The Christian piece is also well-taken, and I prefer not to wear my faith on my sleeve but instead attempt to quietly live it. I should note that the audience around the GOP and Right to Life booth at the North Carolina State Fair is highly self-selected, and even if someone has a fear/dislike of the Bible, mentioning the Bible in honest conversation is also a useful path for exploration.

For example, there are people who fear/dislike the Bible based upon unfamiliarity with the book itself, and human corruption of Biblical principles. Likewise, there are people from disenfranchised groups who fear/dislike the Constitution while not having read it as a result of our own country’s record of oppression and denial of individual rights.

A longer conversation typically reveals that a negative impression of the Bible, or Constitution, results from events that occurred *despite* (as opposed to because of) these two documents.

Here is the best post relating Ron Paul’s candidacy to Christian philosophy that I have seen yet — this guy should be a preacher:

http://jwharton.com/wordpress/?p=3

R: Me neither. Mainstream polls are only polling “likely voters in the Republican primary”. That automatically excludes me, since I’ve not voted in primaries, and all of my Democrat friends who have changed their party affiliation to Republican just to vote for Ron Paul. Would you like to vote for someone who’s not the lesser of two evils?
A: Yes…
R: Then would you like to learn more and support his campaign?

“Would you like to vote for someone who’s not the lesser of two evils?”!!!!!!!!!!!

Ron Paul is not the lesser of two evils, because he is not evil. That statement sounds like something Fox News would say.

You may want to rephrase this statement to:

Ask yourself this…Would you rather have to choose the lesser of two evils or vote for someone such as Ron Paul, a good man who is campaigning for the GOOD of ALL people.

BTW… Unless the person you are speaking with has begun a Christian dialog with you, I would refrain from the statement about the Bible and the Constitution being #1 & #2 on your best seller list. Their are many people who do NOT believe Jesus is their savior and they equally want to have their freedom to choose their beliefs, etc. so this puts the constitution in first place and the Bible, Koran, Bhagavagita, etc. tied for second. You risk loosing potential Non-Christian voters when referring to the bible in this way.

I’ve been speaking to many people about Ron Paul and his campaign and I find that what works best is to ask what the person wants from their president and what changes the want to see in the world and then I answer them as Ron would.

Thelen Paulk has been about liberty for a long time; you might want to consider what is here: http://autarchic.tripod.com/files/visitor.html

[And I hope NOT to attract any more comments about the Ron Paul phenomenom being a "church" by posting that link - haha. BTW, Thelen is legally blind and sales of his booklet go a LONG way toward his support]

Also, I can’t remember how many times I have referred to THE FACTUAL GUIDE TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, available to my pleasant surprise just now, here: http://www.rochesterlaw.org/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=5

[The indexing and cross-referencing make it worth its weight in gold.]

That was excellent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6O0AlS4Nm8

While no one can make you like anyone, I certainly hope that you’ll keep an open mind as you evaluate candidates and seek truth. In my months of study, I’ve found nothing Ron Paul has done, said, or written that shows any evidence of racism or prejudice. Simply saying that he has a “history of racism” is unjustified without any supporting evidence.

Finally, watching that Declaration of Independence video again, I’m actually a bit shocked by your dismissive response. My favorite quote is listening to Morgan Freeman say, “The real glory of the Declaration of Independence has been our nation’s epic struggle throughout history to close the gap between the ideals of this remarkable document and the sometimes painful realities of American life.” (Sometimes? That’s an understatement for many…)

Seriously, don’t you want to fight for something? Or should we just sit back and take it?

Please don’t read hit pieces as Gospel truth. Dig in yourself and try to find more reliable sources of information. How is it you “know” racists support him? Even if some do, how would they ever get the idea he agrees with them on race? Might their support have more to do with the fact he is a constitutionalist and does not like big government? Or that he’s the strongest opponent of victim disarmament (aka “gun control”)?

95% of the political world is bullshit, and it’s tough to wade through it sometimes. But Ron Paul is the real thing.

Look, I don’t care if you like/dislike/support/don’t support Ron Paul. All I’d ask is that folks read the documents themselves, and evaluate the merit of the documents themselves. Period.

Don’t judge the Constitution and Declaration of Independence based upon how you feel about Ron Paul. Maybe he’s just not the “messenger” for you. But can you be a messenger for, and supporter of, those founding documents?

If racists and bigots also embrace a politician, or even — God forbid — these same founding documents… well, they’re still racists and bigots. And we can debate them until the cows come home regarding the irrationality of their respective positions.

Good night, and good luck.

Of course, Dr. Paul may not be responsible for the ground-swell of support that he is getting from racists and anti-Semites. But…and this is a very big but…where has Dr. Paul repudiated racism or the racist who support him? Even more importantly, why is it that such large numbers of bigoted and racist individuals are in support of Dr. Paul?

I have been reading and studying and, generally, familiarizing myself with all of the candidates and Paul disturbs me. He disturbs me not just because of those he seems to be attracting, but because he seems to be very adept at side-stepping, denying, and passing the buck. Now, some might say that makes for a good politician – personally, I have had enough of that kind of politics.

Again…your candidate has a history of racism, is being supported and promoted by organized racist groups, has been asked repeatedly to speak to this, and remains in a mode of tacit acceptance. Sending those with legitimate questions about this to a slicked-up Hollywood reading of the Declaration of Independence doesn’t answer those questions and does nothing to enhance one’s opinion of Dr. Paul.