Ron Paul Visits Fairbanks

(text by Robin, editing and photos by Leslie)

Leslie and I went to see Ron Paul today. Thinking it might be a pretty popular event given the libertarian bent of the Alaskan “interior” (as they call this part of the state), we showed up about a half an hour early. We only just managed to get places near the front of the standing-room area.

we were lucky to be standing right at the aisle

It was announced that the turn-out was about a thousand—two-hundred of whom had to be put in an overflow room with video stream. There was a great mix of attendees, from young people with dredlocks and streaked hair, to a smattering of old folks in suits and ties.

an indigenous family for Ron Paul

Actually, the most conservative looking person in the room was one of the Secret Service Agents (you can see two of them flanking Ron Paul in the first photo above.) The majority looked more like—only Santa Cruzans will understand this, sorry—they were from the San Lorenzo Valley on a cold day. Here’s a short video showing a bit of Paul, as well as the crowd in attendance:

Paul was here in Fairbanks as the Alaskan caucuses are on Tuesday, and this electorate—as well other candidates’ neglect of the region—gives him the best chance he has of an outright win in any of the states.

you can see we got to stand pretty darn close

I hope he does win because I believe, as he does, that ideas are important. He broadens the conversation significantly, and he does it in a nice, civil way, which I think is a huge plus.

I disagree with Paul on many things—primarily his desire for unfettered capitalism, no taxes, and an extremely limited federal government.

But I do agree in whole or part with many other things: that we should lift trade sanctions, that we should end the “war on drugs,” that we should greatly reduce our military presence in the world, and that we should roll back both the Patriot Act and the terrorism portion of the recent military funding bill. He is focusing attention on the right things, even if his prescriptions are not the same as mine.

Anyway, it was fun. Mitt Romney’s son was here the other day too, but we had just gotten here and I wasn’t ready to venture out. Plus, that cost $10. Because Romney, I guess, needs the money.