Northern Colorado Gazette

By Craig Masters

The Fort was packed for Ron Paul's 1st of 3 Colorado appearances today

This morning more than 200 were turned away when the CSU student center auditorium reached its capacity. The doors opened an hour before the scheduled 10:00 a.m. event featuring the appearance of Presidential candidate, Dr. Ron Paul; who took the stage almost immediately to the delight of the enthusiastic but attentive, supporters.

Dr. Paul says that America is in a transition period from an “unsustainable” economic system that we only discovered about four years ago after decades of living on borrowed money and borrowed time. He reviewed the history of the failure of every socialist society and reminded the audience that America’s one-time rival superpower simply imploded economically. He suggested that a not-so-small contribution to the downfall of the U.S.S.R. was the economically devastating attempt to invade and occupy Afghanistan. His reference was clear as the crowd interrupted him with applause.

But, he says, domestic economic policies of socialism are guarantees of a nation’s self-destruction. “Once a country has lived way beyond its means, it is forced to live well below beneath its means.” He continued that, in America, “there is a contest going on right now between those who want to assume responsibility for themselves and those who want to live off others.”

The “others” Dr. Paul refers to are not just those who accept charity or entitlements imbeded in the welfare state, but also the companies who thrive at taxpayers’ expense within the economic sector called the military-industrial complex, the Washington lobbyists who peddle their influence anywhere they see an opportunity, the banking system with its hands in the taxpayer’s pocketbooks, the Federal Reserve, and the list goes on.

For twenty-seven minutes Dr. Paul focused on his message and his solutions to rebuild America. He stressed that representative republic which was established by the Constitution has been undermined by decades of sliding downward toward what we are facing today – a strong democracy. He identifies that, “Unfortunately we have accepted the dominance of a democratic society where the majority dictates to the rest and undermines the individual liberties that we all should cherish.”

Without mentioning any other candidate by name, Dr. Paul did suggest that in order for the transition to turn toward a stronger America where individual freedoms and responsibility are restored by limiting government power, we must not simply replace one socialist-minded President with another one who has proven to support most of the programs that created the current situation and debt in the first place.

Prior to his introduction, large projection screens in the room played video of recent campaign ads and speeches in which Paul reviews the facts of his uncompromising record of supporting conservative values. Paul is proud that he was one of only three congressmen who initially endorsed Ronald Reagan’s Presidential candidacy. He does not apologize for never once voting to raise taxes or to support a deficit budget.

Among those in attendance, near the front of the room, was newly-elected chairman of the Larimer County Republican Party, Mike Fassi, who, when  accepting his nomination to that post recently, indicated he was a former democrat who would compromise on issues, but not principles. Dr. Paul clearly believes that is a distinction without a difference.

A press photographer snaps Mick's 'head sticker'

Mick, a ‘fanatical’ supporter whose head sticker was photographed almost as much as Dr. Paul, said that if Paul were to drop out of the race he had no second choice. His friend suggested they might write in Micky Mouse rather than support more of the same…

Both men were determined to fight on for the change they could believe in.

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