Originally published September 14, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified September 14, 2007 at 2:09 AM
Ron Paul backers a mixed bunch
To say Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has eclectic supporters could be considered an understatement. Paul, a Texas congressman...
To say Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has eclectic supporters could be considered an understatement.
Paul, a Texas congressman in town today for a series of speeches and fundraisers, is compared by various boosters to liberal U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, consumer activist Ralph Nader and conservative stalwart Barry Goldwater.
Also in his tent are plenty of anti-government conspiracy theorists — the folks who a decade ago warned of black helicopters, a coming U.N. invasion, and chaos surrounding the Y2K computer bug.
It's an odd collection of people, and if Paul has his wish, they'll come ready to open their checkbooks.
Although his campaign sparked a vibrant reaction on the Web, Paul has raised only about $38,500 from Washington state, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That's less than Democrat Thomas Vilsack, who dropped out of the race early this year.
Paul's opposition to the Iraq war has generated the most attention, but it's only a part of his appeal.
Mercer Island attorney Kris Sundberg, who considers himself a "recovering Republican," said Paul, Nader and Kucinich "seem to have courage of conviction."
Sundberg applauded Paul's war stance, his opposition to abortion, and his argument that lawmakers aren't obeying the U.S. Constitution.
But Sundberg said his $500 check probably won't help Paul get to the White House.
"I'm the sort of person who responds to principle instead of practicality," he said.
First elected to Congress in 1976, Paul ran for president on the Libertarian ticket in 1988. A physician and former U.S. Air Force flight surgeon, Paul voted against the Medicare prescription-drug bill in 2003 and favors relaxing restrictions on illegal drugs.
He is an adamant proponent of private-property rights, a position many environmentalists equate with reducing species protection, and he sponsored a bill that would negate the effect of the Roe v. Wade court decision on abortion rights.
"Many talk about being anti-abortion. I have taken direct action to restore protection for the unborn," he wrote on his Web site.
In July 2003, he lambasted the Bush administration in a House speech he called "Neo Conned," comparing today's neoconservatives with communist philosopher Leon Trotsky.
Independent voter Linda Ohearn, a Bellevue Web designer, contributed $250 to the Paul campaign.
Both political parties are controlled by international bankers, she said, and former President Clinton may, in fact, be the illegitimate son of the Rockefeller family.
The Capitol Hill elite wants to merge the United States, Canada and Mexico into a single country, Ohearn said. But Paul is different.
"Ron Paul is for the American people, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution," she said.
On Iraq, Ohearn said: "I believe we should not have invaded any country that did not attack us."
Floor-covering salesman Chip Barron runs the Seattle Ron Paul group on Meetup.com, an Internet site that allows members to post meetings and other announcements.
A Republican, Barron said he believes in "peace and love" and counts Goldwater and Ronald Reagan as his political heroes.
The diversity of Paul's backers is part of the campaign's magic, he said.
That includes those who hold radical views about the malevolence of federal officials.
"Those folks have a place here," Barron said. "But they are working side by side with the broadest political spectrum you've even seen."
Alex Fryer: 206-464-8124 or afryer@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Illegal workers quietly let go
Metro won't cut bus service after all
Jerry Large: Food-bank theft turns into a gift
Bumper to Bumper: How can the city let bridges go dark?
NEW - 01:26 AM
Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul

Raw Video | Real Salt Lake receives the MLS Cup trophy
Real Salt Lake is handed the 2009 MLS Cup trophy at Qwest Field, November 22, 2009.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Husky Men's Basketball Blog | Saturday's Pac-10 games in review
- Senate vote clears hurdle
239 - Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
134 - Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
129 - Palin excitement builds in Tri-Cities
123 - Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle
122 - Cutting through breast-cancer confusion
90 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
83 - Game thread
70 - New York terror trials will restore faith in rule of law
62 - Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
54
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Banff: powder, peaks & purity
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Protect yourself from baggage loss
- Northwest Living | On Whidbey, a unified home from multiple recycled parts
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'








