Coming directly from a historic win in the House of Representatives Wednesday, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) energized the opening day of the fourth annual Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) National Conference, and accepted the aptly named inaugural Ron Paul Legacy Award.
The opening day of the 2012 YAL National Conference paid tribute to the legacy of the man who “made the Constitution sexy again,” as described by entrepreneur Scott Banister.
Paul’s legacy, a fierce dedication to constitutional principles, was made especially poignant by the House’s same-day passage of “The Federal Reserve Transparency Act, H.R. 459, commonly referred to as the “Audit the Fed” bill. Paul first introduced an Audit the Fed bill in 1983 and the effort initially flopped. By contrast, yesterday’s bill made it through committee unanimously, passed the House with overwhelming bi-partisan support, and boasted 270 co-sponsors.
“We had a little vote today in the House of Representatives,” Paul said to roaring applause.
Paul, who is retiring from Congress this year, is the figure responsible for bringing libertarian ideals and free-market principles from the fringe to the mainstream of political movements.
Speaking without notes, Paul told the crowd “You are witnessing and participating in the shifting of attitudes… There are hundreds here tonight but I have met thousands and tens of thousands. There is a revolution going on in this country!”
He continued with his pro-liberty talking points, saying “Liberty brings people together,” Paul said. “When you realize this, people should come together for one goal: to have a government that is designed to protect freedom, not to redistribute wealth, not to run the world… this is how you move to peace and prosperity—when you understand what liberty is all about.”
Senator Rand Paul—who also addressed the YAL crowd Wednesday night—stressed that his “father’s legacy has really been above the petty party politics. He has held his ideals regardless of who is in power.”
“I think that’s what’s endeared him to a lot of people,” Rand Paul said, “what’s brought a lot of people to the movement. And I think what you’re seeing is—and what you will see in the future—is this isn’t the end with my father retiring. It’s the beginning of a new wave.”
A wave riding the current of Ron Paul’s fearless and principled direction.
