Maryland Straw Poll

[inibo]

I just found out today that the Maryland Straw Poll is next Saturday, Aug 25

http://fredthompson.meetup.com/2/ (All 12 of them) is planning a meetup. I'm encouraging the 250+ members of the two meetups I'm in to pay them a visit.

I have no idea the significance of this poll. But I would love to be a part of crushing it.


http://openqbl.org/preview/md_straw_poll.jpg

[peacemonger]

It looks to me like they have rigged the rules on this poll so that Ron Paul can not be on the ballot. If I was not so far away I would go there with my Ron Paul sign and convert some voters. It is really not that difficult. Rudy McRomneyson supporters are not really passionate about their candidate.

[skiingff]

It looks to me like they have rigged the rules on this poll so that Ron Paul can not be on the ballot. If I was not so far away I would go there with my Ron Paul sign and convert some voters. It is really not that difficult. Rudy McRomneyson supporters are not really passionate about their candidate.
Yea he can, it says OR participated in a televised debate...

[njandrewg]

seems like it was rigged to allow Thompson

[inibo]

seems like it was rigged to allow Thompson

Bingo!

Ergo Crush

[hvac ak47]

Hey where is the fair? I live on the eastern shore of Maryland and would love to go. I know 10 others who woud go and support Ron.

[BuddyRey]

Can only MD residents vote in the poll? If not, my dad and I have to start planning a non-work related road trip!

[mrchubbs]

Hey where is the fair? I live on the eastern shore of Maryland and would love to go. I know 10 others who woud go and support Ron.


Timonium fairgrounds I believe. Just north of Baltimore.

[mrchubbs]

Can only MD residents vote in the poll? If not, my dad and I have to start planning a non-work related road trip!

Photo ID required...

See this link:

http://www.mdgop.org/Calendar/Detail.aspx?EventID=7656

[shrugged0106]

I will vote there today!

http://polwatchers.typepad.com/pol_watchers/2007/08/graysons-booth-.html

Visitors to this year’s Kentucky State Fair in Louisville that starts Thursday will get a chance to make known their opinion on who should be the next president of the United States.

Secretary of State Trey Grayson’s office will have a booth at the fair that will will conduct a straw poll for the 2008 presidential race.






I hear the Poll will be throughout the entire duration of the fair.

[mrchubbs]

And it looks like it is going to be on Friday August 24th NOT Saturday according to the link in the previous post.

[Cowlesy]

seems like it was rigged to allow Thompson

Correct.

[inibo]

And it looks like it is going to be on Friday August 24th NOT Saturday according to the link in the previous post.

It appears from this link http://www.mdgop.org/Calendar/Detail.aspx?EventID=7656 that the voting will be going on throughout the duration of the fair: Friday, August 24, 2007 10 AM - Monday, September 03, 2007 10 PM

There have to be close to 1,000 Marland/DC area Ron Paul MeetUp members if not more. If all Maryland residents on those MeetUps attend and bring their friends and families we should be able to blow this out.


COME ON FOLKS: IT'S OUR TURN!

[Bergie Bergeron]

Bump for Sticky !

[robatsu]

Yes, a few shreds of democracy still remain here in the People's Republic of Maryland. And they are going to let the inmates here have alittle say so in the next Presidential election.

So let all your Maryland friends know about this straw poll. Well, if they aren't going to vote for RP, don't let them know, but not really sure if i could call some one a "friend" if they weren't for RP. Anyhow,

http://www.mdgop.org/Calendar/Detail.aspx?EventID=7656

Because if RP can make it here, he can make it anywhere.

[inibo]

I've been hitting up the meetups I'm on and trying to get the word out. If we don't bring a thousand votes to that poll we suck.

[inibo]

BTW http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=12826

Merge please, and a sticky.

Were gonna do this.

[itsnobody]

Well I'll be going...thanks for this

[Paul4Prez]

This looks like an opportunity for a big Ron Paul victory....

[robatsu]

Other than the obvious meetup group stuff, how can we boost RP votes? Some bus for nursing home people? I'm around the 24th and 25th, then out of town for two weeks, me I'm sure I'm good so far for about 20 votes from people I know and their nets, but how do we smoke this? I guess I'm unimaginative.

[specsaregood]

//

[inibo]

Other than the obvious meetup group stuff, how can we boost RP votes? Some bus for nursing home people? I'm around the 24th and 25th, then out of town for two weeks, me I'm sure I'm good so far for about 20 votes from people I know and their nets, but how do we smoke this? I guess I'm unimaginative.

The way we smoke this is get every Maryland area MeetUp member--there's got to be close to five hundred--to bring themselves and at least one other person. I tried to join all the Maryland groups today just to send the word out, but I discovered you can only send messages to 3 groups a day.

I'm going to try to join and post a meet up request and/or message on all the MeetUp sites and ask that they send to their lists. Seriously, if we can get all the meetups mobilized it should be easy.

BTW, that was good call on that message about Perry and the Trans-Texas corridor. We don't need that getting in the way of the Message.

CK aka Chris ;)

[OceanMachine7]

So do we know that the voting is taking place throughout the weekend? I can't attend on Saturday but might be able to go on Sunday.

[specsaregood]

//

[mrchubbs]

Other than the obvious meetup group stuff, how can we boost RP votes? Some bus for nursing home people? I'm around the 24th and 25th, then out of town for two weeks, me I'm sure I'm good so far for about 20 votes from people I know and their nets, but how do we smoke this? I guess I'm unimaginative.

According to the MD GOP site the Poll is on Friday, not Saturday.

[Utterly]

I checked the MD GOP site (someone else posted a link for it) and it does not say anything about the straw poll being limited to one day. I think it will run the whole time the fair is open.

The GOP booth will be in the main exhibition hall. Our meetup group will have a Ron Paul table in the GOP booth. Only one person can man the table at a time. And we cannot hand out materials away from the table.

The fairgrounds are north of Baltimore (Timonium). Take I-83 North off I-695. Go a couple exits to Padonia Road (exit 17). Go east. Then make a right on York Road and a right into the fairgrounds.

If someone knows for sure that the polling is only on one day, please confirm and post ASAP. I am planning on being there on Sunday.:D

[robatsu]

Maryland GOP Straw Poll Site (http://www.mdgop.org/Calendar/Detail.aspx?EventID=7656) states the following about the poll:

When: Friday, August 24, 2007 10 AM - Monday, September 03, 2007 10 PM
Where: Exhibition Hall
State Fairgrounds
Timonium, MD

So it looks like a multi-day affair.

[robatsu]

The way we smoke this is get every Maryland area MeetUp member--there's got to be close to five hundred--to bring themselves and at least one other person. I tried to join all the Maryland groups today just to send the word out, but I discovered you can only send messages to 3 groups a day.

I'm going to try to join and post a meet up request and/or message on all the MeetUp sites and ask that they send to their lists. Seriously, if we can get all the meetups mobilized it should be easy.

BTW, that was good call on that message about Perry and the Trans-Texas corridor. We don't need that getting in the way of the Message.

CK aka Chris ;)

Inibo, one other way to smoke this would be to get RP there for a day, sure would draw in meetup people, and if RP is in town, wouldn't be too much travel to get up to Baltimore. Unless someone else is working this angle, I'll call the campaign tomorrow, see if it is possible. This would be a huge hit if we could do this.

[inibo]

I checked the MD GOP site (someone else posted a link for it) and it does not say anything about the straw poll being limited to one day. I think it will run the whole time the fair is open.

