The first time you heard of Ron Paul.

[Matt23]

I was thinking where all you determined supporters came from and how you first heard of Paul.

Mine was an internet forum. At first I didn't like him and denounced some of his issues thinking they where too radical. I watched a debate in which I thought he totally blew everyone else off the stage. I did some research and adopted his ideas.

[lucynuts]

I think is was during the debate where he gave Giuliani the reading assignment.

[maggiebott]

Alex Jones introduced me to our patriot. I looked for truth first and found Ron Paul.

[Kotin]

i was a democrat cause i lost all hope for repubs.
i was a Joe Biden supporter

but i saw Dr.Paul in all the debates and he was great.. but something clicked in my head after watching A New Hope.

[JohnM]

On this webpage:

www.politicalcompass.org/usprimaries2008

[integrity]

Alex Jones introduced me to our patriot. I looked for truth first and found Ron Paul.
ditto

[heartless]

I was walking into the computer department of my school and overheard some teachers who were talking about republican candidates for the president. One of them said "what about Ron Paul" the other said, "He has no chance, but he's a very smart man" I decided to look him up on Google (I'd never seen a Google Ron Paul sign before because I live in New York City and no one here has put up signs in the neighborhoods I frequent; probably because of stringent property laws). I found his website and read a bit but wasn't that interested at first, a week later while surfing youtube I found a video compilation of his speeches and was hooked.

[nate895]

At first I heard of him as one of the quotes on the back of the book "The Politcally Incorrect Guide to American History" by Thomas Woods, and then I saw at the first debate, and then I eventually got hooked after I decided that I didn't support the war anymore.

[RSLudlum]

Dr. Paul first made an impression on me in 2002 on PBS's Bill Moyers interview with him. He really turned my head around at that time.

[LibertyEagle]

I heard about him, geez, more years ago than I want to think about. My Mother was a supporter when he first went to Congress in the 70's.

[trapfive]

Over the past couple of years I'd developed the attitude that I would not support the two party system. Whichever candidate ran on an independant or third party ticket would get my vote. I knew Ron Paul had run as a libertarian and talked to a friend of mine about how he was running, I thought, since I wasn't watching closely that he would campaign libertarian. One day I heard a clip from the debate, "we're just saving face", realized RP was campaigning as a Repub. and decided, well I guess I'll have to try one more time to support the party of conservatism.

The GOP does not want my vote. My vote is reserved for the candidate that speaks the truth, that is Ron Paul.

[yaz]

I looked up every single candidate and settled with Ron Paul. Thought it was the morally right thing to do since I would be voting for the first time. This was about when Ron Paul first announced his candidacy.

[Cinderella]

i saw him on bill marr (however u spell his last name)...he was on with ben afleck...i was a democrat and after i heard him speak i looked him up and i converted :)

the rest is our history

[Worthyone]

Alex Jones introduced me to our patriot. I looked for truth first and found Ron Paul.
That sums it up for me

[nbhadja]

Back in May when I was a neo-con. I thought his closing down all military bases and opposing the war was a bad thing. How stupid I was back then.

[nate895]

Back in May when I was a neo-con. I thought his closing down all military bases and opposing the war was a bad thing. How stupid I was back then.

Believe me, I can't believe I was that stupid, and I actually thought I had justifications for staying in Iraq forever.

[Agora]

I've heard of him on GLP forum, I was very skeptical (habit; ) ).
But I've done my homework and --- here I am. :D

[Highland]

I saw him come out as a candidate in May on Fox! Believe it or not...they actually informed me initially in a fair and balanced way! lol...go figure!

[Cinderella]

Believe me, I can't believe I was that stupid, and I actually thought I had justifications for staying in Iraq forever.

amazing how sheepish we all were at one point or another.....im just glad we all woke up and that many more patriots are waking up daily:D

[yongrel]

He was either on the Penn Jillette show or mentioned on the Penn Jillette show. I can't remember. One of those two.

[familydog]

I first learned about him through Fox News show Red Eye almost this time last year.

[kathy88]

I learned of him in 2004 while he was running on the Libertarian ticket, as I was registered in that party at the time. I did, however suck it up and take one for the team and register republican for this fiasco. It makes me throw up in my mouth a little every time I think about it. LOL.

[jbuttell]

I likely 'saw' him prior to September, but it wasn't until then that continued to see Ron Paul signs in the strangest places here in Studio City/Universal City, Los Angeles (hanging over freeway overpasses!!)

Seeing those signs raised my curiosity again so I started reading about the guy - found some youtube clips - heard him supporting the constitution so strongly... As a Libertarian, i was almost immediately hooked.

.jeremy

[shocker315]

1996- read the book Creature from Jekyll Island (A second look a the Federal Reserve). He gives an endorsement of the book on the back cover. I was surprised that a congressman would be so open in his opposition to the Fed. We need more like him.

[ronpaulhawaii]

I learned of him in 2004 while he was running on the Libertarian ticket, as I was registered in that party at the time. I did, however suck it up and take one for the team and register republican for this fiasco. It makes me throw up in my mouth a little every time I think about it. LOL.

RP did not run on an LP ticket in 2004, where did you get that from???

I learned about him on USENET - TPG ~1998. A reference to an "honest politician" from a sensible poster raised my curiousity...

[Peregrin]

I've never really cared much about politics, but knew enough to vote my conscience (mostly Republican, but I did vote for the Constitution Party candidate in 2000). This year I was disgusted with the whole thing from the beginning and did my best to ignore it all. Somebody kept putting a Ron Paul Revolution banner on a walkway above I-94, however, and finally I said, "All right, fine, I'll check him out on the web." I went to ronpaul2008.com and poked around for a while..."hmmm...he's pro-life, good...against the war...Hmmm...has consistently voted in favor of taxpayers...wants to stick strictly to the Constitution...HMMMM!"

I was hooked. :) I got on the wagon somewhat late, but now I finally have my Ron Paul button and bumper sticker and I'm saving my money to go to the March. Go Ron!

[MRoCkEd]

i youtubed them all after hearing "rudy slamming down a truther"

[affa]

found the man on Youtube thanks to some user made vid, though it turned out I recognized him from Freedom to Fascism. Researched his positions, researched his history, listened to speeches and interviews spanning decades.

