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“How would you handle these global threats, then, if it’s not to send our troops there and make sure that we’re protected?” Chetry asked.

“We create the threats!” Paul replied emphatically. “Why are we on the borders of Russia provoking the Russians? I mean, the Georgians initiated the military attack against these enclaves where there were mostly Russians. … It’s the fact that we’re over there that we create these crises.”

“Isn’t it part of our duty, though, to support these fledgling democracies that ask for our help?” asked Chetry.

“No, it’s not our responsibility to do that,” Paul said firmly. “We should endorse the principle but not send troops and money. … Once we get over there, we just aggravate the situation.”

When followers of erstwhile presidential candidate Ron Paul said they were going to stage an alternate convention, they meant it. Pretty much everything about Paul’s grassroots Rally for the Republic stands in stark contrast to the Republican national convention getting underway in St. Paul.

Its delegates are on their way via “Ronvoy,” a caravan of minivans and charter buses organized on the Internet. Many are eschewing hotels in favor of campgrounds and RV parks in Twin Cities exurbs, according to organizers. Still others will arrive just in time for the rally, a 12-hour marathon of speakers and entertainers taking place Tuesday at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.

“Most of our people are not wealthy,” said Drew Ivers, a longtime GOP activist who is Paul’s delegate coordinator. “They’re working people feeling the pinch. They’re not country-club elitists. With the price of gas, they’re caravanning in in minivans and the like.

“These people are sacrificing to make this happen,” Ivers added. “I think it’s commendable.”

Speakers expected at the rally include former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, MSNBC correspondent Tucker Carlson, anti-tax lobbyist Grover Norquist, Barry Goldwater Jr., son of the late presidential candidate, and Barb White, a candidate in Minnesota’s fifth congressional district.

On hand to entertain the 10,000 supporters organizers say they expect will be musicians Marc Scibilia, Rockie Lynne, Sara Evans and Aimee Allen, the voice behind “The Ron Paul Revolution Theme Song.” Tickets, still available at Ticketmaster at press time, are priced at a cheeky $17.76.