GREENVILLE, S.C. — Texas Rep. Ron Paul told an energetic crowd here Friday that American exceptionalism is not an excuse for invading other nations in hopes of spreading U.S. values overseas.
American exceptionalism is a popular view among Republicans that the United States is like no other country in history. Paul believes that view has been distorted to justify international interventions.
“There’s a move on in our country to excuse our intervention overseas, and they call it American exceptionalism. They distort this view, of course,” Paul told the crowd of several hundred. “They say that America is exceptional, they know what is right, and they have this moral obligation to force it down the throats of other people, and if they don’t take it, we’re supposed to invade them and make them do exactly as we say.”
“It doesn’t work,” he said.
Paul’s campaign stop was his fifth across the state Friday, as he jumped from place to place in an airplane with his wife Carol and state Sens. Lee Bright, Danny Verdin and Tom Davis, all influential tea party leaders.
“I do believe we are an exceptional nation,” Paul said. “We’ve been exceptional in that we have an exceptional Constitution, we’ve enjoyed the benefits of liberty like no other nation ever did, we’ve had the largest middle class ever and the wealthiest middle class.”
But none of that is grounds for policing the world, he said. He advocated improving the country as a way to be an example for other nations.
Paul put in a full day of campaigning after being absent from South Carolina most of the week to vote against the debt ceiling increase in Congress. He participated in a pro-life forum Wednesday night by satellite from Washington and flew down for Thursday night’s debate in Charleston. (RELATED: Full coverage of Ron Paul’s campaign)
The Friday evening rally was held in a warehouse on the grounds of the downtown Greenville airport about 12 hours before polls open here in the Palmetto State. He stepped off the plane, onto the tarmac and into the warehouse, which had a leaky roof in a couple places, to speak to supporters for just 17 minutes. On a tight schedule, Paul apologized for not being able to stay to shake hands or sign autographs.
One woman handed out flyers saying the Vatican is seeking to establish a world government, several people carried Gadsden and American flags and almost everyone in attendance recorded Paul’s speech on a camera or phone.
Paul is polling in third with 11 percent, according to a Clemson University poll released Friday.