I have never supported a politician before, and probably never will again.

But Ron Paul? Absolutely amazing.

[Matt23]

Back in May when I was a neo-con. I thought his closing down all military bases and opposing the war was a bad thing. How stupid I was back then.

Back then I was brainwashed by talk radio. I was a neo-con until I found RP, he guided me the right way.

[seeker1]

I met him at a fundraising barbecue to save Surfside Beach where my mom had a home.

I considered myself fairly liberal, but I was drawn to this guy that made history relevant and I've been a fan ever since.

I knew I was wasting my vote in the vernacular of the day, but he has been my protest vote for the last six presidential elections.:cool:

[kigol]

I think is was during the debate where he gave Giuliani the reading assignment.

haha

[armand61685]

I think is was during the debate where he gave Giuliani the reading assignment.

same here

[dbhohio47]

In '87-88 during his Libertarian run for president. I was impressed with a few interviews he did....but I believe some smear campaign (perhaps the racist newsletters) convinced me then he was just another slimebag politician pandering in his own self-interests. (it was much harder to get information in those days).

This time around, it was an article in the local paper back in October, 2007. I checked him out again, not realizing it was the same guy. This time, I came across a speech he gave before congress entitled, "A Republic, if You Can Keep it". Additional research convinced me that Ron's the real deal (or, as close to it as you get, nowadays).

Staying attentive to this campaign (my usual response to anything political is the urge to wretch) has been a real eye-opening experience. A part of me is very proud of America in watching this grassroots movement take form. It restores my faith, particularly in you young people, that there are others out there that can see the light....recognize bullshit when they see it.... and are creatively pursuing ways to expose it to others in an effort to effect meaningful change.

Another part of me is very discouraged, in seeing yet another generation's hopes dashed by the oppressive power of a "system" that is so blatantly corrupt and self-serving. When someone like Ron Paul is basically painted as a "gadfly" policitian.... a mere nuisance in the grand scheme of things pestering the status quo with his principles and earnest integrity.... it really makes one wonder what things are coming to..... and just what it is going to take to get people to wake up and expect more than just living a nightmare.

[nullvalu]

I had heard of "Dr. No" about 6 years ago, but didn't look into him that much at the time. I began finding out more about Ron Paul after seeing him in the documentary "America: Freedom to Fascism"

[CaptBookbag]

I think is was during the debate where he gave Giuliani the reading assignment.

Yes. Same here. talk about blowback for giuilani

[molly_pitcher]

My friends were well into Paul before the 2008 election ever started. As soon as he announce he was running, they got the word out to all of us, and we were all a buzz as early as last summer. I became actively involved when the media blackout started.

[Unspun]

I learned about him in my junior year of high school about 6 years ago. I was researching a paper on legalizing drugs (i was a pothead) and came across him on NORML's website as having an A+ for his stance on federal intervention of the drug problem. I looked up a little more about him, and asked myself "Why isn't this man running for president?". At the time I was naive about a lot of things such as media bias, etc. When I found out he was running early into the campaign I was totally stoked about it.

[tangent4ronpaul]

Probably the late 90's... either someone on a message form posted some of his weekly messages or seeing him on C-SPAN when the house was in session.

I was hooked after that!

-n

[xCakex]

The summer of 2006, my step sister took me to the warped tour and usually the crowd has a strong leftest turnout, I visited a tent and they gave me a flier with an impeach Bush Myspace page. I use to be a neocon before that, but punk music made me think differently, so a month later I found the flier again and went to the myspace out of curiosity, there I found a link to America: Freedom to Fascism, the movie that flipped my paradigm, I was a Obama supporter for a while, but when I heard Paul was running I jumped aboard the revolution.

[qh4dotcom]

I first saw him a debate but didn't pay too much attention to him...then I started to like him after I read this in an e-mail newsletter

http://www.markflavinblog.com/uncategorized/are-you-worried-because-i-am

[burningfur]

Freedom to Fascism though I didn't pay attention to him until the first debate.

Schoolin' Giuliani

:D

[berrybunches]

From a truther actually. Someone who I hadn't seen in a few years. I was not a truther myself but the fact that he was my age, seemed to be concerned about the government and was libertarian thinking it really made me think, wow someone is actually causes other 23 year olds to get on the liberty bandwagon! I will give him a look.

So I google Ron Paul, than I Youtubed Ron Paul...within 5 minutes I was in tears of hope.

I told my friend about my new found enthusiastic support and he was so proud of himself lol
He said I caught of very quickly.
He is wrong tho, I was raised conservative/libertarian so these ideas are not new to me like they are to many people my age. I have been saying since I was a teenager how welfare hurts the poor and how the government can self sustain and stop stealing from its citizens...this was not a popular stance with my peers, of course. Now, I am so overwhelmingly happy that I found a group to resonate with and that this message is spreading!

[wcpro]

On Real Time with Bill Maher :(

[LEK]

Saw a sign - looked him up on the internet - watched him give a speech in congress - hooked from that point on.

It was like a breath of fresh air.

[FindLiberty]

...spent a lot of time (in 1989 / 1990) on the thomas.loc.gov/ web site when
suddenly I fell in love with my OB / GYN, Dr. No!

[sheepledog]

Alex Jones

[Fields]

I was eating ABC Spaghetti O's and my last 7 letters were RON PAUL. I had to find out who the man was after that experience.

[chowdy]

Can't really remember. One of my firsts exposures to the man's name was in San Jose, where I was for a summer job. Every morning I'd drive by a big "Ron Paul REVOLution" banner, and it sank in I guess ;)

After that, it must have been people on online videogames with their names like "Ron Paul 08" and whatnot. I decided, then, to check him out... and the rest is history (for me).

[LandonCook]

I was an anti-war republican and in desperate need of a hero... Paul then proved himself to me in the first debate so I decided to make sure he became president. Plus, I knew even then that it would be the only way for a republican to win.

