Ron Paul takes the day in New Hampshire!
Chalk up another glorious day for Dr. Ron Paul and all his loyal supporters!
My day started out at 10:30 this morning, when I stood on the sidelines with about 8,000 other citizens of NH, observing the parade as Dr. Paul walked, briskly I might add, the mile-long route. This event was part of the Londonderry NH Old Home Day celebration. A young ex-marine friend of ours who can't be more than 30, revealed that he could hardly keep up with the energetic doctor. It was about 70 degrees and breezy...I was thankful it was not 95 degrees and humid as it has been...
After snapping a few photos of the parade entourage, and gaining the interest of the person standing next to me, (enthusiasm IS catchy!) I handed out literature at the local GOP booth with my friend The Honorable Al Baldasaro, NH State Rep. I was not there but 15 minutes when I had given away most of the buttons and bumper stickers I'd brought with me, and a few yards signs as well. I regretted that I had to leave around 12:30 so I could drive the 40 minutes to the Strafford County Picnic where there was to be one of the largest gatherings of the summer and a straw poll...
In a beautiful location high atop a hill at a private residence, there were already about 150 attendees milling around under the biggest tent I've ever seen, eating burgers, and chatting. Many had checked out the Ron Paul HQ (Concord Meetup) booth and relieved them of all their signs (a good thing), or talked with the fellow with the hot air balloon basket (his trailer was adorned with a HUGE cloth banner with a likeness of Dr. Paul on it) or were visiting a few other booths of interest.
One thing was certain; wherever the highest concentration of people were, Dr. Paul was standing smack in the middle.
Nothing could have prepared the Chair of the Strafford County GOP (Hon. Phyllis Woods) for what was about to happen. As Dr. Paul was introduced and took the stage, his supporters loudly applauded and cheered... Unlike that first evening in NH back in February when the welcome he got took him by surprise, Dr. Paul seemed completely unruffled by our exuberance, and went on to deliver one of his best encapsulated speeches yet. I sort of felt sorry for those who had to follow him, really. None of the other candidates stirred up the same excitement.
Later, the Chairman brought a woman over to me who had been up to then, unfamiliar with Dr. Paul. She had just one question. What is it, she said, that makes you people love this man so much?
I answered her very simply. I said, we love this man because not only does he have an impeccable personal life, but an impeccable political life and stellar voting record for his 20 years in Congress. How many candidates can claim that? Further, he does not take lobby money, or the congressional pension. His supporters know exactly what he stands for, you don't have to try to extract the meaning from what he says. She just shook her head in amazement --- she was speechless.
Later when I went back through Londonderry to see if there was any material left from the booth, I was told that a mystery volunteer showed up and took over handing out Ron Paul literature and talking to the people for the rest of the day...so there was nothing to fetch! I still have to find that volunteer and thank him. It's convenient that the GOP will hand out your flyers, but always better if a 'true believer' is there 'selling' the goods.
What a wonderful day! Tomorrow, it's on to Hillsborough County!
Straw Polls
Ok. I'm fairly new to the political process as I've largely ignored it during my lifetime. After hearing about Ron Paul this year I became impassioned and have found myself becoming involved.
What I don't understand are county straw polls and why they are held. This is not to say I don't understand why straw polls are held, but my question is why at the county level? I followed the Iowa straw poll and as far as I know there were no straw polls on a county by county basis in Iowa. Why then in New Hampshire? Is there a state wide straw poll and if so, what is the purpose of holding county straw polls? Just seems like a lot of work if a state wide straw poll could be held. Thanks for tolerating (I hope) my ignorance but I've never felt a need in my lifetime until now to even be concerned about it.
Tom Seemuth
Springfield, MO
Straw polls
Straw polls are unofficial polls that are taken at fund-raisers, picnics and other events to 'see which way the wind is blowing', hence the use of the word straw in the name. Anyone who wants to go through the effort of putting one together can have one. As it says on pinball machines, they are 'for amusement only'.
Did she say
208 votes for ron paul. is this the official straw poll?
Straw polls
Both polls have been official and I watched them count both and know personally the people who ran them.
The first one is the official grassroots CNHT poll. CNHT is a non-partisan organization which makes it even better.
Strafford County is the largest local GOP group in the state I think.
Buttons
Thanks for the report on a great day in NH, Jane.
You mention handing out buttons. Our Meetup group is looking for some but have found them to be too expensive unless we buy HUGE quantities and that isn't practical at this time. Any suggestions on where we can pick some up at a reasonable price?
Re: Buttons
The Materials Coordinator from my meetup group has found Ron Paul buttons for 20 cents each when you buy a bunch (don't know how huge is huge compared to what you may have found). Don't know where to get them right now, but email me at dgarry7@hotmail.com to remind me and I'll find out in a day or two.
Campaign buttons
The best price we've found so far is 25 cents a piece if we buy 5,000. Thanks for your offer to help. I've sent you an e-mail in this regard.
Stickers?
You can have stickers instead that are a bit cheaper but in the long run, I like to hand out buttons as they can be reused. I got them from the CafePress store.
You'd be surprised at how fast you can hand out 200 of them!