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The twin cities of
Minneapolis and
St. Paul saw a lot of
action around Labor Day. The Republicans convened in
St.
Paul, but as some pointed out, Saint Paul
was in Minneapolis.
They meant Texas
Congressman Ron Paul, to whom supporters attribute saintly qualities.
Dr. Paul failed in his bid for the Republican
Presidential nomination, garnering only about 5% of the primary
votes, although he beat McCain's tally in three states.
But what his
supporters lacked in numbers, they made up in enthusiasm: Meetup groups sprang up all over the internet,
grass-roots supporters raised a record $4.3 million on a single day last
November, and thousands marched on Washington
in July.
All that money and enthusiasm prompted Paul,
who no longer actively seeks the Presidency, to organize the Campaign for
Liberty, which sponsored special events in
Minneapolis.
Several Meetup
members from the Antelope
Valley were there. I
was among them. We joined up at Borders bookstore, standing in line along with
hundreds of others to get Paul's "John Hancock" on our copies of
The Revolution: A Manifesto.
Afterward, some from our group went
across town to the Republican National Convention, where we
talked to delegates and got interviewed by the media. One spotted Karl Rove leaving
the grounds and yelled after him: "Hey, Karl! No more wars with Israel!"
That day ended with a free concert on the grounds of the National
Sports Center.
The main event was the Rally for the
Republic, the next day. As surely as God made little green apples (as the
song goes), it did rain in Minneapolis
that morning, but nobody cared.
With undampened spirits, more than 12,000 of us crowded into
the Target
Center to hear
inspirational speeches and roar our approval. We later learned that C-span is
offering the program on DVD.
The Rally originally was planned so that RNC delegates
could attend on a slow convention day, but an altered Republican convention schedule
caused fewer to come. Did the Rally have any influence over mainstream
Republicans?
To be sure, some of the objectives
expressed at the Rally were echoed at the Republican convention: tax cuts,
educational choice through school vouchers, and Second Amendment rights
among them.
Missing from the RNC, however, but in the
forefront at the Rally, were calls for sound monetary policy and an end to
foreign military adventures. A return to Constitutional government (“rule of
law”) and the restoration of Constitutionally-guaranteed rights were also on
the agendas of speakers and attendees alike.
Among the notable speakers were Barry
Goldwater, Jr.; Lew Rockwell; and two former governors, Gary Johnson of
New Mexico and Jesse Ventura of Minnesota. The latter expressed interest
in seeking the Presidency in 2012.
The final speaker was Dr. Paul himself,
who began by promising not what he’d do if elected President, but what he
wouldn’t. Basically, his list included most of the anti-Constitutional actions
that modern Presidents get away with.
He reminded his
listeners that their rights are innate, not gifts of the Government, and that
prosperity is enabled by personal liberty. He concluded with the hope that
youth’s idealism might be turned toward improving society, rather than
harnessed, as it so often is, to pursue warfare.
I’ll never forget the banners! Several
people brought them to the evening concert on the sports field. There were historic
and modern versions of the Stars and Stripes, and two kinds of “Don’t Tread
on Me” flag.
On the far edge of
the field, I spied a historic Bennington
'76 flag alongside a flag with a peace symbol in its canton. As a gust of wind
lifted both banners, I snapped a telephoto shot in the fading light. To me,
that image epitomizes the spirit of Campaign for Liberty. –R.P. Huemer (a version similar to this was
published in Antelope
Valley Press, 9/12/08,
p. B6)
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