Grace Wyler
Business Insider
Speaking on the eve of the Republican National Convention, Ron Paul reassured hundreds of ecstatic supporters at a rally here Sunday that the revolution he began is far from over.
“Let me tell you, I was a little afraid to come down here,” Paul told the crowd at his Sun Dome rally. “I wasn’t afraid of Hurricane Isaac. But there have been a lot of news headlines that say the Revolution is over….They’re saying the Revolution isn’t happening — they wish!”
It was likely to be one of the last speeches of Paul’s political career — the Texas Congressman’s presidential campaign will officially end when the Republican Party nominates Mitt Romney this week, and Paul is retiring from Congress at the end of this year. But he promised his legions of fans on Sunday that the movement will move forward, even in his absence.
For the most part, the speech was a gussied version of Paul’s standard stump speech, hitting libertarian high notes, including ending the Federal Reserve, getting out of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and legalization of hemp, marijuana, and raw milk.
Still, Paul’s message was eagerly anticipated by his legions of followers, many of whom have become unsettled by the relative silence of the Paul campaign this summer.
Sunday’s rally, at the University of Southern Florida’s Sun Dome stadium, was an opportunity for Paul to rally his supporters and draw attention to his message before the GOP convention officially begins on Tuesday. Paul, who has declined to endorse Mitt Romney, will not speak at the convention.
But Paul didn’t seem to sad about being left out.
“I just got a call from the RNC,” he joked during his speech. “They said they changed their mind. They are going to give me a speech. I can have an hour to say whatever I want — tomorrow night. Just kidding!”