When did you first hear about Ron Paul?

[wormyguy]

I want to see how much his presidential campaign boosted popular awareness of Ron Paul.

[guitarlifter]

I first heard of him while watching this stupid youtube video where a dog was supposed to be eaten by a shark. The whole several minutes it lasted, this dog was swimming in the water, and a shark was allegedly lurking beneath him. It kept on showing the same clip of the dog, then the shark over and over again until this screaming music came on, and Ron Paul 2008 in big letters came across the screen. haha I'll try to find the video.

[Bruno]

I first saw him on the Morton Downey Jr. show back during his Libertarian presidential campaign, but did not hear of him again until 2007.

[torchbearer]

1996.

[trey4sports]

from a coworker in 07. originally dismissed him as a kooky republican. Then i heard about the 1st moneybomb and started to read up, and eventually found RPF. The rest is history

[emazur]

Sometime in the 2000s before the election. Was living overseas and couldn't find any libertarian news webpages I liked so I subscribed to an e-newsletter from the The Advocates for Self Government http://www.theadvocates.org/ which is a great libertarian communication organization. They would often mention Ron Paul in the newsletters so I knew he was a good guy, but I never actually saw an image of him or really understood the philosophy of his positions until '07~'08, and the huge libertarian trend he was inspiring encouraged me to study up on libertarianism more

[JohnEngland]

If the poll results so far are anything to go by, it looks like Ron running for 2012 will be the most effective way of spreading the message - particularly this time round when the public is more open to his message.

[sailingaway]

I heard about him on the internet during the primaries. Some people in a forum thought I'd like him. (No one I knew in the 'real world' in Southern California knew anything about him.)

I read his issues page on his web page and went: "meh".

But they kept raising him when I spoke of different issues, and God knows I was NOT going to vote for McCain, and Romney was starting to look pretty unprincipled (meaning not sticking to any one set of principles). And Huckabee worried me from a Constitutionalist point of view.... and then I decided to look into Ron.

And I decided to look for the bad stuff to get that out of the way. And I found the newsletters. As I researched that, not only did the issue pop like a soap bubble leaving no substance that sticks to HIM at all, I discovered that the more you look into him.... the better he looks.

That DID cure my apathy.

And it pissed me off. Because if HE can do it for over 20 years, why don't the rest?

[Imaginos]

2007.
And yes, he did cure my apathy.

[anthonyca]

I also first saw him on the Morton Downey jr show. The next time I saw him was on cspan calling the Monica lewinsky impeachment hearings a distraction from the real reason to impeach Clinton, the missile attacks he was ordering at the time. The next time after that was in the movie Freedom to Fascism.

His run for president is what made him someone the average person knew of. Before 2008 he was only know to hard core libertarians or people who hated liberty, especially top bankers. I wonder if they ever dreamed he could command this audience he now has.

[Feeding the Abscess]

The Giuliani standoff. I had finished reading a bodybuilding book by Mike Mentzer (a huge Ayn Rand fan), and when I saw that debate I immediately said, "I'm throwing my chips in with that dude, fuck yeah".

[Imaginos]

The Giuliani standoff. I had finished reading a bodybuilding book by Mike Mentzer (a huge Ayn Rand fan), and when I saw that debate I immediately said, "I'm throwing my chips in with that dude, fuck yeah".
Mike Mentzer was one of the best bodybuilders ever.
As a bodybuilder myself, his physique and training tips gave me huge inspiration.
His H.I.T. style is really awesome and I totally agree with him that go heavy or go home!

[specsaregood]

I've posted this before, but might as well repost. I know the exact datetime that I was first introduced to him via chat with an old friend.
It went like this:

Session Start Fri Feb 16 09:07:29 2007
[09:48] me: who do you like in the next election? any of them?
[09:48] aBusinessAssociate: indeed
[09:48] aBusinessAssociate: Ron Paul
[09:48] me: is that the mormon?
[09:49] aBusinessAssociate: i could say no with 99.99999% certainty
[09:49] aBusinessAssociate: Ron Paul is awake to the truth and to seeking it out and has a very solid history of it
[09:49] me: 3rd party?

