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Politics & Government

Ron Paul Republican From Wakefield Enters RNC Convention

Wakefield resident Evan Kenney, although a Ron Paul Republican, participated in the Republican National Convention in Tampa this week.

While many other Ron Paul delegates weren't able to participate in the Republican National Convention, life-long Wakefield resident Evan Kenney, 18, of Cedar Street, is.

A libertarian-leaning Republican, he went down to Tampa on Sunday to tell his story, made a justifiable argument, and five out of 17 delegates were welcomed back. 

Ronald Reagan once said that the root is conservatism is libertarianism. Both political parties believe in small government, sound money policy, and individual rights. 

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His purpose of attending the convention is to spread the message of liberty, sound monetary policy as well as to show newcomers that they're are witnessing a significant change in the Republican party.

As to what he's doing there, he's attending the convention as a delegate and voting on the party platform.

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"It makes me feel good I got in," Kenney explained. "I'm happy to be down here and talk to the media."

After that, he will begin studying Video Production at Fitchburg State University in Fitchburg, Mass. He would like to especially reach out to the youth, since they will also be paying hundreds of thousands in college tuition, and to the idea of spending money overseas.

Growing up, he attended , where his father, Jim, sparked his interest in politics. He became a registered voter in February. His conservative video teacher, Mr. Jonathan Berece, was his motivational speaker—always challenging him to question authority through logic and reason, even if the authority was Berece himself.

"," he said. "It was a poorly written thing that was totally legally invalid, but it said that I would affirm under penalty of perjury to vote for Mitt Romney at the Republican National Convention."

However, Kenney eventually turned it in.

Many high school seniors would be concerned with graduation and college preparation, but he was preoccupied preparing a speech.

He appeared live on The Rachel Maddow Show in July, which averages 1.1 million viewers nightly on MSNBC.

"You have no idea how nervous I was," Kenney said, "I was shaking. I was at Applebee's with my dad and little brother before the show started, but I wasn't making eye contact with them. There was so much andrenaline as I was walking through the control room.

"Rachel was so personal," he continued. "We talked for about two minutes about college before we seamlessly flew into the interview. I watched her profile me for about 5 minutes while I thought about what I was going to say to the viewers."

He also contacted and was interviewed by Michael Graham, Boston talk show host on 96.9 FM and Boston Herald reporter.

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