Rand Paul pleaded for liberty on the steps of the Old Capitol Monday night.

By Aaron Walker
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Herds of more than 100 college students and community members inched up to Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul while he spoke in front of the Old Capitol on Monday evening.

“We are fighting to restrain the government to unleash freedom onto the individual,” Paul said in his signature antiestablishment fashion.

Aside from the chants of approval, a lone protester hid in the crowd and yelled in disagreement about gentrification, inequality, and living wages.

Paul began his speech talking about the drug war, noting that young people who experiment with things such as marijuana should have the opportunity to be forgiven. His assertion marijuana use does not warrant jail time was met with great applause.

“Most do it, but there are still laws to put people in jail for it,” Paul said. “That’s the definition of hypocrisy.”

Other statements condemning the war in Iraq, preventing special interest groups from buying elections, and making higher education more affordable were also met with not only applause, but chants of “stand with Rand” and “President Paul.”

Paul demanded busting the public-education system he referred to as a monopoly. Instead of providing subsidized college tuition, he said he wants to find out why prices are inflated.

This ideology of a slimmed down, streamlined federal government matched his stance on nearly all issues including a discussion of his recent visit to Englewood, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago. The solution, he said, would not come from increases in welfare programs.

“They want same things you do,” Paul said. “They want a job, but they have a dead-end existence there. And you know how we get them jobs? We need to leave more money in the hands of people who create jobs.”

On numerous occasions, he directly condemned Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and people who support increasing social-welfare programs in the United States.

“People say, ‘Oh, we’re just going to spend the money around; we’re going to take it from here and give it to here,’” Paul said. “But look at history. Look at every time we’ve tried socialism and the disaster that has been socialism. When we defeated Russia in the Cold War, it wasn’t some big cataclysmic battle. You know what it was, it was the engine of capitalism defeating the engine of socialism.”

The protester was not the only member of the crowd who disagreed with Paul’s stances.

University of Iowa senior Carter Yerkes said Paul’s free-market priorities would allow corporations to export labor to other countries and stores such as Walmart to suffocate small business.

“I appreciate Rand [Paul’s] takes on core values of American society like liberty and freedom; however, I think he is misguided on how he wants to go about it,” Yerkes said. “I think we need to look at the wealth, income inequality in America right now and see how to change that. Whereas he was talking a lot about self-interest and how capitalism is great to spread the wealth, and I agree to a certain point it is, but at what point does it no longer benefit Americans.”

Despite the disagreement of few, a line of people, young and old, stretched halfway across the east end of the Pentacrest.

Alex Staudt, the president of UI Students for Rand, said he was proud to introduce Paul and lauded Paul’s demands to end the drug war and prevent the NSA from spying on citizens.

“I think Rand Paul appeals to a younger demographic because when he comes to places like the University of Iowa … he doesn’t come here and talk about how we need to go bomb Iran and cut taxes, what every Republican is saying,” Staudt said. “[Paul] comes to campuses, and he talks about how we need to give power back to the voters.”