---cut to the end of the workday, and the end of workday that I wasted by voraciously searching for more and more information on Ron Paul--

[14:04] me: on a happier note, ron paul does sound like the man
[14:05] aBusinessAssociate: he is quite the man

[TNforPaul45]

I've posted this before, but might as well repost. I know the exact datetime that I was first introduced to him via chat with an old friend.
It went like this:

Session Start Fri Feb 16 09:07:29 2007
[09:48] me: who do you like in the next election? any of them?
[09:48] aBusinessAssociate: indeed
[09:48] aBusinessAssociate: Ron Paul
[09:48] me: is that the mormon?
[09:49] aBusinessAssociate: i could say no with 99.99999% certainty
[09:49] aBusinessAssociate: Ron Paul is awake to the truth and to seeking it out and has a very solid history of it
[09:49] me: 3rd party?

---cut to the end of the workday, and the end of workday that I wasted by voraciously searching for more and more information on Ron Paul--

[14:04] me: on a happier note, ron paul does sound like the man
[14:05] aBusinessAssociate: he is quite the man

This is ultimately how our "battle" will be won. Awareness first, education second.

I heard Ron paul for the first time on the Alex jones show, 2005

[t0rnado]

I found out through a video clip of him in the debate that was posted on Digg. As a libertarian, I was surprised as hell to hear someone who had similar views to me talking about it on TV.

[nate895]

Early 2006. I really didn't know what he was all about until the presidential campaign, but I heard of him and he was my favorite Congressman in early 2006 because he endorsed one of Thomas E. Woods books (P.I.G. to American History), which only a good conservative could have endorsed as a sitting Congressman.

[Hallamaat]

It was late 2007. My Ex told me that there was an anti-war Republican running for president, but he couldn't remember his name when he was telling me about him. I thought he was just BS-ing me, so I did my research and I eventually found the good Doc. I was really liking what I was finding out about him, so I caught the debate below and I was sold (and my hatred for McCain and Romney was cemented). I went out into a really shitty, brutal winter day in Wisconsin in 2008 and happily voted for him in the primaries. I was also proud that he kicked Romney's hair gel covered ass in my freezing state. :D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WLGMLpA-20

[CheezItsRule]

January 4, 2008
Being apolitical and a huge skeptic of government in and of itself, I wasn't paying much attention to the election. Plus, I was grieving over the death of my mom.
My stepdad called me up & asked me who was Ron Paul because he saw some tractor trailer in Texas with 'Vote Ron Paul' on their mudflaps. Of course, I shrugged it off as another lying politician because I had no clue and didn't really want one.

Then I ran across "The Ron Paul Song" by Shelby and friends on YT. Remember that one? I took a listen and wondered who the hell is this guy who promising peace, sunshine, & lollipops? Then, I clicked on some compilation that aravoth made. I cried!

Here was a guy whose words had reverberated in my soul & mind since forever. I have been addicted to his message ever since!

[Keith and stuff]

I think it was 2000-2001 when I also heard about the Free State Project, Lewrockwell.com Mises and so on. Those were good times back then. We sure had a lot more liberty too. Oh well. Glad to see so many political newcomers here. Keep working at it and good things will happen to you.

[Feeding the Abscess]

I should also mention that, in addition to the Giuliani showdown, there was a cardboard sign on a telephone pole that read "WHO IS RON PAUL" on the side of the road between work and the bank.

[Anti Federalist]

While I recalled the name from his 1988 campaign, I wasn't paying much mind until about ten years ago, through his interviews with Alex Jones.

That was when the light bulb went off: "Ah hah, this man's the real deal".

[AGRP]

A message board (not this one). Probably around 2006-7.

[pcosmar]

Late 2006, I believe. I was researching my lost rights. His name was mentioned on some other forums, I looked into his history and positions and found that he was thinking about running.
Been here ever since.
:cool:

[muzzled dogg]

first gop debate

[Carole]

Ha Ha.

I first heard about him on the internet. Some cryptic thing about "google Ron Paul" -- so I did and never looked back!!!!!

Go Ronnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nnn Paulllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ll.

My only candidate from that point on. Still love the man.

[Sentient Void]

During his presidential campaign (by a stripper friend of mine, lol - she said, "Do you know who Ron Paul is?" And I didn't.), by watching his performance in the debates on youtube, back in late 2007. He did indeed cure my apathy.

I say shush-you to all the libertarians who said electoral politics doesn't get squat done. The results above speak for themselves.

[johnrocks]

I can't recall but probably during the Reagan years maybe even when he endorsed him instead of Ford but I'd say at least 25 years or so.

