This morning at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, I asked Ron Paul what he made of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street protests. The congressman said this:
“I haven’t followed that very closely, but if they’re complaining and they want to demonstrate, and they’re doing it properly and not hurting people and causing property damage, people should have the right to complain about what they think is going on in this country.”
Many demonstrators have cited bank bailouts and corporate welfare as grievances — both of which Ron Paul speaks about regularly. I asked if he generally supported protesters’ aims. “I haven’t looked at them in detail,” Paul said. “But if they’re complaining about the same thing that I’m complaining about, I think for people to speak out — they certainly should be able to.”
A noticeable contingency of Paul supporters have joined the protests, holding signs criticizing the Federal Reserve. In response to this, the candidate said, “If I knew the whole details, maybe I could give you a blanket endorsement. I don’t know exactly. But if they’re very similar to my complaints, and people aren’t doing harm and causing problems, then yes, they should be able to speak out.”
UPDATE: Here’s the audio:
Ron Paul on al-Awlaki, Occupy Wall Street
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