Paul has not moderated his position, and in his lengthy remarks Wednesday at the state fairgrounds he said the United States should employ the “Golden Rule” in international relationships: “If we don’t want other countries to hit us, we shouldn’t do it to them either.” The crowd erupted with applause to this and to several similar statements.

According to Ash Ivers, a 31-year-old Iraq war veteran who brought his 5-year-old daughter to the veterans rally, Paul’s stance on national security is what has drawn him to the retiring congressman.

Ivers is a Republican who caucused for Paul last time and intends to do so again. “I like his foreign policy,” he said, adding that when he served in Iraq he thought the effort there was a “waste of time. . . . I found the war to be somewhat pointless.”

And Steve Chase, a North Dakotan who supported Dennis Kucinich four years ago, said he’s been volunteering for Paul in Iowa for the past three weeks. Pointing to Paul’s Golden Rule position, Chase called him the most “Jesus-like candidate in the race.”