Green Mountain Boy
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Paul's candidacy brings newcomers to politics, voting
http://news.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=16&a=310788
10/8/2007 10:10:56 AM
By Tom Weber
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN
The experts and pundits long ago determined Ron Paul's campaign for the Republican nomination for president of the United States is quixotic.
But the experts haven't talked to Jim Rongstad, of Pine Island, one of a half-dozen Paul supporters who stood at the corner of Second Street and Broadway in downtown Rochester on Saturday, holding up Ron Paul campaign signs to passing motorists.
"You're going to see his poll numbers go up, and then it will start to snowball," Rongstad said when asked if long-shot Paul has a chance at the nomination.
Nor have the experts witnessed the enthusiasm of Jason Johnson, of Rochester, whose support for Paul represents his first foray into politics.
"I've never been registered to vote, I've never been involved in politics, but now I'm organizing meet-up groups in Rochester, Winona and La Crosse (Wis.)," Johnson said.
Providing energy for Johnson, Rongstad and other Paul supporters Saturday was the surprising news that their candidate had raised $5 million in campaign contributions during the most recent quarter -- a total that puts him on par with the much-better-known Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
"You're going to start seeing some coverage of him now in the mainstream media," Rongstad predicted.
Paul, a Texas congressman, has staked out foreign policy positions that put him at odds with the rest of the Republican field. He is in favor of an immediate withdrawal from Iraq and wants to repeal the Patriot Act. He also strongly supports the separation of church and state. Some of Paul's other positions, including his anti-tax, anti-abortion views, put him squarely in the Republican mainstream. He ran for president in 1988 as a Libertarian.
But it is the consistency of Paul's views, and his strict interpretation of the Constitution as the root of those views, that attracts his local supporters.
"It's the honesty of the gentleman," Johnson said. "He's saying the same thing now he was saying when he started. You know, you basically vote for the same old thing or for something else. He's that something else."
.
http://news.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=16&a=310788
10/8/2007 10:10:56 AM
By Tom Weber
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN
The experts and pundits long ago determined Ron Paul's campaign for the Republican nomination for president of the United States is quixotic.
But the experts haven't talked to Jim Rongstad, of Pine Island, one of a half-dozen Paul supporters who stood at the corner of Second Street and Broadway in downtown Rochester on Saturday, holding up Ron Paul campaign signs to passing motorists.
"You're going to see his poll numbers go up, and then it will start to snowball," Rongstad said when asked if long-shot Paul has a chance at the nomination.
Nor have the experts witnessed the enthusiasm of Jason Johnson, of Rochester, whose support for Paul represents his first foray into politics.
"I've never been registered to vote, I've never been involved in politics, but now I'm organizing meet-up groups in Rochester, Winona and La Crosse (Wis.)," Johnson said.
Providing energy for Johnson, Rongstad and other Paul supporters Saturday was the surprising news that their candidate had raised $5 million in campaign contributions during the most recent quarter -- a total that puts him on par with the much-better-known Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
"You're going to start seeing some coverage of him now in the mainstream media," Rongstad predicted.
Paul, a Texas congressman, has staked out foreign policy positions that put him at odds with the rest of the Republican field. He is in favor of an immediate withdrawal from Iraq and wants to repeal the Patriot Act. He also strongly supports the separation of church and state. Some of Paul's other positions, including his anti-tax, anti-abortion views, put him squarely in the Republican mainstream. He ran for president in 1988 as a Libertarian.
But it is the consistency of Paul's views, and his strict interpretation of the Constitution as the root of those views, that attracts his local supporters.
"It's the honesty of the gentleman," Johnson said. "He's saying the same thing now he was saying when he started. You know, you basically vote for the same old thing or for something else. He's that something else."
.