[liberteebell]

About 10 years ago, I heard our local talk show host read a speech Ron Paul had written. I looked him up and couldn't believe a congressman like him even existed! Because of him and the talk radio host, I actually thoroughly read and made myself understand the Constitution for the first time in my life. I realized how much I didn't know...(well, better late than never)

I've been promoting Ron Paul ever since and now that he's running for prez, I've gotten a lot of, "isn't Ron Paul that guy you've been talking about for years?", from friends and relatives. :D

[d03boy]

i've never been up close with politics at all.. ic ouldn't have told you who our VP was a few months ago. My friend showed me the weird Mike Gravel videos on youtube and I was like "wtf?" and then he showed me the link to the youtube debates.. so I watched them out of boredom and found ron paul's answers inspiring.. From there I got into IRC on freenode and the rest is his story

[JonathanR]

In 1996 when I researched all the past Libertarian candidates.

[IDefendThePlatform]

I was watching Fox News with my roommate shortly after 9/11 when Shepard Smith announced that the Patriot Act had passed 434 to 1 and that the lone descenting vote was congressman Ron Paul from Texas. I remember thinking "I agree with Ron Paul."

I think I might have known his name before that, but that galvanized me. I don't really remember when I heard about his presidential candidacy, sometime in June/July I think.

[NEPA_Revolution]

I saw him on his first appearance on the Colbert Report. I thought he was a nutcase. I then went onto his website out of curiosity, liked his positions and found this forum.

If it werent for Colbert I would be a member of Huck's Army right now! Thank you Ron Paul and RPF!!

[xCakex]

I was eating ABC Spaghetti O's and my last 7 letters were RON PAUL. I had to find out who the man was after that experience.

lulz.

[The One]

AJ for me also. I think that makes about 5 people who have posted that they were turned on to RP by AJ. 5 people out of 56....that's like 9%.....interesting.

[Agent CSL]

I first learned about Ron on a pro-marijuana forum, but it was Rense.com articles that eventually got me to support Ron.

[Nate SY]

Sometime around October of 2007 for me. I was in my AP government class and the class was supposed to split into populist, liberal, conservative, and libertarian. It ended up being around 20 people in liberal and 5 or 6 people in conservative (I was in the conservative group). Not one populist or libertarian. So we started debating issues and me and my good buddy were the only people on our side willing to argue, well... We dominated the debate because nobody else knew any facts to back up there positions. Then at the end our teacher made a comment of "You two sound more like Ron Paul than any of the other people running, you should have gone libertarian."

Anyways... My buddy got home and looked the good Dr. up, called me, said he sounded just like us, I check, was amazed, and now I'm here.

EDIT - Gotta add that before now I though that I was nearly alone in my views and thought that I would meat maybe one or two people in my life who actually shared them, and I included my buddy in that assumption. I can know happy say that the Revolution has made me feel like much less of an... odd man out.

[Zolah]

Alex Jones has called into a British radio show a few times that I've been listening to for years - The James Whale Show (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Whale_%28radio%29), from what I can remember I was checking out some stuff on AJ's website and saw a link about Ron Paul, followed it up then checked out the rest of the candidates..before then I only knew "Obama", "Clinton", "Giuliani".

[Hoover Dog 1957]

I don't remember because I voted for him in the 1988 presidential election when he ran on the Libertarian Party ticket. I discovered I was a libertarian sometime in my early years of college. I became interested in libertarian viewpoints when I discovered the Canadian progressive rock group Rush back in the mid 70's. I originally liked Rush's music and then discovered their lyrics confirmed my philosophical beliefs that are closely Libertarian. I was always a rebel, even before I was a teenager. In middle school and Jr. High I had a mistrust for the establishment and hated the government that lied and was filled with hypocrisy. My parents instilled those values in me when I was very young. My parents were very self reliant and always criticized dishonest local government officials on the county level. I grew up in a small rural town in south Texas. When I heard Ron Paul speak for the first time was probably when he was running for President in 1988. When I discovered in early 2007 that he was a candidate for President again there was no doubt in my mind I was going to support and vote for him.

[mrchubbs]

I owe my knowledge of Ron Paul to Harry Browne. The 1992 election was the first presidential election I could vote in. I researched the candidates to death and ended up voting for Paul Tsongas in the primary and then Bill Clinton in the general. Between 92 and 96 I had discovered that there was actually a party that held my views almost exactly: the libertarian party. I had no knowledge of it in 92.

Harry Browne became my idol. Sometime between 1996 and 2000 I did (as I always did) research on any elected officials who shared my libertarian views. It was then I heard about this Ron Paul guy, in congress, who was a Republican but voted like a libertarian. I didn't pay much attention to him until I heard early last year he was going to run for president. Since then it's been a wonderful trip.

I started following him, and I actually teared up with patriotic pride watching the video of him giving a speech on the house floor last year. That speech was this one:
http://www.ronpaullibrary.org/document.php?id=571

For me it was a watershed moment. I thought that this man who can get up and say these words in public on the house floor, that to me sound like a founding father deserves my entire being of support.

So, he didn't have me at hello, but he reeled me in with his bravery, honesty, and integrity.

Enjoy.

[Battlecruiser]

I think I first saw him on digg, nearly a year ago. It was a picture of him sitting in his desk and a sign on top of his desk said "Don't steal. The Government hates competition", and I just thought what an interesting character this guy is. But I didn't know much about him. I think I learned more about him through other stories on digg and thats how I got onto this campaign.

[Lysander]

I started becoming an avid reader of antiwar.com back in early 04. They carried a lot of Ron Paul's speeches and essays and I was simply shocked that a member of congress could be so honest and bold about the Iraq war. And a republican no less!

Didn't know all that much about him but what I knew I liked. When I heard he might announce a presidential bid I got pretty excited. I eventually made my first donation back in March. I thought it would be my last.

Then I learned about all his other positions about limited government, federal reserve etc, and the more I learned the more impressed I became.

[gtjwkq]

I was watching Stephen Colbert Report videos on comedycentral.com and saw his interview.

I've been a disenchanted libertarian for a long time, my older brother studied economics and told me to read some books when I was a teenager.

[mczerone]

i was a democrat cause i lost all hope for repubs.
i was a Joe Biden supporter

but i saw Dr.Paul in all the debates and he was great.. but something clicked in my head after watching A New Hope.

Oh Jeebus - I'm glad that you're over Biden! I heard him once, and thought he was running to be dictator!


