Brian Doherty: Why Young People Love Ron Paul

"This is no longer just a set of weird ideas that individuals scattered across the country believe in," explains Reason's Brian Doherty, "this is a movement now."

Doherty's new book, Ron Paul's rEVOLution: The Man and the Movement He Inspired, charts the rise of the 76-year-old Texas congressman and GOP presidential hopeful to national prominence. Why does the unassuming politician and obstetrician command such a huge following among young voters? "After a lifetime of feeling lied to by every politician they see," says Doherty, "here's a guy that they know who is speaking the truth as he sees it."

A week ago, Doherty spoke with Reason about Ron Paul's central but largely unacknowledged role in creating the Tea Part movement. Watch that here.

Approximately 3 minutes.

Produced by Sharif Matar. Camera by Matar and Tracy Oppenheimer.

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Comments

[John]

Young people like Obama too. I wouldn't exactly wear the endorsement of generation retard as a badge of honor.

[Episiarch]

Young people don't vote, so who cares who they like?

[John]

And that too. Their support didn't seem to help Paul in the primaries.

[robc]

You know, ignoring the fact that he has won more states than Santorum and Gingrich combined.

[John]

Oh, so he was first loser. I feel so much better now.

[Lysander Jefferson]

Every generation is generation retard. Perhaps Alzheimers' has set in and you no longer recognize it in your own generation.

I cannot remember a generation in my lifetime that has so actively cheered and promoted liberty. Good for them, even if they are a sizable minority.

[John]

I cannot remember a generation in my lifetime that has so actively cheered and promoted liberty.

I am kind of thinking the generations that died by the thousands killing the fascists probably did a bit more for liberty (at least on a world scale) than a few thousand college kids voting for Ron Paul whatever their later sins were for supporting the Great Society.

And this generation has given us Obama and Occupy Wall Street. I don't remember any President as hostile to liberty as Obama. And not even the Baby Boomers managed to produce a movement as hostile, irrational and just down right vile as Occupy Wall Street.

[robc]

I am kind of thinking the generations that died by the thousands killing the fascists probably did a bit more for liberty

They entirely offset it voting for the Great Society. They actually may be negative, in net.

[John]

No it is not. Fascism was a lot worse than the Great Society. And they never voted for the Great Society. Congress did. And it was wildly unpopular at the time. And the Democrats suffered significant losses in the 1966 mid terms. The Great Society was not popular. That is why Democrats kept telling themselves that it didn't matter that Obamacare wasn't popular. The Great Society hadn't been either and they were still able to shove it down an unwilling country's throat.

So, that generation never did vote for the Great Society. It was imposed on them by an out of control Congress benefiting from an historical anomaly of an election.

[robc]

A congress they voted into power.

If they had wanted to kill the great society, they could have. But they didnt.

[John]

And so could we Rob. So how are we any different? And "we" voted the Pelosi Congress into office. So I guess our generation now universally loves and supports Obamacare. Right?

[robc]

"we"

I didnt.

Im only holding those who voted for those politicians responsible.

Im "responsible" for Senator Paul and a bunch of people who never made it to congress.

[John]

But when it comes to the World War II generation, you are discounting winning the second world war and saving the world from fascism because Johnson and an out of control Congress told the country to fuck off in 1965. Way to apply a consistent standard there Rob.

If the World War II generation is responsible for the Great Society, then you and our generation sure as hell is responsible for Obamacare and going broke.

[robc]

Only those who fought in WW2 and then voted for the 60s congress.

If you didnt fight in WW2 or you didnt vote for that congress, you are excluded (although if you didnt fight in WW2 AND you voted in the great society, you have nothing offsetting your anti-liberty tendencies).

[wareagle]

what if you fought but voted against? That ought to get you double kudos.

[robc]

Voting against is the standard, thats worth zero (voting is a negative sum game, at best you dont damage anything).

[hk]

Our generation is the most Libertarian, even if we are minority. I agree this is a good direction to head in.

With our increasing debt problems I assume more people will hear about Libertarians too.

[Isaac Bartram]

I'm sorry, but the "Greatest Generation" might have fought the Nazis but they are stil about the most statist generation in the history of this country.

If boomers are fucked up it's because their "Greatest Generation" parents taught them to expect a lifetime of security from the government by example.

[John]

They taught them no such thing. The Boomers came to that conclusion on their own. I don't quite get why Reasonites love to tell themselves these myths.

