Quite honestly, if any other Republican presidential candidate were to have stopped by the UC Davis quad to give a campaign speech last week, there's little doubt in my mind that it would have been overshadowed by some form of protest.
We're talking about the same quad where non-violent students were pepper sprayed by campus police as the Occupy movement took hold last November, turning the location into a symbol and a gathering point.
To put it bluntly, the Occupy movement and the Republican Party don't exactly line up in agreement on many issues. As the editor of a local news site in Davis, I've sat in on enough General Assemblies to know that, although every protester has his/her own opinions, hardly anybody within the Occupy movement would check a box next to Romney's or Santorum's names.
I took a bunch of photos at the rally. Check out the diversity of the crowd here.
Not many would likely check Ron Paul's box either, but the sentiment toward Paul is much different. He's not cast as a champion of the 1 percent -- at least to the degree that the other GOP candidates are.
Paul's stage was just a couple hundred feet from where Lt. Pike did his now-famous pepper spray routine, and although there were protesters among the crowd at UC Davis, there was no attempt to disrupt the event or logjam Paul's speech at all. Just a collection of people holding signs and exercising their freedom of speech.
With that said, his economic views are the total opposite of anything resembling socialism or community. He's all about individual liberties. But he's also against wars, bailouts, and the Fed. He's different, which is why his following -- as demonstrated on the quad -- is so dedicated. He has no chance of winning, and yet the masses show up and get excited.
The crowd at the event was very diverse, both in terms of age and ethnicity. The same cannot be said for Romney and Santorum events, for the most part. That's just the truth.
You could even smell weed in certain spots. In others, people were playing hacky sack.
It's no secret that Paul -- a staunch Libertarian -- does not march in lockstep with the mainstream Republican candidates, as this article explains.
Still, as an editor for a news site in Davis and an observer of all things Occupy, it was interesting to watch a Republican erect a stage on that quad and then give a speech with little-to-no interruption or protest.
I'm sure the school's Chancellor was jealous. She got censured on the same day.
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Presidential election Ron Paul 42% vs Obama 42%.
and Dr Paul hasn't even begun his battle wit Barack.
WE are MAKING the MSM take notice a little at a time …. VERY SOON the tsunami of news will hit.
Mitt would be even WORSE than Barack ..... Dr Paul is THE REAL ANSWER !
Rombama’s quest for 1144 delegates has peaked ............. and now is going backwards ….
he has fewer today than last week
and fewer last week than last month …..
LET THIS TREND PICK UP SPEED.
Regardless of RULE 38 or similar strategic advantages,
CRYSTAL CLEAR is that Dr Paul’s electors will write the platform …. pick the VP … Make the rules AND his followers are the immediate future and direction of the GOP. We are gaining
total control of the party state by state city by city ….
GOOD BYE old party bosses HELLO individual freedoms.
was that really necessary?
Mitt Romney supports the Project for the New American Century and the Foreign Policy Initiative the think-tank which promotes: diplomatic, economic, and military engagement IN THE WORLD! Romney even named his foreign policy plan a new American Century....how original! Iraq was ALL lies, so is Iran! KONY is war propaganda. The media has a war to sell you are you buying it? I DON'T! Here is a video about Romney and PNAC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYEsfXqHeck. Mitt Romney's foreign policy plan: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/07/8208100-romney-presents-plan-for-new-american-century?lite
RonPaulitic is the Ron Paul Map.
"He has no chance of winning...." Yah, right and the Titanic was unsinkable.
Romney's "nomination" is dead on arrival. By August, Paul's poll numbers in a straight fight against Obama will overshadow those of Romney's. The GOP Politburo will ignore these hard facts and make an attempt to force their will on the will of the People. The People will prevail. Paul will toast Obama in the swing states (only the swing states matter) with his 55:33 advantage over Obama among independents. After all...
... Voters who want wars, torture, assassinations, "humanitarian" bombings in oil rich countries, indefinite detentions, drone attacks that kill the innocent, erosion of civil liberties, domestic war on the people (drug war), out-of-control debt and spending, graft and greed, crony capitalism, pandering to special interests, bailouts, more of the same, must NOT vote for Ron Paul.
Voters who want peace, a humane foreign policy, restoration of civil liberties, an end to the war on drugs, sound money, balanced budgets, honesty, integrity and transparency in government, and a President wholly committed to Constitutional government can vote or Ron Paul.
Ain't that difficult a choice.
The end has already begun for the donklephant (the supposed "2 party system") establishment.
Weather or not Dr. Paul wins the nomination is of no consequence. The Paul campaign and it's supporters are like Navy Seal Team 6 vs the local PTA. We are infinitely more organized, motivated and educated about the election process. We are winning delegates at an exponential rate. We will not compromise on our values when it comes to the convention.
Our message is liberty. The message is infectious and once infected it is terminal. Once a Ron Paul / Rand Paul / Liberty convert we will NEVER switch back. We, just like the special forces are "force multipliers" we "infect" those around us with the message of liberty and those infected go forth and infect more. The establishment can play it's games and squeeze Ron Paul out of this election, but we have Rand Paul a young man cut from the same cloth that has a VERY VERY long political life ahead of him who we will support in exactly that same way as we have Dr. Paul.
So you see establishment, it's already over. The liberty infection takes hold at the very nature of all Americans and human beings...there is but one cure and that is to remove our chains and we are picking the locks right now.
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmsu8MoBi_cFeb 9, 2008 - 8 min - Uploaded by divinityblue
Further proof his message has not changed... when are we going to wake up people?!? Other than the death ...
They are enthusiastically telling us that Ron Paul is the ONLY individual who can save the planet.
OMG. Even IF RP was elected, the Republican establishment and the Corporate machine would do everything to block and ignore him. If you think they said "NO!" loudly enough to Obama just wait to hear them shout down RP.
Just because I can agree with RP on a couple of issues doesn't mean I'm going to swallow his poison pill. Not that I'm unhappy he ran. It's nice to have differing point of views expressed. I think he did more good than harm in running. But vote for him? Not very likely.
No, just that he won't run this country's finances (and therefore our security) into the ground like the other 2.
Other than that, Ron Paul is not really a Republican. He's a Libertarian. Although Libertarians and Republicans share some ideology, they are not the same party. Libertarians are less intelligent Anarchists.
Oh, now I get it. You are an Occupier. Get a job.
Frank Zappa (libertarian btw) for President!