Ron Paul as change agent

WASHINGTON - There's been lots of talk this election season about change – most of it over the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination.

But there's another group of voters out there clamoring for change. And they're Republicans. And they voted for Ron Paul.

For some in the GOP, a vote for Ron Paul in the California primary was the first time they voted for someone truly in sync with their views of limited government and liberty. For others, a vote for the Texas congressman was not so much a ballot for making him president. It was a message to the Republican Party that they weren't happy with its presumptive choice – Sen. John McCain.

"For me it's less about Ron Paul's philosophical beliefs — even though I appreciate his gold standard views,'' said Brett Barbre, a Republican activist, former Capitol Hill staffer and member of the Municipal Water District of Orange County board. "He's kind of the 'none of the above' selection for a lot of Republicans because McCain is unacceptable."

Barbre doesn't know what he's going to do in November.

"I'm going to have to do a lot of soul searching,'' he says. "Do I hold my nose and vote for McCain – like I did with Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger?" Or does he perform his civic duty, go to the polls and vote for other public officials but leave the presidential spot blank?

While Barbre and others may have voted for Paul in California's Feb. 3 primary because they were unhappy with the other choices, for Rosa Cox, Paul was the candidate she was waiting for.

"Finally there is a candidate who has principles,'' said Cox, a 33-year-old housewife from Buena Park. "Unfortunately, he's been shunned and pushed out. He's the only candidate who wants to give us solutions and the people don't want to hear that. They want to be promised cake when they should be eating their vegetables.''

Cox and other Paul supporters tend to be younger than the typical GOP activist. They see Paul as a throwback to Republican ideals gone by smaller government and fiscal responsibility.

Gabe Stubin says when he hears Paul speak he talks about things that used to be on the Republican platform — like abolishing the Department of Education.

"He brings up issues that are untouchable now – silver and gold-backed dollars. He talks about many of the bigger issues that neither of the parties addresses these days."

Besides his views on limited government and a return of the gold standard as the nation's monetary policy, Paul was the only Republican hopeful who spoke out against the Iraq war. And that gave some GOP voters who have opposed that conflict a candidate to turn to.

While Paul has acknowledged that he knows he's not going to get his party's nomination, the Texas congressman has not followed the lead of the other GOP presidential hopefuls and exited the race. He still continues to run in primaries and has racked up double-digit percentages in some states.

According to the latest Associated Press count, Paul has 29 delegates to the GOP

convention. McCain has 1,521, 331 more than he needs to be nominated by his party.

"By Ron Paul staying in and going all the way to the convention it's giving people a chance to say there's another option,'' said the 35-year-old Stubin, a Huntington Beach insurance broker who says he's still hoping for a miracle in Minneapolis.

Some Paul supporters say they plan to write their candidates' name in on Election Day.

"I won't waste my vote this year like I have before,'' said Gerald Hester of San Clemente, 65, who manufactures television equipment. Hester contributed $2,000 to Paul's campaign and plans to write Paul's name on the ballot on Election Day.

Hester said he had never heard of Paul until he saw him at the first televised Republican debate.

"What he said was very refreshing,'' Hester said. "What I saw in the political arena for the first time was somebody talking about the constitution.''

Some Paul supporters say they may take a look at Libertarian party standard-bearer Bob Barr, a former Georgia Republican congressman, but many aren't familiar with Barr's views.

Others haven't ruled out a vote for McCain.

"I haven't decided yet,'' says Allan Bartlett, who was Paul's coordinator in Orange County. Bartlett had contributed to Paul's congressional campaign as well as organizing his presidential effort here.

"I think in the end in talking to people I don't get the feeling that a lot of the Ron Paul supporters are going to support John McCain,'' Bartlett said.

But Bartlett, who along with other Paul supporters has begun attending GOP central committee meetings in Orange County, said he recently heard Barry Goldwater Jr. speak. Goldwater endorsed McCain.

"He made a lot of our activists think,'' Bartlett said.

McCain's support for the Iraq war and his positions on immigration don't sit well with Paul supporters, Bartlett said.

"I'm not a pacifist completely but you have to have some kind of justification for those kind of actions,'' said Ethan Jacobs of Costa Mesa, a 29-year-old real estate lawyer. Jacobs supports Paul's foreign policy – "bringing our troops home from 135 countries around the world, withdrawing from the United Nations.''

Bartlett said even he didn't expect the groundswell that emerged for Paul in Orange County. During one nationwide fundraising competition the Irvine meet-up came in third place, having raised more than $30,000 for their candidate. At their peak, the meet-ups drew 800 people, he said.

"It's not big money but that's what was so great about Ron,'' Bartlett said. "He wasn't about big corporate contributions.''

Beyond supporting Paul's bid for the presidency, Bartlett said people who have backed him are getting active in politics and he hopes that will help move the GOP back to its traditional roots.

"We started to show up at central committee meetings since the middle of last year,'' Bartlett said. 'At first it was kind of scary,'' he added. But he believes the people there have realized "we're not here to cause problems. We're here to grow the party.''

via ocRegister