Gunny Freedom marches the streets of South Carolina

[GunnyFreedom]

I'm headed to SC in a few hours to help work the ground-game down there. This will be a massive introduce/educate/convert/canvass/GOTV/&Carpool effort (in that order) and I hope to be able to stay until the primary.

I'll be documenting my efforts in this thread, (if I can get connection!) in the hopes that it will help all of us to do better, we can learn from whatever success Imay have, bot more importantly we can learn from my mistakes.

I managed to get another guy woke up, turned on, and converted tonight, so this bodes very well for the trip ahead. I'm hoping to crash the debates tonight on my way to Charleston to work, but we'll see what happens.

God bless you all, and keep up the good fight! GO MICHIGAN! GO SOUTH CAROLINA! GO RON PAUL!!!

[kushaze]

Good luck. I hope you have a lot of fun.

[noztnac]

Good luck!

[Edu]

Good luck and here's some suggestions.
A lot of places have free wifi, I hope you have a laptop with wifi, if you use a USB adaptor you have more options to get a signal, such as sitting in a parking lot of a office supply store that has free wifi, you can put the thing out the car window, or higher up than your laptop.
Extension cables are cheap so in an apartment you could tape or clip it up high on a window.
I asked a guy once in a office store where would someone sit and use their free wifi, they had no places for you to sit except for the display desks, and he said just go back to that area. It would be easier to sit in my car outside.
Coffee shops sometimes have free wifi, a lot of them are going with t-mobile pay for. A lot of hotels offer it too. Copy places and there's always the put a buck in for some time terminals everywhere.
Worse case you can always drive around 'till you get a signal and stop :)
Hope you can stay in touch!

[bitsyf]

Are you wearing your revolutionary costume? I love the guy on the blimp crew and his tricornered hat.

[bitsyf]

The blimp is supposed to come to Charleston on the 12th. I'm trying to get up a rally on the battery downtown to welcome it. I hope you can join us there. The time hasn't been set because I'm waiting for word from the blimp crew but I'll let you know. Get in contact with the Charleston meet up group.

[bobo37]

The blimp is supposed to come to Charleston on the 12th. I'm trying to get up a rally on the battery downtown to welcome it. I hope you can join us there. The time hasn't been set because I'm waiting for word from the blimp crew but I'll let you know. Get in contact with the Charleston meet up group.
The Blimp will be hovering over the debate tonight as people are entering.
If you need a place to stay contact the Charleston meetup group and they should be able to help out. As of right now we have room in North Myrtle Beach

[GunnyFreedom]

Stopped at South Of the Border for a quick burger, as I was enjoying a state apparently more free than NC, heard my first broadcast Ron Paul commercial on the radio. I was elated!! Beautiful commercial, listign all the other Repub candidates and why they are wrong for SC. Then spoke of RP and why he's right for SC. I applauded and cheered. People looked at me funny, but I just smiled and said "go Ron Paul!!" They smiled and went on eating.

I'm going to Myrtle Beach to try to see Dr Paul tonight. Will connect a Myrtle Beach people while there. See you guys there!!!

Posted from my iPhone on the road. More as it comes guys.

[bitsyf]

The rally for the blimp is set for the battery in Charleston, SC at 1:00 on the 12th. The blimp will fly over and then we'll march up Meeting St. to Broad St. I hope you can be there!

[GunnyFreedom]

40 mins outside of North Myrtle Beach. Will find neared RP group on arrival. Heard RP will be eating at "Liberty Cafe" after the debate. Maybe We can be there for an on-site report. More to come!

On mobile, out!

[GunnyFreedom]

on location in North Myrtle Beach, anybody working/rallying etc for the debates, rallies, sign-waves, whatever--email me at glen42@gmail.com with info location etc. I'll get it on my phone, help out, and blog it here. Thanks so much! Let's win this thing!!!

[GunnyFreedom]

The rally for the blimp is set for the battery in Charleston, SC at 1:00 on the 12th. The blimp will fly over and then we'll march up Meeting St. to Broad St. I hope you can be there!

