Tuesday, January 29, 2008
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Staff photo by Andy Molloyfrom the Kennebec Journal
KENNEBEC COUNTY Both list experience in commission race
Allen, Collins cite differences during their debate for Senate
STATE'S DEMOCRATS SHRUG OFF PALIN VISIT
Red Sox on edge of abyss
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SOCCER NOTES: Rams battle to the wire
All of today's:
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from the Kennebec Journal
from the Morning Sentinel
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WATERVILLE Mayoral hopefuls no novices
Tea room evokes Victorian era's genteel customs
NEIGHBORS SPURN STUDY
SKOWHEGAN BLAZE CLOSES KFC/TACO BELL
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Pair of goaltenders battle for ice time
Mt. Abram makes big statement
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Morning Sentinel
AUGUSTA -- The crowd cheered every statement about ending the war and bringing the troops home.
They cheered at mentions of individual freedom and less government interference.
Applause and hollering swelled from the Hall of Flags as several hundred people rallied Monday in support of Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, in his campaign for the presidency.
Paul, who has gathered six delegates nationally in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, came to Maine to organize support ahead of Republican caucuses Friday, Saturday and Sunday in which Maine Republicans will elect delegates to the state convention.
Paul, a physician and military veteran, ran through his political stands in a rapid-fire address to an enthusiastic gathering where supporters hefted blue-and-white campaign placards, raised children to shoulder height to see over the crowd and photographed their chosen candidate with cell phones and cameras.
He decried current foreign policy: "We're in two countries right now and the threat of terrorism is higher not lower because of that," he said.
He said he was adamantly opposed to the U.S. Patriot Act: "Once liberties are gone, they're very much harder to recover," Paul said.
Cheers were particularly loud when he stated his opposition to Real ID, the proposed national identity system.
Stephanie Dunn and her husband, Mark Smith, of New Portland, waited in a long receiving line after Paul finished outlining his positions.
"I've been an independent with libertarian values for a long time," said Stephanie Dunn, wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with Ron Paul's name. She said she agrees with him on every issue except his opposition to abortion rights.
"We went to Boston (for a Paul rally) and donate as much as we can afford," Smith said. "He's the only guy I can find who hasn't been corrupted by 20 years in D.C."
Tim Cherkassky, of Mercer, said he is helping to organize the "Meet Up" community of Paul supporters in Somerset County and in Waterville in Kennebec County.
"The only way we can solve our economic problems and ensure our future stability is to really get out of the war," said Adam Thompson, of Readfield. "We're wasting trillions of dollars on our foreign policy."
Paul followed the Statehouse appearance with a stop at the Senator Inn & Spa to talk with supporters.
Paul began his campaign swing at the University of Southern Maine's Portland campus, where he told an audience of about 200 that his message is winning widespread support.
"We're hanging in there," he said, claiming to be in fourth place among GOP candidates.
Betty Adams -- 621-5631
badams@centralmaine.com
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