The GOP booth will be in the main exhibition hall. Our meetup group will have a Ron Paul table in the GOP booth. Only one person can man the table at a time. And we cannot hand out materials away from the table.

The fairgrounds are north of Baltimore (Timonium). Take I-83 North off I-695. Go a couple exits to Padonia Road (exit 17). Go east. Then make a right on York Road and a right into the fairgrounds.

If someone knows for sure that the polling is only on one day, please confirm and post ASAP. I am planning on being there on Sunday.:D

I will be calling the number listed on the GOP website tomorrow to confirm the dates for the voting and the eligibility rules. I'm going to call HQ in Arlington as well to see if there is the slightest possibility that we could get the Congressman to make an appearance. (I'm also going to be checking into the possibility of visiting his congressional office if he's in town this week to get him to autograph a couple of Ames ads for me. If that works out I'll ask him to come to the fair myself.)

After all the efforts from Ron Paul supporters all over the country we owe it them and ourselves to make a push here in the DC area.

[specsaregood]

The GOP booth will be in the main exhibition hall. Our meetup group will have a Ron Paul table in the GOP booth. Only one person can man the table at a time. And we cannot hand out materials away from the table.


This is good news.

Question, "Can't hand out materials away from the table."
We can still work the parking lots and entrances or exit ramps I assume.
Get people coming into the fair. Chances are they won't even know about the straw poll. Let them know and let them know there is an anti-war republican running.

[wgadget]

Yep, it sounds like a perfect opportunity to campaign for Dr. Paul as well as to help him win yet another straw poll.:D

Drag 'em in, comrades!

[zhughes315]

I'm in..

[itsnobody]

What do you think the total voter turn-out will be? Since it's a state fair over a period of days I say at least 1000...

Well I'll be showing up

[robatsu]

What do you think the total voter turn-out will be? Since it's a state fair over a period of days I say at least 1000...



Dunno, but if Inibo gets a RP visit, we should be able to draw a lot of people. Absent any shenanigans, it seems like we should be able to win this, so long as we can get the word out. My belief is that most meetups in MD will have heard about this over the next couple of days, I've spread word to some, so has Inibo. Anyhow, most meetups probably have at least one or two people in this board, so it is hard to imagine that most RP supporters will not have heard of this event by the end of this week, plus the poll runs for a week.

The one thing that is surprising about Maryland, though, is for as small as the state is, it can be surprisingly long between two points in the same state. Like to drive from western MD to Ocean city is something like 8 hours, which you wouldn't think possible for one of the smallest states in the country. But I suppose that's nothing for Texas.

Me, I'd like to see a 1000, but these sorts of things, who ever really can say in advance how much/how many. I can say RP events I've attended have always exceeded my expectations/doubts/worries, but relying too much on that leads to complacency.

We're having a sign waving for Dr. Paul at Shady Grove Metro in Gaithersburg MD, tomorrow, 5:00-6:30 pm, with an airplane advertising flyover.

http://ronpaul.meetup.com/77/calendar/6207677/

[itsnobody]

Dunno, but if Inibo gets a RP visit, we should be able to draw a lot of people. Absent any shenanigans, it seems like we should be able to win this, so long as we can get the word out. My belief is that most meetups in MD will have heard about this over the next couple of days, I've spread word to some, so has Inibo. Anyhow, most meetups probably have at least one or two people in this board, so it is hard to imagine that most RP supporters will not have heard of this event by the end of this week, plus the poll runs for a week.

The one thing that is surprising about Maryland, though, is for as small as the state is, it can be surprisingly long between two points in the same state. Like to drive from western MD to Ocean city is something like 8 hours, which you wouldn't think possible for one of the smallest states in the country. But I suppose that's nothing for Texas.

Me, I'd like to see a 1000, but these sorts of things, who ever really can say in advance how much/how many. I can say RP events I've attended have always exceeded my expectations/doubts/worries, but relying too much on that leads to complacency.

We're having a sign waving for Dr. Paul at Shady Grove Metro in Gaithersburg MD, tomorrow, 5:00-6:30 pm, with an airplane advertising flyover.

http://ronpaul.meetup.com/77/calendar/6207677/

Well I'm pretty sure there will be over 1,000 votes (don't know how much will be for Ron Paul) because it's taking place over a period of 10 days (August 24th - Sept. 3rd)...so over 10 days a State fair should get at least 1000 votes (with at least 100 votes per day)...

I'm in that meetup group, but I'm not sure if I can make it tommorow at Shady Grove, so I just RSVP as maybe

Oh yeah, I'm not sure if you know this but the Belly of the Beast meetup group is also meeting up in Shady Grove tommorow, so there will probably be more people than expected there

[inibo]

Here is the list of Maryland/DC area MeetUps. I've joined them all. I have discovered that you can only send to three different groups a day so I'm checking their message archives and boards to see if anyone has posted about the Fair. If you are on any of those groups PLEASE make sure they are aware of this. There are 975 members. I realize some are members of multiple groups like I am and not all are Maryland residents, but we still need to let them know. I suspect there are at least 200 - 500 Maryland residents represented. Even those who are not residents can come to the Fair and show their support. If nothing else they can come out to the Fair for a fun day of corn dogs and crab cakes. Just be sure to wear a Ron Paul shirt.


MeetUp City State Members
376 Washington DC 37
379 Washington DC 147
13 Catonsville MD 142
223 College Park MD 39
129 Dayton MD 27
491 Hagerstown MD 27
217 Hughesville MD 20
567 Mount Airy MD 11
214 Pasadena MD 50
77 Rockville MD 86
375 Westminster MD 24
316 Alexandria VA 40
366 Arlington VA 33
30 Arlington VA 177
382 Falls Church VA 21
20 Manassas VA 81
564 Shepherdstown WV 13

I wish I had know about this before a couple of days ago. We could have shot for ads on the local radios stations, but I doubt we could pull that off before Friday.

Once again I am going to confirm the duration of the voting and the eligibility rules tomorrow and I'll post as soon as I know.

[robatsu]

Here is the list of Maryland/DC area MeetUps. I've joined them all. I have discovered that you can only send to three different groups a day so I'm checking their message archives and boards to see if anyone has posted about the Fair. If you are on any of those groups PLEASE make sure they are aware of this. There are 975 members. I realize some are members of multiple groups like I am and not all are Maryland residents, but we still need to let them know. I suspect there are at least 200 - 500 Maryland residents represented. Even those who are not residents can come to the Fair and show their support. If nothing else they can come out to the Fair for a fun day of corn dogs and crab cakes. Just be sure to wear a Ron Paul shirt.


MeetUp City State Members
376 Washington DC 37
379 Washington DC 147
13 Catonsville MD 142
223 College Park MD 39
129 Dayton MD 27
491 Hagerstown MD 27
217 Hughesville MD 20
567 Mount Airy MD 11
214 Pasadena MD 50
77 Rockville MD 86
375 Westminster MD 24
316 Alexandria VA 40
366 Arlington VA 33
30 Arlington VA 177
382 Falls Church VA 21
20 Manassas VA 81
564 Shepherdstown WV 13

I wish I had know about this before a couple of days ago. We could have shot for ads on the local radios stations, but I doubt we could pull that off before Friday.

Once again I am going to confirm the duration of the voting and the eligibility rules tomorrow and I'll post as soon as I know.

Man, meetup makes this stuff tough. I managed to get a message out to Hagerstown meetup, but then no more, apparently I've hit some daily limit with the other meetups I've posted to during the day.