[Isaac Bartram]

John, I know it because I am a boomer and I grew up hearing this bullshit.

If anything boomers are less statist than their parents because some of us at least started to see what bullshit it was.

[Isaac Bartram]

And it wasn't just the "Greatest Generation" parents teaching the shit, it was the "Greatest Generation" schoolteacher and college professors.

[Isaac Bartram]

And the reason that the "Greatest Generation" was the way it was was because they grew up in the depression being taught that FDR was the savior of the country and then went of to war where they learned that if the government was given enough power it could solve any problem.

That was the mentality of the guys who went to college on the GI Bill and went on to become the tenured professors in America's universities.

[Sam Grove]

I am kind of thinking the generations that died by the thousands killing the fascists probably did a bit more for liberty

Certainly that's what we are supposed to think.

[robc]

generation retard

No, that is the one otherwise called "baby boomers".

[John]

That is what you think. Their grand children are taking the mantle and running with it.

[robc]

Ive seen no evidence of that.

[John]

I see one big evidence of that in the White House. And I have thousands of pieces of evidence of that in the form of OWS.

[robc]

See below, they arent fucking voting yet.

[robc]

Hell, my parents are pre-boomers, and their grandkids are teens.

My Mom had my sister at age 22, so it wasnt like she waited forever to have kids or something.

[John]

The mellinials are not voting? That will come as a hell of a surprise to the millions of them who voted for Obama.

[robc]

The millenials are grankids of pre-boomers, primarily.

[robc]

Also, John, the current 18-21 year olds didnt vote for Obama, they were too young in 2008.

[John]

True, the 21 year olds did though. And the younger ones would have if they could have.

[robc]

21 year olds were 17 in 2008. If they voted, they did it in Chicago.

[robc]

Heck, most boomers dont have grandkids of voting age yet.

[John]

Yes they do. Most boomers were born between 46 and 56. That makes them 56 to 66. If you are say 63, and you had kids in your 20s and they had kids in their 20s, your grand kids are either 18 or getting pretty close.

[robc]

Very few, as I said. Considering the number of women waiting until they are 30 to have kids, ones born in the 50s were having kids in the 80s. They have grandkids, but not 18 year olds.

My Dad was born in 33, his oldest grandkid is 16.

[John]

My neighbors were all born in the early 60s, and they all have kids in their 20s or older. People were still having kids younger all the way up until the 80s. The whole wait until you are 40 to have kids is a fairly recent thing.

Regardless, the current generation voted massively for Obama.

[robc]

My Dad had his first at 31, my sister had her first at 32. He was born in 33, as I pointed out, and his first kid is still not 18.

To have an 18 year old in 2012, they were born in 1994, so for a early boomer ('46), the average per generation gap is 24 years, which isnt unusual. For later boomers, ('56, using your years, although I have seen the baby boom listed as late as '64), that gap is 19 years. While that happens, its far from the norm.

Im betting a majority of Boomer grandkids are still

[robc]

Parts eaten:

under 18. Maybe 25-30% are 18+.

[robc]

"first grandkid" that is

[Pro Libertate]

I don't think this generation is any more politically stupid that preceding generations, but I think it is possibly the most incompetent in a good while. And whiny.

[hk]

This generation is more polarized.

Very entitled, or liberty-oriented.

[DesigNate]

No John, the Boomers are "generation retard". I know you can't see past your Obama hate, but even though an overwhelming amount of my generation voted for him, an even greater amount of boomers did.

On top of that, the average age of congress critters ranges from 56 to 64. That means our country is being run into the ground by boomers and those fuckers are being voted in by boomers.

No matter how you slice it, that age demographic is fucking retarded.

[zekec17]

While I agree that there is a lot of evidence for your assertion that I am from generation retard, I have to tell you that we are not all that bad.

I, with a group of my buddies, actually attend our local republican mass meeting and signed up as delegates. From there we went to the state convention and got all three RNC delegate positions allotted to our district. Want to know the best thing about it? The local party leadership still has no idea that we are for Ron Paul. Yeah, we did the whole thing undercover.

Go Ron Paul!

[Mo' $parky]

Sounds like Brian has a lot of information about Ron Paul. I think he should write a book.

[Lysander Jefferson]

Your whining is getting a little old. STFU or come up with something creative.

Brian makes a whole lot of sense. You comment freely on his (reason's) web site, and he is able to advertise freely here.

[John]

He needs to come up with something creative like telling us how the generation that overwhelmingly voted for Obama loves liberty.

