Paul faithful flock to Spartanburg appearance (sixteen standing ovations!)

GoUpstate.com ^ | 7/21/07 | Jason Spencer

[George W. Bush]

Paul faithful flock to Spartanburg appearance

A little-known Texas congressman seeking the Republican nomination for president visited Spartanburg on Saturday and seemed to arrive with all the makings of rock-star candidate for his party — despite polling low, little name recognition and a relatively small campaign staff.

Supporters call it the “Ron Paul Revolution.” You might’ve seen it on signs or T-shirts. Or MySpace.

Paul received no less than 16 standing ovations during his hour-plus speech and question-and-answer session at the Summit Pointe Event Center — first, when he entered the room, a second one when a re-entered after doing a quick television interview and a third when he was formally introduced.

Thunderous applause also followed when he decried the Patriot Act (ovation No. 4), when he said America should never go to war without a declaration from Congress or because of a United Nations resolution (ovation Nos. 8 and 9), and when he attacked President Bush’s foreign policy and handling of the war in Iraq (ovation Nos. 11, 12 and 13).

“No nation building. No policing of the world. Peace is popular,” Paul said. “The sooner we get out of Iraq, the fewer Americans will die. And I say, it’s time to come home.”

About 400 people — half from out of state — were shoehorned into Summit Pointe for a barbecue luncheon that doubled as a fundraiser for the Spartanburg County Republican Party. The local GOP, after expenses, made an estimated $5,000 on the event.

Paul was invited to speak to the local party faithful (they numbered about 80 in the crowd) after county chairman Rick Beltram took offense at Paul’s explanation of the 9/11 attacks as “blowback” from America’s past intervention in the affairs of other countries during a GOP debate. That led to a widely distributed online tit-for-tat between Beltram and Paul supporters, and Beltram eventually invited Paul here to explain himself.

Blowback, in and of itself, was not mentioned Saturday, though Paul often alluded to it, going as far back as World War I, “which (President) Woodrow Wilson got us into unnecessarily, and drew the lines in the Middle East that we’re suffering for today.”

Beltram said he agreed with Paul on most issues except foreign policy, and that he believes the Texan converted some Upstaters to his revolution with Saturday’s speech.

“I left feeling like a hero,” Beltram said. “I got more positive comments after that event than all the other presidential events combined.”

[scan58]

more RP stuff

[fieldmarshaldj]

It's not just a matter of voting Republican, but for the right kind of leader. We have two options in the 21st century. We either aggressively combat the threat of international evil, be it Mohammadanism, Communism, and other thuggery, go on the offense and take it straight to them and triumph by importing our values of liberal Republican Democracy (not liberal in the sense of statism and appeasement of evil as Liberals do, but the classic sense of what liberalism is supposed to mean), or we do nothing. We roll up the mat and bury our heads in the sand and allow us to be attacked by them, again and again and again until our nation and system is in ruins, and they triumph.

I'm not just an internationalist because I want to be, but because in this day and age, if you're not one, you're just one more useful idiot for the cause of chaos and our nation's ultimate destruction. It's the 21st century whether we want it to be or not. It is that simple.

[BlackElk]

PaleoPaulie whose foreign policy most resembles RamsayClarke's is a good reminder that thereis no safety in voting for some who call themselves Republican. I wouldn't vote for Juliannie but it would really be great fun to see him lead Osama bin Laden in flexcuffs, straightjacket and with a bit in his insolent mouth through the streets of DC in an old fashioned triumph before he would be skinned live while being drwoned in pig blood and his tanned pelt hung in the cabinet room. Nonetheless, the babies come first. Fred will take the starch out of Osama's drawers with a theatrical flair as well and what's more, unlike paleoPaulie, Fred is electable.

BTW, "bringing ObL to justice"???? Whatever John Kerry or paleoPaulie may think, this is not a "criminal justice moment" but a WAR to kill these creatures and destroy their world. No, slaughter the SOB and film the slaughter for posterity or torture him for info and THEN slaughter him. No trials, no ACLU, no judges, no juries.

[BlackElk]

You are NOT an internationalist. You are a conservative. You are an interventionist without any need to ask the UN: Mommy, may I?

[BlackElk]

No, it does not and yes, you are.

[BlackElk]

Yes, I am.

[George W. Bush]

You are NOT an internationalist. You are a conservative. You are an interventionist without any need to ask the UN: Mommy, may I?

LOL. What's wrong? Afraid the fieldmarshall will speak for himself?

We've seen FReepers lately advocating (on non-RP threads) for free trade schools and nursing schools and free food and rent and transportation, the full-blown centrally-planned economy bit. And they didn't get banned for it.

So why shouldn't we get to have some United Nations lackeys as well?

[CJ Wolf]

Fred? Who is that, You mean the Bob Dole look alike, who played a president on TV? is he running?

[ejonesie22]

Very well put. Again 19th Century, and even 20th Century, Conservative thought cannot completely take on 21st century realities.

[George W. Bush]

I wouldn't vote for Juliannie but it would really be great fun to see him lead Osama bin Laden in flexcuffs, straightjacket and with a bit in his insolent mouth through the streets of DC in an old fashioned triumph before he would be skinned live while being drwoned in pig blood and his tanned pelt hung in the cabinet room.

I know you're into the whole Torquemada thing but rivers of pig blood, torture and skinning people alive really is a tough sell to the indies and the Reagan Democrats.

The answer to medieval fundamentalism is not to become like them. But they do, culturally, have a grudging respect for retribution. They would understand that we would hunt down and kill those who murdered on our territory.

