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Paul’s grassroots support drives campaign
http://thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=e9fe1aa1fad89e3e
Paul’s grassroots support drives campaign By John Tompkins
The Facts
Published January 17, 2008
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Wobbling 800 feet over the beaches, hotels and homes of Myrtle Beach is the Ron Paul blimp.
Carried by 235,000 cubic feet of helium and operated by a 21-member crew, the blimp arrives to advertise the presidential hopes of the Lake Jackson congressman.
The blimp was the brainchild of Elijah Lynn, who until a couple of months ago owned an online locksmith business in Littleton, Colo. Lynn found out about Paul’s presidential campaign, left his business to a partner and joined what supporters are calling the Ron Paul Revolution.
Paul is seeking the Republican nomination for president, and his strict constitutionalist positions, including limiting governmental spending as well as eliminating federal agencies such as the IRS and the CIA, resonate with supporters. He is the only Republican candidate who wants to pull American troops from Iraq.
Paul’s supporters run the gamut of the political and social spectrums, including military veterans, young couples, college students and retirees. Though Paul has a conservative base of support, he also has support from more liberal-minded voters because of his views on the Iraq war.
Inflating support
Most of the financial and emotional support given to Paul’s campaign has come from people like Lynn — apathetic to today’s political climate and wanting to make a change. Whether they go from one state to another to canvass for voters, create Web sites to help raise money or help keep a blimp in the air to advertise his campaign, Paul’s supporters have taken their own initiative to drive his campaign.
“I was amazed,” to learn about Paul, Lynn said. “My apathy was gone. I still don’t know that much about him.”
Moved by Paul’s originality and authenticity, Lynn started looking for a way to support his campaign, he said.
Coordinating with fellow supporters on the Internet and without any kind of blessing from Paul’s campaign, Lynn started working on the i dea of a traveling blimp emblazoned with the words, “Ron Paul Revolution” and “Who is Ron Paul? Google Ron Paul.”
“A lot of other candidates get more attention than Ron Paul,” Lynn said. “The blimp was a grand idea. What’s neat about it is it’s grassroots.”
The support Paul gets from his predominantly young, college-aged supporters enthralls him.
“They’re so excited,” he said the night of the New Hampshire primary. “They encourage me.”
Independent support also has been a financial boon for Paul’s effort as two campaign stunts — initiated by supporters and not Paul’s campaign — on Nov. 5 and
Dec. 16 helped raise $10 million and contributed to a $20 million fourth-quarter fundraising total.
Guerrilla campaigning
As CNN reporter Anderson Cooper prepared to give a live report from the steps of City Hall in Manchester, N.H., the night before the state’s primary, more than 100 Paul supporters surround the taped-off area and waved signs in silence.
While delivering his report, he noted the signs and supporters around him, to boisterous applause from the group.
Standing outside the group waving a Paul campaign sign was Chris Otten of Coltsneck, N.J.
Paul’s volunteers on the ground in New Hampshire often showed up to television reporters’ broadcasts, hoping to gain attention, Otten said.
“The mainstream media typically does not give us coverage,” Otten said. “Typically we have to generate our own media coverage.”
Otten admitted to crashing a Fox News media forum for the Republican candidates the night before, in which Paul was not invited to participate.
Supporters that night also were accused of chasing Fox News commentator Sean Hannity and heckling him. A video of the melee was posted on Youtube.com.
When night fell on New Hampshire the day before the primary, volunteers hit the streets waving signs and chanting support for Paul.
Alternating between themes like “Vote Ron Paul, win a free country!” and “Say ‘yes’ to Dr. No,” the supporters flooded an intersection in downtown Manchester, chanting as drivers honked on their way through the intersection.
“I think this is the state to be,” said Steve Schnari, 21, who studies journalism at Columbia College in Chicago. “I took a Greyhound bus up here.”
Like many of the Paul volunteers in New Hampshire, Schnari shared a house with several others while he stayed to help campaign. The house he stayed in had only two bedrooms and one bath for 17 volunteers, he said.
Many of the volunteers from out of state met and communicated with each other through Web sites such as Meetup.com.
Coming to Paul
Whether it’s frustration with the Iraq war or a desire for a more fiscally conservative government, Paul’s supporters vary on how they come to support him.
Sarah and Christopher Laskoski of Fort Worth chose to spend their honeymoon in New Hampshire, campaigning for their favorite candidate.