[Alack]

I thought young people always voted Team Blue? Maybe this generation's accomplishment is getting a group of people to rally around ideas of fiscal and personal responsibility, even if it's not a majority. Yeah, a ton turned out for Obama, but that was mobilization of people who projected their beliefs onto him rather than galvanization of people who agreed with the actual stated ideas.

[robc]

Considering the options were McCain and Barr, its hard to hold the Obama vote against them.

I still think McCain's only hope of winning was to spend Sept and Oct railing against TARP. It was his chance, and he refused to take it.

[Paul.]

Maybe this generation's accomplishment is getting a group of people to rally around ideas of fiscal and personal responsibility

Believing in these things is very anti-establishment. So it's not inconceivable.

[John]

Believing in these things is very anti-establishment. So it's not inconceivable.

But these kids seem to be establishment toadies.

[Alack]

But these kids seem to be establishment toadies.

As one of "these kids", I take mild offense to that. Anecdotal, but all of the people I hung out with in junior high and high school are now libertarian (small l, mostly), and all have voiced support for Paul in 08 and now. A couple even donated to the Johnson campaign.

[Mo' $parky]

As one of "these kids", I take mild offense to that.

Bah, your anecdotal evidence has no power against John's sweeping generalizations.

[John]

Alack,

The voting patterns say otherwise. Sure, there are always exceptions to the rule. But the votes are what they are, and they are generally very Democratic and pro establishment.

[Alack]

Maybe I've just surrounded myself with like-minded rebels. Either way, I think that having a group of people fighting for individual liberty will be useful for spreading the message amongst the age group in general. A lot of people seem to think that fiscal responsibility and libertarianism are ideas held onto by old white men; getting some younger white men in on it could be the start of something bigger.

Dammit man, let me be optimistic about something.

[Mo' $parky]

Dammit man, let me be optimistic about something.

That way lies madness.

[robc]

Not in the GOP primaries.

[shamalam]

It was a generational reaction to GWB's excesses and McCain espousing endless war in Iraq. Obama was smooth. Throw in a bit of white guilt and voila.

[DesigNate]

Dude, their other choices were McCain and Barr (if you even saw him on your ballot). Not really a great election of liberty there.

Not to mention a shit ton of old people (read anyone that was over 30 in '08) voted for Obama too. So keep on pretending that it's my generation that's responsible for the mess we're in.

[Mo' $parky]

Your whining is getting a little old. STFU or come up with something creative.

Brian makes a whole lot of sense. You comment freely on his (reason's) web site, and he is able to advertise freely here.

Oops. Pardon me, I forgot that reason is SERIOUS BUSINESS! This must be why nobody takes libertarians seriously.

[DesigNate]

Okay, pull the sand out of your vagina dude, it's called sarcasm.

[Lysander Jefferson]

A good video by Doherty.

[TangoFingo]

That dude just seems to be a wee bit full of himself? lol.

http://www.Get-Privacy.no.tc

[Lysander Jefferson]

lol. lol. lol.

[Ken Barber]

Uh, hate to break it to you but the phrase "meteoric rise" is an oxymoron.

Meteors FALL.

[Emmerson Biggins]

PWNED

[johnd2]

Young people tend to be idealistic. Some in the fuzzy thinking leftist way of Obama and some ( sadly fewer ) in the way of Ron Paul.

This old guy ( yours truely ) became a Ron Paul fan in the 1970s. When he passes from the scene, he will be hard to replace.

[iClueYuin]

What the hell is this, the Rob and John show? You too are both wrong and your both silly.. neither of you know the truth about the world and who ran it back then or now. You probably know nothing about the Rothschilds, Bilderbergs, the NWO, the war industrial complex, etc.. You also are apparently oblivious to the MSM and their puppetmasters. The media would have you believe that RP supporters are a bunch of stupid, immature brats - that is incorrect. The ages range widely. Both of you should better inform yourslelves of the facts (not what the MSM tells you - because the news is no longer fact)... I suggest you do some studying before you make further fools of yourselves..

[iClueYuin]

Also, I know more old fart democrats who still to this day support Obama and refuse to admit Obama sucks.. many of these same old farts walk around using the "N" word... they are bigots and like most dumbasses in this country just vote for a D or R.. they don't give a shit to know what the real issues are, or what the truth is.. they watch their cnn or fox and take that word for golden.

