As Cyclone basketball fans cheered the ISU women to victory in nearby Hilton Coliseum Sunday afternoon, Room 220 of the Scheman Building was playing host to a pep rally of a different kind.

Billionaire publisher and GOP presidential candidate Steve Forbes spoke to a bustling crowd of about 170 people, many of whom where wearing the trademark orange Forbes’ campaign shirt and chanting “Flat Tax,” “Steve Forbes” and “We believe in Steve.”

Forbes, who entered the room to the song “Living in America,” spoke about topics ranging from his opposition to abortion to his well-known flat tax proposal during the candidate’s last stop in Ames before today’s caucuses.

“The days of the elites and politicians running Washington, D.C. are numbered,” Forbes said. “They have no hooks in me. I’m independent of them.”

Forbes said a flat income tax would free Americans “from the infernal, Internal Revenue Service.”

Promising “bold and radical” changes in health care if elected, Forbes’ assertion that Americans should have the right to choose their own doctor brought heavy applause from the audience.

Forbes also said he strongly supports reversing Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion.

“Hearts and minds can be changed,” he said, noting that family and community are sources of strength for Americans and stronger families are important for the country to succeed.

Forbes also said he favors a Social Security program with more flexibility and personal control.

“Put the people, not politics, in charge of Social Security,” he said, saying Americans should have a choice of paying into the current Social Security system or opening a personal income account.

“Together we can change the course of history. Together we can change America,” Forbes said.