Anyone with meetup message "bandwidth" so to speak, please post something like the following to any Maryland meetups:

The Maryland GOP is having a straw poll at the MD state fair this year. It will run for the duration of the fair, although details may change. Several of the activists around the state are trying to spread the word, if you belong to other Maryland meetups that haven't gotten the word out to their members, please pass it on. Of course, please also go enjoy the state fair and while you are there, please help show that Ron Paul's support is huge and translates into wins in real world polls, not just online ones.

http://www.mdgop.org/Calendar/Detail.aspx?EventID=7656

Jay Roberts
Silver Spring, MD

[inibo]

MeetUp City State
30 Arlington VA
77 Rockville MD
214 Pasadena MD
217 Hughesville MD
223 College Park MD
491 Hagerstown MD


It appears these groups have had someone post about the poll. Perhaps the others have as well. I will continue to check and make sure all the others have been notified.

[Paul4Prez]

Man, meetup makes this stuff tough.

If the freedom movement Ron Paul has jump-started is to keep going strong after this election, we will need something better than Meetup....

Anyone out there will the skills to develop some national organizing software, similar to Meetup, but with a hierarchical structure, user diaries, forums, chat, videos, pictures, fundraising tools, email lists.... and any other features that might come in handy? Just a thought.

[robatsu]

I'm thinking at this point, the meetup stuff will take care of itself - I'll be posting all week in meetups w/no message.

But if you go into these meetups and start poking around the memberships, a significant fraction of the members belong to upwards of 5 or 6 groups, so there is a lot of crossover, and all the meetup people in Maryland will know about this poll before it is over.

The next thing is to figure out how to get non-Paul people in there to vote. I've posted letters to editor at Gazette. I'm thinking of looking for Maryland specific forums that are not RP but might have a natural constituency for RP (gun owners, for example) and try to drop a heads up w/out being obnoxious.

[robatsu]

Oooh, found a little loophole in this meetup morass.

I can email the organizer, so now I just sent the following to Glen Litsinger, the Mt Airy RP Meetup organizer, I'm going to start sending it to others:

***************************
Hi Glen,

A number of us Marylanders are trying to
ensure that all the meetup groups have heard about the upcoming
Maryland straw poll. We want Maryland to meet the high bar
that other states such as Alabama and NH are showing. Anyhow,
meetup makes this real difficult, but I'm sifting through the
MD meetup groups, looking at their messages, if I don't see
anything there about Maryland GOP Straw Poll that will be held
at the Maryland State Fair, I'm contacting the organizer with
the hope that they will relay the message to their meetup group
(s).

The poll is free, is being held from Aug 25th to Sep 3rd at the
Maryland State Fair at the GOP booth. We're hoping for a
strong Ron Paul showing, actually, a lopsided landslide, just
like you are no doubt, so we hope you'll help spread the word.

Thanks,

Jay Roberts
Silver Spring, MD

[inibo]

If the freedom movement Ron Paul has jump-started is to keep going strong after this election, we will need something better than Meetup....

Anyone out there will the skills to develop some national organizing software, similar to Meetup, but with a hierarchical structure, user diaries, forums, chat, videos, pictures, fundraising tools, email lists.... and any other features that might come in handy? Just a thought.

This looks promising http://ronpaulnetwork.info/forum/

They have set it up so you have to get validated through an e-mail sent to your MeetUp account. It won't keep out determined trolls, but it should eliminate the drivebys. I just joined it yesterday, but it looks well organized and could be a valuable resource.

[inibo]

MeetUp City State
30 Arlington VA
77 Rockville MD
214 Pasadena MD
217 Hughesville MD
223 College Park MD
491 Hagerstown MD
13 Catonsville MD
20 Manassas VA
129 Dayton MD


I have now confirmed that these groups have been notified. I've hit my three group limit for today. I will continue checking tomorrow.

[robatsu]

This looks promising http://ronpaulnetwork.info/forum/

They have set it up so you have to get validated through an e-mail sent to your MeetUp account. It won't keep out determined trolls, but it should eliminate the drivebys. I just joined it yesterday, but it looks well organized and could be a valuable resource.


I signed up for this today. Thanks for the lead on this. Meetup is a nightmare, my hat is off to Jennifer Reynolds on her work with this for the college stuff.

[robatsu]

Ok, heard back today from some of the Maryland Meetup organizers. Not everyone has heard about this yet, but if we keep plugging away, I'm pretty sure we'll have the maryland meetups fully informed by the end of the week.

[inibo]

Word from Campaign HQ is that Congressman Paul cannot come to the fair due to prior commitments. Someone from the campaign is going to be there. Who or when I don't know. If I hear any more I'll post it here.

[robatsu]

Word from Campaign HQ is that Congressman Paul cannot come to the fair due to prior commitments. Someone from the campaign is going to be there. Who or when I don't know. If I hear any more I'll post it here.

Well, we'll just have to do without him, although he sure would have been a wonderful draw, obviously. We have to make sure all the meetups know about the poll, which I think is largely accomplished, and they are generating local interest. The catonsville meetup is organizing some kind of promotion activities - what we can do inside the fair perimeter is pretty limited, but they are going to do something parking lot/entrance gates.

Maybe we should figure if there is anything we could do w/MoCo meetup? W/the flyover cancelled today for inclement weather, there are people sort of pumped up to do something that need a release.

[inibo]

Some folks in Virginia are also expressing interest, if only to show support. I think it would be great if we could schedule a regional MeetUp on one of the weekend days. I'd like to see an army of Ron Paul t-shirts there.

[father963]

We're Central Virginia Ron Paul Meetup..don't be fooled by our size. We are ALL the active members from the Richmond Group. Long story better left to die. We're just a couple of weeks old, but motivated.

We've got some folks that are doing RP events this weekend tentatively just because their things are packed to go to Maryland should the call come.

Post new information to ronpaulnetwork.info where we are listening. (thank goodness someone else is pushing that site. Meetup #$% #$#@ #$#$ #$#2% #$@#....)

Did I type that out loud?

Or join Central Virginia Ron Paul Meetup for a day and post your message in your introduction. This is my fix for the email limit at meetup. Did I mention Meetup #$@%@ #$@ #$@^ %#%.....but I'm glad they were there at first. They should add an email function for a small fee. They're dropping the ball.

Allan

[torchbearer]

Word from Campaign HQ is that Congressman Paul cannot come to the fair due to prior commitments. Someone from the campaign is going to be there. Who or when I don't know. If I hear any more I'll post it here.

You need to fly that preacher guy from Alabama up there to speak for Ron Paul... ;)

[inibo]

You need to fly that preacher guy from Alabama up there to speak for Ron Paul... ;)

I told Amanda, the event coordinator, the same thing. :D

Truth be told, though, much as he gave goose bumps, he's not the ideal guy for Maryland.

[Marshall]

I'll be there on Sunday, and bringing four people minimum with me.

[tangent4ronpaul]

I am the Catonsville MD Meetup Organizer and I'm organizing this event.

We NEED VOLUNTEERS, SUPPLIES and MONEY!

If you are interested, please e-mail me at tangent4ronpaul@yahoo.com with "STATE FAIR" as the subject. My PM mail spool is 98% full!!!! for PM's eak!

We need balloons, helium, bumper stickers, flyers, yard signs, buttons and so on. We are in DIRE need of a good laptop/AV setup! (think BATTERIES - and no electricity...)