[iClueYuin]

The only reason for someone to vote staight ticket is because they are careless, useless, lazy ass idiots who are too busy picking their noses or playing golf to give a rats ass about the truth. Straight ticket is the lazy mans way to claim they participate in this country and vote. This is starting to change and I credit Ron Paul and ONLY Ron Paul for this..

[RyanXXX]

John, young people are no more statist than middle-aged or elderly. In fact, voting patterns and polls indicate that seniors are the most big-government friendly and xenophobic. You realize that WHILE we were fighting the Nazis and Japs we were simultaneously instituting authoritarian corporatism here at home?

Most of my fellow yungins that supported Obama did so for the "right" reasons: anti-war, pro-civil liberties, anti-drug war (or in some cases, just PRO-drug). They don't really acknowledge the economic angle

Some are still drinking the kool-aid and supporting the Messiah and do mental gymnastics to justify it, but most have come around to Paul.

Stick your fingers in your ears all you want, but there has never in recent memory been a libertarian movement like the one Paul has rallied, and the majority of that movement is udner 30. But we didn't fight the Nazis so I guess we don't know what we're talking about

[some guy666]

Ron Paul is 3/5 of a human.

[Emmerson Biggins]

2/5 pure awesomeness?

[RyanXXX]

2/5 condensed liberty

[Old Mexican]

With just a hint of Spitz.

[Tom Beebe]

Paul's honesty is in such contrast to the major candidates of either party that he attracts people of every age group. Perhaps the young, ranging from OWS to the Tea Party, see BS more clearly than those who in past voted for, and are thus commited to defend, the main party candidates. I've abandoned defense of the OP after 50 years. They are every bit captive of the military/industrial establishment as the dems. And campaign contributions from Wall Street have bought both parties, making reform impossible. Am I one of those kids? I wish. RP and I have a lot in common besides our views.

[Tom Beebe]

OP should be GOP. I started with making a speech for Robert A. Taft.

[Braadacus Maximus]

Don't get me started on Boomers, John. I have a feeling the real reason they've become insufferably overbearing on young people is a combination of intense jealousy and a fear their children may actually pull off what they'd hoped to accomplish before they sold their souls for a free ride on the gravy train.

It's an undeniable fact the Boomers had more than 30 years to prove themselves. The generation that protested Vietnam has, to date, invaded Iraq (twice), Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, Serbia, Bosnia, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, and soon Iran. The generation that did drugs with impunity for the sake of conforming to an abstract notion of cool, rather than using them to attain any kind of meaningful enlightenment, forces its children to pee in cups for its livelihood and kills their spirits with drugs like Ritalin. The generation that bragged about fighting for civil rights left its children a police state. They bitch and moan about losing their cushy jobs without ever bothering to expand their skills and knowledge because they think they're entitled to them as Americans, and rather than take responsibility for what they've done they've decided to dump their burdens on their already traumatized and overburdened children. The Clintons, Obama, Bush, Bernake, Geithner, Santorum, Romney, Pelosi, Boxer, the CEO's of Enron, GM, and banking cartels...this was the best they could do and they know it.

[Braadacus Maximus]

Just because we're not fighting Nazis and Japanese doesn't mean we're not onto something. We still have yet to take on the monstrous welfare State the Boomers have left us, diffuse a disastrous foreign policy, end prohibition, fix failing infrastructure, completely rethink outdated models of education, and a host of others. Dismantling even one of these cancers is what will make us the next Greatest Generation. Like it or not, there is a fundamental paradigm shift taking place among Millenials that the Boomers have not noticed because of their narcissistic pity parade. It is recent and in a decidedly libertarian direction as we realize more and more what's being left for us, and the ramifications of this shift won't be felt until we come into our professional lives. Ron Paul doesn't dismiss us because he knows we're paying the bills eventually. He treats us with respect and offers real solutions to the problems we're facing, and he knows that these problems will only be solved by a generation of educated, empowered youth who are optimistic about creating a future for themselves. That's his appeal.

[joy]

After a lifetime of feeling lied to by every politician they see," says Doherty, http://www.petwinkel.com/pet-dc-c-50.html "here's a guy that they know who is speaking the truth as he sees it."

[jason]

This leader have some good thougts for the young peoples and he is inspiring source for the young guys.

[sweeterjan]

"This is no longer just http://www.vendreshox.com/nike-shox-tl3-c-13.html a set of weird ideas that individuals scattered across the country believe in," explains Reason's Brian Doherty, "this is a movement now."