Ron Paul's Army Revs Up In New Hampshire

Washington Post: Libertarian Republican And His Fervent Fans Could Have Impact On GOP Primary

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Libby Copeland.

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Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) has raised more than $10 million for his run for president in the past two months, leaving him well positioned to help swing the outcome of the first-in-the-nation primary in New Hampshire, a state well suited to his libertarian, antiwar platform.

And yet it was only late last month that his state headquarters here acquired a basic campaign tool: telephones. For months, Paul's avid supporters were perfectly willing to make campaign calls with their own cellphones. The telephone company was dragging its feet, said Jared Chicoine, Paul's 25-year-old state campaign manager. And, well, the Paul surge has been so sudden that some things have gotten lost in the rush.

"There's been a lot going on," Chicoine said in explaining the delay.

With so much money in the bank -- and with more expected after another one-day fundraising "bomb" pegged to the Dec. 16 anniversary of the Boston Tea Party -- the Paul campaign is in a position to make a push in a state whose "Live Free or Die" ethos makes it an ideal early target for the iconoclastic congressman. And Paul could have an impact on both parties' Jan. 8 primaries: He is drawing close to double digits in some Republican polls here, and it is not hard to find independent voters -- who under state rules can vote in either party's primary -- who confess to fondness for both Paul and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

But as the campaign decides how to marshal its resources for the stretch run, it is unclear just how much control it will have over Paul's fate here. That's because not only is the Paul campaign's lean infrastructure dwarfed by that of his rivals, it is also struggling to control the volunteer army that serves as his main driver -- acting sometimes, but not always, in concert with the campaign leadership.

Last week, it was volunteers belonging to the Paul group at Meetup, an online networking site, who organized an evening of phone calls at Paul's headquarters here before watching the GOP debate together. It was the same volunteers who organized a day of canvassing by 60 supporters Saturday, a frigid day so windy that a gust toppled the huge Christmas tree outside the State House in Concord.

And it is the same people who have churned out tens of thousands of Paul fliers from a Merrimack printing press co-owned by supporter Linda Lagana to sell at cost to Paul supporters around the country, separate from the mailings being paid for by the campaign. Recently, the head of Paul's largest Meetup chapter in New Hampshire, Jim Forsythe, paid $70 to create a glossy one-page "open letter" praising Paul. Lagana's press rolled off 1,000 copies of the letter, to be stuffed into the monthly newsletter in Forsythe's town of Strafford.

"There's a lot flying out of my shop right now," Lagana said. "It must drive [the campaign] crazy. They don't know what we're doing. Fortunately, we're pretty responsible."

Paul admitted how much his election prospects are outside his own control in a brief interview at a Manchester bar, where he stopped Saturday night to greet a raucous throng of supporters. "They've been out walking the streets all day, and we didn't plan it. We didn't plan the money-raising. It is in a sense a revolution, a grass-roots revolution in the best of its meaning," he said.

Asked if he hopes to exert more control over the effort as the primary nears, Paul demurred. "It's the way I want the markets to work, so the market of politics should work that way, too," he said.

He added with a chuckle: "The only thing that's going to close it down is some [Federal Election Commission] ruling or something: 'That's too much freedom. We better abolish this spontaneity.' "

The campaign does control one key area: mass-media purchases. Last month, it bought $1.1 million worth of television advertising time in New Hampshire for the remainder of the campaign, as well as about $430,000 worth of radio time in the state, said Jesse Benton, a national campaign spokesman. There are three television ads now in circulation -- one on spending, one on civil liberties and one on the campaign's momentum -- with two more in the works.

The campaign's other major investment has been in direct mail. Benton and Chicoine declined to say how much the campaign has spent on mailings, but supporters proudly report receiving multiple pieces in their mailboxes and point to the high quality of the work, including a sleek 12-page, 8-by-11-inch brochure that supporters say went to every Republican in the state.

But the campaign still has plenty of money to spend in the final weeks in New Hampshire. Benton said it has to leave enough to compete in South Carolina and Nevada afterward, and it can buy only so much more television time here because most has already been reserved by other campaigns. But it is planning to add a couple of staff members in New Hampshire, and "if there's more radio that needs to be bought, it will be bought," he said.

The campaign's other challenge is deciding where exactly to aim its pitch, because Paul is attracting such an idiosyncratic mix of supporters. Campaign officials say they have relied on mailing lists that include antiabortion voters (Paul opposes abortion despite his opposition to government intervention in other areas), gun owners and opponents of mandatory mental health screening in the schools. But the volunteers working the new phones at the Concord headquarters last week were still doing basic outreach of the sort most campaigns were perfecting months ago, cold-calling voters to find out their favorite candidate and top two issues.

Not that Paul is necessarily competing directly against his rivals. Campaign officials and volunteers alike say they see themselves as striving more to reach residents who have given up on politics. It is hard to imagine voters deciding between Paul and the pro-Iraq-war Republicans in the rest of the field, they say, but they also are not making concerted efforts to reach independents leaning toward an antiwar Democrat such as Obama.