[guitarlifter]

Mike Mentzer was one of the best bodybuilders ever.
As a bodybuilder myself, his physique and training tips gave me huge inspiration.
His H.I.T. style is really awesome and I totally agree with him that go heavy or go home!

No shit! I didn't realize how many bodybuilding libertarian brothers there were on this forum. I'm a bodybuilder myself (hence guitarlifter-- I also play guitar haha). I'm assuming you don't go to the Arnold since you're so far away? I'm gonna have to go with Arnold for best bodybuilder ever and my favorite bodybuilder. The 70's was definitely the golden age of bodybuilding when aesthetics were perfectly blended in with size and leanness. I think that Flex Wheeler is one of the few bodybuilders that keeps his size along with aesthetics. haha, I better stop now. I'll go on for days. It's good to know that there are people in the same boat as me.

[JohnEngland]

The following is a tale of an international fellow called JohnEngland, and his story of how he came to know Ron Paul:

It was a hot, sunny day in a cheap Florida hotel... (seriously)... and I was visiting the US for a short vacation during the early wintery months in England. I knew there was a presidential election going on but hadn't paid much attention. However, having some spare time in my room, I decided to check out the news.

On my screen blazed an image of a man called Mike Huckabee. He was talking about how if we simply followed the Ten Commandments, we'd solve so many of society's problems. At that moment, I thought to myself, "Wow, a politican talking about GOD?!" For you see, back in the cold, wintery motherland, mentioning He Who Shall Not Be Named was taboo - someone that only the unwashed would speak of.

Engaged now, with an interest in the affairs of this Huckabee chap, I decided to find out more about the presidential election. Romney, Obama, McCain, Clinton... I examined the people the media told me were important and came to like the look of Obama. He talked about peace, not war, friendship, not enemies. And after eight years of Bush, wasn't it "time for change"?

As the months progressed, and winter turned to spring and to summer, the media suddenly exploded into frenzied life! Unknown, everyday hockey-mom Sarah Palin had arrived!! She took the stage by storm and at that moment, I knew I had to support her. And by this time, I had started to better understand my personal politics and had realised I was more a "conservative" than a "liberal". I had grown skeptical of Obama. He talked a good game but lacked the faith and was rabidly pro-abortion.

But it wasn't to be. Obama won and Palin lost. And so, things started to return to normalcy. However, I still followed American affairs, fascinated by the political movements, characters and how, when one thought about it, whatever America did affected the rest of the world, so I felt it useful to follow the politics.

However, I remembered during the 2008 election, I heard the briefest of mentions about a guy named Ron Paul, who had a small but dedicated following - and the economic problems had really started to take affect and here was a man who said things contrary to the established rhetoric - and was right. I decided to take a closer look at this guy and this movement called the "Tea Party".

And so it began. I started reading Woods, Hayek, Schiff... and my entire world was transforming in front of my eyes! Revelations about economics and the role of government flooded my brain and challenged everything I had previously been taught by my British education system. And the most important part - it made perfect sense. Austrian economics was logical, moral and sound.

At the forefront of it all was Ron Paul. The more I read about him, the more I liked him. And so it was, the transformation was complete.

JohnEngland had progressed from unknowingly-socialist to conservative to libertarian. From Obama to Palin to Paul.

And it's now past midnight here in the UK, so I think I'm going to sleep. Gee, did I write all that? haha Too much time at Christmas :p

[Imperial]

I heard of him around 2006 from some family, but I was skeptical for about a year. I liked some of his position, but I thought he was too utopian. I had already dabbled in utopian schemes before, checking out Trotsky and becoming depressed when I realized I was disenchanted with moderates, mainstream conservatism and the far left. I felt like there was no real alternative.

I was still interested in politics, so I found myself following his campaign more and more and hoping Dr. Paul would do well, even if his ideas didn't seem the best to me. The tipping point came when he had a campaign rally in Lake Jackson. I went with some extended family and listened to his whole long-winded speech on every issue imaginable. My uncle happened to give me a few books from Dr. Paul and then I was hooked.

I still think that Ron Paul is an idealist, isn't really a guy who looks very hard at the practical, and could frame his message better. But I love that there is somebody who is not afraid to say exactly what he believes exactly how he believes it. We need a little bit of idealism.

Ron Paul 2012!

