NH Ron Paul Supporters Occupy Maine
While Paul supporters concentrate on their considerable ground game, Romney breaks out the big guns.
The "Porcupine Party Bus" has helped transport dozens of young NH Ron Paul supporters to and from Maine.
Porcupine Party Bus FB Page
Photos (1)
Photos
On Jan. 11, the day after New Hampshire's First-in-the-Nation Primary, hundreds of Ron Paul supporters scoured Granite State roadways for campaign signs, which they collected and distributed to Vermont, South Carolina, Massachusetts and Maine.
Because the Maine Caucuses followed the New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and Nevada primaries, many local Paul supporters have made Vacationland their new stomping grounds, at least until the caucuses, which began this past Saturday and end on Feb. 11.
So while the four remaining GOP contenders battle for votes in the Colorado and Minnesota caucuses and Missouri Primary today, Paul's New Hampshire people know that tomorrow Maine will become the center of political world and the four-day home for much of the national media.
And unlike Florida, where Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney won handily, Maine is not a winner-take-all state, meaning 24 delegates are up for grabs (double what New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary provided less than a month ago).
That, specifically, is why Kathy Peterson of Nashua jumped on an old white school bus with 21 other young Ron Paul supporters and made the two-hour trek to Paul's Maine campaign headquarters in Falmouth (just north of Portland) to stump for their candidate.
"We had two full bus lengths of Ron Paul material banners covering over all the side windows of the bus," said Peterson. "The (Maine) staff was very grateful for our experienced, passionate and energetic New Hampshire helpers as there is less paid help in a state twice as large, not to mention having (to contend with) other primaries going on at the same time in other state."
Peterson said half of her group worked a phone bank, while the other half took the bus to a couple Paul appearances – including an overflow crowd at the Alfred Town Hall – where they waved signs and handed out literature. They also played Ron Paul-specific music on their own personal PA system and displayed a green laser show on the wall of a church next to the town hall.
"I'm not sure the town folks knew what to think of us, but we hope they caught our love for the good doctor," said Peterson, who noted many other New Hampshire supporters traveled to Maine this week with a similar strategy in mind.
"The most important thing is that, despite the lack of positive national media press, our message of liberty and peace is growing," she added.
The Paul campaign continues to work aggressively through social media, creating several Facebook pages (see three here, here and here) to recruit local supporters for Maine. A website has even been created looking ahead, with a focus on Vermont, for Super Tuesday, March 6.
Yet while Paul's people are showing up to Maine in collective force, Romney's campaign is sending some of its big-name New Hampshire supporters to stump for the former Massachusetts governor in the Pine Tree State.
Nashua's Jennifer Horn, who ran for U.S. Congress in 2008, traveled to Maine last weekend to speak in support of Romney at an event in Scarborough, Maine and will return this Saturday for a speech in Falmouth.
Likewise, former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu spoke at a caucus in in Bangor on Feb. 4 and U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, will speak at a caucus in Lewiston on Feb. 11.
Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Barack Obama will likely have the support of Granite Staters in Maine as well, though we were unable to pin them down on who might be campaigning for them there.
ObserverNH
11:19 am on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The difference is, Ron Paul's supporters are UNPAID. And I wish this writer would stop using the word 'Occupy' when dealing with this group.... they are not the same!
Mike Parent
11:43 am on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Correct, ObserverNH, there is a negative connotation to the "Occupy" monicker. t Maine has an opportunity to make a statement, that being they want a real choice and not have to settle between Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.
Dems and Reps, different pages from the same bad book!
Citizen Jones
12:30 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
ObserverNH is correct. I would hope the Patch would not join the rest of the propaganda machinery in the open, and often not so open, support of the Goldman-Sachs candidates. Yes Romney is support by Wall Street money, and Yes Barack Obama was bought big time in 2007 before a vote was cast. We are being set-up to choose between Romney and Obama, which is really a choice between 2 Goldman-Sachs candidates - which is no choice at all, yet again!
27Reasons
1:04 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Ron Paul is the ONLY choice; the rest are more of the same.
Bill Walker
7:23 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
>Yet while Paul's people are showing up to Maine in collective force,
Ron Paul is the only campaign since Ulysses S. Grant's to have "people", actual grassroots supporters who aren't subsidy recipients or political hacks. The other candidates only exist in the media... if I hadn't seen Romney in person once I'd think he was Photoshopped (and his hair is Photoshopped even in person).
Hilltopper
10:35 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
--and what a "great" presidency Grant had---
john
8:55 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
They use the word "occupy" because Ron Paul supporters act in the same manner as occupy protestors. That's not an opinion, that's a fact. Ron Paul supporters are often thrown out of other candidates rallies because they are being disruptive, as are the occupy protestors.