We'll be there, with a Navy Jack and a Betsy Ross. :)

[GunnyFreedom]

Looking for a WiFi in N Myrtle Beach so I don't have to keep typing on the little iPhone, we stopped in at the Atlanta Bread Company. Lo and behold, the nice young lady at the register is the daughter one of the Assistant Organizers of the county's local Meetup! Their main event, is the debate rally at Liberty Pub and Tap! The same Liberty which will be graced with a visit from the good Dr himself after the debate!

Wow, this is amazing, things just keep clicking into place all by themselves. If there ever was such a thing as a perfect storm, well patriots, it is brewing even now. Once I am finished eating my sourdough soup and breadbowl, I will be heading to the Liberty Tap (OK, some 3 hours early, but hey...)

Talk about getting energized for the hard street pounding week ahead. This will be the most gruelling time of canvassing, phonebanking, and GOTV in the history of man. What better way to get motivated for it than a debate rally, and meeting the man himself!

HUZZAH!!! HUZZAH!!! HUZZAH!!!

[NoMoreApathy]

Are you wearing your revolutionary costume? I love the guy on the blimp crew and his tricornered hat.

I know that WE all know what that costume represents, but you have to understand that we're dealing with potential sheep here. Yes, some of those sheep are easily convinced once they are introduced to Ron Paul, but before they are, seeing someone in a Revolutionary War uniform only looks "weird".

It's dressing up like that, that ends up giving us a bad rep instead of getting positive attention.

This is my opinion, anyway.

I think we look better out there to our target demographic if we look just like them.

[Ibtz]

The rally for the blimp is set for the battery in Charleston, SC at 1:00 on the 12th. The blimp will fly over and then we'll march up Meeting St. to Broad St. I hope you can be there!

I'll try to be there. I'll bring the whole family.

[GunnyFreedom]

I know that WE all know what that costume represents, but you have to understand that we're dealing with potential sheep here. Yes, some of those sheep are easily convinced once they are introduced to Ron Paul, but before they are, seeing someone in a Revolutionary War uniform only looks "weird".

It's dressing up like that, that ends up giving us a bad rep instead of getting positive attention.

This is my opinion, anyway.

I think we look better out there to our target demographic if we look just like them.

for the record, I donned a suit and tie to wave my Betsy Ross at the RP post debate rally. ;)

[GunnyFreedom]

so here I sit at the Liberty Steakhouse in Myrtle Beach, SC waiting for the debates on Fox News. Dr Paul will be coming after to speak to us. I am so excited I can hardly stand it!

In the parking lot, we got lots of blimp pictures, and saw a tiny airplane and banner that read "ED FOR PREZ" (whatever that means -- I guess the John Edwards grassroots had to pay per letter)

On my way in, I was interviewed by an independent jornalist on his handheld camera. He wanted to understand folks Passion this year, and apparently Ron Paul people were the only ones who were willing to talk to him!

A really good interview later, we took up our flags signs and buttons (I needed signs and buttons, which a staffer gladly passed out to us - along with a myriad of DVDs) and headed to the Liberty Steakhouse.

People are shouting RON PAUL everywhere we go. For nearly every candidates sign, there is a Ron Paul sign on both sides of it.

The very air is electric. It feels as if the stars are aligning and the ground is building this intense charge. The perfect storm is brewing, and lightening will strike in South Carolina on the 19th!

HUZZAH !! HUZZAH !! HUZZAH !!

[GunnyFreedom]

well, I was just interviewed on JustinTV, and I must say I really enjoyed it. It's really amazing the passion and exchange of ideas taking place here around Ron Paul! Spontaneus conversations spring up all over the place about every topic in the Ron Paul platform. Never before in my life have I been somewhere where people randomly stop me and ask about the Federal Reserve or the Patriot Act.

I know that Ron Paul will blow away expectations in SC, but having actually been here in the company of these wonderful and passionate people, it is really beginning to hit home what he means when Dr Paul says it's about the message, not the man.

I look at these awesome people, and I can see the FIRE in their bellies, and I know that no matter what, what we have done here is NOT in vain.

The message lives on no matter what. Once awakened, you cannot go back to sleep again. Once you have taken the red pill, the blue pill is no longer an option.