[qh4dotcom]

I got an e-mail with a Youtube video

[Imaginos]

No shit! I didn't realize how many bodybuilding libertarian brothers there were on this forum. I'm a bodybuilder myself (hence guitarlifter-- I also play guitar haha). I'm assuming you don't go to the Arnold since you're so far away? I'm gonna have to go with Arnold for best bodybuilder ever and my favorite bodybuilder. The 70's was definitely the golden age of bodybuilding when aesthetics were perfectly blended in with size and leanness. I think that Flex Wheeler is one of the few bodybuilders that keeps his size along with aesthetics. haha, I better stop now. I'll go on for days. It's good to know that there are people in the same boat as me.
In a way, I think bodybuilding is very libertarian thing.
Libertarianism is all about each individual should take care of oneself.
Following rigorous training routine and diet plan all by yourself is, in my opinion, thoroughly libertarian.
And yes, Arnold at his prime was/is unbeatable.
14 years ago, I saw the famous poster of him in side chest pose with each pectoral muscle as big as his head!
Because of that photo, I had to join the gym and have been training like a madman ever since!
Yes, Flex Wheeler was amazing too.
Flex at his prime was almost unbeatable.
Cheers!
Keep pumping iron!
:D

[Knightskye]

Late July, 2007.

[Thomas]

atl atl bob

[Philhelm]

Hmmm...I think I first heard of him in 2007. I had taken a political test which matched your results to a current presidential candidate. I then saw him on the Republican primary debates. I then saw a student who had a Ron Paul pin, so I finally started looking him up on YouTube and was hooked. I wouldn't say I was apathetic per se, but it was nice to find a representative to represent me. Some of my views have changed and developed since then, however.

[mport1]

In 2004 when I became interested in politics and discovered libertarianism.

[2orb]

Jay Leno - Oct 07, I think.

[kahless]

I first saw him on the Morton Downey Jr. show back during his Libertarian presidential campaign, but did not hear of him again until 2007.

Same here.

[Ry-Fi]

I hear about him from a friend when I was a senior in HS. I was a pretty big neocon and I laughed in my friends face as he decribed to be a candidate that wanted the return of the gold standard and our withdrawal from the UN. I did research on Ron Paul to see how he could justify these outlandish political ideologies, and I was struck by how pure his logic was. From that point on Ron Paul had captured me. I could not stop reading his stuff and I finally "found" myself politically. From there it was pedal to the metal. I switched my pre selected major for college the next year from engineering to Poli Sci and Economics and I have been a pretty vocal libertarian ever since. I made it one of my life goals to meet Ron Paul at some point as he has totally inspired and changed my life. I was lucky enough to accomplish that goal this previous summer by simply walking into his office in DC. Nothing made me happier to see my hero in life to be such a nice gentleman. I had no appointment, nor was I from Texas, but he came right out to meet me. Ron Paul is a class act and at the end of the day that means a lot more than most things in life.

[cswake]

I made it one of my life goals to meet Ron Paul at some point as he has totally inspired and changed my life. I was lucky enough to accomplish that goal this previous summer by simply walking into his office in DC. Nothing made me happier to see my hero in life to be such a nice gentleman. I had no appointment, nor was I from Texas, but he came right out to meet me. Ron Paul is a class act and at the end of the day that means a lot more than most things in life.+rep

[Ry-Fi]

+rep

I went to meet him with my friend who worked for a Rep from NC. He said as his intern the Rep would routinely tell the interns to tell people he was "out of the office" even though he was there, just because he did not want to say hello to every person who walked through his door. The whole time they told me Ron Paul probably wont come out and say hello, so I shouldnt get my hopes up! Low and behold, I walked in, he came out and greeted me. I was so star struck I could not think of anything to say. Just shook his hand, said thank you, and got a picture and let him be. Still humbled by it to this day. He is one of a kind!

[RichieLibertarian]

I was a student at Rutgers listening to the debates, then Ron Paul started speaking about the war and how we shouldnt be there and how our leaders should be taking their marching orders from the constitution. His emotion and conviction resonated with me. I knew immediately that he was cut from a different cloth. As I read up about him, most of the stuff was negative and dismissive but the more I researched the less apathetic I became....this man revived something great and i know 50 years from now, he will be remembered with the likes of Jefferson, Jackson and Madison.,....RP 2012

[Tonewah]

My Ron Paul story is bascially the story of a seed sewn into hard ground that eventually takes root.

