newsminer.com

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president, called Alaska a key state in his campaign during a brief teleconference Friday night.

“Alaska is very important to this campaign,” he said from the campaign trail in Colorado. “It’s the most freedom-loving state we have. If we get people with this sentiment out to vote, we’ll get attention from around the country and around the world.”

No questions were taken during the 15-minute conference call with Alaskan supporters, apparently because of technical problems.

Paul said that people he spoke to while campaigning seemed receptive to his positions, especially his views on the economy. The 10-term congressman has repeatedly called for doing away with the Federal Reserve and reverting to the gold standard.

“All empires end badly as they bankrupt the empire, which is what we’re seeing now with the collapse of the dollar and the rising cost of gold,” he said.

Paul, who advocates a strict interpretation of the Constitution, said Second Amendment rights have been eroded over time as well.

“It wasn’t put in the Constitution so you could shoot rabbits or go hunting,” he said. “It was that so that if we ever have to face tyranny in this country, the people will be armed.”

A strong supporter of states’ rights, Paul also said that the state of Alaska should have the final say in anything having to do with oil or natural gas.

“The federal government is not supposed to be telling Alaska what it can do with its land and natural resources,” he said.