I first heard of Paul from Doug Stanhope's blog. He (the comedian) was entertaining the idea of running, that got nixed by the FEC (his story), and he mentioned that he'd support Ron Paul.

I researched online from there.

[theseus51]

I took a political test online, like "which party are you" and it came up Libertarian. After researching online in 2001 (no wikipedia then) I realized I was a Libertarian, not a Republican. Doing any research online about the Libertarian Party, you start coming across the name "Ron Paul" a lot.

I don't read or listen to much news, cause it's depressing. But I sometimes listen to NPR online when I'm bored at work, and found a story about Mitt Romney, and they offhandedly mentioned Ron Paul. I was like woah, Ron Paul is running for President? I remember him. So went looking online for him and saw some videos online and yeah, was hooked.

[mckinleyforcongress]

I first heard about him related to the Gold Commission in the early 1980s and then saw him speak in 1984 when I was working for Senator Tower.

[liberteebell]

EDIT - Gotta add that before now I though that I was nearly alone in my views and thought that I would meet maybe one or two people in my life who actually shared them, and I included my buddy in that assumption. I can know happy say that the Revolution has made me feel like much less of an... odd man out.

That has to be the best thing that has come of the r3VOLution. Besides my sisters, I knew of no other libertarian thinking middle-aged women. But now I do! Lots of them! And every single one of them says, "now I know I am not alone". :D

But, wow! I never dreamed there was such a huge group of people of every age and background with similar views! :cool::cool::cool:

[Conza88]

Well, I've naturally always felt the govt was bs. Pretty much to John Howard & all the lies... siding with Bush etc. Always thought Republican party was as evil and wrong as can be.. so I thought I must be a democrat by default.

I had read Plato's Republic, Artisotle's ethics before hand.. and Orwell's 1984, Animal Farm, MacBeth from school extra - oddly! I was always in that mode of thinking..

I like someone mentioned above, thought I was the only one who thought and had the same ideas as I had... anyway, I liked Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky, Noam tells it like it is in regards to Foreign Policy & the US. I even wrote him a letter, and he replied.

I was surfing youtube, looking for 'truth stuff' - (nothing to do with 9/11) and I think it may have been a spammer posted a comment to look up Ron Paul, only hope for america on one of noam's videos. I looked him up... they saw an avaroth video.. then enter: 3 straight days of solid research (entertainment / amazement factor) for it too sink in.... this guy is actually a candidate?

omfg.. Enter: education about ---- OH SO MUCH.. The movement is progressive & there are levels of truth. You think you're there. But you're not. I'm at the AJ level atm.

[SilentBull]

I was on Alex Jones' site and read an article about how the media was trying to silence some guy who was running for president because he had the nerve to tell the truth.

I looked him up and found some YouTube videos. I couldn't believe it!

[Conza88]

found the man on Youtube thanks to some user made vid, though it turned out I recognized him from Freedom to Fascism. Researched his positions, researched his history, listened to speeches and interviews spanning decades.

I have never supported a politician before, and probably never will again.

But Ron Paul? Absolutely amazing.

Ron Paul is a statesmen, not a politician. So... :D


I was eating ABC Spaghetti O's and my last 7 letters were RON PAUL. I had to find out who the man was after that experience.

ROFL seriously, ahahah :eek:


I first learned about him through Fox News show Red Eye almost this time last year.

I HATE that show.. lol
What they say about him?

[dealerjim]

A close friend of mine told me about Dr. Paul and sent me a youtube link to a Fox debate. I sat in amazement while this man said everything I had been thinking for the last few years. I've since researched Dr. Paul and found that his views are very similar to mine on just about every issue. After voting for Bush (twice), I had pretty much given up on the hope that the GOP had anything else to offer. All I can say is thank god for Ron Paul.

[kathy88]

RP did not run on an LP ticket in 2004, where did you get that from???

I learned about him on USENET - TPG ~1998. A reference to an "honest politician" from a sensible poster raised my curiousity...


I have no idea.... It was in the 80's wasn't it? 84 or 88? Oops. Now I can't remember where I heard of him....... but I'd forgotten he existed until he announced last year.

[mkeller]

I first heard about Ron Paul from an online friend of mine in Denmark, who said that he had found a candidate worth voting for in our next election, and gave me a link to Ron Paul's February 19th message (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH1qN4kAsMk). I was quite interested from the start, but didn't get really excited until another friend posted a clip from Ron's interview on the Colbert Report on his blog. And then I knew . . . Go Ron!

[eok321]

Who is ron paul?

Seriously though, on a peak oil forum topic entitled ron paul kicks ass...and he just had in the first debate back in may.

[qh4dotcom]

Bump for curiosity

[Indy4Chng]

On the internet when I was researching Bob Barr and the LP party.

[kigol]

hmmmm

[SLSteven]

A college student knowing my libertarian leanings and scepticism that the Republicans would have a worthwhile candidate urged me to view his DVD.

[xerigen]

I first saw him in some documentary by Michael Ruppert. About 6 months later I saw him again in America: Freedom to Fascism and was like wow, this guy is in Congress and doesn't mind speaking out against things that had been considered political suicide in the past? I kept him in the back of my mind, and then he really sold me in a debate in early 2007.

[fxmercenary]

The first time I heard about Dr. Paul was August 14th 2011, We were in a nutrition distribution line waiting for our daily meal. Some guy in front of me turned around and jokingly said "We would be making our own bread again if Ron Paul woulda won, not standing here in line waiting our turn for leftover scraps from the Rich!"

Since then I built a Time-Machine and traveled back in time to try and change the outcome of the gruesome options for a Presidential candidate. I have underestimated the sheer power of Media, and pure idiocy of the average American. I have failed my mission.

See you in Nutrition Line #291 -Merc

[alaric]

I first heard of him over 20 years ago and have been a supporter ever since!

[Eric21ND]

I love threads like these.

[mello]

The first that I heard of Ron Paul was on Bill Maher's show on HBO. The episode where
called Ron Paul is his new hero. Went straight to Youtube & Google & I was hooked from
there.

