C-SPAN Washington Journal: An extraordinary outpouring of support for Ron Paul from around the nation

(The broad mix of accents and speaking styles here is remarkable. These callers are far from a bunch of white, internet-savvy libertarians.)

Transcript. C-SPAN Washington Journal, May 16, 2007

CALLER FROM VIRGINIA [7:04 am ET]: Yes, uh, first my condolences go out to the King family, and secondly, I would like to say: Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Ron Paul. The Republicans have been, have had the neo-cons, neo-conservatives, so much... they don't even recognize a true Republican like Ron Paul. A true, strict constitutionalist, and a civil libertarian...

HOST: Was there anything in particular that he said last night that impressed you, or made him stand out above the other candidates?

CALLER: Everything Ron Paul.

HOST: Give me one example.

CALLER: One example: we're in Iraq. You know, it's like he said, we've been bombing them for 10 years. They didn't have no Navy, no Air Force, they didn't have nothing.

CALLER FROM ILLINOIS (7:05 am ET): They really scare me. I can't see any single one of them, except for, again, maybe Ron Paul, and maybe, Mike Huckaby, who might have a chance of getting across to the public and saying, "You know what? I'm not insane."

HOST: On our line for the Republicans. Your reactions to last night's debate.

CALLER FROM WISCONSIN (7:07 am ET): I thought, my favorite was Ron Paul. And my comment this morning was on how Fox News, even though he won the text vote, especially Hannity being the Republican side of Hannity and Colmes, didn't give him the time of day, was just disrespectful for him, and, you'd think for him, I mean they call it, um, "You Choose 2008", and America seemed to show again and again, whenever Ron Paul's in a debate, he seems to win it. And if it's "America Chooses", you'd think that, and he wins the polls, you'd think that they would give him a little bit of leeway, even though they don't agree with his political line.

CALLER FROM INDIANA 7:09 am ET: Ron Paul is the only candidate for me. I like John McCain, but unfortunately, he has to echo some of the far right's opinions on the war, and that's how I see John McCain. Ron Paul is like a light in the darkness for those people. Ron Paul is just head and shoulders above everybody else there. I pray to God that he has a chance. And as for the other fellow who said that Sean Hannity didn't give Ron Paul the respect he deserves, take into consideration, this is Sean Hannity. Several days ago, he's still dwelling on an affair Clinton about an affair he had nothing ...

CALLER FROM ILLINOIS 7:16 am ET: Yes, I agree with the first few callers that Ron Paul had the best idea. I think Ron Paul is the Republican that I've known for years, and I am a Democrat, but I think he definitely had the right idea. He talked about the Constitution, about how we shouldn't be going in to other countries, unless there is an imminent danger, and there was no imminent danger...

CALLER FROM VIRGINIA 7:19 am ET: I didn't know much about him until the last, the first debate. And then I think he won the first debate, so I started looking him up online, and finding out. And I find it quite interesting, the way he's being treated by the press. After the first debate, he won on the MSNBC poll, but they still kind of ignore him.

HOST: Let's move on to Tucson Arizona.

CALLER FROM ARKANSAS: 7:26 am ET: Yeah, I thought Ron Paul won hands down. And I feel sorry for the Republicans who have to sit there and actually take in Rudy Giuliani and McCain's insanity. Ron Paul was the only one that actually made sense. And it's sad that Sean Hannity shouted over him, shouted him down, that's why he won all the text polls. Ron Paul won it. And that's right, the media don't give him a lot of play, but the media's owned by these corporations that are conservative, and they want a conservative ...

HOST: On the line from the Republicans.

CALLER FORM GEORGIA 7:29 am ET: Hi, um, the guy that says that, uh, anybody who's for Ron Paul is not a real Republican doesn't know his history. The history that Ron Paul mentioned was correct. His reasoning and his logic was correct. I firmly believe that if the Republicans don't choose Ron Paul as their candidate, they're not going to win the next election. And I think a lot of the press is motivated by the fact that they want a candidate that has a lot of money in their campaign war-chest to spend on advertising through the media itself, so they're not going to pick a candidate to push that doesn't have a lot of money in their campaign.

HOST: Greensboro, North Carolina.

CALLER FROM NORTH CAROLINA 7:30 am ET: I would also like to rebut the statement made with regard to Ron Paul not being a true conservative or a true Republican. I believe that the Republican party was once known as a party of small government, and not expanding the federal powers of the government, and Ron Paul stands for those things. Though he wasn't given a sufficient amount of time to express his ideas and concepts for the American public, I believe that he won resoundingly with regard to last night's debate.

CALLER FROM OHIO 7:34 am ET: The debate, I don't understand Republicans, they need to just go ahead and elect Ron Paul. I mean, what you want is a candidate that crosses all boundaries. You know, you want Democrats to vote for your candidate. That's how they win. Right now it looks like Republicans are only about 30% of the American population... [I'm not sure what the caller means by this]

HOST: Why do you say it was a hatchet job?

CALLER FROM TEXAS 7:36 am ET: It was obvious, all the candidates had their chance to attack Ron Paul. And after the show, all they did was attack Ron Paul without backing up their assertions with facts and evidence, as opposed to how Ron Paul backed up his assertions. And, uh, it's quite obvious. And, uh, so, yeah, Ron Paul, everybody's scared of him, corporate media doesn't want somebody who's telling the truth, standing up for the Constitution, because that goes antithetical to what ...

CALLER FROM INDIANA 7:36 am ET: I watched that debate last night, and I liked what Ron Paul had spoke. I think he came out and spoke what was on his mind...

CALLER FROM PENNSYLVANIA 7:35 am ET: I strongly agree with the gentleman from Texas. Ron Paul is the only one that showed any compassion for the subjects that were spoken last night. He's the only one that spoke the truth. I am very impressed that he spoke the truth about 9/11. I've been following 9/11 since the day it happened.

CALLER FROM IOWA 7:43 am ET: But that old Ron Paul's a loudmouth. That's interesting, I like that...

CALLER FROM LOUISIANA 7:43 am ET: I've gotta say, uh, Ron Paul, he's the one I'd vote for. The rest of them are just a bunch of puppets. He speaks the truth, speaks about the Constitution. People are afraid of the Constitution, especially the media, the Democrats and the Republicans, they're afraid of it. They're trying to keep this man down, they don't want to give him the time of day he deserves...

(via StudentsForPaul)