While all of the candidates are trying to identify themselves with Ronald Reagan, Ron Paul is the only one who really is a Reagan conservative.  He was one of only 4 congressmen to support Ronald Reagan when he ran for president in 1976.  His belief in personal liberties and small government resonate with the platform for which Reagan is so beloved.  And unlike his opponents, his convictions on these issues run deep with a consistent voting record over 20 years as a US representative spanning four decades of public service.

I have voted Republican since 1992 when I first was able to vote, but I feel betrayed by George Bush and indeed the entire Republican party in the last 8 years.  While campaigning on smaller government, they have only increased spending, created new large bureaucracies, and taken away our constitutional liberties.  I was beginning to wonder if should even remain a Republican as they no longer bear much resemblance to the party of liberty and fiscal responsibility I remembered and voted for and their Contract with America.

That was until I saw Ron Paul.  Here is a man that not only preaches traditional conservative values -- he has lived them consistently and in the face of opposition by often being the only voice of dissent.  He has consistently voted against increasing the size of government.  He shows fiscal responsibility in both his politics and his own personal life.  He has a squeaky clean personal life which is refreshing after Clinton and several of our current Republican candidates.  He has the most grounded pro-life stance of any of the Republicans, and he is a strong Christian without flaunting his religion.  Unlike the other Republicans, instead of talking about Christian values, he lives them.

And now, when we finally have a candidate who speaks the truth and has an impeccable character, the Republican party is trying to silence him.  They ridicule him and his supporters saying that he cannot win.  They work to exclude him from debates.  They refuse to even mention him in their writings.  No one said a word about his landslide victories in the New Hampshire and Alabama straw polls.

The press and the Republican leadership are completely out of touch with what today's younger voters are looking for.  They are looking for people of true integrity and courage.  We have been lied to for decades, and we are tired of dishonest politicians.  We are starving for someone whose yes is yes and whose no is no.  The republicans had our hopes in 1994, but they so quickly lost their way once they gained power. 

The Republican party leadership better sit up and pay attention.  They are at an important crossroads.  Their support is waning rapidly -- just look at the low turnout in recent straw polls.  As I said, I have been a strong supporter of the Republican party since childhood (raised as a conservative Republican who studied Reagan politics even as a child).  Right now, I am disgusted with where they have gone.  Why do they ignore the immigration problems?  Why do they ignore the impending collapse of Medicare and Social Security?  Why are they trying to legislate morality while their own lives are filled with immorality, adultery, and deception?  Why does it seem that all they care about is clinging to their power base?

Ron Paul is attracting people from all over the political spectrum, and he is infusing new life into the Republican party.  However, the Republican leadership seems to be actively trying to push him out of the way by keeping him out of the debates and refusing to address the issues that he raises.  If they continue down this road, they will lose these new supporters from Ron Paul that could have been embraced into the party  They do not realize that instead of attracting the youth, by wrongfully restricting Ron Paul's campaign, they are in fact alienating those youth and they may never get them back.  If they would simply address the issues and ideas that Ron Paul is bringing to the table, they could bring in a whole new generation of Republicans -- even if Ron Paul were to not win the nomination.

American's youth have been raised to be political cynics.  We can see through the lies and smell the hypocrisy.  If you truly want to attract the youth in America, you need to address the issues that we care about.  You need to find solutions to that huge bill we will have to pay once the baby boom generation is gone.  You need to address a policy that encourages illegal immigration and discourages the legal immigration.  You need to allow debate and introspection on a foreign policy that now has a 70% disapproval rating from the American people.  Most importantly, you need to speak truth, and you need to speak it plainly.

Right now, the only candidate (Republican or Democrat) who is doing this is Ron Paul.