[ClayTrainor]

I saw him once in a CNN interview, and didnt even catch his name but, i remember thinkgin "Man this guy sure understands what's going on in the world"

it was a logic i wasnt used to hearing on the MSM.

months later i saw the same man when the ghoul challenged him in the debate over intevention causing 911. Once i saw the same face taking on the neo-cons, whom i've always hated, i became a hardcore supporter almost instantly.

Im a canadian, who's never even been involved in his own countries politics, but the message of freedom most definitely woke me up. You know what? we got some serious fuckin work to do with our gov. in canada too

[JK/SEA]

Right around the time the new, democratically controlled congress caved in to funding more war in Iraq, i swore i would never vote for another democrat after being one since the late sixties. My 27 year old son told me to look into RON PAUL. End of story.

[Raditude]

I was in a circle with some of my friends, and talking about legalizing it. One of my friends said we should all vote for Ron Paul because he plans to legalize it. He then told more about him.

I later researched him, and have ever since started campaigning on his behalf.

[aspiringconstitutionalist]

I was on a political forum back in 2005 pushing Condi Rice for President when some other members there said the only person they'd consider voting for would be some guy named Ron Paul, but they said they didn't think he'd run. Then, I remember seeing that Ron Paul formed an exploratory committee back in 2007. I didn't hear much about him or think much about him until the SC debate when he took Giuliani head on. After that debate, I started researching his views, which lead to a long intellectual journey for me that culminated in my conversion to strict constitutionalism in Oct 2007.

[RPTXState]

When he went on Bill Maher.

[pinkmandy]

A youtube of him giving a speech Feb 2007. I immediately started researching him- there wasn't as much out there as there is now. ;) I knew that I had to do something asap so I emailed the campaign and started sending letters to Iowa for the straw poll. My family thought I had gone mad. And so it began. :)

[Fox McCloud]

heard about him in mid-2007....basically, at that point in time, I had had it with politics and figured "I won't be voting during the next Presidential election". At church, however, a close friend of mine mentioned Ron Paul and how he was a believer in Christ too, and really knew what he was doing. Either way, it slipped my mind, until a week or two later when he mentioned him again and said that "he's doing really really well on YouTube, yet he's ignored in the debates". At this point I thought "YouTbe, eh?" Let's see how well he's doing".

so, I decided to look him up, and I clicked on the 2nd or 3rd video, which was entitled "Ron Paul: Stop Dreaming". I watched it, and was instantly hooked...here was a man who was talking about abolishing the Federal Reserve, and who wanted to get out of Iraq and the world, and just bring all of our troops home...plus he said he wanted to go back on the gold standard, abolish the IRS, abolish a lot of departments I hated, and cut spending drastically.

In short, there wasn't a single thing about the man I didn't like...and well, that's how it pretty much all got started.

[IPSecure]

The first time you heard of Ron Paul.

The first time I heard of Dr. Paul was the 1st Presidential Debate. I was blown away with logic and truth.

[Deborah K]

Almost two years ago in this documentary: http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=america+from+freedom+to+fascism&hl=en&sitesearch=#

God Bless Aaron Russo - may he rest in peace.

[Raul08]

On The Colbert Report.

[Black Dude]

I was looking for politicians that supported the FairTax, and came across Ron Paul who wanted to get rid of the IRS and the income tax without a replacement. I thought that was impossible without replacing it with something and wrote him off for a while until I saw how right on he was about everything else.
To this day I still think that if he would have either embraced the FairTax more, or given a realistic explanation on how he was going to cut enough spending to get rid of the income tax, he might have won this thing. But the only answer he seemed to want to give is "replace it with nothing", "take our spending levels back down to 1997". Unfortunately, that just isn't specific enough.

[Chiznaddy]

Had a friend that was a Bush supporter. I was and come from a big democratic and very political family. I wrote him off until one day at work (November 4th, 2007) I thought...fine...so I type "Ron Paul" into youtube so I would know what to tell my friend to shut up about.

To make a long story short, I gave $150 on November 5th (first time I ever donated to a campaign), I now live with my friend so we can work on Ron Paul/liberty type stuff more often, my family gets to hear the another side of the political debate (the right side ;) ), and yes, my 92 year old grandpa who has never voted for a Republican in his life said he will be writing in Ron Paul for 2008 whether he is on the ballot or not.

[Cowlesy]

The first time I heard of Dr. Paul was the 1st Presidential Debate. I was blown away with logic and truth.

me too

[Chiznaddy]

Had a friend that was a Bush supporter.

Meant to add that he became a huge Paul supporter.

[CoreyBowen999]

I learned of Ron before the debates by just searching around on the internet. Ever since I was born, I have kind have been the rebellious child and thought that since my whole family supported the war, I would find one that didn't. (yeah I know that's stupid). I found Ron and actually started looking into all the issues. It seemed that he was right on everything. He was the first candidate I liked and he has woken me up from my sleep. Too bad I couldn't vote for him

[Working Poor]

I found out him watching a video made by Arron Russo may he RIP..

[V4Vendetta]

been a fan of his since 2004, thanks to Alex Jones and "The Matrix Of Evil"

[justatrey]

Someone's post under a 9/11 truth video on YouTube.

[tonesforjonesbones]

What great testamonials!

I was a typical GOP Bush lover...voted for him 2x. The second term I was a little wary of bush because he was talking about amnesty for illegals...but someone hushed him up and I ended up voting for him again. As his second term went on...he was back on that amnesty trip again which really disgusted me. I was very active with Numbers USA making calls to congress etc.

I got fed up..and changed to the Constitution Party. I was at October fest downtown and someone walked by with a Ron Paul bumper sticker on their shirt. I had been in debate forums on Yahoo, etc...and people were calling him RuPaul..etc..and laughing at him.. Then on paltalk some guy said "everybody should look at some of those fringe candidates...like Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich"..so I remembered that at Octoberfest and went to look for the Ron Paul booth.

I found it..and told the guys at the booth that I was in the Constitution Party and interested in the Constitution (funny because I had read it but really didn' t know it LOL) and they said, Ron Paul is a constitutionalist. They told me about a meet up and i went to the next meet up.

Someone at the meet up handed me a video of Aaron Russo's Freedom to Fascism..and I watched that. Boy, I started watching and reading everything I could find on Ron Paul and also the fed etc. Someone on paltalk turned me onto Michael Badnarik..and his constitution classes on youtube...i watched them all with hubby.

