slantedview
12-19-2007, 11:10 PM
Written by David Corbin from Atlanta, GA
Wow. I sit in my own home, listening to ronpaulradio.com, chatting on IRC and watching the money roll in for the Tea Party (we just past 11/5). We've done an amazing thing. But my thoughts turn back to last week when I was in New Hampshire.
I've been supporting Dr. Paul for over 6 months now, and like many other Ron Paul activists, this is the first time I've done anything like this. Each week it seems I commit myself more and more to the campaign, to level a could not possibly have imagined when I started. With a week of vacation I was going to lose at the end of the year, I made plans to go to NH.
I flew into Boston Friday evening and rented a car. When I landed, I thought I'd be staying in Concord, but Laura (who was arranging all the housing) rerouted me to Hampton to satisfy my preference to have a real bed instead of just an air mattress. When I got to Hampton, the house was full with Frank from Portland, OR; Laura and Wes (and their 2 kids) from Arizona, Jay and Roxi from Tulsa, OK; and Frank from Bakersfield, CA. Vijay (the chief) and few others were there from Manchester wrapping up a planning meeting.
I left the next Thursday, returning to Boston through a severe snowstorm (11" in 7 hours in Boston). And during those 6 short days, the following arrived in-state: Sean and Joel from PA, Justin from MO, Frank from OK, Steve from TX, Trevor from WA, Pat and Josh from KY, Sam (and Sue, his dog) from CA, Cathy from Canada, Shanon (from all over), Paul from OR, and I think 2 or 3 others that I never really got to know. While there, they opened up two new houses and by the time I left, I think everything was close to full again, and this was with over 3 weeks until the primary.
During my time there, I canvassed 5 days, had lunch with Rand Paul and "phone banked" for a few a few hours. I canvased with 8 different people during my time up there. Overall, I had a blast. I made friends with folks from all over the country, and even though I've only known them a short while, I have no doubt some of these friendships are going to last, and I look forward to seeing them all again at the January '09 Ron Paul inauguration meetup. I definitely preferred canvassing to phone-banking, but that's just a product of my personality. The vast majority of NH residents where nice and polite, and many were genuinely amazed that we would volunteer our own time and money to come to NH for Dr. Paul.
So, while we should all be proud of what we've done with the Tea Party, there is much more to do to get Dr. Paul the nomination. In short, I encourage you to go up there for a week. The orgainzers are busting their butts to figure out how to house everyone, be sure everyone gets fed, and that no one is left lying around unable to work for Dr. Paul, and I'm sure there will be some wrinkles as the number of volunteers in-state grows (I bet they're over 30 by now) and 400 total are expected.
But it's an experience you won't regret, and of course, Dr. Paul is worth it.
http://operationlivefreeordie.blogspot.com/2007/12/olfd-volunteer-dave-shares-about-his.html
slantedview here - I'd like to add a personal comment. I am so beyond impressed with these guys and all they are doing. If anyone thinks this is something they'd be into, I'd highly encourage you to go for it. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Wow. I sit in my own home, listening to ronpaulradio.com, chatting on IRC and watching the money roll in for the Tea Party (we just past 11/5). We've done an amazing thing. But my thoughts turn back to last week when I was in New Hampshire.
I've been supporting Dr. Paul for over 6 months now, and like many other Ron Paul activists, this is the first time I've done anything like this. Each week it seems I commit myself more and more to the campaign, to level a could not possibly have imagined when I started. With a week of vacation I was going to lose at the end of the year, I made plans to go to NH.
I flew into Boston Friday evening and rented a car. When I landed, I thought I'd be staying in Concord, but Laura (who was arranging all the housing) rerouted me to Hampton to satisfy my preference to have a real bed instead of just an air mattress. When I got to Hampton, the house was full with Frank from Portland, OR; Laura and Wes (and their 2 kids) from Arizona, Jay and Roxi from Tulsa, OK; and Frank from Bakersfield, CA. Vijay (the chief) and few others were there from Manchester wrapping up a planning meeting.
I left the next Thursday, returning to Boston through a severe snowstorm (11" in 7 hours in Boston). And during those 6 short days, the following arrived in-state: Sean and Joel from PA, Justin from MO, Frank from OK, Steve from TX, Trevor from WA, Pat and Josh from KY, Sam (and Sue, his dog) from CA, Cathy from Canada, Shanon (from all over), Paul from OR, and I think 2 or 3 others that I never really got to know. While there, they opened up two new houses and by the time I left, I think everything was close to full again, and this was with over 3 weeks until the primary.
During my time there, I canvassed 5 days, had lunch with Rand Paul and "phone banked" for a few a few hours. I canvased with 8 different people during my time up there. Overall, I had a blast. I made friends with folks from all over the country, and even though I've only known them a short while, I have no doubt some of these friendships are going to last, and I look forward to seeing them all again at the January '09 Ron Paul inauguration meetup. I definitely preferred canvassing to phone-banking, but that's just a product of my personality. The vast majority of NH residents where nice and polite, and many were genuinely amazed that we would volunteer our own time and money to come to NH for Dr. Paul.
So, while we should all be proud of what we've done with the Tea Party, there is much more to do to get Dr. Paul the nomination. In short, I encourage you to go up there for a week. The orgainzers are busting their butts to figure out how to house everyone, be sure everyone gets fed, and that no one is left lying around unable to work for Dr. Paul, and I'm sure there will be some wrinkles as the number of volunteers in-state grows (I bet they're over 30 by now) and 400 total are expected.
But it's an experience you won't regret, and of course, Dr. Paul is worth it.
http://operationlivefreeordie.blogspot.com/2007/12/olfd-volunteer-dave-shares-about-his.html
slantedview here - I'd like to add a personal comment. I am so beyond impressed with these guys and all they are doing. If anyone thinks this is something they'd be into, I'd highly encourage you to go for it. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity.