College students focus on Ron Paul as 2012 presidential candidate-to-be

If there’s any Republican college students support, it’s Ron Paul.

The 12-term Texas Congressman has dominated the 17-24 age group, capturing 48 percent of it in Iowa, 46 percent in New Hampshire and 41 percent in Nevada, with similar results in other states.

That phenomenon of support among young voters includes OU. Aerospace engineering junior Austin Jones said he supports Paul because he favors “ensuring the right of each human being to work hard for fulfilling happiness or mere pleasure as the individual sees fit — to innovate, invent, create and think uninhibited by a parasitic and arbitrary federal state to decide who gets what to own, do, say, show, think and believe.”

This notably strong support for Paul is shared by various other demographics. In Iowa, Paul received 37 percent of the vote from voters with less than $30,000 incomes, 43 percent of independents, 40 percent of self-identified liberals and, in New Hampshire, 47 percent of voters who identified their religion as “none.” Support from these areas is notable because these demographics traditionally opt for more left-leaning candidates.

Have college students and these other groups forgotten their forward-thinking values or commitments to social justice? Have they suddenly turned reactionary, opting for the oldest candidate due to suddenly adopting older values?

No. They have come to realize that real, substantial social progress cannot be counted on to come from government. They have plenty of reason to feel that way after the past several years, too.

They’ve witnessed a president who campaigned on peace expand the war in Afghanistan and launch a new mission in Libya. They’ve witnessed a president who campaigned as a champion of the poor against the elite continue bailouts and massive corporate subsidies, as well as instituting a mandate that all citizens buy health insurance. They’ve witnessed a president who had spoken about the devastating impact of the federal war on drugs continue that policy at full steam.

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