I am such a different person than I was 8 months ago, but I have been searching for over a year. It sure was a painful de programming though...I am 51 years old..change is not easy for old people..lol This is a great thread....good stories. TONES

[georgiaboy]

The first time I heard of Dr. Paul was the 1st Presidential Debate. I was blown away with logic and truth.

We have a winner. Me too.

I didn't know it was possible to be a conservative and be against the increasing militarism, as I had begun thinking once saber-rattling toward Iran began, and lo and behold, right there he was on stage in South Carolina, armed with the Constitution against overtly biased moderators like Chris Wallace.

There began my road toward never again trusting the mainstream media, and toward an active support of constitutional government and Ron Paul.

Mr. Paul, I joined my local party and became a county, district, and state delegate all because of you. I hope to join you in St. Paul. I've finished your manifesto, I will continue learning base on your recommended reading list, and I will continue on my and my family's journey in support of liberty for the rest of my life. I humbly thank you, Sir.

EDIT: And I will be writing you in for President of the United States of America in November, 2008

[TheConstitutionLives]

Someone on paltalk turned me onto Michael Badnarik..and his constitution classes on youtube...i watched them all with hubby.

- That class is AMAZING, is it not!? I recommend that to everyone. You don't know how much you don't know about America until you've taken the 6 or so hours and watched that class. I can't say enough about it. It's really that good.

Here it is for those who have not yet had the luxury of viewing this very informative video. You guys will thank me later!

http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGIH_enUS234US234&q=badnarik%20class&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv#

[Grimnir Wotansvolk]

When the campaign was just beginning to bloom, I was mainly concerned with finding a candidate who acknowledged the war on drugs. He seemed to be the only one with any kind of viability.

[cska80]

Either on Alex Jones or Russo's Freedom to Fascism. I can't remember which one.

[acroso]

Well I started REALLY taking him seriously on V-day.

[tonesforjonesbones]

I ended up purchasing that Constutition course by Badnarik. It's a very well spent 100 dollars. I plan on facilitating this class and opening it to the public. TONES

[rpfan2008]

some book on NWO> Prisonplanet> Youtube here

edit:

EXACTLY!!!

By Jordan Maxwell

"The Matrix Of Evil"

I was shy to mention the name though.

Most of the youtubes I visited during that time carried the name "ron paul"(although I was looking for Jordan Maxwell Alex Jones Illuminati Roth...) always at last, so I became kind of enthusiastic, why his name is always the last one. Then I Googled and found lots of stuff, but that image where he was trying to 'shock' life into the US bill of rights was most compelling.

[SnappleLlama]

It was love at first sight....Youtube video of the first Presidential debate. I was hooked. Until then, I had never found a politician I agreed with on everything. Then I saw Ron Paul. Watching that video was liberating.

...oh yeah, and the crazy smackdown (i.e, the book list) he laid on Rudy....PRICELESS!

[qh4dotcom]

Bump

[LittleLightShining]

I thought I posted this already, but I can't find it.. So here it is again

In the fall I was talking to my grandparents about the economy and my grandmother said there was a book I needed to read. The next thing I know we're ordering The Creature From Jekyll Island from Amazon. Around that time i was driving in New Hampshire and saw a hand stenciled sign "RON PAUL 2008." When the book came I saw a blurb from Ron Paul on the back. I got about 1 chapter into the book and decided I needed to Google him. I ended up devouring everything I could find on youtube. In January (I think) I found a meetup group and I have been an active member ever since.

Recently I lent a conservative (but way neo-con on the war) friend a copy of The Manifesto. He finally now understands why I have been so passionate in my support for Ron Paul. And I think he might, just might, be coming around on the foreign policy, too :)

[Jeremy]

YouTube

[Rhys]

I was watching a David Walker youtube, and at the end some text scrolled that said "Ron Paul is the only candidate who will solve these problems" and I'm like, who the hell is that?

then when I youtubed ron paul, i'm like damn... he might have a chance if the establishment would let him. back then, i didn't think about who "they" were and I didn't even think there was a conspiracy against the world. Which is funny, because while I denied a global conspiracy, I very clearly remember thinking "they'll never let him win."

I also remember seeing the list of things like "he never voted to raise taxes" and was like "holy shit, is this guy real?"

[mediahasyou]

Heard about him through a friend.
Liked him after watching the debate.
Fell in love with liberty after watching the "individualism vs. collectivism" youtube video.

[BLuegreengrey]

I saw a blurb about the Nov 5th money bomb and that got my attention. I want to thank all of those who donated. It made a difference for me.

[smileylovesfreedom]

In the 1990s probably 1997/1998? I noticed his great voting record and read a few articles by him in libertarian-leaning publications. He really sold me on his consistent non-interventionist foreign policy - I remember the Kosovo bombings in 1999 and how he was one of the few who spoke out consistently against this. I ended up sending a few dollars for his congressional campaign in 1998 and 2000. I still have a few of the fundraising letters requesting money - I always wondered why I save them but they are fun to look at now.

I even remember trying to "draft" him to run for president in 2000 (http://www.petitiononline.com/ronpaul/petition.html). There was a petition online and I tried to collect some signatures in my area (Iowa) but got the usual "huh???, he's not running. Who's that?". I also told a Washington Post reporter at a campaign stop for Elizabeth Dole that I wanted Ron Paul to enter the race because all the other GOP candidates were a disappointment. They didn't publish my comments. Silly media. :p

[Sentient Void]

LoL... I was actually EXTREMELY apathetic about this election UNTIL a good friend of mine (she happens to be a stripper, lawls), asked me, "Do you know who Ron Paul is?" I said, "No?", and it was alllll downhill from there, lol.

This man has reignited my interest in politics, economics, and what's going on in the world. I've bought so many books and started reading again.

This man is my hero. He has the biggest balls of anyone in government right now.

[rpfan2008]

bump for more

[pcosmar]

I was researching some 2nd amendment issues and heard about his positions and bills he proposed.
I looked further and found he was looking into a presidential run.
The more I looked at his positions and his history, the more I liked.

[USAFCapt]

After hearing Harry Browne and his tremendous radio talk show http://www.harrybrowne.org/Archives/Archives.htm

Harry mentioned RP plenty of times on his show.