Jobs available:

aerial banner ground grew.
Balloon handout (to kids w/ RP flyer on string - small...)
GOP booth representative
maybe windshield wiper flyer distributor (flyers allowing), sign wave, and ppl in Paul T's w/ a big pocket full of slim jims wandering the fair and responding to anyone that asks... (or maybe being a bit more aggressive - cops permitting...)
Highway banner brigade - including fabrication....
MD residents willing to undergo voter registration volunteer training (15 min)

It's 12 days - we need LOTS of manpower! Not that much on any particular day, but we need a LOT of coverage!

Here is a notice I have sent out to a few MD organizers and will be propagated further. It addresses these issues:

================================================== ======
Hi Guys and Gals,

we are drawing near the absolute best chances we have to win this state for Dr. Paul and need to pull together.

The state fair is starting next Saturday and will run 12 days. 600,000 people will attend. That is 1 out of every 10 Maryland residents. 50,000 people will come on any average given day. The opening and closing weekend will see the most. Evenings will see more people.

Like other fairs in the state, staffing - or lack of it - is a problem. So are supplies and presentation materials.

The MDGOP has given us a spot in their booth. This is where the straw poll and voter registration drive will happen. We only get one person at a time there and to quote them: "If it starts looking like a Ron Paul booth and not a MDGOP booth, then that access will go away". We are not allowed to having anything in that booth larger than a yard sign, and only one volunteer at a time. Volunteers approaching people in the hallway in front of the booth will be removed from the fair by the state police.

Not the most encouraging rules of operation, but it is their booth - and it's FREE!

Here is my plan for dominating this event, and I am very open to others suggestions:

1) we keep that table staffed, limit our area of influence. Don't count on a space wider than a yard sign and a fold up tables width. If our volunteers can go through voter registration volunteer training, we will be an asset to the MDGOP. In Baltimore County this is done on a drop in basis and takes about 15 minutes. The county board of elections will do it. If we can schedule it, they will do a mass training after office hours, but want at least 15-20 people showing up.

1a) We need table supplies desperately! We've got about 80 DVD's, 300 buttons, 250 yard signs, 1,300+ bumper stickers and a thousand slim jims. Who's got extra stuff??? Can anyone put in rush orders? We will keep track of what Meetup contributed what, and divide donations back to Meetup groups back on a cost replacement basis (ratio). That means you should get more back than what the supplies cost you. On the button end, we have a button machine and supplies to make another ~1,000 buttons. Button parts are about $100 per 1,000 parts. We'd like to order thousands more. We are thinking about passing this machine around if volunteers are willing to devote a full day or two to button making. Look at the supplies and consider - 600,000 attendees. We simply do not have enough! (ummm... hello campaign? could we get at least 30,000 slim jims?/bumper stickers?/ANYTHING ELSE????)

1b) As we can be at the table, we REALLY NEED AV! I have been told that no other campaign is expected to show up. Some may drop off campaign literature to pass out. This gives us a HUGE advantage! We have permission to have a laptop or similar device (no larger than a yard sign). The catch is the booth does not have electricity so we are looking for multiple long lasting batteries and a recharger hosted nearby. I'm thinking the type of thing that is on FreeMe.tv. Anyone have something like that? We could maybe buy another battery or two. In past years, the MDGOP booth has not paid for an electrical outlet, but found themselves on top of an outlet anyway. The odds of this happening are not likely. Remember, this is the Maryland Straw Poll and influence right before vote goes a LONG WAY! FreeMe.tv also broadcasts some weird, but attention getting things interspersed w/ Dr. Paul's highlights and that keeps people interested and watching... Crowd bait!

2) There are 2 main engress/egress routes to the Timonium fairgrounds. One is prime, the other secondary. I want to put someone in front of the main gate handing a balloon to EVERY kid that walks into the place. Tied to this balloon, at eye height for adults on the string will be a small flyer. A slight modification of the following is what I have in mind:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=172002&op=14&o=all&view=all&subj=2229718737&aid=-1&id=506555954

(see attachment too)

I'm estimating the cost per balloon/flyer will be in the 10-15 cents range - could be a bit higher. I do not know the ratio of adults to kids at these things, anyone? I've noticed that a lot of kids come... 8 up on a 11 x 17 sheet, these run around $460 IIRC, dollars per 40,000 copies. Each 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".

Helium tank rental will be a headache - both because we will run out of it so fast, but also due to cost. First there is the "party gas" vs 100% helium issue, that only delivers 25-30% helium - enough for 8 hr loft. Second is the safety tank issue that holds much less gas. The largest one will only fill 500 balloons. Traditional tanks hold much more and can take off like a rocket if the stem is broken. It's a cost/safety/training issue. A 50 pound tank flying uncontrolled through the air at considerable velocity is NOT a pretty sight! Strapping the sucker into a dolly solves many of these problems. But High capacity tanks should probably not be handled by people with no experience or training - as minimal as it is. Basicly, treat it with respect. It's heavy, aquwerd((sp?), and if you drop it against a vertical solid surface, you could break off the stem - turning it into an unguided rocket. It's a remote risk, very remote, but happens. I have been trained in this aspect and handled high capacity tanks of medical 02 daily in prior jobs.

3) Aerial banners. I want to launch 2-3 aerial banners - Tyvex or sail/kite cloth, reinforced with carbon or fiberglass rod and tethered to the ground so they are under 150' (the FAA limit - though higher can be done with a flag or something to announce it's presence every 500 ' up to, I believe 5,000 feet and not near airports, etc.). There is a kite material that is prismatic/holographic and throws off rainbows - real attention getter! Keep in mind that minimum readable distances for letters at 300' is about a 8" letter height. 12" is better! I have sources for weather balloons and lift capability data. This will all be in the Ron Paul Aerial Operations Guide that I'm working on, and covers much more than balloons... If we can develop this kind of a kit, we will be able to ship it off to other Meetups to use for major events. Everything but the "He" would break down and fit in a shipping tube. Lacking weather balloons (for their size), a group of mylar balloons might be much more cost effective. Latex ballons leak helium fast! Mylar balloons can keep it in a week!

On college campus recruiting. This is PRIME TIME! Schools are about to start up. I have tried e-mailing Jeff Frazze(sp?) ( the campaign youth coordinator) a number of times. Do not recall any reply. I'm informed by the person organizing "Operation College Campus Blitz" that she has talked to the campaign and Jeff, and that something is in the words in a few weeks to reach out to campuses. School is atarting now and the most attention to info input for new students is billboards and tables. They will acclimatize and stop paying attention shortly.

4) Banners off overpasses. We have the Tyvex to make perhaps 200 more banners. Not enough black, red and blue spray paint. 3:1:1 or 4:1 for the Ron Paul revolution banner. Depends on your design. The turn out at the first banner party was good. Not so at the second one. The first one we made a lot of templets(sp?) out of coroplast sheets, to make more banners. A time consuming task. However, it means we can kick out banners really fast - as there should be 5-6 templets(sp?) out there, perhaps more! That means that with a good turnout - we can kick out banners really fast! We could use more Tyvex too - Deep stockpile and wider spread is always good! Jim currently has our materials and he is apparently on vacation. I'm not sure when he will be back. (Jim?) We need more: LOTS!: spray paint, and 3/4" and 1/2" grommets as well as ties. Advertising the straw poll via banners, mostly (3:1 for general straw poll vs vote Paul straw pole.) on overpasses and then the kid balloon followed by AV and handouts + volunteer at the the point of vote should have a good effect!

OK - the debate... We got dealt the "race card" - which totally sucks! as the majority of our supporters are white. (re: debate). Then again, so is most of the country... 18% black, IIRC. And on a predominantly black college campus....

