South Florida art-house bar patrons pull for Ron Paul

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. - The night of the South Carolina primary, Kevin Rouse, a lifelong Republican, was having a blast, celebrating his birthday with friends at his art-house bar here.

The following morning, with Rouse's blessing, his friends posted a massive banner covering the entire side of the building: RON PAUL FOR PRESIDENT.

"I don't think he's going to win, but I think he's good to support," explained Rouse, as he finished straightening out the umbrellaed wrought-iron patio tables after his blowout party.

For months, he has opened his bar and grounds to Paul's 60 or so supporters in this seaside South Florida town. They gather here to hold rallies and watch debates, cheering for their underdog candidate.

Many are older than the college-age volunteers who helped Paul in Iowa and New Hampshire. The birthday Rouse celebrated Saturday night was his 50th.

The crowd at his bar includes artists, small businessmen, accountants, filmmakers, lawyers, and one sun-toasted boat captain who regularly takes five-mile ocean swims, even when the water is thick with jellyfish.

"Kevro," as Rouse is known around here, says "Ron Paul has gotten the short end of the stick."

Rouse's more politically passionate business and life partner, Debbie Sullivan, puts it more sharply. "The media bias is just so disheartening. Even my beloved Fox News Channel has done a terrible job - it's so evident they're trying to block him out," she says. "But I smell a revolution."

Their bar is a stark white cement block, set in a parched field at the far end of town. As evidence of the group's diversity, Sullivan says, "During the debate parties, the cars parked outside include construction trucks, Bentleys, a Ferrari, a Gem electric car, and bicycles."

It is a group of voters who value honesty and pluck, Rouse says, and only tolerate the kind of flip-flops that are worn on bare feet.

"Ron Paul is consistent in his positions," says Rouse, who speaks with the laid-back RPM of a blues singer and cultivates the parrot-head look - baggy shorts, aviator shades and a paintbrush of a ponytail dipping to his shoulder blades.