[anaconda]

Another Alex Jones beneficiary. I discovered Ron Paul on prisonplanet.com around March or April of last year.

[robert4rp08]

Saw on some MSM site that there was a Republican debate. I did a youtube search for it and found a "Ron Paul Highlights" compilation video. At first, I was confused about what I was hearing. Then I watched it again and was shocked that a presidential candidate was actually saying these things in a debate. Then I watched it one more time, which sparked my man crush.

[dgingerich]

I actually heard about Ron Paul on MySpace, and then later from Alex Jones. Say what you want about the 9/11 Truthers, but if I hadn't started looking into 9/11, I would've never found Ron Paul. I'm now not just a 9/11 Truther, I believe in the truth in everything! Ron Paul changed me from a neo-con into a true Republican.:D:D:D

[qh4dotcom]

I actually heard about Ron Paul on MySpace, and then later from Alex Jones. Say what you want about the 9/11 Truthers, but if I hadn't started looking into 9/11, I would've never found Ron Paul. I'm now not just a 9/11 Truther, I believe in the truth in everything! Ron Paul changed me from a neo-con into a true Republican.:D:D:D

You would have found him eventually....and congrats for the conversion

[hotbrownsauce]

I never even watched the Republican debate... I watched the first Democratic one and Mike Graveli got my attention and I wanted to learn more about him. Then I was visiting the normal forums I do online and someone said something about Ron Paul (actually lots) so I was like who is this guy? I youtubed the first debate watched him and loved him since.

[qh4dotcom]

Bump

[Kalifornia]

My first exposure to Ron Paul came through an Alex Jones video where Paul appeared. Whats funny is that I think Alex is kind of out there, but when Paul was introduced, I was like, "wow, heres a Congressman who that is different"

A year later I saw a thing on Digg about his campaign, realized it was the same guy, and looked into his broader platform. Since I agree with 90% of Paul's stances, I came on board.

[micahnelson]

My conservative brother in law told me about his hard line on the constitution and spending, my liberal coworker told be about his support of civil liberties...

This was probably in February of 07... tuned into the first debate and joined a meetup the next day.

[JosephTheLibertarian]

When I was on the NJ Libertarian Party's official forum.

My first thought was: traitor

I was the only one that voted "nay" on the poll to see how many of us would vote for him

youtube videos sold me

[Nate]

I had heard about him and his opposition to the drug war in 97. Growing up in a very bad neiborhood in Chicago run by gangs and drug-dealers during the height of the crack epidemic I learned firsthand the awful side effects of the drug war. Including unjust incarceration and daily violations of my natural rights. After researching his other positions I eventually became a libertarian.
I didn't even know that he was running for Pres. untill I seen him lay the smackdown on Rudy 9/11 during the debate. I joined the Chicago meetup group that very night.

[SamuraisWisdom]

I heard about him on some random message board for a long time from the same guy every time. He sounded like a cult member. When I finally got over that feeling and actually checked out what all the fuss was about, I realized that he was the candidate I had been waiting for this entire time. This was back sometime in August or September of '07.

[Andrew-Austin]

I think I heard him mentioned in a email group, early summer 2007.

[daniroyer]

My husband Eric saw him on TV and decided to look him up. After that, the man would not shut up about Ron Paul. I had no choice BUT to hear about him. :)

Then I was hooked and it was all down hill from there. Now my 3-year-old won't let me take the Ron Paul sign down from our bedroom wall.

[Unspun]

I said "geez this guy should run for president"... and five years later he did.

[klamath]

I guess the first time I heard RP was in 1976 when he was in the Texas delegation to the republican convention, blowing a crazy horn for forty straight minutes for Reagan.

[qh4dotcom]

Bump

[nullvalu]

I seen Ron Paul for the first time in A:F2F in April '07.

[priest_of_syrinx]

This thread (http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?showtopic=26616) on The Rush Forum got his name to me. I read about his conservative domestic stances and was excited, but was still a neocon at the time and disagreed with his foreign policy. It took me a while to figure out why I was wrong.

I actually saw him for the first time at the Elk's Club here in Bismarck on February 4. It was one of my favorite gatherings of all time!

[Jaaaman]

I was a typical GOP Bush lover...voted for him 2x. The second term I was a little wary of bush because he was talking about amnesty for illegals...but someone hushed him up and I ended up voting for him again. As his second term went on...he was back on that amnesty trip again which really disgusted me. I was very active with Numbers USA making calls to congress etc.

I got fed up..and changed to the Constitution Party. I was at October fest downtown and someone walked by with a Ron Paul bumper sticker on their shirt. I had been in debate forums on Yahoo, etc...and people were calling him RuPaul..etc..and laughing at him.. Then on paltalk some guy said "everybody should look at some of those fringe candidates...like Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich"..so I remembered that at Octoberfest and went to look for the Ron Paul booth.

I found it..and told the guys at the booth that I was in the Constitution Party and interested in the Constitution (funny because I had read it but really didn' t know it LOL) and they said, Ron Paul is a constitutionalist. They told me about a meet up and i went to the next meet up.

Someone at the meet up handed me a video of Aaron Russo's Freedom to Fascism..and I watched that. Boy, I started watching and reading everything I could find on Ron Paul and also the fed etc. Someone on paltalk turned me onto Michael Badnarik..and his constitution classes on youtube...i watched them all with hubby.

I am such a different person than I was 8 months ago, but I have been searching for over a year. It sure was a painful de programming though...I am 51 years old..change is not easy for old people..lol This is a great thread....good stories. TONES

Wow... amazing what hanging out in some pathetic paltalk rooms does to some people. Pookie and I are very disappointed in what you have turned out to be. You used to be somewhat of a class act. :cool:

[Alex Libman]

Either through Aaron Russo or Alex Jones, don't remember for sure.

[tnvoter]

I first saw him in the very first Republican debate, and myself being a lifelong conservative, naturally wanted him as my president after actually listening to what he had to say.

[Cascadian]

We--my huband and I--first learned about Ron Paul at mises.org. When Lew Rockwell started his site, Ron Paul's writings were posted there. He's one of the few in D.C. who has his head on straight.

