ROCK HILL - Mike Lawter says one of his ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence. And Scott Swoope says one of his not only fought in the Revolutionary War, but was part of the military guard that escorted George Washington home after all the fighting.

So their ears perked up Tuesday when GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul mentioned his fealty to the Founding Fathers at rallies in Spartanburg and then Rock Hill.

"We've gotten too far away from our beginnings; we can't just keep printing and spending money," said Lawter, who attended the event in Spartanburg.

"Paul is the only candidate who stands for personal liberty," added Swoope, who was there for the standing-room-only rally in Rock Hill.

Lawter, 52, an aquatic energy analyst with a ponytail, and Swoope, a bearded 20-year-old philosophy major at Winthrop University, are sure votes for Paul in Saturday's pivotal South Carolina primary.

And both are part of what must surely be the most diverse and passionate corps of supporters for any 2012 presidential candidate.

Young and old, men and women, black and white, fiscal conservatives and anti-war liberals - Paul draws them all with his libertarian stands, his criticism of both parties and a consistency over the years that sets him apart from other politicians.

That includes former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, said Bill Griffith, 75, of Rock Hill.

Romney, the front-runner in Saturday's Republican primary, "changes his mind like he changes his shorts," said Griffith, a retired importer who was among the nearly 300 people who packed into a small hotel ballroom in Rock Hill to hear Paul speak on everything from abolishing five federal departments to bringing U.S. troops home from wars and military bases abroad.

When asked whether he was a Republican, Virginia native Griffith sounded offended: "I'm an American! Those parties mean nothing."

That is among the sentiments that most Paul supporters - whatever their differences on other issues - can agree on.

"I like George Washington best among the Founding Fathers because he was against the two-party system," said Swoope, who will be making his first vote for president this year.

If elected, Paul, 76, would be the country's oldest president. But he has managed to win an enthusiastic following among young people in much the same way that Democrat Barack Obama did in 2008.

In the ballroom at the Spartanburg Marriott - amid shouts of "We love you, President Paul!" - Rebecca Clarke, 19, was among the young people climbing on chairs to get better photos and videos of Paul on their smartphone cameras.

"I'm a libertarian, and Ron Paul stands for limited government in all aspects of our lives," said Clarke, who drove from Shelby, where she lives, to hear Paul and get him to autograph her copy of his book, "End the Fed," about his proposal to abolish the Federal Reserve Board.

A registered independent, she said she works at a fast-food restaurant - "all I can find in this economy. ... Young people are becoming poorer in this economy."

Sitting near the back in Spartanburg, wearing matching Ron Paul buttons, were Chris and Kim Lipp, who are in their 40s. He's a public school teacher, she's a registered nurse, and both served in the Air Force.

They're for Paul in '12 because he wants to keep us out of war.

"I saw a lot of my brothers and sisters in uniform die in Iraq for a war we could not justify," said Chris Lipp. "Our concern now is that (other presidential candidates) are trying to pick another fight, with Iran."

Kim Lipp voted for Obama in 2008, but said she won't again because, although he ran as an anti-war candidate, "he increased troops in Afghanistan." But she shuddered when asked if they would vote for Romney if he got the GOP nomination. "Absolutely not."

Like others interviewed Tuesday, she hopes Paul will run as an independent if he fails to win the GOP nomination. Even if he doesn't win, Kim Lipp said, "it would get his message out."

That view was echoed in Rock Hill by Robert Butler, 61, a retired engineer with the U.S. Department of Defense who showed up Tuesday wearing an anti-Federal Reserve T-shirt that read: "Prevent Currency Collapse. Ron Paul 2012."

Butler pointed out that Ross Perot, one of his other heroes, ran as an independent in 1992 and 1996. And even though he didn't win, Butler said, "his message (of fiscal discipline) got out and Clinton balanced the budget."

Also in the crowd at the Rock Hill rally was Lawrence Clemons, 24, an insurance underwriter who wore a "Ron Paul for President 2012" sweatshirt.

"I like him because he's for cutting spending and giving us back our freedoms," said Clemons, an African-American who has never voted in a presidential race before.

Why all this passion for Paul?

Butler answered it this way: "He's the only candidate who treats you with respect. He talks to you like you're a human being."