"Paul’s libertarian zeal draws in younger voters; Anti-interventionist foreign policy appeals" January 07, 2012|By Brian C. Mooney, Globe Staff
NASHUA - As he touched down in New Hampshire yesterday to campaign before Tuesday’s Republican presidential primary, Ron Paul was greeted by what has become a familiar sight - a large, enthusiastic crowd, about half of them younger voters.
Perhaps the most striking statistic to come out of the Iowa caucuses, where Paul finished a close third, was entrance poll data showing that the 76-year-old Texas congressman captured 48 percent of the vote among those under the age of 30 in a six-candidate field.
The phenomenon is national, not limited to the Midwest. It was in evidence yesterday at Nashua Airport, where the “Ron Paul’’ chants started before the candidate even arrived for a huge, raucous rally in a packed general aviation hangar.
Young voters were a major force in Barack Obama’s campaign to win the Democratic nomination and the White House in 2008. With polls showing declining enthusiasm for the president in that voting bloc, Paul has become a magnet for disaffected young men and women who want change, albeit of a kind radically different from that promised by Obama four years ago.
Related: Obama Gets Old
It does seem like longer than three years.
For a generation that has lived with costly wars for a decade, a sluggish economy for as long as they can recall, and a $15 trillion national debt that threatens their future, Obama is no longer the first political option for many voters in their 20s.
James Riley, a 20-year-old from Barnstable attending Clark University, is a registered Democrat who was enthusiastic about Obama four years ago, though he was too young to vote for him. Yesterday, he and three friends drove to Nashua to attend the Paul rally.
What soured him on the current president?
“Three years of crap,’’ said Riley. He doesn’t agree with every policy of Paul, the libertarian-leaning constitutionalist, Riley said. “But I agree with a lot of what he says, especially on the economy and foreign policy. I agree with him when he says that we shouldn’t be the policeman of the world.’’
But Ron Paul is unelectable, blah, blah, blah.
With him were two high school classmates from Barnstable, Kayla Kalweit, a student at Suffolk University, and Riley Tamash, a student at Westfield State University, and a classmate from Clark, Garin Habeshian of Waltham. All said they are disillusioned with the state of the country and looking to Paul, the preacher of an extreme laissez-faire form of economics and a non-interventionist foreign policy that many critics consider isolationist.
“I particularly like his foreign policy point of view,’’ Habeshian said. “We have been sticking our noses into other countries’ business for years and it’s come back to bite us on the rear.’’ He said he is “not completely sold’’ on Paul’s economic policies, which call for a $1 trillion federal budget cut in the first year, the elimination of five Cabinet-level departments, and the end of the federal government as we know it in a range of regulatory and entitlement programs.
Yeah, it is AMAZING how UNPOPULAR WAR IS, huh?
If there is a common theme to young voters’ complaints - and why Paul appeals to them - it is frustration about a dysfunctional political system and anxiety about a future with limited employment prospects or the likelihood of living a better life than their parents lived.
“Ron Paul talks about the whole system being broken, that it needs to be changed,’’ said Wayne Lesperance, a professor of political science at New England College. “I think that resonates with them. They have a healthy dose of cynicism because they believe the system is broken on a lot of levels.’’
Isn't it?
Younger voters have no allegiance to a particular party, said Lesperance, the codirector of College Convention 2012 in Concord, attended this week by college and high school students as well as some of the presidential candidates or their surrogates. Paul was not among them because of a schedule change.
One conventioneer, Tyne Uzo, a 20-year-old from Wading River, N.Y., and a student at Rhode Island College, said that while she personally doesn’t support Paul’s candidacy, or that of any other presidential candidate, she has many friends who do.
“I originally thought it was because he wants to decriminalize marijuana, but that’s not it; it’s about ending the wars and ending the Fed,’’ she said, referring to Paul’s call to eliminate the Federal Reserve and its ability to increase the supply of money. “They learn about it through Ron Paul. It’s the gateway to constitutional values and libertarianism.’’
That's why he must be shut up as soon as possible.
At Paul’s New Hampshire headquarters on the outskirts of Concord, a roomful of 20-somethings were busy making calls to voters over sophisticated voice-over-Internet phones that allow them to punch coded voter identification information into a campaign databank. All 25 stations were full at 11 a.m.
Among those at the headquarters were volunteers who have traveled thousands of miles, first to Iowa and now to New Hampshire to help the Paul campaign.
One is Sarah Franklin, a 22-year-old from Seattle who is studying English literature at the University of Washington. Raised in a family of Democrats, she said this is her first involvement in politics. “I don’t affiliate myself with the Republican Party,’’ she said. “I affiliate with the voice of freedom.’’