Ron Paul has already won!

And shortly, Ron Paul will win SC and stun the world!!

[Nicketas]

,.,.

[GunnyFreedom]

Huzzah!!! Huzzah!!! Huzzah!!!

[GunnyFreedom]

Oh my God. I can't even think right now, much less type on an iPhone....reporting later when I find a hotspot... Just ... WOW

[MsDoodahs]

Can't wait to read more of your on the ground reporting.

Thank you SO MUCH for doing this for us! :)

[Edu]

Sounds exciting!
I have read that you can use bluetooth to connect a laptop to your iphone's net connection somehow, search/google around, you may need a bluetooth USB adapter for your laptop (cheap). Watch for other laptop users around and see if they have a iphone next to their laptop, they are probably already doing it.
If you are being charged minutes, read my above post on wifi and find a free hotspot.
Hope you can convince some voters there to get out and vote for Paul, every vote counts since we are so close now to other candidates.
Thanks!

[GunnyFreedom]

I am in Charlestown now, parked in a suburb called Goose Creek, where I lived until I was 7 years old. Will nap here until AM and visit one person, then check in with PC.

This feels right. This is where Washington beat Cornwallas, and this will be where Ron Paul defeats Washington DC

Now, we win.

[Lord Xar]

Gunny, have you talked to alot of people that saw the 'live' debate? if not, do they realize that the replay has been censored to omit Ron Paul?

How is out there?

Have you heard/seen any Ron Paul ads?

******************

Do you think running a full page in two top SC newspapers would be better than say hitting 10 smaller newspapers?


Tell me what is going on there.

[GunnyFreedom]

We saw the debate at Liberty Steakhouse on Fox. The reactions were amazing and boisterous. The people are insanely energized. Still trying to get up with a couple people tyo help out on the ground in Charleston right now. Stopped in a WiFi coffee shop so I could actually type out messages to the local meetup groups.

I anticipated it would be hard to get ahold of much org in Charleston though, I picked Charleston specifically because it has very little coverage and needs us the most. I am certain that it will be easy to hook up with people tomorrow at the Battery at 1PM when the blimp is in town. Lot'sa people will be there. Well, I have 27 hours to work this town until then, and if I can't get ahold of any org in the area in the next 90 minutes, we will just strike out on our own to find the very popular spots and do some hit n run politicking, opening the discussion, waking people up, handing out slimjims etc.

(materials and swag would be a good thing if anybody local is reading this, I have a grand total of 200 Conservative SlimJims, and 100 and 2nd Amendment SlimJims and that ends my literature to hand out.)

Re: Lord Xar, This censorship thing doesn't surprise me, but honestly, after Dr Paul's speech I struck out for Charleston immediately and have not had contact with RP people yet. TV either for that matter. The RP signs are everywhere in Upstate SC and Myrtle Beach area. The Charleston area looks like enemy territory right now. (Just like it was when Lord Cornwallace held the ground and Washington came to get him no?) No signs, nothing. Like a big blank slate. A good place to start.

As to newspaper readership, I might to a hybrid campaign there, but I'm just speaking off the cuff, as I am unfamiliar with SC's newspapers. I could surely tell you how best to reach NC's newspaper reading population, but I do not know the readership trends in SC to know what would have the best impact.

On thing I am seeing in SC is that digital billboards are very popular. The first time I saw one of these, I said, "Ron Paul needs to be on one of those!" I do not know the details, but I have to think that the cost profile would be a lot smaller for digital billboards, and I can surely tell you that they are WAY more distracting than paper billboards.

The issues that are hot here are Immigration, States Rights, Christian Conservatancy, Personal Liberties, and the 2nd Amendment. The people are WAY more freedom minded than NH or NC in fact. SC should have been the "Live Free or Die" state frankly. Of course if you know the history of the SC State flag this makes a bit of sense.

Also - money is big in the area. I met the friend of mine from 15 years ago, and apparently a lot of folks int he area are not getting the message. He told me, "You know what nobody up there is saying, they aren't saying that no matter what, we just can't afford it. we're going broke!" Of COURSE I mentioned Ron Paul, but he had to get to work. I'll see him again Saturday and then the debate will be ON. He is preparing his ammo and I am preparing mine. Dont know who he supports exactly, but it will be interesting.....

