Remarks in Manchester Following the New Hampshire Primary

Thank you very much. I really don't have to introduce my wife. I think you know my wife, Carol. [cheers and applause]

And we have a few other members of the family here. We have a daughter-in-law, Peggy. And --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. [cheers and applause]

PAUL: We have Lisa, Linda -- Linda and Mark. And you know we have another member of the family, but he's also on the staff. I think technically in the family, he's a grandson-in-law. That's Jesse Batten. [cheers and applause]

But it is a delight, and, Jim, Senator Forsyth, thank you very much for your support along with Andy, for your co-sponsorship and Ray. Ray, I appreciate all that. It's just great.

I do want to mention three names of the individuals who did so much organization up here. And that Gerard Chicoin as well -- [cheers and applause]

I don't know if he's here. He's probably still making phone calls or something. [laughter]

And Bob Goodman, he's -- he's a tremendous amount of work here. And George Braun, he was fantastic.

But there was -- there was one other acknowledgement I wanted to make. I wanted to thank the union leader for not -- for not endorsing me. [cheers and applause]

Now I called Governor Romney a short while ago, before he gave his talk, and congratulated him because he certainly had a clear cut victory. But we're nibbling at his heels. [cheers and applause]

But there was another victory tonight. He had a victory, but we have had a victory for the cause of liberty tonight. [cheers and applause]

There is -- there is no doubt, there is no doubt that this whole effort that we are involved in will not go unnoticed, let me tell you. [cheers and applause]

I think the intellectual revolution that's going on now to restore liberty in this country is well on its way and there's no way they're going to stop the momentum that we have started. [cheers and applause]

And that is the victory that you have brought about because you have been the ones that have done the works. There's a lot of people here, but the ones across the country, the donors and the excitement on the campuses, it's just unbelievable. We don't always get the coverage or the interest shown on what is going on, because if they did, they wouldn't -- they wouldn't be ignoring so much of what we're doing.

But you know, I find it sort of fascinating when they finally get around -- and this is different people, it could be in the media, it could be our opponents or whatever. But I sort of have to chuckle when they describe you and me as being dangerous. [laughter] [cheers and applause]

That's one thing they are telling the truth because we are dangerous to the status quo of this country. [cheers and applause]

And we will remain a danger to the Federal Reserve system as well. Yes. [cheers and applause]

And if they arrive, and if that. Yes. [cheers and applause]

You know, in studying monetary history from the beginning of our country and even throughout all our history, monetary policy on periodic occasions will become the dominant issue. And we have emphasized that and it has become an important issue. Just think, this is the first presidential campaign that the subject ever came up since the Federal Reserve was started. So we are now -- because of what is happening, it will remain a dominant issue. There's no way they're going to put it to bed because they have destroyed our money. It's worldwide. There's a financial crisis going on and it's only sound money and personal liberty that can solve the crisis that we have today. [cheers and applause]

The one reason -- the one reason I talk about the monetary system so much, it was a sneaky deceitful way to pay the bills. You know an honest government wants to be a big spending government, would tax the people and then the people would know what they were doing. If we had to pay taxes for everything that they do, you know, the people would rise up and stop it.

So then they started borrowing money a lot and then people didn't notice that quite as much because they didn't pass that on. But then they resorted to the printing of the money. And that is why the Federal Reserve was established, to take care of the powerful interests, the military industrial complex, the banking system, and deficit financing.

And there is a couple of reasons they have deficit financing. Sometimes there are conservatives that want deficit financing and sometimes there are liberals who want deficit financing. And they have resorted -- they have resorted to this and, of course, this is why we are facing this crisis today.

But it also serves those interests who like to think that we have this responsibility. They claim it's a moral responsibility to take our young people, put them into the military and send them hither and yon around the world, policing the world and using up the money. [Boo].

So just -- just as we have been able to bring to the forefront that most important issue of funny money, fiat money, the paper money system, the Federal Reserve, we have brought to the forefront, others have tokenly talked about it. They get in office and they do nothing about it.

Bur tight now, it is this liberty movement, which is seen as a patriotic movement, an individual liberty movement, that is saying to the country and to the world, we've had enough of sending our kids and our money around the world to be the policemen of the world. It's the time to bring them home. [cheers and applause]

CROWD: Bring them home. Bring them home. Bring them home.

PAUL: Bring them home.

CROWD: Bring them home. Bring them home. Bring them home.

PAUL: The one thing is we do know they will come home. My goal and our goal has always been to bring them home in a deliberate fashion, to avoid major economic cries by destroying our economy by spending so much overseas.

In the last 10 years, the wars that have gone on added $4 trillion of debt. And I don't think we have been one bit safer for it. I think we have been less safe because of all the money that we have spent overseas.

So this is the issue now, it is -- it is an issue that I think is crucial. Jim mentioned in the introduction that, you know, so often, they say that if we tell people that we think we should spend less in the military, they say, oh, that means you want to cut defense? No. If you cut the military industrial complex, you cut war profiteering but you don't take one penny out of national defense. [cheers and applause]

And besides, besides, we're flat-out broke. Fortunately, we did not have to fight the Soviets. The Soviets brought themselves down for economic reasons. Do you know that they were so foolish and thought themselves so bold that they could pursue their world empire that they invaded Afghanistan?