Anyway, we need to deal with how to promote a candidate in this atmosphere. I understand that other Meetups in MD have black members. We have had once, by 4 people. I believe 3 of them were guests. Three of them looked fairly young.

We need to reach out to neighboring states Meetups on the boarders. Maybe pull in NOVA. This is a potential big win for us, if we can get enough penetration. We need materials, manpower and money though.

It would be really cool if we could get some Ron Paul cameo appearances, or scheduled appearances that we could advertise.

The huge expenses to do this right will be tableing supplies, helium, flyers, balloons and string. Tyvex and spray paint are secondary.

We should call in to radio shows!

4) School is starting soon. Apart from the notices of "Operation college campus blitz", College students, in my experience (and I have close contact with some - was one a brief while ago.), They seem to go for the anti-War on Drugs and anti-Internet regulation as well as anti-draft issue. We need to emphasize these.

We NEED college groups, and right now is when new students are paying attention to the notice cork boards - To let them know what is going on. In a very short while, they will mostly ignore them.

Now is a very critical time to coagulating the Ron Paul Movement - and it can not wait, or fuss over fractions. (Time of the year is everything. MD isn't that important in the election). We NEED total cooperation across the board! This applies to ALL states and all regions.

Placing flyers on bulletin boards that encourage students to form Ron Paul groups and introduce them to him seems a very good idea. We can't flyer all 4,140 accredited colleges. But a hour sweep of their bulletin boards is VERY feasible! 17 MILLION people are enrolled in degree granting programs right now - and they will all line up in the registration line and bookstore line within the next 2 weeks. What easy targets!

Right now new and returning college students are scoping out their new territory. They are paying attention to everything.

We need to move this movement forward. Now is a critical time for action!

If you are a MD Meetup organizer, please send this out to your group. ditto for neighboring states.

thanks,

-n
================================================== =====





The MD groups need to step up and work the fairgrounds hard.
Inibo has said he will inquire into getting a booth in the exhibition hall where the voting takes place.

Key points: You don't need to be a Republican voter to vote in the straw poll. So an active group of Ron Paul supporters should also be able to pull in a lot of anti-war independents, democrats, disenfranchised non-voters INTO the straw poll voting booth. Especially since it is free to vote!

If RP supporters work the fair grounds hard, there is no reason we can't blow this straw poll away.

But it is up to the MD people to setup the infrastructure of support. I'd be willing to drive down from NJ to help out; I bet we can get some philly people to do the same. If you MD supporters organize it, we can win!

[LibertyEagle]

Someone else on this board recommended a Speakers' Bureau be put together. I thought that sounded like a great idea.

[specsaregood]

//

[specsaregood]

//

[itsnobody]

Did you guys hear that?



The state fair is starting next Saturday and will run 12 days. 600,000 people will attend. That is 1 out of every 10 Maryland residents. 50,000 people will come on any average given day. The opening and closing weekend will see the most. Evenings will see more people.

If 600,000 people will attend then we can expect a huge voter turn out, maybe even more than in Iowa (which was like 14,000 votes total), so if we get Ron Paul to win this straw poll it'll be more significant....remember voting is free and to get into the state fair only costs $6, so the voter turn out will likely be very high (if 600,00 people really attend)

[specsaregood]

Did you guys hear that?


If 600,000 people will attend then we can expect a huge voter turn out, maybe even more than in Iowa (which was like 14,000 votes total), so if we get Ron Paul to win this straw poll it'll be more significant....remember voting is free and to get into the state fair only costs $6, so the voter turn out will likely be very high (if 600,00 people really attend)

Which is why we need to also hit hard with the anti-war message. Since this is NOT limited to republicans, Democrats and Independents can also be pulled in to vote for the only ANTI-WAR candidate!

This would show that RP is the only one that can win the General Election.

[inibo]

(ummm... hello campaign? could we get at least 30,000 slim jims?

I'm calling them right now. I know they have lots of them at HQ. I'll post something in a few minutes.

BTW, Thanks for doing this. I am a total amateur when it come to any of this stuff and for a few days after I found out about it it looked to me like I was the only one who knew about it. I'm looking forward to shaking your hand.

[Shink]

Did you guys hear that?


If 600,000 people will attend then we can expect a huge voter turn out, maybe even more than in Iowa (which was like 14,000 votes total), so if we get Ron Paul to win this straw poll it'll be more significant....remember voting is free and to get into the state fair only costs $6, so the voter turn out will likely be very high (if 600,00 people really attend)

If these numbers are what's going to happen, don't you guys smell ROMNEYBUS stealing our thunder again? Maybe some sort of counter-bus operation can occur? Or any form of transit, really...

[specsaregood]

Has anybody put in an effort to make sure Libertarian and Constitution Party members in MD know about this straw poll?

Edit:
Libertarian Party of MD Contacts:
http://www.md.lp.org/state_party_contacts.php

Constitution Party of MD Contacts
http://www.constitutionparty.org/view_states.php?state=MD

Edit2: If nobody else has contacted them, I will later today.

[Shink]

Did you guys hear that?


If 600,000 people will attend then we can expect a huge voter turn out, maybe even more than in Iowa (which was like 14,000 votes total), so if we get Ron Paul to win this straw poll it'll be more significant....remember voting is free and to get into the state fair only costs $6, so the voter turn out will likely be very high (if 600,00 people really attend)

If these numbers are what's going to happen, don't you guys smell ROMNEYBUS stealing our thunder again? Maybe some sort of counter-bus operation can occur? Or any form of transit, really...

[inibo]

OK, HQ doesn't have 30,000. But they said I can come get a bunch. I suspect I can pick up 2 or 3,000 when I go over there tomorrow. They also have ordering information which I will get then as well--though I suspect that info is already floating around. What's the fastest way to get money to you. I can't offer much. If me bringing my checkbook to the Fair this Saturday or Sunday is too late, let me know if there is PayPal or something so I can give what I can ASAP.

[father963]

Here's what I told Tangent4ronpaul: an email was requested.
I have,
5K balloons - in hand
10K slimjims - in transit
5K bumper stickers - in transit
5K window stickers - in hand
~5K liberty cards - in hand
and we'll have 10K yard signs on Friday.

Is everybody on the same page?

Allan

[robatsu]

I am the Catonsville MD Meetup Organizer and I'm organizing this event.

We NEED VOLUNTEERS, SUPPLIES and MONEY!

If you are interested, please e-mail me at tangent4ronpaul@yahoo.com with "STATE FAIR" as the subject. My PM mail spool is 98% full!!!! for PM's eak!

We need balloons, helium, bumper stickers, flyers, yard signs, buttons and so on. We are in DIRE need of a good laptop/AV setup! (think BATTERIES - and no electricity...)



Picked up a big box of slim jims today from campaign hq. Looking into balloons - 10k to start sound good?

[robatsu]

Here's what I told Tangent4ronpaul: an email was requested.
I have,
5K balloons - in hand
10K slimjims - in transit
5K bumper stickers - in transit
5K window stickers - in hand
~5K liberty cards - in hand
and we'll have 10K yard signs on Friday.

Is everybody on the same page?

Allan

I'm not sure. What do we have an immediate need for. Me, I have about 3k slim jims. What do you (or somebody) think I should order and where can we deliver stuff?