PS - if you know anybody on the ground in Charleston area, please have them contact me at glen42@gmail.com ASAP!

[GunnyFreedom]

Ron Paul is starting to smother the airwaves with hard-hitting radio spots, demolishing the 'competition.' One thing is for sure, noone can claim that Dr Paul threw the first punch in this fight, indeed, he remained utterly prosaic for long long after any normal man would fight. Now, however the gloves are off, and the nature of the attacks remain laden with the integrity that made Dr Paul famous in the first place.

The pieces lay out in unrelenting and honest detail the follies of his opponents policies without engaging in the typical rhetoric of a political hit piece. The strength in simplicity of these spots cannot be denied.

The only question that remains is, was this the strategy from day 1, or is simply the response of a great man who has been Backed into a corner? I say Dr Paul and his campaign is a lot smarter than y'all thought, and I'd bet my lunch this was anticipated and prepared for from day 1.

Nobody can argue against the rightness or righteousness of these hard hitting pieces. Nobody can argue with the facts, or with how they are presented. This is the Ron Paul we have been hoping for, looking for since before Iowa.

All we need now, are bodies, boots on the ground like never before seen in a political campaign. We need for Revolutionaries to descend upon South Carolina in our thousands and in our hundreds of thousands.

These are heady times, after Ron has finally gone on the full assault, and the establishmet is horrified. Nobody knew he had it in him, we didn't, and they sure didn't.

Now, we hear that Dr Paul is sticking McCain Feingold in the teeth with the new HQ-grassroots coordinator.

Wow!

Sent from HQ Charleston SC via phone.

[Lord Xar]

Ron Paul is starting to smother the airwaves with hard-hitting radio spots, demolishing the 'competition.' One thing is for sure, noone can claim that Dr Paul threw the first punch in this fight, indeed, he remained utterly prosaic for long long after any normal man would fight. Now, however the gloves are off, and the nature of the attacks remain laden with the integrity that made Dr Paul famous in the first place.

The pieces lay out in unrelenting and honest detail the follies of his opponents policies without engaging in the typical rhetoric of a political hit piece. The strength in simplicity of these spots cannot be denied.

The only question that remains is, was this the strategy from day 1, or is simply the response of a great man who has been Backed into a corner? I say Dr Paul and his campaign is a lot smarter than y'all thought, and I'd bet my lunch this was anticipated and prepared for from day 1.

Nobody can argue against the rightness or righteousness of these hard hitting pieces. Nobody can argue with the facts, or with how they are presented. This is the Ron Paul we have been hoping for, looking for since before Iowa.

All we need now, are bodies, boots on the ground like never before seen in a political campaign. We need for Revolutionaries to descend upon South Carolina in our thousands and in our hundreds of thousands.

These are heady times, after Ron has finally gone on the full assault, and the establishmet is horrified. Nobody knew he had it in him, we didn't, and they sure didn't.

Now, we hear that Dr Paul is sticking McCain Feingold in the teeth with the new HQ-grassroots coordinator.

Wow!

Sent from HQ Charleston SC via phone.

huh? What ads are you hearing? I have NOT heard any ads that go after anyone. Are these "new". I am not sure what you are saying here.. the earlier post suggested nothing was really happening, and then all of sudden.. you say the airwaves are saturated.... please explain in detail.

[GunnyFreedom]

I wasn't aware that I had ever implied there were not many radio spots...

http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/confused002.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

[Lord Xar]

I wasn't aware that I had ever implied there were not many radio spots...

http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/confused002.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

okay.. that is the impression I got.. so, you are saying he is saturating things? But you did say something about going on the attack. What do you mean? Who/What? Give us mroe detail please... :)

[Bossobass]

Hello Gunny,

I was also at the Liberty Steakhouse last night. It was excellent. A good crowd and lots of friends from back at the second debate in Columbia, SC. Got to see Mrs. Paul in good health and catch up. She is the definition of First Lady, IMHO.

