Paul’s pals move to N.H. to canvass for votes

MANCHESTER, N.H. — They revel in the voting record that earned him the nickname “Dr. No.”  

They swap stories about his triumphs in Congress, like the time he challenged his fellow lawmakers to bankroll a medal for Rosa Parks rather than bill the American taxpayer.

{mosads}Now some have even upended their lives to move to New Hampshire — in some cases making cross-country treks — to help propel their long-shot candidate in this state’s all-important Republican primary.

“I didn’t believe he existed. I didn’t believe a libertarian could exist in Congress,” said Vijay Boyapati, 29, who quit a lucrative job in Seattle as an engineer at Google to set up house in this state and volunteer full-time for his man.

Among the dark horses in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) has inspired the most fervent of supporters.

Many say they’ve never been moved to vote before. Most acknowledge they hadn’t even heard of Paul until recently. Seething with rage over the Iraq war, busted budgets and corruption in Washington, they stumbled upon his anti-tax, anti-neocon message during late-night Internet searches.

One YouTube clip of the Texas Republican taking one of his iconoclastic stances — like his support for abolishing the Federal Reserve — and they were hooked.

“Ten hours later …” as one supporter put it, calculating the time he spent tied to his computer screen listening to clips of Paul.

Voting records often prove the undoing of presidential candidates. Rival campaigns mine House and Senate roll calls for easy ammunition. But for Paul, his votes are the fuel of his campaign.

 “When you come off being lied to and you’ve found someone who is consistent … then you know he’s the candidate for you,” said Trevor Lyman, 37, the architect of the Nov. 5 “Ron Paul money bomb” that raised $4.3 million, the record for any single-day fundraiser on behalf of a GOP candidate.

His supporters — Freedom Fighters, Patriots or Paulanteers, as some call themselves — point out again and again that he has never voted for a tax increase and has opposed the Iraq war from the start.

But that’s just the icing on the cake. After a thorough scouring of his record, many of the uninitiated say they were won over by Paul’s unflagging support for the Constitution.

“They’re in amazement that a man of his honor and integrity has been there for so long,” explained Pat Brian, an engineer from Paducah, Ky., who is in New Hampshire going door to door for Paul.

Lyman is one of about 30 supporters who have dropped everything to aid Paul’s bid for the White House by coming to New Hampshire, betting that the candidate’s libertarian philosophy will play well in the “Live Free or Die” state.

Lyman moved here weeks ago, selling part of his stake in a Florida Internet business to support himself. He plans to cast his first vote ever in the Jan. 8 primary.

Laura and Wesley Lounsbury, their 20-month-old and 3-year-old in tow, set out from Cane Beds, Ariz., last month, arriving in New Hampshire on Nov. 10. They rented a home near the coastal town of Portsmouth and promptly opened their doors to out-of-state strangers intent on helping Paul.

 “Everyone’s so excited to come out of the woodwork and cast their first vote,” said Laura, 24, another first-time voter who established residency in New Hampshire with her husband so that they can support Paul in the primary.

Dozens more volunteers have been pouring in for shorter stints from places as far-flung as Georgia and Florida, traveling on their own dime and using their vacation days to canvass for Paul.

Boyapati, the former Google engineer, is raising funds to house out-of-state volunteers through his political action committee, Operation Live Free or Die. He says he has collected enough money to rent 20 or 30 homes across the state. He has no shortage of volunteers: More than 400 have already pledged to come, he says.

The supporters are not deterred by Paul’s low ranking in the polls. They blame a “media blackout” they say is being perpetrated against him, insisting that it only fuels them to do more, like work to continue Paul’s record-setting fundraising pace.

Supporters are anticipating another Internet fundraising bonanza on Dec. 16, timed with the arrival of a Ron Paul blimp in the Boston Harbor to celebrate the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.

“We’re worried about time, whether we have enough time,” one supporter said.

As for the polls, most backers contend that Paul will draw support from disaffected Democrats and first-time voters who won’t register in surveys of likely GOP voters.

Nationally, Paul garners 6 percent of the GOP vote, according to a new CNN poll. But Lounsbury argued that the real number is closer to 15 percent.

A new MSNBC/McClatchy poll has Paul trailing the GOP field in New Hampshire, with the support of 5 percent of likely primary voters. His nearest rival, former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), is polling at 6 percent. However, a recent ABC/Washington Post poll has Paul leading Thompson by 8 percent to 4 in the Granite State.  

 W.A. Reilly, a man from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., who says he paid $2,800 to have every surface of his Chevy SUV covered with plastic wrapping emblazoned with a portrait of Paul, has conducted his own polling.

 Reilly claims to have surveyed 1,354 people in New Hampshire shopping malls and other public places, asking them nine questions and refraining from giving them his pitch on the Texas Republican.

His prediction? Paul will either squeak by or lose by a tiny margin. “It’s neck and neck,” he says.