But we will come home, but if we do it now, calmly and deliberately, we can save our economy here at home because there are a lot of people who are suffering here at home. You have to stop the inflation because that's what destroys the middle class and that's what transfers the wealth from the poor and the middle class to the wealthy.

And that is why the wealthy got their bailouts and the middle class shrunk and they lost their jobs and they lost their houses. So this is what we have to do. We have to cut the spending. This is why I have made a token suggestion in the first year in office, we would cut at least $1 trillion from the budget. [cheers and applause]

Now the one thing that -- the talk you hear in Washington is pure talk because there is nobody suggesting -- the other candidates are not talking about real cuts, they're talking about cutting proposed increases out in 10 years. They say, well, we'll cut a trillion. Yes, a trillion over a 10-year period which is $100 billion every year.

Our national debt is going up in real terms $100 billion every month and they claim that's cutting and they're yelling and screaming, we can't cut, we can't cut. We do have to cut. We have to live within our means if we want to be able to at least take care of the people who have been made to be so dependent on the government.

I mean, we have to work our way out. I would say if we did this and cut this overseas spending, at least we might be able to allow the Social Security beneficiaries to get their checks and medical care be provided.

But if we continue to do what we're doing, the results are that the dollar is destroyed and the whole thing comes apart and it's going to be a worldwide phenomena. Already, already, Social Security beneficiaries are suffering a lot. Their income is shrinking because the value of the dollar is going down, so they're getting -- they're getting their checks cut.

And that is why you have to think about the cutting and the stopping of the inflation. But overall, you have to ask, once again, as our founders did, what should the role of government be in a free society? The role should be very simple. The protection of liberty. [cheers and applause]

CROWD: Ron Paul revolution, bring us back our Constitution. Ron Paul revolution, bring us back our constitution. Ron Paul revolution, give us back our Constitution. Ron Paul revolution --

PAUL: Wonderful, wonderful. You know, the Constitution was written for a very precise manner. It was not designed to restrain the individual, not to restrain you, it was to protect your liberties and to restrain the federal government. [cheers and applause]

But liberty has to be reemphasized because we have been careless over the last 100 years. We have taken liberty and chopped it up into pieces. Some people think liberty has to do with personal habits, which I agree. Other people think liberty is how to spend your money and they defend that part and they fight about when to do what.

What we need to do is make this emphasis that liberty means you have a right to your life and your privacy and the way you want to live your life as long as you don't hurt people and you have a right to keep and spend your money as you want to. [cheers and applause]

Freedom, freedom is a wonderful idea and that's why I get so excited. But I really I get excited when I see young people saying it. It is a wonderful idea.

Freedom is popular, don't you know that? [cheers and applause]

Now freedom brings people together. I think it's magnificent that the crowds that have come out over the weeks and months have been very diverse because it should be, because some people want their freedom to practice their religion, it's one way, maybe another way, some might not even want to practice it at all.

But freedom, if you understand it, you should all fight for freedom because you want to exert your freedom the way you want. Same way with economic freedom. It should bring people together. And I think this is one reason people worry about how you're ever going to put the coalition or how you're -- no, they don't want to call it. They said, how are you going to compromise and give up some of your beliefs in order to get some things passed?

You don't have to compromise. What you have to do is emphasize the coalitions that people want their freedoms for different reason and bring them together. [cheers and applause]

It's been -- America has been the greatest country ever, the most prosperous country ever, the largest middle class ever. It's not that way today. Our middle class is shrinking, the country is getting poorer. The wealth is apparent, is based on Dad, the few who really hold the wealth, it's maldistribution because it shifts overdue to the regulations, the control of government.

We have had too many people too long in the last 100 years thinking that it was beneficial more to be -- have high paid lobbyists to get and to find out what they can get from the government rather than us petitioning our government in a proper manner, to petitioning our government and demanding our freedoms back again. [cheers and applause]

A lot of times, they give us -- they give us trouble and they say, freedom, you people are just too selfish, all you want to do is have your freedom. You know and -- [laughter]

They argue that that is the case. But the thing of it is, the people, the bleeding hearts, and I understand them and I recognize them and I believe most of them are well intended. But it doesn't work, is the problem. All that good intentions of saying, we're going to give everybody a free house and no loans and then they can borrow against the, you know, the equity. And look what happened. It was the bubble that burst and they lost their houses.

So the humanitarian instincts are there across the board. What we have to convince them, if you are a true humanitarian, you have to fight and argue the case for free market, sound money, property rights, contract rights, no use of force, and a sensible foreign policy so we don't waste our resources. [cheers and applause]

We're well on our way. We're well on our way. People have asked me what did I expect five, 10 years ago? I had no idea. I always assumed that the best I could do is set a record. I didn't know you were out there. [cheers and applause]

But it's no longer that irate tireless minority that is stirring up the troops, now that irate minority and so tireless as you have been, it's growing by leaps and bounds. It's going to continue to grow by leaps and bounds, and we will restore freedom to this country.

Thank you very much. [cheers and applause]

Thank you.