I don't know if I met you there? Sorry if I didn't. It would have been my pleasure.

If you're in Charleston, look up my friend and spitfire of a soldier for RP:

Amanda Moore
Charleston HQ
843.225.6961

Anyone who answers that number can help you get anything you need. If not, please ping me here ASAP.

Love reading this thread. Gettin' it done is the stuff.

Bosso

[perrin_for_paul]

O the radio ads, there are new RP campaign ads playing in SC. I heard 5 on the way to and from Myrtle Beach yesterday. The ads feature some guy telling you a brief overview of the failings of the other candidates on immigration (one statement each), and then he says "that's why I'm voting for Ron Paul," and it gives an overview of RP on immigration. I only heard the immigration ad yesterday, but it was on 3 different stations between Columbia and MB (about 2.5 hours driving distance).

The ads are good, and I think they'll be really effective in SC.

The post debate speech at Liberty was fantastic! I met so many RP supporters of all ages. There were people who I think might have been Mennonites, kids with dreadlocks, families, older businessmen, you name it, all coming together for freedom!

[GunnyFreedom]

wow -- I can't describe how awesome a good night's sleep feels after 60 hours awake! Going to canvass Goose Creek now, will go to the blimp rally this afternoon followed by more canvassing. After more canvassing, we'll head back to HQ where I need to work on some intervals to why Paul is better than Huck, make more Lit packs, and keep on pressing.

[bitsyf]

Gunny and Rose came to the rally on the battery for the blimp. They helped guide the blimp to us with their HUGE flags. Thank you, Gunny.

[GunnyFreedom]

Oh no, thank you for all your effort to organize the rally! I have ben canvassing my legs off all day yesterday and today (aside from the blimp rally) and will be canvassing some more tomorrow, tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, with serious GOTV work Friday and Saturday.

I'll be posting a lot more of my observations later tonight...(I may have to do it from my phone if it's very late, where I am staying has no wireless, but I am at Charleston RP HQ right now decompressing from the canvass, and if I have to phone blog, there won't be the kind of detail I like)

I am a particular fan of history, and the two flags she is talking about are a Betsy Ross and a Navy Jack. The Navy Jack was the first flag actually authorized by the Continental Congress (for the national identification of the US Navy) and was adopted from the Sons Of Liberty flag and the Gadsden flag. If you look at my blog:

http://libertyline.blogspot.com/

The top flag is a Camden flag - the first stars and stripes (I wish I had one of those instead of a Betsy Ross, but it would have been a $150 - $200 special order!) difference being the Besy Ross has 13 stars in a circle instead of the Camden's 12 stars with one in the middle.

The next flag is the Navy Jack, then the Guiliford Courthouse American Flag (from my own home state of North Carolina) and the last flag is the original Sons of Liberty flag.
The USMC flag is a bit more modern, of course.

The Blimp rally was great! The blimp was delayed slightly because of the weather, but it did arrive, and got a lot of attention from undecided voters. Today, we have the blimp cruising all over Charleston, which made canvassing very interesting. If it happened to be overhead, you caould always open the canvass with, "Have you seen the Ron Paul Blimp?" and point into the sky.

At the battery yesterday, there were Navy personnel and Citadel cadets. Had a Citadel cadet salute my Betsy Ross -- thought that was interesting -- Military regs suggest saluting the currently authorized flag, maybe he was just playing it safe...

Had a chance to talk with a few undecideds at the Battery, one lady had one last sticky point - forced vaccinations and mental health screening of Americans, and Rose was able to produce a flyer showing RP's opposition to forced vaccination, and she became a 100% supporter.

Canvassing is what needs to be done here and now, to prepare for a massive GOTV campaign Friday and Saturday. [[ we do NOT have enough people!!!!!! Send more people!!!!!]] But if you can wear a bunch of RP shwag, RP shirts, hats, stickers and buttons on clothes; go out and chitchat with people. Hang out where there are just tons and tons of people, random people and talk about the weather. Barely suggest politics and issues, but here is what will happen:

People will come up to you and ask you, "who is Ron Paul?" and once someone asks you that question, the game is over. They are done. In my experience, once someone is so dreadfully curious that they actually come up to you to ask "who is Ron Paul?" then they have a 99.9% chance of leaving the conversation as a total supporter.

