posted by Kyle on Aug 12
This morning I got up at 5:30 and was at the Ron Paul tent at 6:30 in the morning. My first task was to go to the parking lot and greet voters getting off of the Mitt Romney buses. We were there a little early, which was actually great because we got to watch Ron Paul supporters arrive in droves. Every third car or so had a Ron Paul sign on it. We started off the day with a lot of energy, and the Ron Paul cars would honk and we would cheer. It was really great. Our energy and enthusiasm grew.
At around 9:00 AM I headed back to the tent to hear Ron Paul speak. Unfortunately, he was not there. I learned that Mrs. Paul had heart problems and he was with her at the hospital. I headed out to pass out “Gun Owners for Ron Paul” fliers, and when I got back I received the news that Mrs. Paul was recovering well and that she had told Ron to stop babying her and get over to the straw poll. At 11:00 AM I heard him give his first speech.
The Mitt Romney people were a nasty bunch. One of them called me a “pinko” for supporting immediate withdrawal from Iraq. I got lots of dirty looks from them, and I never once said or did anything mean to them. I smiled at them, said hi, and handed them literature if they wanted it. Almost every Ron Paul volunteer with whom I spoke agreed that the Mitt Romney people were really nasty. But hey, socialism is a nasty ideology.
At around 12:00, we had a big march through the grounds of the straw poll. The group was so large that from the front I couldn’t see the back. We chanted “Ron Paul” very loudly for a good half an hour. I went into the Hilton Coliseum along with 149 other Ron Paul volunteers, and we filled the “mosh pit”. We cheered loudly for Dr. No, and we made a huge impression. A senior campaign staffer told me that Ron Paul was very very thrilled with our enthusiasm.
Later I handed out more literature, chatted with reporters and other volunteers, and had a great time.
Around 6:45 PM we all headed to the Hilton Coliseum to hear the results. Some voting machine screw up delayed the announcement for a long time, but we kept cheering and chanting for Ron Paul for almost the whole time we waited.
I had hoped that we would get higher than 5th place, but I am certainly not disappointed with our showing. The polls showed us at 2%, and we got 10%. We worked hard, and we got our message out. We got noticed. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but we’re making progress.
I have slept maybe 6 hours in the last two days. Both of my feet have blisters on them. I have a sunburn. It is all worth it. We’re going to keep working hard, keep fighting hard, and we’re going to advance the agenda of the freedom movement!
Tomorrow I will get in the car and head back to Spokane and start working on my Ron Paul fund raiser on the 20th. We’re going to have a great time, and we’re going to raise a lot of money. Vive La rEVOLution!
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