"It's a lot of lifelong Republicans, folks who've been out of it and were discouraged," Chicoine said. "We don't find droves of Democrats saying, 'This is our man.' He is a conservative. He is an antiwar conservative in the line of what Republicans used to be."

[denn034]

"the book of abraham is a fraud"
Posted by nggr

My RLDS friends believe it to be the uninspired, speculative writings of Joseph that he never presented to the church as scripture or ever stated his intent to do so. The LDS accept it on faith. Critics reject it''s errors and it''s advocating denying Negroes priesthood (i.e., something the LDS no longer feel bound by after Spencer W. Kimball''s revelation giving blacks priesthood in 1978). I myself am uncertain as to how to view it. Rational people can differ though. In the end, it shouldn''t have any place in a presidential race. Period!

[guysdigdirt]

Mike Huckabee facts:


1. He will Eliminate the IRS:
This means you will receive 100% of your paycheck.
Posted by GiantRobot2

Did you forget to take your pill this morning? YOu really believe this drivle?

[guysdigdirt]

Why not find out what someone has done in the past and base your judgement on that, not on what religion he is or his underwear.

Really, are you going to vote for someone based on boxers or briefs? Then why worry about his choice in undergarments?

[drnewknee]

Hucakabee as governor was honest, humble, trustworthy?

Is this why he had a hand in twice as many pardons and commutations as his three predecessors combined?

And then tells us that he was not involved in freeing Dumond?

[giantrobot2]

Mike Huckabee facts:

1. He will Eliminate the IRS:
This means you will receive 100% of your paycheck.

2. He will drastically reduce Gas prices:
Switch to alternative fuels, changing supply/demand.

3. He will reduce global warming.
Switch to alternative fuels, no carbon dioxides.

4. He will reduce threat of terrorism.
New fuels cause middle east gov. crack down on them.

5. He will reduce rising Health care costs.
New programs that prevent diseases, not just fix them.

6. He will lead up not just hard right or hard left.
Excellent communicator, will bring parties together.

7. He will lead with principles rather than money.
He cares everybody not just those on Wall Street.

8. He will give Hope to America and enthusiasm.
He plays bass guitar in a band, dynamic personality.

9. He will carry out his goals, not talk about them.
Lost 110 pounds, kept it off, ran 4 Marathons-26.2m

10. He knows the American people is the real boss.
As Governor, his picture frame only shows citizens.

Vote for Mike Huckabee, otherwise you will not be able to enjoy these benefits

Since the other candidates don''''t have anything to say on what they can do for America, they take the easy road and resort to taking cheap shots at Mike. Don%u2019t fall into their trap any longer with negative attacks, let''''s show the critics and the naysayers that Americans have pride and we are ready to elect an honest, humble, trustworthy man for US President.

[bot14]

There is no other candidate with Mitt''s experience in turning around companies (Staples, Home Depot, etc.), the Olympics, and the State of Massachusetts. We desperately need someone who can tackle the major economic problems our country faces (devaluation of the dollar, rampant spending, Social Security, Medicare, Medicade, etc.) Only Mitt Romney has the ability to resolve these problems for us. None of the other candidates have even run a lemonade stand.

[lisann326]

The big blog is he is no JKF. I hope not. We really don''t want a president bringing women in and out of the back office or one who has illegitimate children or uses cigars for a number of things or recovering from being a drunk. He said he accepts Christ as his savior. Let''s be happy we have one who really means it this time. We forgive everyone else for their private lives while professing profound faith.

[denn034]

I was a Mormon missionary in Indiana from 1984-5. I too have "frustratingly few tangible results" as well, one baptism and one confirmation. I would cease activity with the Mormons in 1988 and join the largest apostate RLDS Community of Christ church that rejects baptism for the dead and wearing temple garments. I''m no longer RLDS and remain inactive in the Mormon church. Romney''s deferring religious questions to church leaders is the right thing to do because, only they can speak officially for their church. Many keep insisting that Mormons have a theocracy in Utah and would establish one elsewhere if given half a chance, the fact that Romney didn''t establish a theocracy in Massachusetts argues forcefully against such though. Would Romney make criticizing Mormonism a hate crime if elected President? If he didn''t do it in Massachusetts, then, he probably won''t do it as President, that fear of the evangelicals makes no sense. In the end, Romney isn''t running as a Mormon and making it an issue seems unfair because, Romney can''t speak officially for his church, only the church''s leaders can.

[iamanamerica]

This is precious. Since a lady is old and others were killed, Mitt was obviously at fault for this accident.

I stand corrected.

[iamanamerica]

"In other words, he''''s another religious nut-job!"

Read more carefully next time...those are the words of the author of this article, not a quote from Mitt.

...I think...