Tagged: Ron Paul

Texas Congressman Ron Paul did three times better in the 2012 primary than in 2008.  NHPR's Jon Greeenberg sat down with the campaign's state director, Jared Chicoine. Chicoine has a dozen years of electoral work under his belt.  He was in Senator Bob Smith's primary battle with John E. Sununu.  Chicoine also worked with State Senator Bob O'Dell, and the congressional campaign of Sean Mahoney.

Sitting in a hotel lobby in Bow on the night of the primary, Chicoine told us a bit about the Ron Paul ground game.

Transcript available later.

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul drew a crowd of about 450 people at his first event in New Hampshire  after the Iowa caucuses.   Paul’s promise to curtail foreign military activity drew some of the loudest cheers.

The Texas congressman has nothing if not an enthusiastic following and voters young and old alike responded well to Paul’s signature policies.  Especially when he said the imminent danger of a nuclear Iran is exaggerated.

When asked what he would do about Social Security and other entitlements, he said he would protect them.

“Social security beneficiaries, the promise has been made.  We should try to take care of the promises.  Medicare is the same way.  Child health care would be the same thing.”

An astrologist charts the contenders' chances with a blind read of their birthdays.

Three weekly newspapers from the North Country have endorsed Ron Paul for president.

The newspapers are the Littleton Courier, the Coos County Democrat and the Berlin Reporter

The endorsement was made in the January 4th edition.

“We believe the two strongest candidates are Mitt Romney and Ron Paul,” the editorial said.

But then it noted “We feel there is something about Romney that is missing.”

Its praise for Paul included:

Tea Party voters were expected to play a key role in the 2012 republican presidential primary. But with movement hopefuls Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry low in the polls, and Herman Cain now out of the race, the Tea Party vote remains very much in play.  Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul may stand most to gain. New NHPR’s Josh Rogers reports.

 Attend any NH campaign event with a Tea Party flavor and you will come across more than a few voters like Mark Grenier.

“Mitt Romney? I’d spit on his shoes. The man’s flip-flops, health care, you can’t trust him.”

We Speak to NHPR’s executive editor Jon Greenberg on the cup game of where the money is going and if it ever existed to begin with?

In this presidential cycle, as in the last, there is no question which Republican candidate has the most ardent supporters.  It is Ron Paul, the 76-year-old Texas congressman whose brand of libertarianism often puts him at odds with all his rivals.  But with less than seven weeks to go there are signs that Paul could surprise people in the nation’s first primary.

Ron Paul supporters probably wouldn’t like this observation:  Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is sitting pretty in New Hampshire.  Very pretty.

But given that, this assessment isn’t too shabby.

“I could very well see Ron Paul coming in second place.”