Anatomy of the Ron Paul Nation

"Ron Paul is no laughing matter." — David All (GOP strategist) AOL News, October 11, 2007

I have never had much enthusiasm for following politics; I found that a blanket condemnation of the whole subspecies Officeseeker stood me in good stead and saved me time to focus on more useful things, such as Lindsey Lohan's current status.[1] I have never willingly given money to any politician, never pitched a chirpy phone call to a fellow citizen reminding them that today is election day, never joined any political party whatsoever, feeling that those who do missed the whole point of the Federalist Papers.

Admittedly, every four years I'd do my civic duty and throw my vote down the Libertarian Party's maw. That's as far as my active support for the libertarian crowd went until last Friday night, when I wrote a relatively large check in support of Ron Paul, allowing me entrée into a private reception held at a fabulously gorgeous penthouse in New York City.

I drank the red, surrounded by fifty or so other donors.

Naturally I had a nice time hanging with the Four Figure Donor Crowd, which like any such event gets you a handshake, a few words, and a picture with the candidate. Nice speech, nice time, nice man. Ron Paul holds the distinction of being, in my opinion, probably the only member of Congress our Founders would not find cause to shun.


His ideological outlook towards power is frozen in 1776, leading to a remarkable consistency in his actions and words despite a 30-year public life. My little brother Tommy — yet another 20-something newly minted fan — is reading Mr. Paul's A Foreign Policy of Freedom. His admiring review: "He's been giving the same speech since 1976."

But despite Ron Paul's books, speeches, and meeting the man in person, what really opened my eyes to what his campaign is all about was in meeting the supporters who gathered at a Chelsea location afterwards, in drinking and smoking with the Decidedly Less Than Four Figure Crowd. Show me your friends, show me yourself; so I believe. Ron Paul represents something, and the man is just a conduit for what a nightclub full of earnest young people represent, for what they believe. Among these young supporters is where I met the real Ron Paul, or, more to the point, the Ron Paul movement.

The Kids Are Alright

"One thing only has been lent to youth and age in common — discontent." — Matthew Arnold

From what I've read on the web, Ron Paul attracts a rather … umm … oddball sort of crowd, so to speak. From the attractive brunette bartender who, along with drinks, served warnings of a "one world government" to our new friend Casey Holland telling us, in amazing detail, how 9-11 was a set-up, be forewarned that when Ron Paul supporters gather, conspiracy theories will fall like manna from heaven. Since I've read Harvard professor Bernard Bailyn's Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, in which he devotes an entire section to our Founder's unshakable belief in conspiracies, I found this trait more admirable than amusing. Judging by our history books, which are littered with politically sponsored bloodbaths, viewing the political class with extreme suspicion and distrust seems only rational.

Having been refused accommodations by the New York Republican Party,[2] about two hundred Ron Paul supporters found their own space, a cavernous hall that featured the standard bar, couches, nooks and crannies to hide in, and, according to one participant who'd been there before, was used on occasion as a sex club. The oddball nature of the venue fit the crowd like a glove.

P.J. O'Rourke once wrote that if you want to see which way the wind is blowing, follow the pretty girls. If this is so, then from the Ron Paul Girl to the aptly named Angel who I spoke to at the after party, Ron Paul is the wave of the future.[3] But the most striking feature of the crowd was not looks, but youth.

Most of them seem to be web savvy, with the ability, at minimum, to hack into any news studio's voting system, be it text or Internet based.[4] My wife warned me to keep an eye on my Blackberry, lest it fall into evil hands. You couldn't turn around without seeing a video camera perched on someone's shoulder. While the crowd's attachment to the Internet was on display (the event was put together in four days via the net) what they really seem to love is video.[5]

In one of the hall's nooks, a video interview room was born, and if you search the web I'm sure the results are on there somewhere. The Ron Paul campaign's attitude towards recording and disseminating their events and literature reminds me of the Grateful Dead's: feel free. The entire night — hell the entire movement — seems rather unscripted and spontaneous.

So why do they all support Ron Paul? Doubtless, the war plays a part, but MoveOn.org couldn't pull this off — I've been to some of their events and the turnout wasn't even close. I asked Jessica, who was leaning on a bar with her friend Chris, what it was about Ron Paul that attracted them, and she gave me the same answer I would hear all night. "You know," she said, "it's about freedom, and having rights." Like almost everyone I asked, they had only known about Ron Paul for "a couple of months," yet were willing to pay $100 each to drink to his health.

His hold on this crowd goes deeper than merely being antiwar. One flyer given to me by a young bearded kid read, "Who is Ron Paul?" and listed his beliefs, as expressed by his voting record. Pro-gun, antitax, for freedom of the Internet, anti–Patriot Act — his opposition to the war was listed near the bottom, almost like an afterthought. The people I spoke to were more about how Ron Paul matches their urge for "freedom and rights" than on any specific issue he stands on.

Between the informational handouts, bumper stickers, the ubiquitous video cameras, a promotional CD mixed by a Brooklyn based duo called The Statue of David, and the crowd's radical feeling towards the establishment, the after party had all the markings of the '60s, without that sad generation's lust for and admiration of power. Whatever the traditional media polls say, this man has struck a chord among quite a few of the young. The night was a happening, as much as a tired forty-year-old can make it out to be.

This presidential campaign's hippest candidate, perched right on the cutting edge of radical, is a 72-year-old grandfather who complimented his suit with a pair of black sneakers.


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