Politics & Government

'It's the People's Campaign'

Hundreds gathered at Jillian's Billiards Club in Columbia for one last rally for Texas Congressman Ron Paul before the South Carolina Primary.

Lisa Blevins drove a little over three hours to see what she couldn't find from the mainstream media.

Blevins, of Greensboro, NC, said she wanted to witness supporters of Texas Rep. Ron Paul in action - action she said has been missing in the coverage of the presidential election.

"I wanted to see the electric energy for myself because I haven’t been able to see on the news what’s really going on and where the supporters are," Blevins said. "I wanted to come down here and offer my support."

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Hundreds of Paul supporters packed an area of Jillian's Billiards Club to cheer on what guests said was a "Ron Paul Revolution."

Young and old stood shoulder to shoulder cheering on the man they say will bring back freedom and liberty.

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At times the crowd chanted  "Ron Paul Revolution! Give Us Back Our Constitution!" or "President Paul" as the congressman talked about the growing support his campaign is receiving.

Especially the young people.

Blevins said she wasn’t surprised by the size of crowd and was very glad to see that there were so many people there to support Paul.

"It’s interesting that it doesn’t get covered like (Mitt) Romney or other people," she said.

Blevins said Paul has won her vote because he is the candidate that could limit the federal government and give it back to the people.

"I think that the federal government has lost its way," Blevins said. "Its taken on too many burdens. I think that the way that we could change this country is to put civic duty back into our personal freedom."

"In order to do that, we have to make government something that we can control and see. When it’s far away in D.C., you can’t see it. You don’t know what’s going on. If we can bring that back to the states, that power, then we can regulate as a people and really pass laws and things that matter to us."

During Paul's rally speech, he said his campaign was unlike any other. And Blevins agrees.

"Like he said it’s a different kind of campaign," she said. "It’s coming from the people whereas their campaigns are coming from the media and corporate donors. It’s the people’s campaign."

Paul's campaign may be classified by some as the people's campaign but it can also be classified as a campaign that has garnered the support of a younger demographic.

At 18, both Shelbey Bunker and Caleb Padgett have joined the Paul camp looking for a change to be made in this country.

"I don’t like the way the Republican Party has been going," Bunker said. "I don’t like the other candidates."

"I love Ron Paul because he stands for liberty, he stands for freedom, and he stands for limited government. He wants to get our currency back on the gold standard, stop the inflation and the Federal Reserve."

Bunker, who is from Aiken, said Paul is the only one that can beat President Barack Obama because he doesn’t just pull from Republicans.

"He doesn’t have a message that only speaks to Republicans," Bunker said. "He has a message that speaks to all Americans."

"He’s all about freedom. He’s all about free choice. That’s not a party issue. It’s an American issue. It’s a ‘We the People’ issue. I believe Ron Paul is the last politician that actually stands for something."

Padgett, a student at the University of South Carolina, said he is supporting Paul because he is a moderate and is ready for a change.

“So many people are sick of Democrats, sick of Republicans," Padgett said. "He’s got such a moderate view on things and he’s a common sense politician. He seems to be down to Earth and one of the people."

"People are sick of politicians that want to make up their own rules. I like his ideas on foreign policy and his economic policy especially."

"We really need a change. We need something to go a little bit better. I think if he wins the primary, it’ll be (because of) the young people because a lot of the college kids are really supporting it."

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