“We would feel very guilty if we had done anything else,” Christopher Laskoski said.
Sarah, who teaches at a Montessori school, supported Paul because she wants to see the end of the federal Department of Education, which Paul has advocated.
“We have to jump through loops to have Montessori schools,” she said.
Laura Dobson, a 21-year-old violinist from Ponchatoula, La., has followed Paul for several years, thanks to her parents, who taught her the importance of limited government and the Constitution, she said.
“They just think it’s a piece of paper and it’s dead,” Dobson said of current politicians. “And it’s not.”
Dobson joined several volunteers in Myrtle Beach, S.C., to canvass neighborhoods hoping to change the minds of undecided voters.
Working alongside her is John Goes, a University of Illinois-Chicago math student who came to South Carolina from Iowa to help campaign. Goes started following Paul because he likes the candidate’s idea of freedom and unfettered civil liberties.
“I want to talk to people and spread the message of freedom,” he said.
Many who follow Paul initially are pulled to him because of his stance on the Iraq war, then find out about his Libertarian-leaning policies and that he’s more of an original conservative like Republicans used to be, said Cory Soulie of Torrington, Conn.
“He’s a Republican who’s finally got his act together,” Soulie said as he helped campaign for Paul in Concord, N.H. “It’s more than just the Iraq war.”
A special thanks
As the numbers came in the night of Jan. 8 in New Hampshire, it looked like Paul would place fifth in the primary with 8 percent of the vote.
After the folk rock band Naked Blue played for several hundred Paul supporters in the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Concord, N.H., Paul took the stage and thanked the youthful support he received for the New Hampshire primary and for his campaign.
“The energy from the campaign has come from the young people,” he said. “People like you … have removed the skepticism I had at the beginning of this campaign.”
As his campaign continues into Super Tuesday on Feb. 5, the blimp lifting his name also will continue to make appearances, at least until the end of this week.
The blimp, which costs about $350,000 a month to operate, has been operated by donations and is not receiving help from Paul’s campaign, Lynn said. The blimp also has its own Web site, RonPaulBlimp.com, which tracks its location and how much has been donated to keep it afloat.
“I wanted to be able to do what I wanted for awhile,” Lynn said about quitting his business to join the campaign. “We have a chance to elect a real president.”
http://thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=e9fe1aa1fad89e3e
Paul’s grassroots support drives campaign By John Tompkins
The Facts
Published January 17, 2008
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Wobbling 800 feet over the beaches, hotels and homes of Myrtle Beach is the Ron Paul blimp.
Carried by 235,000 cubic feet of helium and operated by a 21-member crew, the blimp arrives to advertise the presidential hopes of the Lake Jackson congressman.
The blimp was the brainchild of Elijah Lynn, who until a couple of months ago owned an online locksmith business in Littleton, Colo. Lynn found out about Paul’s presidential campaign, left his business to a partner and joined what supporters are calling the Ron Paul Revolution.
Paul is seeking the Republican nomination for president, and his strict constitutionalist positions, including limiting governmental spending as well as eliminating federal agencies such as the IRS and the CIA, resonate with supporters. He is the only Republican candidate who wants to pull American troops from Iraq.
Paul’s supporters run the gamut of the political and social spectrums, including military veterans, young couples, college students and retirees. Though Paul has a conservative base of support, he also has support from more liberal-minded voters because of his views on the Iraq war.
Inflating support
Most of the financial and emotional support given to Paul’s campaign has come from people like Lynn — apathetic to today’s political climate and wanting to make a change. Whether they go from one state to another to canvass for voters, create Web sites to help raise money or help keep a blimp in the air to advertise his campaign, Paul’s supporters have taken their own initiative to drive his campaign.
“I was amazed,” to learn about Paul, Lynn said. “My apathy was gone. I still don’t know that much about him.”
Moved by Paul’s originality and authenticity, Lynn started looking for a way to support his campaign, he said.
Coordinating with fellow supporters on the Internet and without any kind of blessing from Paul’s campaign, Lynn started working on the i dea of a traveling blimp emblazoned with the words, “Ron Paul Revolution” and “Who is Ron Paul? Google Ron Paul.”
“A lot of other candidates get more attention than Ron Paul,” Lynn said. “The blimp was a grand idea. What’s neat about it is it’s grassroots.”
The support Paul gets from his predominantly young, college-aged supporters enthralls him.
“They’re so excited,” he said the night of the New Hampshire primary. “They encourage me.”
