Ron Paul's Minneapolis

The event was billed as the "Rally For The Republic," and, for about 12,000 Ron Paul fans, it was the place to be in Minneapolis yesterday. The Rally was about 10 miles from the official Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

Rep. Paul (R-TX) was not invited to speak to RNC delegates because he remains steadfast in his opposition to the war in Iraq.

The 10-term Congressman contends he got a second class floor pass this year, one that requires him to be chaperoned. This seems an odd way to treat a candidate that Sen. John McCain is wooing for support. Yet that support is unlikely to come: Paul's political career has been rock solid on the issue of avoiding foreign entanglements. And he criticizes the contention that Iraq is justified because it's a way to prevent war.

Paul, 73, spoke to disgruntled Republicans, Libertarians and independents, and the day was devoted to traditional GOP issues and values -- limited government and lower taxes -- as well as Libertarian (and Democratic) ones -- civil liberties and peace. T. Boone Pickens (another Texan) has a campaign for energy; Paul has a campaign for liberty.

Is the U.S. ready to birth a viable third political party? After all, the Republican party which came to fruition with the election of Abraham Lincoln is not, value-wise, today's GOP.

• Ron Paul - Speech Text
• Pennsylvania's Untold Story: Ron Paul
• Ron Paul Takes Second Place In Nevada
• Ron Paul Raises $4.2 Million On The 5th
• Candidate Spotlight: Republican Ron Paul
• Ron Paul's Supporters: Down But Not Out
• A Objectivist Critique of Ron Paul