Message from Jim Forsythe, Ron Paul supporter in NH

This is an account of the weekend from my friend Jim Forsythe, who was the emcee for the program on Saturday. He manages Ron Paul Meetup #6 in NH, (www.ronpaul.meetup.com/6/) is a Strafford County Co-Chair and involved in outreach for HomeSchoolers in the NH campaign. He has a PhD in Aerospace Engineering, and is a 16-year veteran of the Air Force, having served in combat support to Bosnia, Somalia and Iraq as a tanker pilot.

Whew! Here is what Jim had to say:

I am finally recovering from a whirlwind of excitement this weekend.

This campaign seems to just get stronger and stronger every day. The weekend started with the big rally on Saturday morning. Some folks drove all the way from Pittsburgh to attend the rally, sell shirts, and do the walk, and gave a nice account of their trip. The rally was attended by an estimated 500-800 people, probably the largest crowd that has been drawn in NH (according to MSNBC who said the crowd was larger than other candidates could hope to draw!)

There is a video of the rally in 5 parts, including the "Ballad of Ron Paul, sung by his family". Dr Paul starts speaking in Part 2.

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Part 5 is a good thing to watch as it addresses how the campaign is doing, and puts some perspective on this ongoing freedom movement. It's very exciting to hear him say, "the cause of liberty is on the verge of an explosion"! Also he explained that major movements are generally caused by 3% of the people understanding, and we are part of that 3%, and we can lead the way!!! "I am not a prophet. I don't know what's happening. I've been talking this way for 30 years, but something special is happening." Here's a video that is not as good as the above, but shows the crowd.

After the rally ended, we went and did the literature drops. Approximately 300-400 people got in line to get packages of 125 houses in Concord, Nashua, and Manchester. About 100 packets were given out to teams of 3, and people spent all afternoon going from door to door handing out information on Ron Paul. I had done these a month ago, and what a difference a month has made! Reaction has gone from most people not having heard of him, to people having a favorable impression, and interested in knowing more. People have noticed the yard signs and sign waves, heard him in the debates, heard the commercials on the radio, heard the radio interviews, etc. We need to capitalize on this growing awareness to get people on board the freedom movement.

The Paul family (about 27 people), piled into cars, and went door to door as well. It was great to see young Paul grandchildren knocking on doors and saying "vote for my Grandpa" (see the photo)! One of the first doors the Paul family knocked on Sunday afternoon (a second day of canvassing) can be seen in this video. The gentlemen said he really liked Dr Paul and would probably vote for him! He was certainly impressed that the Paul family would knock on his door. More photos of the Paul's walking here.

Dr Paul meanwhile spoke at a couple of college campuses, including Dartmouth Medical school. The response was overwhelmingly positive with students skipping the football game to come see him. Dr Paul also spoke to a group of homeschoolers highlighting the need for strong parental involvement, and the power of individual responsibility in education. You could see people who had never met Dr Paul get excited by his message of liberty and adherence to the Constitution. Photos here.

While all this was going on, the rest of America was donating about $10,000 per hour, to donate $1,200,000 in only 6 days!

Given all this enthusiasm and excitement, I think USAdaily has it right: "Paul activists believe that if he wins the nomination he may be re-create a Republican landslide like Ronald Reagan did in the 80s. For the first time in a generation, Republicans have a presidential primary that has not been decided before it started. GOP frontrunners should proceed with caution because if Ron Paul wins New Hampshire, the nomination will likely follow."

But it's going to take a large amount of effort from us to make this happen!! Sign up for your local meetup groups. NH residents - do lit drops as much as possible. For those outside of NH, stay tuned for a mail NH campaign sponsored by RonPaulHQ.