[Roxi]

i don't think i have added to this thread before but if i have sorry...

my boyfriend was watching the south carolina debate and after he heard ron paul speak he said "damn they are getting good at saying exactly what you want to hear" then he started looking him up on google etc, and after a few days he was like "no i think this guys the real thing" so i had heard a little bit around the house for a few days... then one day i came home from work and he said "hey you want to watch the scariest video you've ever seen" and i said yes so he showed me aravoth's "what we choose to ignore" after the video was over i said "i am going to dedicate my life to making ron paul our president" (which was a hell of a life change for me, even talking about politics made my head trail off into the clouds)

and wow... look at me now, over a year later... gosh im such a different person, this movement has changed so many things for all of us, i think

[VegasBoy]

When i 1st saw this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7d_e9lrcZ8

[qh4dotcom]

Bump

[RockEnds]

The first time I heard about Ron Paul was on a forum at the time of the Virginia Tech shooting. One of his constituents had posted a letter he sent stating something to the affect that allowing concealed carry on campus would have prevented the mass killing. They thought he was a little crazy, but I thought he was right on target and wrote a rather lengthy response on the Constitution. I had no idea he was running for President on the Republican ticket, however.

On the night of the first debate in May, I felt it was my civic duty to listen to the GOP candidates banter about who was the biggest war monger and the best opponent of civil liberties, so I watched the debate. I almost fainted and fell back in it when I heard Ron Paul. I was so excited, I called my fine, Republican father to tell him that there may be a GOP candidate I could vote for this year. He thought that was nice, but he said they were all liars, crooks, and thieves, so I shouldn't get my hopes up. (I love you, daddy. :) )He promised to listen for him, though.

The next day, we found my daughter's grandpa in an irreversible slumber, so I tuned out for a period of time. Then, I heard that Dr. Paul had been denied access to the candidates' forum in Des Moines. I found his myspace, left encouraging messages all over cyberspace for him to put on his own show--and he did. What a guy!

So I went to Des Moines to see him, loved what I saw, and here I am.

[raiha]

I was researching the WBTS and became intrigued in diLorenzo's writings and Libertarianism which of course led me to Ron Paul. Even without knowing much about him, my first impressions were favourable.

You know how when Diogenes was roaming around Athens with a lamp...saying "I'm looking for an honest man."
Well as soon as i saw RP...bingo I thought Diogenes would have been delighted! But I beat him to it..:cool:

[mport1]

From Michael Badnarik in 2004. He had mentioned that Ron Paul was the only real libertarian in Congress and I did some research and found out he was right.

[DFF]

Ron Paul: A New Hope by ELib3rty. :)

[nodope0695]

It was way back in the Spring/Summer of '07, I remember it like it was yesterday. There I was, at my computer, Googling of all things, The Constitution.

Ron Paul's website came up in the search results, and well, the rest is history.

[mudhoney]

A month or so before the Iowa caucus I saw an article on Digg about how different Ron Paul was compared to the other republican candidates.

Digg helped change my life, wow.

[Wayreth]

I first heard about him from my brother. He said there might be a decent candidate running in the primaries named Ron Paul. I was rather apathetic about the political system, but decided to look at his primary debates of May 07 since I believed in educating myself before voting. I believe it was June 6th.

I was shocked and awed. To me there was no way he could be real. 'No one holds onto principles anymore,' I thought 'he had to be another politician with corrupted ideas trying to sway me.'

Because of Ron Paul, it was the first time I came to the realization of what I truly believed in. I felt I could actually care about my country. I was so ecstatic that I loaded some videos on my brother's Wii to show him and my mom this Ron Paul while they were in my brother's living room.

It was through his actions that I realized how important the Constitution was, unlike how it was treated in my history class in high school. I don't think we even went over it. Lol, I do remember one thing from history class and never knew why. The teacher didn't even emphasize it. I remember hearing 'central banking' and 'bad.' I'm assuming they were talking about the position of Jefferson or Jackson. I was then surprised to find out that the US had central banking for the past hundred years.

[sratiug]

I happened to be watching Morton Downey Jr (the only time I ever saw that show). That got me to pay attention to Brown and get his book. But I'd forgotten about Ron Paul till I saw him in the debates and it still took awhile to realize it was the same guy and find out about this movement, or else I'm sure we'd be winning this election right now:D

[tropicangela]

Late 2007, I was on Cafemom.com, and another mom had Ron Paul in her siggy link. I respected the person and clicked it.

In 2006, I'd taken an elective U.S. Constitution class in college, and was completely wow'd by his policies.

In 2004, my first voter registration was Independent. New to politics. Didn't pay attention to primaries and only voted in November. Was a Bush sheeple. Oy vey. I got took.

[dirknb@hotmail.com]

Heard about him in the mid 90's, can't remember where.

[PatriotLegion]

First heard of him while I was fighting against the "Amnesty" acts for illegal aliens about 2 years ago. Then was seen him on "America - Freedom to Fascism" talking about the Fed Reserve and the IRS.

[Ozwest]

Can't remember the first time, but I remember I lost hope in you Yanks after the New Hampshire primaries.

[JenH88]

Reading this thread is so awesome. lol..

This is the first time I'd get to vote on a president, so it was important to me that I made a good informed decision. Last Sept, I took an online political test where it lined you up with who best matched your ideals- I dunno what was up with that test, it gave me Mike Gravel as number one, after researching him, I said.. um.. no.. next.. Ron Paul was second, I got hooked on watching that man speak, and I never thought I'd be able to say this, but honestly, for me, I agree 100% with that man- and he had the record to prove it. =) I've been addicted to truth and knowledge since, thanks Dr. Paul for opening my eyes to so much..

[qh4dotcom]

Bump

[ronpaulhawaii]

USENET - talk.politics.guns - 1998

A credible poster mentioned an "honest politician"

[tpreitzel]

I was thinking where all you determined supporters came from and how you first heard of Paul.

Mine was an internet forum. At first I didn't like him and denounced some of his issues thinking they where too radical. I watched a debate in which I thought he totally blew everyone else off the stage. I did some research and adopted his ideas.

Decades ago. I can't even remember the first time. :) Ron is simply one of thousands of patriots fighting for freedom over the years.