More than 5,000 students came out in support for U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) Wednesday night at U. Illinois. Though the event was originally scheduled to be held in a smaller venue, some students were still left without a seat by the time of the event’s start.
“Some people get discouraged because they say … 51 percent of the vote, you have to have it, but it isn’t true,” Paul said. “What you need is an irate and tireless minority.”
The representative was brought to the UI in large part because of U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-15, who voted absentee for Paul.
Johnson and Paul have shared “a long standing relationship built on business and friendship” for about 12 years, Johnson said.
“I think it’s important … our part of the state knows what he offers and what he brings to America, so this is an opportunity to do that in a personal way,” Johnson said.
Paul mainly stressed that the government needs to have a smaller role so that the people can “get their liberty back.”
“We have a good constitution,” he said. “We just need to use it every once in a while.”
One of his main talking points was the country’s foreign policy in terms of military involvement. He said he wants to end all foreign wars and bring all troops home.
“Since World War II … think of how many trillions of dollars have been wasted. In the past 10 years, 4 trillion dollars added to our debt for foreign expenditures,” he said.
Paul also pointed to the Stop Online Piracy Act, which received major backlash from the public. He used this as an example of Americans standing up for their privacy rights.
“Your privacy is what the government should protect, but unfortunately, it’s the other way around: we have no privacy and the government becomes more secret every single day,” he said.
Paul then spoke, to the loud applause of the audience, about his desire to end the Federal Reserve, which he said would lead to a “return of prosperity in this country.”
Other areas of government Paul spoke about eliminating were the federal income tax and the Internal Revenue Service. At the end of the event, Paul again spoke to the young audience.
“I see what’s happening in Washington, and I see what’s coming from the other candidates – I see them as the past,” he said to the audience. “I see you as the future.”
Paul is the first presidential candidate to come to the University in 2012.
“I follow Ron Paul; I have been since 2007, and I’m on his email list … I’ve been waiting for five years to see him in person,” said Isaac Hankes, graduate student.