Published: March 04, 2008 08:04 am      

Ron Paul not lacking for loyalty among supporters

By David May
editor@mineralwellsindex.com

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul might not have many supporters, but those he has are loyal and determined, that is if the group that campaigned on his behalf Saturday at a busy Mineral Wells intersection is any indication.

About a dozen Paul supporters waved placards and flags at the corner of U.S. Highway 180 East and Farm-to-Market Road 1821 North, asking passing motorists to vote for the Texas congressman in today’s Republican primary election.

Most of the group came from Weatherford to rally with Mineral Wells resident and staunch Paul backer Vincent Campos. He likes Paul’s opposition to America’s military presence in Iraq.

Campos speaks from the perspective of a former soldier who served in Baghdad during 2006. He said he supported the war in Iraq before serving there.

“I did before, but after being there and seeing what it is really all about, I’m against it,” Campos said. “It’s all about oil, Halliburton and defense contracts.”

A resident of Lake Jackson, Texas, Paul is virtually out of the presidential race, though he remains an active candidate while also seeking re-election to his Texas District 14 congressional seat.

Paul has amassed a mere 14 delegates to date, far behind GOP frontrunner John McCain’s 1,019 reported delegates to date with 1,191 needed to win the party’s nomination.

Paul is also far behind the other remaining active Republican candidate, Mike Huckabee, who has 254 delegates. Withdrawn GOP contender Mitt Romney has 272 delegates.

But none of that matters to this group of “Ron Paul Republicans.” They like his messages of fiscal conservatism and his fundamental interpretation and application of the U.S. Constitution. They said they plan to carry those forward beyond the primaries, November’s general election and into the future.

Members of Saturday’s street corner rally say Paul – whose views and positions have painted him by many even in his own party as a bit of a radical – is the only true conservative choice.

“The issue is the constitution and losing our freedoms,” said Cecily Calvert, saying they will continue carrying Paul’s message through at least August. “We have the money. He needs to get the message out and change this country.”

They each said they would not vote for pending GOP nominee McCain in the November election.

“He should be running as a liberal,” said Kerri Rehmeyer. “We will write in Ron Paul if we have to.”

“We think people need to be educated to what’s going on with our constitution,” said Calvert.

Among Paul’s positions are eliminating the Internal Revenue Service, opposing Internet regulations, stopping what he calls the nation’s “financial dependency on China,” opposing trade agreements with other nations such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, ending the war, tightening security at the borders, opposed to a national identification card and against legislation such as The Patriot Act which he said erodes the freedoms of Americans.