Citizen Jones
12:32 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Thats interesting John. Do they "occupy" 24-7 public places for weeks, even months at a time. I don't think so.
john
8:57 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
And, the writer of the article didn't mention how these Ron Paul supporters stole the signs.
Citizen Jones
12:36 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
The article properly didn't mention it because its ubiquitous in every election. You might as well wish to report they were oxygen addicts, for they were inhaling it throughout. Its simply not newsworthy, or even noteworthy!
Anthony Platt
1:59 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Ron Paul, hero in action. This is democracy in action. Nevada, that was banana republic style vote fraud in action. Two party false choice duopoly, that ladies and gentlemen, is tyranny in action.
Edward Dunsel
9:29 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
"Hero in action"?
Rep. Ron Paul appears to have been paid twice for flights between Washington, D.C., and his Congressional district, receiving reimbursement from taxpayers and also from a network of political and nonprofit organizations he controlled, according to public records and documents obtained by Roll Call.
http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_90/Records-Show-Ron-Paul-Trips-Paid-Twice-212118-1.html
Jackson Baer
12:36 pm on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Ron Paul did well in Minnesota and underperformed in the other two yesterday. It's frustrating to see the Republicans reject freedom & liberty while voting for more government control. Can Ron Paul win Maine this weekend? I hope so. I hope he keeps running as a Republican, building a base and then runs third party. Some say that will ensure Obama gets re-elected but we don't know what will happen in a 3-man race and Obama won't be any worse than Romney, Gingrich, or Santorum. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=262l6tbHSlU RON PAUL 2012.
http://www.whatthehellbook.com/the-book/
Bill Walker
2:17 pm on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
>how these Ron Paul supporters stole the signs.
No one "stole" any signs. The campaigns have to clean the signs off the roadways anyway, and the Paul campaign was certainly happy to have some signs recycled by volunteers. My own batch of 100 or so signs were purchased from a non-campaign source and delivered to other RP supporters we know on FB.
Please, if you aren't going to work on campaigns yourself, at least Google how these things work before you start accusing people of Grand Theft Signo ;)
Bill Walker
4:12 pm on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
>paid twice for flights between Washington, D.C.
This is in reference to the $4,422 accounting error which absolutely no one is suggesting is malfeasance. Against this is Gingrich's $1.6 million bribe from Freddie Mac and Mitt's millions in campaign contributions from the financial industry.
As Jon Stewart says, Paul is at a big disadvantage: he gets no media time talking about his scandals, because he doesn't have any.
Edward Dunsel
4:45 pm on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Oh, its an "accountig error." Excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me.
And he didn't really "write" those newsletters that earned him millions.
At least we know he's a capitalist.
Bill Walker
5:13 pm on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
>Excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me.
Oh, I do, it's entirely proper to be cynical about politicians. But Dr. Paul didn't take on Goldman Sachs for the purpose of stealing four airline tickets...
>And he didn't really "write" those newsletters
As a reader of some of the later newsletters, no, he didn't. The impolitic ones were written by Rothbard and Rockwell, you can tell by the style. Ron never wrote in faux-redneck.
So you've now covered the total extent of Ron Paul's "scandals". As opposed to Newt's, which no one will ever finish cataloging... or Mitt's, which are mostly "legal" but will finish handing our economy over to Goldman Sachs et al, and continue our drive to launch undeclared wars against half the world. This is serious stuff, that will affect your children... and you're talking about four campaign sir tickets that were double-entered by two different organizations (which are not allowed to "coordinate", right? Don't you watch Steve Colbert ;)
youcantfoolmothernature
10:45 pm on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
And the circus continues!
AmericaFckYeah
5:43 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Ron Paul is going to win, so all you high bitches need to stop being so damned butt hurt about him gaining popularity!
youcantfoolmothernature
10:54 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012
This language is inappropriate.
Amer Ican
4:51 pm on Sunday, February 12, 2012
PROTEST >> Michael Quatrano << CALL, E-MAIL, FAX, WRITE, FACE TO FACE, CALL, E-MAIL, FAX, WRITE, FACE TO FACE,CALL, E-MAIL, FAX, WRITE, FACE TO FACE,CALL, E-MAIL, FAX, WRITE, FACE TO FACE,CALL, E-MAIL, FAX, WRITE, FACE TO FACE,CALL, E-MAIL, FAX, WRITE, FACE TO FACE,CALL, E-MAIL, FAX, WRITE, FACE TO FACE,
::
COUNT THE Washington caucus VOTES IN MAINE YOU SCUM!!!
::
Mikeq@MaineGOP.com
9 Higgins Street
Augusta, ME 04330
Phone 207.622.6247
Fax 207.6235322