Whispers of politics filled the Silver Eagle Suite at the University of North Texas until David Bell broke the mumbles with a yell.

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Republican presidential hopeful U.S. Rep. Ron Paul speaks Monday to a crowd of his supporters at the University of North Texas.

“I want my country back,” he shouted.

The Farmers Branch man’s cry erupted into a wave of cheers for U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, who was speaking in Denton for the first time as a presidential candidate.

Bell’s excitement bubbled over as the crowd began to swell into the hundreds as Paul, who represents a portion of the Texas coast in congress, spoke at a student rally at UNT during stops in Dallas and Fort Worth on Monday.

During his 30-minute speech, Paul spoke about the war in Iraq, the economy and the responsibility of younger generations to a crowd that was primarily composed of college-aged residents.

However, his speech continued to reaffirm that many of the problems facing the country are a result of veering away from the U.S. Constitution.

“For hundreds of years, we have slipped away from our founding fathers,” he said. “But we have the answer. It can be found in the Constitution.”

Using that argument, Paul said Iraq was an unjust war carried out without a declaration of war as the Constitution demands, and if it had been debated, the country would not be where it is today.

However, he said, Congress was given “distorted facts.”

“We need to bring our troops home,” Paul said. “It is time to come home from the Middle East.”

Money spent on the war could be diverted to fix the aging infrastructure, and with a spiraling economy, better use of money is necessary to save the U.S. dollar, he said.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Supporters of Republican presidential hopeful U.S. Rep. Ron Paul greet him at a rally Monday at the Silver Eagle Suite on the University of North Texas campus.

To ensure the strength of the dollar, Paul said he would get rid of the Federal Reserve, which he said practiced “legalized counterfeiting,” and he would work to minimize futile spending.

While calling the economy not viable, Paul said the system needs to be changed to save future generations from heavy taxes. If fixed, he said it would allow future generations to avoid Social Security taxes.

“If we do the right thing, there will be time,” he said. “We need revolutionary ideas.”

Gearing his speech to his younger crowd, Paul said that generation needed to get involved in politics and work to change the party and government within. 

Amanda Brown, 24, of Decatur took Paul’s message to heart.

“We have to clean up the mess,” she said.

With the Texas primary two weeks away, Paul is an unlikely candidate for the Republican nomination, as Arizona Sen. John McCain seems destined for the nod. However, Paul is still determined to continue his campaign.

“Texas is important,” Paul said. “They say, ‘we aren’t doing very well,’ but I tell them there was 11 when this started, and we are still in it.”

DAN X. McGRAW can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is dmcgraw@dentonrc.com .