by Dianna M. Náñez

The Arizona Republic

The very ideas that clashed with Republican and Democratic leaders when Congressman Ron Paul ran as a GOP presidential candidate won cheers from the more than 1,000 people listening to him speak at Arizona State University on Friday.

Young Americans for Liberty, a group that originated as a national network of college students supporting Paul's 2008 presidential bid, invited the Texas congressman to speak at ASU.

Paul said he accepted the invitation because he enjoys addressing a young generation of voters and because of his fondness for Arizona, where he said the "Ron Paul Revolution" originated. The grass-roots movement used non-traditional tactics, plastering homemade banners and signs on freeways and street lamps, to promote Paul's campaign to a wider audience when the candidate struggled to compete with Republican and Democrat nominees.

During Friday's speech, Paul acknowledged the trouble he had legitimizing his campaign. "We send our kids over to die to protect democracy, but at the same time it's hard to compete (politically) in our own country," he said.

That barrier is crumbling, though, and support for his ideas is building, he said, as a growing number of voters are frustrated with the major parties' handling of the economy and military combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Our views are getting attention now because there is an obvious failure of the financial (system) . . . and our foreign policy," said Paul, who has advocated dismantling the U.S. Federal Reserve. "It's time . . . to bring our troops home and mind our own business. The public's with us in auditing the Federal Reserve."

Lambasting Democrats, Paul said he would be accused of being "coldhearted" for not supporting their social-welfare programs.

"Why in the world would we allow our government . . . to redistribute the wealth?" he argued. "Just think if everybody took care of themselves and everybody helped their family."

Without missing a beat, he took a swing at Republicans, too.

"Another group," he told the crowd, thinks you can't be trusted to make your own decisions. "You might end up smoking, drinking or gambling," he said. "You might have to tolerate people. They might have religious values that are different . . . sexual (orientations) that are different.

"But we'll let them do it!" Paul shouted, as the crowd yelled in support. "The solution . . . is freedom of the individual . . . and respect and confidence that does work."

While Paul sounded like he was giving a campaign speech, in an interview with The Arizona Republic, he refused to commit himself to a 2012 presidential run. But he acknowledged the buzz his undeclared run is getting as the Republican Party struggles with an ideological split and the Democrat administration is being blamed for a slow economic recovery.

If the U.S continued to suffer financially, he said, he would "have a hard time not speaking out about it" come election time.

A 2012 Ron Paul ticket is exactly what the hundreds of young and older Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians and independents in Friday's audience are hoping for.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/12/05/...