[robatsu]

Also, although we are trying to have coverage for campaign materials, signs, etc, for the entire fair, do we think that maybe one day should be designated "RP Day", so that supporters, esp. out of state, who want to flood the place with people in RP shirts, have a day to focus on? Concentration of force and all? One big day is probably more newsworthy than a trickle every day for 12 days that might not get noticed, but one day where it seems like everyone in the crowd has a RP shirt? Might even make the Wash Post (yeah, when hell freezes, but worth a try).

[specsaregood]

Can I get confirmation that you don't have to be registered to vote in the Straw Poll? I'll see about contacting the LP and CP parties.

[inibo]

Can I get confirmation that you don't have to be registered to vote in the Straw Poll? I'll see about contacting the LP and CP parties.


Yes. I called MD GOP HQ yesterday. They said it is open to all Maryland residents. Photo ID required.

http://isilion.blogsome.com/2007/08/20/maryland-straw-poll-update/

[Shink]

I'll repeat myself here:

Do you guys foresee the Romneybuses being a damper for our otherwise very likely victory here?

[inibo]

do we think that maybe one day should be designated "RP Day", so that supporters, esp. out of state, who want to flood the place with people in RP shirts, have a day to focus on?

We should try to get a weekend day as a regional MeetUp. Anyone in the MeetUp coordinators' MeetUp? I'm getting tired of trying to e-mail all the groups, it is very frustrating to getting
Your message to ronpaul-###@meetup.com was not
sent because you've already sent messages to 3 Meetup Mailing Lists
today. As a precaution, group members can only send to 3 different
mailing lists in a 24 hour period.

:mad:

[McDermit]

I'll repeat myself here:

Do you guys foresee the Romneybuses being a damper for our otherwise very likely victory here?

Romney only seems to focus on the key states. MD is not one that he'd be focused on, and this poll doesn't appear to be on many radars..

[father963]

I'm not sure. What do we have an immediate need for. Me, I have about 3k slim jims. What do you (or somebody) think I should order and where can we deliver stuff?

I just called HQ about my order of 10K SJ and 5K Bumper S.

They will over-night only partial. I'm not sure how many. The rest will not make it. If you can't get any for yourself from HQ in time and you let me know soon enough, I will have this order shipped to someone there.

[father963]

We should try to get a weekend day as a regional MeetUp. Anyone in the MeetUp coordinators' MeetUp? I'm getting tired of trying to e-mail all the groups, it is very frustrating to getting
:mad:

Join and rejoin the Meetup group you're trying to contact, posting a message each time in your introduction. The organizer should be notified.

Yes, it's cheating, but Meetup should develop and grow with us, don't you think?

I'm maxed out as well.

Or we could all use ronpaulnetwork.info since it's set up for just this, and let Meetup be the recruitment tool.

[AcidReign]

I'll repeat myself here:

Do you guys foresee the Romneybuses being a damper for our otherwise very likely victory here?


The sad thing is Paul could possibly get more media attention for finishing second to Romney. Half way through kissing Romney's ass they may mention who finished 2nd and 3rd.

[father963]

The Law of MSM:

Where ever Ron Paul places, the MSM results will be posted for all the candidates placing higher. So if Ron Paul wins, the Poll never happened. Or he cheated with Diebold tactics. That would be a story!

[specsaregood]

Has anybody put in an effort to make sure Libertarian and Constitution Party members in MD know about this straw poll?

Edit:
Libertarian Party of MD Contacts:
http://www.md.lp.org/state_party_contacts.php

Constitution Party of MD Contacts
http://www.constitutionparty.org/view_states.php?state=MD

Edit2: If nobody else has contacted them, I will later today.

Ok, I talked to the MD Constitution Party contact and he was going to pass on the information.

I did not get an answer from the MD Libertarian Party, but have emailed them with the information and requested they inform their members.

[robatsu]

I guess I'm wondering where we are supposed to deliver stuff to, or will it just be mass convergence? That probably will work out good as anything.

Let's go ahead and pick a RP descend on State Fair day. It would seem that next weekend (not this) would be better for getting the word out, lead time for people, but might interfere with Labor Day plans for a lot of people. Then it gets down to saturday or sunday. I'm going to start a poll, see what people think.

[inibo]

It would seem that next weekend (not this) would be better for getting the word out, lead time for people, but might interfere with Labor Day plans for a lot of people. Then it gets down to saturday or sunday. I'm going to start a poll, see what people think.

Well, if we could get the MeetUp coordinators to announce it today or tomorrow we could probably get a pretty good crowd their one day this weekend. Saturday or Sunday is good for me, though my preference would be Sunday 'cause I'd like to spend most of the day Saturday at HQ. However if Saturday was the pick I'd be there. There is probably some merit to waiting for next weekend. It would give more time to get the word out. As for messing up labor day plans I'd say it's worth it, but I'm single and don't have to contend with a spouse or in-laws who had been looking forward to a trip to beach/mountains/childhood home/whatever for the past year.

Bottom line: name the day, I'm there.

[robatsu]

My opinion is that this weekend is better, and Saturday at that, even Labor Day aside. Seems like front loading it is best to generate interest, and especially in a state like Md, I don't think we have to worry about it generating a whole lot of blowback from other repubs, or even if we do, it is probably overthinking the whole thing.

My opinion is this saturday, the sooner the better. Maybe some folks will think it is so cool they'll get a motel room, stick around a couple of days to help.

[father963]

My opinion is that this weekend is better, and Saturday at that, even Labor Day aside. Seems like front loading it is best to generate interest, and especially in a state like Md, I don't think we have to worry about it generating a whole lot of blowback from other repubs, or even if we do, it is probably overthinking the whole thing.

My opinion is this saturday, the sooner the better. Maybe some folks will think it is so cool they'll get a motel room, stick around a couple of days to help.

It is cool. Iowa was the first political event I've ever been to. "In fact it's a gas." The revolution brings the love out and everyone is willing to do whatever for Ron Paul. I would say the sooner we newbies see the event the better. It made a world of difference to me. I'll be there more than once if at all possible.

Make it this Saturday, and I bet the next Saturday will be just as big.

[robatsu]

It is cool. Iowa was the first political event I've ever been to. "In fact it's a gas." The revolution brings the love out and everyone is willing to do whatever for Ron Paul. I would say the sooner we newbies see the event the better. It made a world of difference to me. I'll be there more than once if at all possible.

Make it this Saturday, and I bet the next Saturday will be just as big.

That is sort of my thinking, success breeds success.

[father963]

Let's put it this way: You can hold it next Saturday, but I'll be there on this one, and my money says you'll wish you had done both as big as you could have. As Ernie says, "Always say 'Yes'." We had some, "I wish we had thought of that." moments two weeks ago. Two days, a week apart, are going to give you opportunities to learn and test.

Lots of people are going to be learning and absorbing this process. The sooner the better. Spread the Message

Here's what I got:

5K balloons - in hand
2.5K slimjims - in transit (edit)
2.5K bumper stickers - in transit (edit)
5K window stickers - in hand RON in the Oval
~5K liberty cards - in hand
10K yard signs on Friday. 1' x 2' (very hand waveable coroplast sp?) Same as in the iowa poll speech on youtube.

I'm ball-parking five to six people from Central Virginia RPM (Ron Paul Meetut) on this Saturday. Who do I email direct for changes inquantities of PM, people hours and schedules?

It's time to get some RPMs going. Let's use the phones. Mine is 804 301-9375
I don't feel someone will abuse this. If they do, I'm sicking some folks in Maryland on them. They'll get Turped and won't know what hit them. Don't mess with us, we're on a righteous path. Ha!

Should someone call Justintv and Jeff?

