LAKE JACKSON, Texas - In their coverage of last night's "Youth for Ron Paul" (YFP) rally at Iowa State University in Ames, TIME Magazine and NPR offer more-than-soundbite analysis of how crucial a role the youth vote will play in the January 3, 2012 Iowa Caucus.
The "Youth for Ron Paul" rally attracted more than 1,350 mostly-young supporters of the 12-term Congressman from Texas, double the number expected. Event organizers were required to open two extra rooms at the university venue, an interesting challenge to face considering
tonight- just an hour and half drive from ISU - Ron Paul will hold a similar rally at the University of Northern Iowa, located in Cedar Falls.
Ron Paul's Army Eyes an Iowa Caucus Upset By Alex Altman
TIME Magazine
Ames, Iowa
It's a cold Thursday night the week before finals, and a light dusting of snow is falling on the Iowa State campus. But inside the school's student union, more than 1,000 supporters have queued up to catch an early glimpse of Ron Paul. Nearly an hour before the Texas Congressman is scheduled to appear, the line loops around corners and snakes back, full of fans toting placards and wearing Ron Paul buttons and hoodies. Near the front are a quartet of Nebraskans, who carpooled three hours from Omaha to hear Paul speak. "He's the only one who understands our problems. For the rest of them, it's like a geography bee ? name the country, and they want to fight them," says Jason Nunn, 28.
"He's been fighting for my liberty since before I was born," says his friend Bryan Jacoby, 28. "I came here with the expressed intention to shake the hand of the future President of the United States."
The crowd shuffles into the cavernous auditorium a half-hour early, filling the seats, hugging the walls and spilling into an anteroom. After a long wait, Paul steps to the podium to address the throng. Paul's is a stump speech unique in contemporary politics, one that pinballs from the case for more liberty and fewer military entanglements to the wasteful war on drugs, from Frederic Bastiat's economic theories to the evils of the income tax and the nanny state...
For the full TIME Magazine article, please click
here.
Ron Paul's Young Fans Flock To Him In Iowa By Brian Naylor
NPR
At first glance, it's not easy to figure why Ron Paul is so popular with young people. At 76, he's old enough to be their grandfathers, something he alluded to at a packed rally at Iowa State University in Ames Thursday night.
"I understand this is a busy week, some of you are involved with studyin' so this was a chance not to have to study for a couple hours right? But I have a lot of children, a lot of grandchildren but I'm always advising them study hard get your courses down," Paul told the crowd.
Several hundred young people, mostly students, packed the Great Hall of Iowa States Union building. Many wore flannel shirts and knit caps on a cold snowy night. They listened intently as Paul, standing behind a lectern touched on some of his more esoteric views, on Austrian economists and returning to the gold standard. But they responded with enthusiasm when he got to issues they could relate to, like the threat he says is posed by the Patriot Act.
"There's a serious attack on our personal liberties ? your rights, your privacy, passing bills out of a panic mode and passing things like the Patriot Act. it does not help your personal liberty. I'd like to get rid of the Patriot Act to tell you the truth."
For the full NPR story and audio clip, please click
here.
To learn more and sign up for Youth for Ron Paul, please visit:
www.YouthForPaul.com and "like" the Facebook page found at:
www.Facebook.com/YouthForPaul.