Yes, because it IS FREEDOM or FASCISM now!
“Ron Paul represents an idea, the idea of freedom and individual liberty,’’ she said. “If I’m going through airport security, I can’t make a joke about the [Transportation Security Administration] or they have the right to arrest me,’’ Franklin said. “That’s a problem.’’
Franklin has spent two weeks of her semester break volunteering for Paul and is considering extending it so she can go on to South Carolina, site of the second primary on Jan. 21. Like all these out-of-state volunteers, she is paying for her own transportation costs.
So is Timothy Shanks, a 22-year-old from South Texas studying for his doctorate in mathematics at Texas A&M University. The product of a conservative family, Shanks also volunteered to work on Paul’s campaign in Iowa before heading to New England.
“What Ron Paul stands for is close to what the Republican Party once stood for for many decades,’’ Shanks said. “That’s small government, limited government, and a sound economy, and sound money is an integral part of that.’’ Shanks said he is alarmed by the size of the national debt and its rate of growth. “This is not sustainable,’’ he said.
Many young people see Paul as authentic, honestly believing what he says and not shifting his views based on the prevailing winds. “That’s a huge draw, his integrity,’’ Shanks said.
It's not just the young, Globe.
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I criticize the Globe a lot; however, that was actually a fair and decent article devoid of insults.
"Paul, who is second in most polls in New Hampshire, returned to the state yesterday and met with supporters at an airport hangar at Nashua Airport....
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"Candidates’ foot soldiers vow to march all the way to finish" by Bobby Caina Calvan | Globe Staff, January 09, 2012
CONCORD, N.H. - A cow bell hung from the ceiling at Ron Paul’s campaign headquarters here, where a bank of volunteers was busy telephoning thousands of residents across the Granite State. Eric Brickford from Boston reached for the bell, dubbed “Liberty,’’ and clanged it loudly: A voter had just flipped into the Paul camp, a boost of morale in the final dash for votes....
If the lawn signs are any indication Ron Paul should win outright.
With just a day to go, they will subject themselves to all sorts of deprivation and sacrifice to power through the ground war in this do-or-die campaign.
I'm tired of the war terminology.
“Wednesday morning will come soon enough,’’ said Ron Noyes, a musician and Paul “freedom fighter.’’ “Everybody just needs to buck up and make it to Tuesday.’’
Just a half block from Mitt Romney’s headquarters in Manchester, in the darkening afternoon yesterday, Brandon Hall, a Paul supporter, yelled at passing cars, their windows rolled up against the cold: “We need all the votes we can get. Your vote counts.’’
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Back at Paul’s campaign headquarters in Concord, volunteers scurried around with masking tape on their backs or sleeves, scribbled with their duties and expertise. Most arrive as strangers to one another. Some volunteers had the letter “V’’ taped to their shirts, identifying them as veterans of the military.
Yeah, he wins the grunt vote.
Kate Becker, who took time off from work as a business manager at a Manchester software company to be a so-called “freedom fighter’’ for Paul, broke into laughter as she recounted the long days and nights she has put into the campaign.
“I only try to stay here for 12 hours,’’ she said.
Her giggles, she explained, were partly a result of fatigue. She munched on carrots and fruit, in addition to the usual fare of the day. The fridge was stocked with caffeinated soft drinks, like Mountain Dew.
“If there’s going to be a revolt — it’ll be over the pizza,’’ said Kate Schackai, another of Paul’s freedom fighters. “I’m sick of pizza.’’
I don't eat a lot of pizza; it upsets my stomach.
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Up the street, the pizza ovens at Theo’s, have burned hot throughout the campaign. Romney volunteers went through more than 75 pies yesterday....
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"Debates reinforce some voters’ views; But a note of uncertainty remains strong" by Sarah Schweitzer | Globe Staff, January 09, 2012
Listening to the two men in the debates, Tom Peters, a former selectman who installs electronic systems and is torn between Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich, said he ended up back where he started: He likes Ron Paul’s economic ideas but he is not sure they will gain passage, which leads him to Gingrich, a know-his-way-around-Washington guy. But then, he still likes Paul....
One of the undecideds the paper keeps citing.
Ashland, like much of New Hampshire, is not natural Santorum territory.
See: Social Issues Sink Santorum in New Hampshire
The town of 2,076 residents leans toward a moderate brand of Republicanism, with voters tending to think of social issues as beyond the reach of government.
Related: Losing Faith in the Boston Globe
But there are some social conservatives - Lisa Ash among them. Even now, she is leaning toward Ron Paul, a candidate who seems reliably consistent, as he did in the debates, once again.
“Some of the things Ron Paul said are a little scary but I say maybe we need something radical because it has been the same old thing,’’ she said.