[robatsu]

Mine is 301 219 4886. I'm trying to get in touch with tangent4ronpaul ("nathan" in meetup) who is the organizer of the Catonsville group that supposedly is sort of taking the lead on organizing this. Me, I wanted to hear from him before I throw down any more money as to what's desired in terms of materiel, and when/where/what for showing up.

[robatsu]

father963 makes a point. Shouldn't be anything holding anyone from coming back any day that they can. Weekend days probably have more people, but the effort is going to need people all week, so y'all come, bring what you can.

father963 has some local point of contact info I passed on if you want to get hooked up w/some local people, or you can call me (I don't want to be posting other peoples phone numbers online), although I'll be gone after Saturday. Or come and do your own independent operations, right? Used to be a free country, anyhow.

Hope to be seeing LOTS of you guys.

[itsnobody]

If these numbers are what's going to happen, don't you guys smell ROMNEYBUS stealing our thunder again? Maybe some sort of counter-bus operation can occur? Or any form of transit, really...

Well if 600,000 do show up at the state fair as predicted and 5% of the people at the State fair vote that's 30,000 votes....but I anticipate less so say around 10,000 votes total

But so far I've heard that no other campaign is planning to setup things there, so the RomneyBus might not show up

[father963]

I don't really want to see any other of the other candidate's supporters. What's their message anyway? I want to see you guys. it's going to be a good thing because Ron Paul is a good thing. Have you ever handed out a Ron Paul card a thought, "He's going to see the message." Imagine that en mass.

Just come and meet at Harrold's in the parking lot. You'll find it. Bring what you have. Loafs and Fishes. We are the strongest. Let's show it.

[robatsu]

Ok, Catonsville Meetup (http://ronpaul.meetup.com/13/) is doing day to day organizing of activities around Md State Fair, staffing GOP booth, whatever. Anyone wanting to coordinate their activities with locals, should get in touch w/Nathan, the organizer of this meetup. Or do your own fish and loaves thing. Anybody wanting some other local contact(s), let me know offline & I'll send somestuff on.

[inibo]

But so far I've heard that no other campaign is planning to setup things there, so the RomneyBus might not show up

Actually, I found out about the straw poll when I stumbled upon this: http://www.mdforfred.com/2007/08/16/meetup-maryland-state-fair/

I'm not too worried about it cause it links to a meetup with 12 members, only 2 of witch have rsvp'd "Yes" http://fredthompson.meetup.com/2/calendar/6077413/

[inibo]

<memory hole>

[tangent4ronpaul]

Any supporters that want to table, or help out otherwise, please come to the state fair any day you can. We will have a signup at the truck, which should be near the front gate. Failing that, come to the booth itself which will be located in the Exhibition hall and we will have the signup there. There is no need to RSVP - tableing slots will be available on a first come basis to people that are physically present at the fair to avoid no-shows and may be limited to 1 hour if enough people want to do it.

We have had lots of people say they will show up on the weekends, but we really need volunteers to table during the week - especially in the evening.

As we are not expecting to have electricity, if you have one, please bring a laptop capable of playing DVD's with a fully charged battery to use during your shift, or maybe let another volunteer use. That's probably the only way we are going to have AV.

Events around and outside the fair are going to be played by ear, depending on what fair security lets us do. Plan on a sign wave, and depending on when ordered supplies get here a balloon/flyer handout as well as trying to get some banners airborne. Please wear Ron Paul shirts.

thanks,

Nathan

[Zydeco]

Several of the local MD/DC meetup groups are sending up an airplane to fly over the Md. State Fair this weekend (it's looking like Saturday from 2-4, but I will post updates on this thread).

Anyway, we need something clever to go on the banner! We have 35 letters including spaces. My first idea was DEFEND YOUR LIBERTY -- VOTE RON PAUL.

Anyone do better?? Let me know -- best idea goes on the banner! :D

[Shink]

Just Come Home--vote Ron Paul 2008

[Johnnybags]

Several of the local MD/DC meetup groups are sending up an airplane to fly over the Md. State Fair this weekend (it's looking like Saturday from 2-4, but I will post updates on this thread).

Anyway, we need something clever to go on the banner! We have 35 letters including spaces. My first idea was DEFEND YOUR LIBERTY -- VOTE RON PAUL.

Anyone do better?? Let me know -- best idea goes on the banner! :D

I still like "Let Freedom Ring" - Vote Ron Paul - 08

[father963]

2008 RON PAUL 2008

Keep it simple

[tangent4ronpaul]

The fair and straw poll will start tomorrow, the 24th and run through the 3rd. 600,000 people will attend. That's one in 10 Maryland residents. This is our BEST chance to win this state!

We need RP supporters to show up and show their support. We will be tabling, sign waving, wearing RP shirts and passing out flyers/slim jims. We plan to pass out balloons to kids w/ a small RP flyer attached at eye height for adults, are going to try to fly an aerial banner or three, may have a banner party (we've got the stuff to make over 200 banners. Hanging them is fun too for some after the fair closes type activities), and saturate the area with Ron Paul's message. Beer and Pizza have been known to show up at these events - but lets keep the beer off the fairgrounds property unless you buy it there from an approved vendor. I'm not sure how the food and alcohol laws play in the fair grounds proper or the parking lots. On private property it isn't a problem. Oh - and the MD State Fair has some FANTASTIC EATS! Not to mention great rides!

You might table, make buttons, inflate balloons or thread a flyer on their string, hand them out, sign wave, be part of the aerial banner ground crew or just circulate in the crowd wearing Ron Paul garb and talking to/handing a flyer to anyone that notices your shirt or asks you about Ron Paul. You will definitely get to talk to fellow Ron Paul supporters and network with people of like mind. More than likely – many of those activities.

A PR stunt is scheduled for Tuesday at the RP van that will be Youtubed. It happens at 6pm, rain or shine.

We are supposed to have an aircraft fly around the fair towing a banner for about 2 hours this weekend or Monday.

All RP supporters in MD, DC, W. VA, PA, Delaware and VA are encouraged to attend!

We need a real show of strength here. We are dominating the Straw Polls, but Romney is on our heals. We need another landslide.

YOU can make that happen! Look for the RP truck(s) there should be 2 of them, at least on a day or two, but otherwise one, You can also look for RP shirts/go to the GOP booth in the exhibition hall and make contact with us.

If you are artistic, good at theatrical makeup or Halloween face painting, bring 2 chairs or stools and drop by a party supply shop to pick up a bunch of makeup. It's in season and not that expensive. Make them happy looking - this is a festive event. While painting up their kid for free (maybe ask for a donation), talk up the parental units about Dr. Paul. Hand them a slim jim and the kid a balloon w/ flyer. Encourage them to vote in the straw poll and tell them where to do it. btw: a qucikie cats wiskers and red or white nose or a heart on the cheek. Unless the kid absolutely insists, or the parents seem receptive but hesitant, refrain from full face painting, both from a time and materials viewpoint.

If you would like to learn how or already know how to make balloon animals out of those long, thin balloons - we have some on order, but not a lot. Might want to pick up more. It's an experiment. Same notes as to face painting apply. HowTo books on topic have been ordered and probably won't get here till middle of next week.

We do need supplies! If you have them, please bring them. There will be a log as to what group donated what, and any donations will be divided among the contributing groups according to their contribution in this area.

thanks,

Nathan

[inibo]

Nathan. You have my gratitude for taking the lead on this. I will be there both days this weekend. I have 2,500 slim-jims and I may be able to get some more. I am pondering taking at least one day off next week to try and cover some of the thin times, but that may not work out. I'm looking forward to meeting you and the rest of the folks who show up. We had a great time at the Montgomery County Fair with only five of us. I'm looking forward to being in a sea of RP t-shirts.

