sidewalk along U.S. Highway 321 in Townsend on Saturday to support Ron Paul.
TOWNSEND - In what are acknowledged as tough economic times, there seem to be mostly two types of signs in Blount County front yards: "Elect Ron Paul" and "For Sale."
Whether there is any connection - beyond a mortgage crisis, a looming recession and a presidential candidate who places a strong economy and property rights among his priority campaign planks - is anybody's guess.
But even a brief talk with Paul's supporters reveals a grassroots disdain for much of what is happening in the nation's capital, a desire for a return to fundamental ideals and a strong conviction that Paul, a veteran congressman from Texas, is the path to their vision of America.
Never mind that the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll released Sunday has Paul with only 7 percent support among Republican voters. U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona has 48 percent, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has 24 percent, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has 16 percent.
Even faced with that data, supporters at a rally and cookout at Ron Paul headquarters in Townsend on Saturday vowed to press on, even though McCain could lock up enough convention delegates in Tuesday's "Super Tuesday" primaries to essentially clinch the Republican nomination.
Bob Stern, a math instructor at Pellissippi State Technical Community College, said he might even support an Independent run by Paul if the candidate fails to get the GOP nomination.
Stern says he got "an awakening in 2005" when he attended a meeting of opponents to the Iraq war.
"The first thing they said is that we don't have a legitimate government," said Stern, 57, who describes himself as a "traditional Jewish liberal from New York," one who actively protested the Vietnam war during his college years and has remained left-leaning in his politics ever since, supporting such presidential candidates as Walter Mondale and John Kerry.
After hearing Paul's positions on issues and doing research on Web sites, the West Knox County resident spanned what would initially appear to be an ideological chasm and supports Paul, a man who calls himself a Constitutionalist and whose views can be on either side of the conservative/progressive divide.
If Paul pulls out of the campaign after a GOP candidate is selected, Stern said he might look for a "minor-party candidate" to vote for.
Another supporter at Saturday's event was Ernie Brewster, 40, who joined nearly 20 others on that sunny afternoon waving signs and placards to passing motorists on U.S. Highway 321 in Townsend. A remarkable number of those motorists shouted, waved and honked their approval of Paul in response.
Unlike Stern, Brewster said he has been pretty much apolitical in years past, not actively working for any candidate because he did not think his voice "mattered."
He said he never really felt good about any candidate since he started voting in the 1980s.
"I just always voted for the lesser of the evils," he said.
But he said he considers Paul "a statesman, not a politician. A statesman is in it for the people."
He supports Paul, he said, because of the candidate's call for lower taxes and "his honesty. He has never wavered. What he stands for today is what he always stood for."
Brewster said he did much Internet research before falling in line with Paul's backers.
And, he said, that 7 percent support level does not represent "a losing battle. It has raised the profile of his beliefs even if he doesn't win."
Brewster said he does not know who he will vote for if Paul is eliminated from the race.
"Some think his views are outrageous," he said. "But they are constitutionally driven, and there is no outrage in that."
He said he cannot see voting for any of the Democratic candidates and doesn't have much enthusiasm for any GOP candidates besides Paul.
If Paul is eliminated, he said, he might just sit out the election.