That an outlier like Paul has remained on voters’ radar is, perhaps, to be expected. Populist winds blow strongly here: Ashland was part of the brigade of towns that voted for Patrick Buchanan in 1996.
Translation: It is RON PAUL COUNTRY!!!
Ashland, like the rest of New Hampshire, has not been as hard hit economically as the rest of the country. But the town budget is getting tighter and expenses are piling up - repair of the sagging fire station roof is expected to cost upward of $50,000, a daunting sum in a working-class town without a capital improvement budget....
Matt LePage, a graduate student and astrophysics instructor at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, had been leaning toward Mitt Romney before the debates, impressed with his business background. But after watching him spar with Gingrich, he said he had changed his mind....
Now, LePage said, he is leaning toward voting, once again, for President Obama - with one proposed change in the administration lineup.
“I would love Ron Paul as vice president,’’ he said....
Not president?
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Also see: N.H. town basks in national spotlight at primary time
Globe Splits Hairs in New Hampshire
The Globe's Invisible Ink: Ron Paul in New Hampshire
Sunday Globe Special: Ron Paul Rising in New Hampshire
Time to check the polls:
"Romney's poll numbers in recent days show him winning the support of about 40 percent of New Hampshire GOP primary voters surveyed. Paul has been in second place with 20 percent, and Huntsman, Santorum, and Gingrich are locked in a tight race for third place. All of the candidates say they intend to compete in the Jan. 21 South Carolina primary no matter what the outcome tomorrow in New Hampshire.
Ron Paul, who had been ignored for long stretches of the debate, was challenged by Santorum, who argued that the Texas congressman, despite his many years in Washington, has failed to translate his conservative principles into actual laws.
Then I'm glad I didn't watch.
“The serious issue with Congressman Paul here is, you’re right, he’s never really passed anything of any importance,’’ Santorum said. “He has no track record of being able to work together. He’s been out there on the margins.’’
Paul responded that his legislation has not passed because of a recalcitrant Congress, not for lack of effort....
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Related:
"Bottom-line time: A few moments do not a political upheaval make. With the doughty and unflinching Ron Paul an impediment to a more plausible long-term challenger scoring a strong Granite State second, the front-running Romney remains in good shape for tomorrow....
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And I think I've discovered why the media has started paying attention to Ron Paul, and why the other candidates have been saying nice things about him:
"GOP fight reflects deeper war over party identity" by Christopher Rowland | Globe Staff, January 09, 2012
CONCORD, N.H. - The three major factions within the GOP - represented by Rick Santorum and social conservatives; Ron Paul, with his Tea Party movement deficit hawks; and Mitt Romney, backed by the business, government, and foreign policy establishment - are in competition to define what the party stands for....
A few weeks back we were told Gingrich was Tea Party's man, before that Cain, before that Bachmann, blah, blah, blah. Anybody but Paul, until now.
Paul’s army of insurgents has a strong dislike for the Republican mainstream.
There they go again with the insurgents insult.
Hey, we didn't help send U.S. troops to war by blaring lies from our front pages, mouthpiece media, nor are we killing U.S. troops as the term implies. If anything we are trying to save them.
The noisy crowd inside an airplane hangar in Nashua cheered heartily when Paul set foot on New Hampshire soil Friday and declared: “They call us dangerous. In a way we are, to their empire!’’
That's true.
To Mitt Romney’s advantage, Paul and Santorum lack appeal to broad swaths of the Republican electorate. Paul’s plan to disengage militarily from the rest of the world strikes many voters, even those at his rallies, as unrealistic.
Bigoted comments were published under Paul’s name in his newsletters in the 1980s (the candidate has said he did not know what the newsletters contained).
Related:
"A super PAC formed by Paul supporters is running an ad in New Hampshire 237 times starting this weekend that features an interracial couple talking about Paul, an obstetrician-gynecologist, and his willingness to treat them at a time of racial strife. Paul has come under scrutiny in recent weeks for a newsletter he published decades ago that included racial views that he has since called “terrible.’’
Also see: We Love You Super PAC
Boston Globe Lowers Its Standards
All of a quarter-inch.
And Santorum’s antiabortion views and opposition to gay marriage signal a religious intolerance that had made it difficult to expand support among moderates.
Said Angelica Martinez, a Smith College student from New Jersey who sat with friends in a booth at the Tilton diner Santorum visited: Romney is “the most relatable out of everyone.’’
History suggests the party rank-and-file will get behind the eventual nominee, whether it is Romney or someone else, united in dislike of Obama. The phenomenon is what James Thurber, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University, called the “rally effect.’’
Not if the nominee is not Ron Paul.
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Related: SIX WAYS THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY CAN BE RIGGED, AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!