Independent support also has been a financial boon for Paul’s effort as two campaign stunts — initiated by supporters and not Paul’s campaign — on Nov. 5 and
Dec. 16 helped raise $10 million and contributed to a $20 million fourth-quarter fundraising total.
Guerrilla campaigning
As CNN reporter Anderson Cooper prepared to give a live report from the steps of City Hall in Manchester, N.H., the night before the state’s primary, more than 100 Paul supporters surround the taped-off area and waved signs in silence.
While delivering his report, he noted the signs and supporters around him, to boisterous applause from the group.
Standing outside the group waving a Paul campaign sign was Chris Otten of Coltsneck, N.J.
Paul’s volunteers on the ground in New Hampshire often showed up to television reporters’ broadcasts, hoping to gain attention, Otten said.
“The mainstream media typically does not give us coverage,” Otten said. “Typically we have to generate our own media coverage.”
Otten admitted to crashing a Fox News media forum for the Republican candidates the night before, in which Paul was not invited to participate.
Supporters that night also were accused of chasing Fox News commentator Sean Hannity and heckling him. A video of the melee was posted on Youtube.com.
When night fell on New Hampshire the day before the primary, volunteers hit the streets waving signs and chanting support for Paul.
Alternating between themes like “Vote Ron Paul, win a free country!” and “Say ‘yes’ to Dr. No,” the supporters flooded an intersection in downtown Manchester, chanting as drivers honked on their way through the intersection.
“I think this is the state to be,” said Steve Schnari, 21, who studies journalism at Columbia College in Chicago. “I took a Greyhound bus up here.”
Like many of the Paul volunteers in New Hampshire, Schnari shared a house with several others while he stayed to help campaign. The house he stayed in had only two bedrooms and one bath for 17 volunteers, he said.
Many of the volunteers from out of state met and communicated with each other through Web sites such as Meetup.com.
Coming to Paul
Whether it’s frustration with the Iraq war or a desire for a more fiscally conservative government, Paul’s supporters vary on how they come to support him.
Sarah and Christopher Laskoski of Fort Worth chose to spend their honeymoon in New Hampshire, campaigning for their favorite candidate.
“We would feel very guilty if we had done anything else,” Christopher Laskoski said.
Sarah, who teaches at a Montessori school, supported Paul because she wants to see the end of the federal Department of Education, which Paul has advocated.
“We have to jump through loops to have Montessori schools,” she said.
Laura Dobson, a 21-year-old violinist from Ponchatoula, La., has followed Paul for several years, thanks to her parents, who taught her the importance of limited government and the Constitution, she said.
“They just think it’s a piece of paper and it’s dead,” Dobson said of current politicians. “And it’s not.”
Dobson joined several volunteers in Myrtle Beach, S.C., to canvass neighborhoods hoping to change the minds of undecided voters.
Working alongside her is John Goes, a University of Illinois-Chicago math student who came to South Carolina from Iowa to help campaign. Goes started following Paul because he likes the candidate’s idea of freedom and unfettered civil liberties.
“I want to talk to people and spread the message of freedom,” he said.
Many who follow Paul initially are pulled to him because of his stance on the Iraq war, then find out about his Libertarian-leaning policies and that he’s more of an original conservative like Republicans used to be, said Cory Soulie of Torrington, Conn.
“He’s a Republican who’s finally got his act together,” Soulie said as he helped campaign for Paul in Concord, N.H. “It’s more than just the Iraq war.”
A special thanks
As the numbers came in the night of Jan. 8 in New Hampshire, it looked like Paul would place fifth in the primary with 8 percent of the vote.
After the folk rock band Naked Blue played for several hundred Paul supporters in the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Concord, N.H., Paul took the stage and thanked the youthful support he received for the New Hampshire primary and for his campaign.
“The energy from the campaign has come from the young people,” he said. “People like you … have removed the skepticism I had at the beginning of this campaign.”
As his campaign continues into Super Tuesday on Feb. 5, the blimp lifting his name also will continue to make appearances, at least until the end of this week.
The blimp, which costs about $350,000 a month to operate, has been operated by donations and is not receiving help from Paul’s campaign, Lynn said. The blimp also has its own Web site, RonPaulBlimp.com, which tracks its location and how much has been donated to keep it afloat.
“I wanted to be able to do what I wanted for awhile,” Lynn said about quitting his business to join the campaign. “We have a chance to elect a real president.”
