Let me start off by saying, as Vice Chairman, I would like to welcome our newest members, and welcome back the returning College Republicans.

My own journey to becoming a Republican is probably an atypical one. When I entered college as a freshman, I considered myself unaligned and a moderate. I joined the libertarian club, the Seton Hall University Students for Individual Liberty, with a bunch of my friends.

My political inspirations were the Founding Fathers, especially Jefferson and Madison, as well as the political philosophy of John Locke—so you could say my opinions revolved around freedom and limited government. While I wasn’t a part of the “Blame Bush” crowd, the actions throughout the Bush administration (Patriot Act, Iraq War, the deficits) turned me off from associating with the party.

The first thing that started to draw me towards the Republican Party was the Ron Paul campaign for president in 2007. What I saw in Paul was someone who was firmly committed to the principles of liberty and less government, who did so often at the peril of being its lone defender in Congress. I figured if he had a place in the Republican Party, perhaps I do too. continue reading…