Taking it to the streets: Part 4

Saturday, I spent much of my day on the south-east side of Indianapolis. I drove down there for a Ron Paul meet-up. It was fun.

Michael started off the meeting by giving a rundown of what Ron Paul had done since the group's last meet up. They last met after the second debates; however, this was my first meeting. Afterward, the members of the group started working and coming up with some ideas. Half of the group used stencils, spray paint, markers, etc. to create a whole slew of Ron Paul banners. We used cheap DuPont Homewrap for the medium to create our larger signs. It thought that that was a good idea.

The meeting was intended for the members to make signs. But, to the credit of the supporters enthusiasm, several of us, including me, walked to the busy intersection down the road and handed out fliers. We held up signs and weaved our way through the cars trying to inform as many people as possible about Dr. Ron Paul.

At first, I was a bit disheartened. Not many people wanted to hear of it, it just didn't matter to them! But, as the day went on, people seemed to be more and more receptive to it. We got several shoutouts supporting Rep. Paul and a few that claimed loyalty to other presidents (including Obama and Fred). I think the old lady that supported Fred Thompson was more starstruck than anything!

All in all, we probably had nearly a thousand people get to see the name Ron Paul and that there was support for him. We also handed out around 200 fliers. It was an exciting experience and helped support the good doctor!

Part 3
Part 2
Part 1

Hitting the Streets for Ron Paul: Part 3

Tonight, I needed to get some cheese. No, not money or superfluous government spending. Nor is it an excretion for the body. I needed American cheese that came from the milk of cows that was then processed to become cheese. So, I went to WalMart.

I had some time; so, I thought, "Why not just stand outside for about an hour and promote Ron Paul outside of WalMart?" I did so. A half an hour, 50 'you are weird' looks and 1 conversation with a guy that knew who Ron Paul was later, I was confronted by an assistant manager of WalMart and told that I couldn't stand outside. She told me that I had to call the manager in the morning and ask permission. She was nice about it and wasn't trying to be mean. It was just company policy. I understood and left. I then went to Kroger and K-Mart and asked the managers if I could hold a sign supporting a presidential candidate outside. They, respectfully, told me that I couldn't do that. Although a bit disheartened that I couldn't support my candidate, I learned a few things about campaigning. Corporations aren't going to let you promote things on their property. Instead, you are better off promoting your views at a public location full of people.

In the near future, I will be going to a mall and trying my luck there. We also have a MeetUp on Saturday that I'm looking forward to.

Taking it to the Streets: Part 2, Davy Crockett and Santa Clause support Ron Paul!

Today I went to visit my grandmother in the small town of Lizton. My little cousin was having her last softball game and I went to watch. Inspired by Dan and Chris, I made a poster board that I hung from my neck right before going to the softball game. With the paint still slightly wet and a doubled-up peice of nylon string around my neck, I went off into the world.

Now, you must understand, I am not one to do this. I don't crave attention. I am a recluse in public settings. This took a lot of courage for me to do this.

Everyone stared. Some gave me sidelong glances. Some looked at me with a confused look "President? Who's that?" Some giggled. My cousin said that her friends called me the "Weird Guy." I'm glad. I was noticed. People read the sign.

Mostly, I talked to my grandfather during the game. He pressed me about every issue (unfortunately, I didn't have fliers). Luckily, I was able to tell him with some confidence everything that Ron Paul stood for.

I also talked to another guy. He was from the other team's town. An old man with a big belly and a long white beard, he reminded me of Santa Clause. He talked to me about Ron Paul and he seemed very receptive to Dr. Paul's ideas and platform, even though he called all politicians "liars." I told him that I agreed with him but that Ron Paul isn't a politician, he's a representative of the people.

I went on to describe one of my favorite anecdotes about Ron Paul were Dr. Paul fought the Congress about Reagan's $30,000 gold medal. He smiled and told me a similar anecdote about Davy Crockett. So, I decided to do some research on it when I got home. Indeed, Crockett gave a famous speech to the Congress about how it was "unconstitutional" to be so charitable with taxpayers' money. Like Ron Paul, he supported the Congress paying for it out of their own pocket. Like today, none of them went for it. Source: [Wikipedia]

Also, I got someone that yelled out "Paul Wall." I don't know if that was an insult or just immaturity (sounded like it came from a high school kid). I just don't know what it means. Good thing I don't care much :) The best part about this is that I don't feel like its a burden, I feel like it is helping my people skills and I enjoy it! I will definitely be doing this in the future. Hopefully, I can hook up with one of the other Human Billboards.

Hitting the Streets for Ron Paul

As someone who had read my earlier posts would know, I am a member of Hoosiers for Ron Paul [H4RP]. This organization is a group that supports Ron Paul for the presidency. We have a sizable group of people that keeps on growing. At the time of this posting, there are 92! members in a single sub-group of H4RP (called Ron Paul for 'Indy'-pendence).

A member of H4RP and the Indy sub-group, Chris, took to the city streets of the beautiful Indianapolis. He wore a sign on a string that stated "Ron Paul 2008.com For President!" He walked around the downtown area and handed out fliers to people. Many people approached Chris and he told them about Ron Paul. He says that many people are receptive to the Ron Paul message. Here's a YouTube video of Chris:



Also, another man from H4RP has started doing a similar thing on his lunch breaks. He has donned himself a "human billboard" and started walking the Circle. He, too, says that people are receptive to his message and that he only gets one rude comment a day. There have been debates between people on the streets and Dan, but he tries to stay positive and does not 'trash talk' anyone.

Chris and Dan are my heroes at this point. They have taken the initiative themselves to put the ideas out there--just like Dr. Ron Paul has done at his debates. Let these two supporters of the Revolution be an inspiration to us all to get on there and hit the streets!

Hoosiers for Ron Paul

I live in Indiana and wanted to get involved with supporting Ron Paul on the streets. So, I signed up online at MeetUp and found this group called Hoosiers for Ron Paul. I found that there are 90! people in Indiana signed up and willing to be activists for the Ron Paul campaign. To me, that is an astounding number. I figured that the campaign wouldn't be up and running yet but, I found, that the campaign had started long before I had even heard of Ron Paul. I am presently delighted and tickled to death. This Saturday, June 16th, on Founding Fathers' Day, H4RP will meet in downtown Indianapolis to make signs, posters, flyers and other promotional items. I will be attending the event myself and hope to familiarize myself with the other members.

Hoosiers for Ron Paul Website
RonPaul.MeetUp.Com