'Paul: Cut foreign aid, bring home troops'

By SARAH PALERMO

Monitor staff

Last modified: 10/4/2011 12:00:00 AM

Ron Paul hadn't even said a word last night before he received two standing ovations from the crowd at the We The People town hall at Nashua Community College.



During his roughly 20 minute remarks, the audience applauded, whooped, hollered and whistled for the Texas Republican congressman a total of 18 times. The only 'boo' from the audience came after he referenced the federal PATRIOT Act.



The audience of about 300 supported every one of Paul's positions, most loudly on bringing home troops from abroad, ending the drug wars and the Federal Reserve system and opposing the killing of American-born Muslim cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki.



They also cheered when he explained his views on entitlement programs. When he graduated from medical school in the 1960s, before Medicare and Medicaid existed, 'people weren't lying out on the streets without medical care,' he said.



Now, though, 'people have been dependent. It's going to be hard to shift but . . . if we do what I suggest and cut back elsewhere, we will be able to make the transition.'



His first priority in cutting spending, he said, would be foreign aid.



Again, the crowd roared approval.



'Other campaigns don't have this problem,' said campaign aide Brian Early after the event. 'We know how it looks when it's like this, and we didn't stack the deck. Really, we have to try to keep our events kind of secret, because we know we have to reach out beyond this crowd. We have to reach the undecided voters.'



Two people said after the event that they are undecided, and were impressed with Paul's performance.



'He really translates better in person than I expected,' said Isabelle Jolie, who drove 45 minutes from Harrisville - accompanied by friends who are 'rabid Ron Paul fans,' she said.



'I knew where he stood on a lot of the issues, but I was surprised how well he came across. I've seen him on YouTube, but they really cut out the humor, and he related very well with people.'



Jolie, an undeclared voter, said she wasn't completely convinced to vote for Paul, but would rank him tied with Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, based on their opposition to abortion and stances on the economy.



'I still would like to see it play out,' she said.



Andy Bridge of Amherst also said after the event he's still undecided, but was impressed with the way Paul answered his question, one of the few at the event that wasn't loaded with praise.



'My only concern about a Ron Paul presidency is a concern about whether you could keep me and my family safe,' Bridge said. 'I feel we live in a very dangerous world, and we are faced with radical Islam which is looking to destroy the Christian faith and the Western way of life.'



Paul answered with an outline of why he believes bringing home American troops stationed abroad and employing a non-interventionist foreign policy would improve national security.



'We need to look at why are we not safe,' he said. 'We have been told . . . they resent us because we're free and prosperous. I don't buy that. There are too many other countries around the world that are free and prosperous and Switzerland isn't sitting wondering whether somebody's going to drop a bomb on them.



'I think we need to have a foreign policy like the Golden Rule, and think of what it would be like if other countries did to us what we're doing. We wouldn't like it very much either,' Paul said, earning yet another rousing round of applause.



After the event, Bridge said he wasn't totally convinced, 'but he's given me a lot of food for thought.'



'I think about all the conflicts we've been in in my lifetime, and they seem endless. Are we safer? I don't know.'



If he had to vote tomorrow, he'd vote for Paul, he said.



(Sarah Palermo can be reached at 369-3322 or spalermo@cmonitor.com.)