In 1988 our church's pastor was big on the NWO stuff. His name was James Katsinas. He was a Ron Paul guy, but I wrote off Ron Paul without even noticing who he was. At the time, I bought into the whole 'lesser of two evils' lie. I voted for Bush/Quayle in 1992, but, in spite of that, the Ron Paul liberty seeds were planted in my brain.

The seed grew a little and by 2000 I was a card carrying Libertarian. I wish I had bought gold back then.

Sometime around 2002 a friend of mine, who was a district coordinator for the Libertarian Party, suggested I look into stuff written by Ron Paul. When he told me Paul was against invading Iraq, I dismissed him. Although I was skeptical of invading Iraq, I was fooled by all the 'terror training camps' mess being pushed in the news at the time.

By 2004, I was pretty much awake to the whole military industrial complex scam. I campaigned and voted for Michael Badnarik for President. Aaron Russo was a big name back then, too.

Sometime around 2006, I saw Freedom to Fascism by Aaron Russo. Dr. Paul was in it and I was impressed.

In early 2007, when Dr. Paul announced his candidacy, I heard him interviewed on NPR, of all places. He was talking economic policy. I agreed with so much of what he was saying, I started looking into his foreign policy stances, as well. He was right on everything and had history to back him up.

That's when I finally became a rEVOLutionary.

[charrob]

The republican presidential debate: as a disaffected liberal, the minute I saw him, I was sold.

[Son of Detroit]

I started really getting into politics around 14, mainly adopting the views of my parents. My Mom liked Romney, my dad liked Fred Thompson, and I figured why not just go along? I'm not sure really as to when I came around to Ron Paul, there wasn't one *CLICK* in my mind. I first saw him in the first debate, and the rest is history.

[Eric21ND]

I first saw him in Arron Russo's "America: Freedom to Fascism" and I was pretty blown away by how candid he was in the interview. I remember saying, "god I wish someone like that would run for President". I think that was in 2006 sometime, and then a year later I get my wish and he's running. It didn't immediately click that he was in the race or the same guy. I just heard there was a guy with a libertarian streak running in the GOP and could also win the religious right vote, pretty sure I heard that on MSNBC very early in 2007, I was like, "that's an interesting coalition".

Then Bill Maher had him on for his first interview, not the one with Ron in studio, that one where Bill Maher asks him about the Civil War. I started getting more and more interested and then it was finally comfirmed that he was the same guy from Freedom to Fascism. So then I planned everything around the Republican debates, I wanted to see him in action. The first debate at the Reagan Center he did good with limited time. Then the South Carolina debate when he took Rudy Giuliani to the woodshed using historical knowledge and CIA evidence my jaw dropped and I was cheering him on. The crowning moment was when he told the announcer, "Have you ever read the reasons why they attack us?" I loved that line! That entire back forth between announcer, Ron Paul, and Rudy was pure gold. The country needed to hear that.

[Eric21ND]

Then I started looking him up online and found this youtube video titled Ron Paul Our Power Our Responsibility...I was blown away again! Then all these amazing youtube video kept coming up.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6SODAhbJdE

[MN Patriot]

I first saw him on the Morton Downey Jr. show back during his Libertarian presidential campaign, but did not hear of him again until 2007.

I saw that, too. It was so pathetic, felt sorry for Ron. I did read about him getting the LP endorsement in some libertarian magazine before that.

[GunnyFreedom]

Early 2007, on an Appleseed spin-off webforum now called "Liberty's Price." I was groaning about the upcoming elections, how they always give us the choice between two authoritarian crooks, and some guy says "How about Ron Paul" I sez "How about who?" and thus began an insane intense amount of research until I decided that RP was the man around July of 2007.

[JenH88]

sept 07... i was apathetic, however fully got my cultural patriotism programming.. it was going to be the first presidential election i could vote in, and wanted to make an informed decision.. took a really long detailed political quiz online.. and it said i lined up with ron paul.. and WOW. i did.. i agreed with EVERYTHING that man had to say.. a logic i understood and resonated with me.. it ignited a burning desire for liberty. <3 i've been in love ever since... lol..

[Wesker1982]

No shit! I didn't realize how many bodybuilding libertarian brothers there were on this forum. I'm a bodybuilder myself (hence guitarlifter-- I also play guitar haha).

I am a 'guitarlifter' too lol

I first heard about Ron Paul on a poker forum during the 2008 campaign.