More later, just got back from canvassing and I am toast for the moment.

[Workguy23]

If you are in Goose Creek, try to hit up the Nuclear Power students over at the Naval Weapons Station. 9/10 of these people are highly intelligent and VERY VERY internet savvy, I'd be surprised if RP wasn't already big there. I was a student there about 3 years ago, and trust me. VERY high concentration of internet savvy, nerdy(in a good way!) 18-24 year olds, they have plenty of cash b/c the Navy provides EVERYTHING for them. There's well over 1000 of them there, all potential voters/donors. You can spot them very easily, especially at the mall, most of them wearing their Govt. issued peacoat/raincoat and they're usually in GameStop ;)

[GunnyFreedom]

Here are some pics, here I am at the Charleston, SC HQ -

http://i5.tinypic.com/81gzg41.jpg

Here was a pic from the Myrtle Beach debate rally:

http://i16.tinypic.com/8e94cj9.jpg

Here is a pic of Dr Paul in the post debate speech:

http://i11.tinypic.com/7xo6fzn.jpg

(I don't know why TinyPic turned this sideways....)

And here is a pic from the Charleston Blimp Rally at the Battery:

http://i18.tinypic.com/6y1385d.jpg

These were taken from my phone, much better pics will be coming once the film is developed from my SLR.

[GunnyFreedom]

Was too busy to blog these last coupladays. Back in NC for a few days, have to do a job for a client (small $50 job, but don't want to blow it off on account of good jobs in the future) and then I'm thinking Georgia.

Down in SC was a fellow name of James Trementozzi. If you ever get to work with him count yourself fortunate. This guy is one of the best of the best. Without him in Chas, we may have only gotten 2%. That is not an exageration.

I now hurt all over my body from a 5 hour signwave on election day by a poll in the cold cold rain (where I had the cops called on me twice - but they told the angry lady that I was not breaking the law - which did not please or satisfy her apparently. She wanted me and my Ron Paul sign GONE!) so I took a massive dose of ibuprophen and will rest a couple of days before I can come back and detail and reflect on me experience in SC.

I am highly disappointed in SC, but I am here to tell you that the RP campaign did a very effective job. Better than 30% of everyone in Charleston (our weakest area) wanted Ron Paul to win. However, Fox did an even better job as those 30% stated that they would not personally vote for Ron Paul because he could not win.

We DID get the message out, and the people loved the message. Problem is we were fighting Fox, who was able to get their message out even more effectively than we did, and they convinced people that no matter how well they liked RP, that they should not bother voting for him because he could not win.

So I am split between a growing hatred of Fox News, and an utter disdain for the SC electorate who prefer the cotton candy of Fox Propaganda over the filet mignon steak of Truth.

From an eyes on the ground perspective, folks, this is what we are fighting. The campaign IS getting the message out. Seriously. And the people love the messagem, seriously. But the people prefer the cotton candy over the truth. Fox delivers the cotton candy, and we deliver the truth.

I am hoping we will get a real bump out of the NV placing, as it wuill give us a counter to the argument that they would vote for him "if he could win" (thank you very much Fox...).

This is GunnyFreedom, in anger, hope, and pain, signing off for now. Keep working out there folks. Canvass canvass canvass. IDENTIFY SUPPORTERS and get them on a list! Canvass early,and then canvass again. Cover your entire precinct, and identify supporters, undecideds, and opponents. List each by address. This is vital, honestly. Get it done the quicker the better. don't just think about it, DO IT, and do it now!

If it is any consolation, I will be going to GA next to canvass me rear end off, and probably to Texas after that.

[Gertie]

So I am split between a growing hatred of Fox News, and an utter disdain for the SC electorate who prefer the cotton candy of Fox Propaganda over the filet mignon steak of Truth.
nice metaphor. Wish it were so simple to use a nice bucket of water to melt the saccharide webs of Faux news... :(

Thanks for your help in the Lowcountry!