RALLY FOR THE REPUBLIC
Ron Paul rally kicks off next stage in the Revolution


ST. PAUL, MN � When Texas Congressman Ron Paul and thousands of his revolutionaries descended upon Minneapolis on Sept. 2 to hold their counter-convention to the RNC, it was a gray and gloomy Tuesday afternoon in the Twin Cities.

And that was fitting, really, since the theme inside the packed Target Center was one of a dark future for the United States republic.

This is until Paul himself took the stage and delivered a 68-minute speech, damning the country�s dangers but celebrating the revolution that � if given the chance � would repel those threats.

The congressman�s �Rally for the Republic� was held just across the Mississippi River from where establishment Republicans stuffed themselves on faux-conservatism at the expense of taxpayer dollars.

�So often people ask me, �How did we lose the republic? Have we lost it?�� Paul told the 12,000-person crowd. �Essentially we have. It may be hanging by a thread.�

To Paul, that�s why the movement � his movement � is so important.

�There is an urgency in what we do, because we are carrying the banner,� he said. �And we must act because we, as a group, we have a greater moral responsibility than those who live in ignorance.�

�Once you become knowledgeable,� he continued. �You have an obligation to do something about it.�

And Paul undoubtedly plans to do something about it. The rally served as a launching pad for his new Campaign for Liberty, a spin-off movement that aims to carry the revolution past the November elections.

�The one thing that I have said is that the revolution is a lot more than about me. There is no doubt about it. This revolution will continue,� said the congressman. �But I would like to think that the campaign and our efforts together have done a whole lot to speed up the revolution that was destined to come anyway.�

Paul later talked about the country�s misguided foreign policy and how it affects domestic freedoms.

�We overdo our concerns about our foreign threats, but we do forget about the threats from our domestic conditions that we have here,� he said. �And since 9/11, our liberties have been threatened, they have been undermined, we are less free since 9/11. We are going in the wrong direction.�

The congressman lamented the poor public education system and the federal government�s involvement in it. He�s concerned with the way history textbooks portray wartime presidents as heroes and rarely mention peacetime presidents at all.

The republic might not be lost, he added, if the constitution were taught more in schools.

Paul then delved into what he called the illusion of prosperity, which has �lulled so many people to sleep.� That illusion, driven by �too much borrowing, too much spending and too much inflation� has chipped away at the republic for years.

What seemed like the entire crowd began to chant, �End the Fed! End the Fed!�

That chant was later revisited when Paul spoke of the founding fathers� constitutional prohibition of paper money.

�There is no authority in the constitution authorizing a central bank, which means there should be no Federal Reserve system,� a nearly yelling Paul said.

Toward the end of his speech, the congressman�s tone turned more optimistic. His message became one of hope � real hope, not the shallow rhetoric offered by the major party candidates.

�Some people worry that our numbers aren�t great enough, that we don�t have 51 percent of the population behind us,� he said. �But ideas only need to be led by 5 to 10 percent of the people. They can start a revolution.�

�I sincerely believe our day is coming,� Paul added. �It�s only beginning.�

Earlier in the day, revolutionaries heard a potentially historic speech by former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, who stopped just short of announcing a 2012 presidential bid.

Ventura said a campaign would be dependent on the continuation of the Paul�s revolution. He said he�d only run if the movement strengthened.

�If I see it, in 2012, we�ll give them a race they�ll never forget,� he said.

Prior to that declaration, though, Ventura gave a speech about the importance of following the constitution word-for-word. He also spoke about some of the threats facing America.

�I�m here because let�s remember something: I�m not a Democrat and I am not a Republican,� he said. �And I say that very proudly because I think these two parties are destroying our country.�

He dismissed the notion that voters should choose the lesser of two evils in November and said the only way to waste a vote is to not follow your conscience.

�We need to demand more of our elected officials and we need to demand honesty,� he added. �It is time for us to take our country back and make our elected officials read that document: the Constitution.�

After damning the USA PATRIOT Act, the former governor touched on 9/11 truth by asking why the Department of Justice has yet to charge alleged terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden with the World Trade Center attacks.

Toward the end of his speech, with the crowd on its feet, Ventura talked about the original intentions behind the 2nd Amendment. He bemoaned those who justify gun restrictions by denying those laws� encroachments on the right to hunt.

Ventura�s next words stopped just short of a call to arms. He said he�s often told an uprising would never succeed because of the government�s military might.

The governor�s answer: The North Vietnamese did a pretty good job fighting, �and they were nothing but a bunch of farmers with a few AK-47s and they withstood it all.�

�I wrote the book, Don�t Start the Revolution Without Me,� he added. �Well I�m here. �Let�s get the revolution started.�

Celebrated economist and writer Lew Rockwell also spoke. He called Congressman Paul �the only Republican � to stand up to [President George] Bush�s attempts to create a totalitarian state.�

Other speakers included former Congressman Barry Goldwater Jr., author Bill Kauffman, Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist and historian Doug Wead, among others.

In the end, audience members left the arena energized. If that enthusiasm carries on, we may get more than just Paul or Ventura in the Oval Office. Who knows? We may even get our republic back.