This fiction that Pakistan would be destabilized if we take Bin Laden & Co. in Waziristan is simply false. We get the same bilge about how the Saudis will fall if we stand up to them on the funding and the terrorists they are filtering directly from S.A. to Damascus and over the Syrian border to kill our soldiers.

I wonder how long people will fall for such transparent nonsense and demand a stop to Saudi terrorism and to Pakistan shielding the Bin Laden organization.

[fieldmarshaldj]

What I support has nothing to do with the UN as it is now. The UN has become a debauched caricature of what it was supposed to accomplish and stand for. It serves as no better than a massage parlor for the international left. Tyrants and their abominations that pass for governments go in there for their ejaculatory rewards, and we civilized nations, what few are left, are to swallow the resulting bukkake and ask for seconds.

As we see just today, the UN rejected Taiwan (a civilized nation) for membership once again, stating that the Beijing tyranny is its legitimate representative.

Yes, indeed. Thank you, sir, may I have more ?

The United States IS the real United Nations. It should unapologetically spread the values of the Founding Fathers and Constitutional government to every nook and cranny of creation. Funny thing is, we need some of that simple instruction on our own shores. Spreading that is the very best remedy for what ails our planet.

[George W. Bush]

What I support has nothing to do with the UN as it is now. The UN has become a debauched caricature of what it was supposed to accomplish and stand for. It serves as no better than a massage parlor for the international left. Tyrants and their abominations that pass for governments go in there for their ejaculatory rewards, and we civilized nations, what few are left, are to swallow the resulting bukkake and ask for seconds.

Well, when we first established it we did take them off-guard and fool them into legitimizing the creation of the state of Israel, convincing all that Israel would quickly fail. They're still peeved.

The United States IS the real United Nations. It should unapologetically spread the values of the Founding Fathers and Constitutional government to every nook and cranny of creation. Funny thing is, we need some of that simple instruction on our own shores. Spreading that is the very best remedy for what ails our planet.

Well, Friends Of Ron certainly agree. Now the question becomes: is it better to make friends by peaceful trade and setting a good example or is it more effective to make friends by bombing them first?

[Nephi]

In the days of the dinosaur media, a candidate had to have tens of millions of dollars ante in order to be “ordained” as “viable.” Now, thanks to the new media, candidates are actually able to go around the old media, discuss ideas that have been censured by the globalist media and the excitement created in the public is the result. People don’t turn to the newspapers to see what “news” has been chosen for them, why should people turn to newspapers to see what candidates have been chosen for them. We finally have a chance to have a battle of ideas. Ron Paul’s genuine conservatism eschews globalism and it’s failures and that appeals to both sides of the political spectrum.

[ejonesie22]

Man it is nice to see someone who gets it. We are the world. We created this global economy by our success and ideals.

It is now time to take back control.

[KDD]

Why don’t you man up. Your fear is unbecoming and reads like a frail old menopausal women who sees terrorists behind every bush. Adults did not exhibit as much fear looking down the barrel of 10,000 nukes armed and pointed at us in 1962 from Russia as you do here with your obsessive fear of a bunch of cave dwelling flakes with no military, air force or navy to attack us with, and using homemade ordinance(IEDs) made out of artillery shells as their major weapons system.

You're just another fruitloop expecting to see hordes of long knifed muslims storming the beaches at Malibu. Keep your big government kneepads on...Just don't expect divine protection from it for your servicing it.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Peaceful trade with peaceable civilized nations goes without saying. Trade alone will not stamp out the scourge of the evil political death cult of 7th century Mohammadanism, nor with tinpot dictators like Hugo Chavez trying to proliferate failed 19th century Marxist tyranny.

[George W. Bush]

You're just another fruitloop expecting to see hordes of long knifed muslims storming the beaches at Malibu.

Shhh...don't give Goober Graham, the Chappaquiddick Killer and our prez any ideas of how to get more Muslims into this country.

[Pappy Smear]

What I'm asking these days is: "Why don't they fear us?"

And that is why I am seriously considering a vote for Ron Paul in the Iowa Caucuses next January. (I would vote for him in the Ames Straw Poll, but my wife is making me go to a wedding! Grrr. But I digress)

I don't think the current administration is putting the fear of god, any god, into them. If you are at war, go and kick the holy crap out of somebody, don't dink around. I perceive our war effort as dinking around.

We blew up your shrine? Too freaking bad! We are THE UNITED STATES of AMERICA. We are the baddest mofos to ever walk the face of earth. We are the smartest, strongest military ever assembled. We don't need to rape your women, they will come to us willingly, because they would love to have the children of supermen. So there. And if you don't like it, we'll kick your rear until you do like it, or until you like watching real football, eating bacon cheeseburgers, and gaping at sitcoms like most Americans.

And if we don't do it that way, we just as well try Ron Paul's way.

[George W. Bush]

Trade alone will not stamp out the scourge of the evil political death cult of 7th century Mohammadanism, nor with tinpot dictators like Hugo Chavez trying to proliferate failed 19th century Marxist tyranny.

And yet, we're so overextended in Iraq we couldn't help Taiwan if we needed to. We can't give the kind of attention to the Chavez regime and his anti-American neighbors. And we are hardly in any position to put boots on the ground in Iran either. That would be fundamentalist terror-state Iran with a huge and credible nuke program being developed in well-shielded underground labs. Unlike Iraq which had no such programs and which was a secular Arab dictatorship.

A lot is being neglected while we are in Iraq. And we've tarnished our own image, as much with the citizens of other nations as their governments.

[KDD]

Not to mention playing kissy face with that third and most dangerous member of the “axis of evil”, North Korea.