I'm hoping we'll be able to use this as jumping off point for taking advantage of the opportunity we have in Maryland far beyond this straw poll, the primaries and even the general election. We need to start organizing this energy to make Maryland a Ron Paul Revolution state.

[robatsu]

I'm going to be up there around 5-6 pm tomorrow, I can man the booth. I bought a megaphone (it is actually a little hard to find these on a shelf in a store. Hint: start looking at Radio Shack), if we are going to be needing that, have around 3k slim jims.

Saturday, I'm coming to the fair w/wife & 3 yo son, which limits the direct stuff I can do, although some sign waving is definitely in order & can probably do an hour or two of booth manning. Other than that, me, wife, & kid will be togged out in RP regalia, daring people in the crowd to ask us who is ron paul and should there a straw poll nearby, perchance?

It is all a little chaotic in the exact details, but pretty cool, just show up do your own thing or get hooked up w/Nathan & Andrew, who have an unlimited need for bodies. Promises to be fun. I'm just sad I'll be out of town starting Sunday & won't be able to go up anymore.

I'm also recruiting one of the guys who works w/me and lives near B'more to pick up some weekday slack.

[remaxjon]

bump I was told they needed more people. I can only work one day

[remaxjon]

bump

can anyone who is going post a schedule of when people are needed.

I will be there on the 3rd

[inibo]

Joe Seehusen, the Deputy Campaign National Manager will be there for a 10-20 minute speech on Saturday, September 1st at 6:00PM. He is hoping for a good crowd of Ron Paul supporters. He is also hoping to reach potential Republican primary voters.

I would hope that considering the target audience we would consider doing a modern version of Clean For Gene (http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/11/20/mccarthy2a/) (Am I showing my age?) I am, of course, not talking about haircuts and shaves, but the idea that to win the Presidency Ron Paul MUST win the Republican nomination, that means he MUST win Republican primaries, than means he MUST win Republicans. The media are doing all they can to paint Ron Paul and his supporters as fringe. The last thing we need to do is prove them right, at least in there own eyes. Ron Paul has a radical message: limited constitutional government. When a radical message is delivered by radical messengers it can be scary. When it is delivered by your friends and neighbors, people just like you, it is not so scary. Folks will think "if other ordinary people are saying this, maybe it's worth listening to." I'm not saying don't where your t-shirt and buttons, I'm not saying hide your enthusiasm. I'm saying show them just plain folks with something to be enthused about. Give them a reason to believe that ordinary people have a reason for hope.

I am not talking about selling out; I am talking about subversion of the highest order.

Does anyone yet have any idea of how many MeetUp people might be there next Saturday?

[tangent4ronpaul]

The MD State Fair and Straw Poll is happening NOW. We could use volunteers during the week, but especially on Saturday - Monday. On Tuesday at 6pm, there will be a publicity stunt that will be you-tubed at the Ron Paul van which is parked on York Road, across from the fair - by the Subway and shopping center.

We can use as much help here as possible - come hand out flyers and balloons, sign wave, make buttons, wear a RP shirt in the fair, table the GOP booth, etc.

Don't forget to vote for Ron Paul in the straw poll. You can also register to vote or change your party affiliation there, if you are not registered Republican yet.

Great Eats!, Great Rides! (during the week you can get an unlimited ride pass for $20 good for 5pm - 10pm)

So, come on down! - help Ron Paul and have a great time!

Nathan

[hvac ak47]

I was there sunday, only saw one person with a Ron Paul shirt and she was behind the booth. Picked up a sign from her and walked the fair from about 12 to 3. Seen a boat load of people with Obama shirts but nothing Ron Paul anywhere. Do the people working the booth think Ron is doing well? I plan on going back this Sat hope to see some support there.:(

[yoshimaroka]

Kind of urgent,
Can anyone vote in this?

[hvac ak47]

Just need a maryland photo Id. But for some reason I didnt have to show mine.

[tekkierich]

We had a nice turn out today for our "Ron Paul Event". More on Youtube later.

The response from about 25 of us waving signs on York road for an hour was very nice. After this we all marched in with our tee shirts and signs to the Republican booth to vote in the straw poll.

It was really nice how us"internet spammers" organized in meat space. This was the first event I have attended. I plan on attending the AA county Meet Up at the Arundel Mills Panera. Encouraged by the response on York road today, I will be suggesting and organizing weekly sign waving on RT 2. in the Severna Park / Glen Burnie area. As far as I know this is good Republican territory to pick off primary voters.

[Triton]

I just voted in the Maryland Straw Poll. I walked around for half an hour trying to find it. Almost one half of a row was taken up by the Liberal Democrat Propaganda Machine - and finally, in a wee little booth, waaaaay over there - I found the Republican booth. Changed my voter registration to (gasp) Republican again so I can vote for Dr. Paul in the primary.

[markpa]

I just voted in the Maryland Straw Poll. I walked around for half an hour trying to find it. Almost one half of a row was taken up by the Liberal Democrat Propaganda Machine - and finally, in a wee little booth, waaaaay over there - I found the Republican booth. Changed my voter registration to (gasp) Republican again so I can vote for Dr. Paul in the primary.

Awesome!! :D

[inibo]

Joe Seehusen, the Deputy Campaign National Manager will be there for a 10-20 minute speech on Saturday, September 1st at 6:00PM. He is hoping for a good crowd of Ron Paul supporters. He is also hoping to reach potential Republican primary voters.

I would hope that considering the target audience we would consider doing a modern version of Clean For Gene (http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/11/20/mccarthy2a/) (Am I showing my age?) I am, of course, not talking about haircuts and shaves, but the idea that to win the Presidency Ron Paul MUST win the Republican nomination, that means he MUST win Republican primaries, than means he MUST win Republicans. The media are doing all they can to paint Ron Paul and his supporters as fringe. The last thing we need to do is prove them right, at least in there own eyes. Ron Paul has a radical message: limited constitutional government. When a radical message is delivered by radical messengers it can be scary. When it is delivered by your friends and neighbors, people just like you, it is not so scary. Folks will think "if other ordinary people are saying this, maybe it's worth listening to." I'm not saying don't where your t-shirt and buttons, I'm not saying hide your enthusiasm. I'm saying show them just plain folks with something to be enthused about. Give them a reason to believe that ordinary people have a reason for hope.

I am not talking about selling out; I am talking about subversion of the highest order.

Does anyone yet have any idea of how many MeetUp people might be there next Saturday?

It might be kind of late to post this, but Joe Seehusen will not be there Saturday It is mainly a matter of logistics. The space is limited and if we pack the place--even as few as 10 or so people would fill it up--it could be disruptive ofthe booth and that part of the exhibition hall. That's not to say that people shouldn't still go to the fair and vote if they haven't or help the folks outside the fair grounds hand out slime jims and walk up and down York Road with signs, just that the "official" campaign event has been canceled.

[zhughes315]

Oh well, about 4 of us from UMD are coming up Saturday Night to vote. Should be a good time.

[Richie]

I voted there today. The best part of it was - I'm only 17. They didn't care. haha And I heard friendly Ron Paul discussion in the booth. :)

[disinter]

So, what were the results?

[Richie]

So, what were the results?

The fair isn't over yet. It ends Monday. They probably won't announce them until Tuesday.