August 17, 2007
The straw poll conducted on Republican day at the Illinois State Fair Thursday was a sight to see. Ron Paul appeared on WMAY's Talkback Now with Pamela Furr early in the morning and if you missed the broadcast, it will be re-played on Saturday Session with Bishop this Saturday on WMAY at 6pm CST. WMAY broadcast all week live from the Illinois State Fair, and during the 9am Interview, supporters of Ron Paul were on hand to cheer for the Republican Presidential candidate. On the air, Dr. Paul spoke about his unwavering message of freedom and liberty, fiscal responsibility and limited government. Conservative talk show host Pamela Furr seemed to be in agreement with much of what Ron Paul had to say, giving the listening audience of WMAY a good understanding for what Ron Paul stands for.
After working at the radio station, producing Talkback Now, I was able to meet up with Ted Keylon from Blowing the Whistle TV so that we could head over to the Illinois State Fair to cover the Republican straw poll for the public access television program. As we drove down Sangamon Avenue in Springfield we saw a rough spray painted sign asking a question. "Who is Ron Paul?" And the other side, "Google: Ron Paul ". This was a small taste of what we were to see at the State Fair. While on the road to the fair, WMAY was on the radio with the zany Molson and Lee. Ted decided to call and exclaim, "go Ron Paul", which was completely off subject and responded to as "he ain't gonna win!". Any plug is a good plug.
The rainy fair grounds were welcomed to a small crowd of political activists on Republican day. Ted, carrying around an "Impeach Cheney?" petition, asked all that he could whether they had a yes or no vote for the poll to impeach Vice President Cheney. We made contact with the Mabus clan, who had been at the fair since 8 in the morning electioneering for Ron Paul. On our way to the Directors Lawn to vote in the straw poll, we saw supporters from several different campaigns, Romney, Rudy and then Paul. Sign after sign in the air was in support for Ron Paul.
There were people from the greater Chicago area, southern Illinois, and even out of state that were not commissioned by the Ron Paul campaign. This was in the face of the ten busses that the Romeny camp had bought and paid for to ensure victory in the straw poll. Despite the 400 some Romney supporters, those backing Paul were on hand to make "Dr. No" a well known name, because the mainstream media has done a poor job doing just that. After voting in the poll, not just for the president, but also for several voter initiatives ranging from Illinois constitutional amendments to budget issues, Ted and I made our way back to the republican tent to gather our resources and touch base with other Ron Paul Supporters.
Vocal Support
Walking around during the early afternoons fair ground activities, Ron Paul supporters did not fret from approaching strangers to inform them about the only true conservative candidate. Surrounded by ???? on a stick (insert what you want), the responses varied from the misinformed "He's a socialist", the arrogant "Why would I want to waste my vote", to the ignorant "I have better things to do". Many people were not aware of Congressman Paul and were truly absorbent to his message. One thing is for sure, the general public seems to have forgotten what true conservatism is. With the current neo-con administration, can they be blamed?
As the straw poll was approaching a close, several Ron Paul supporters, including Ted Keylon, Jake Mabus and myself were trying to gather as many people as possible to head over to the Director's Lawn to cast their non binding vote, regardless who the candidate would be. But around the corner came this flood wall of activists in full support of Ron Paul. Young, old, black and white; the crowd marched up and down the State Fair grounds chanting, "Ron Paul Revolution, Legalize the Constitution. Say Yes to Dr. No, Vote In the Straw Poll." No other Presidential Campaign had any presence that could compare. There was even a woman wearing a Mitt Romney shirt that rode the bus Romeny paid for from Chicago to vote solely for Ron Paul. She had used the system for Paul's advantage and was happy to voice her opinions. Unfortunately she had to keep the shirt that was bought and paid for by the Romney camp to get back on the bus home.
Marching up and down the streets towards the Director's Lawn, there was a question of free speech being raised. At the gates of the straw poll, an organizer asked the Ron Paul crowd to limit their chants, only to be reminded of the first amendment. The Police on hand could do nothing. On the grounds; print, radio, TV and independent media was on hand to cover the final results to the straw poll. Kent Snyder, the national coordinator for the Ron Paul campaign, was there to answer questions and talk with supporters of the Congressman. You can see the interview with Ted Keylon on Blowing the Whistle TV .
The time came for the final results to be announced. Network TV was there to capture the rowdy crowd anxious to here the final tally. Ron Paul supporters got into position in front of the stage to voice who they were in favor of. There was a chanting match between "Ron Paul, Freedom" and "Mitt Romney". Without question, the Ron Paul chant overpowered any other voice.
The results are in
Andy McKenna, Chairman of the GOP in Illinois, stood on stage while the chanting quieted down. A board was then placed with the final results. 922 votes cast: Romney - 40.3 percent, Thompson (who is not officially in the race) - 19.9 percent, Congressman Paul fell just shy of second place - 18.9 (a great victory for the Paul camp) and Giuliani, McCain and Huckabee fell off the radar screen. Giuliani supporters played down the importance of the straw poll, made clear by Tom Cross, Illinois chairman for the Giuliani campaign and the Illinois House minority leader.
With the results in and a special appearance by Mitt Romney's son, supporters for all other candidates began to gather and load the busses. The Ron Paul support teams continued to stay around and flash Ron Paul signs for the network news cameras only to be asked by the State Police to remove the signs from the sight of the news cameras. So much for the free press reporting on what happened on the grounds, better polish the scene and get rid of the 'riff-raff'.
Afterward
Kent Snyder, after getting less than five hours of sleep in the past 48 hours, was gracious enough to stick around to talk with supporters of congressman Ron Paul. The group of upwards to 40 people, all volunteers there on their own accord (no air conditioned busses needed for the true activists, oh and the rain didn't stop them from coming out either), yearned for direction and information on what the next steps were. Mr. Snyder spoke about the several different metrics used to measure Ron Paul's growing success.
Some questions brought up to Mr. Snyder included voter fraud concerns, future straw polls, volunteer organization, and negative attacks on Ron Paul by opposing candidates. There is a straw poll in Indiana several days away, and a poll in Texas that Ron Paul should take easily, it being his home state with a huge following. Mr. Snyder did guarantee that motions are being made to get organized with volunteers for the Ron Paul campaign. The issue of voter fraud was brought up due to question raised from the delayed results out of Iowa's straw poll. Snyder did ensure that lawyers and overseers are in place to make sure that votes are being, as Ronald Reagan said, trusted but verified.
In response to what can be expected as far as negative attacks against Dr. Paul, Mr. Snyder did explain that Ron Paul will be attacked by the right and the left as being anti-Semitic, anti-black, anti-gay, anti-Hispanic, anti-military and on and on. But Snyder reassured the volunteers who stayed up to two hours after the results were announced that Ron Paul is for the individual and there really is absolutely no dirt or skeletons or flip-flopping in Dr. Paul's past.
Mr. Snyder spoke candidly about what the campaign is up to. With only 18 staff members, the Ron Paul campaign is growing more and more with online donation on average of $98 per donation from individuals not large corporations, volunteer Meetup groups with almost 30,000 members across the world, more YouTube views than any other candidate on either side of the political spectrum (excluding Obama), and an online following that is incomparable to any candidate in the history of politics in the United States. (www.RonPaul2008.com if you are interested)
His 72nd birthday just days away, candidate Ron Paul has what Mr. Snyder claims, "the body of a 72 year old, the mind of a 62 year old, and the energy of a 42 year old". He is experienced, wise and as most of us are, sleep deprived. He strongly believes, as volunteers and supporters do, his message of freedom, liberty and limited government.
With the intense and what some would call obnoxious (I would say necessary) presence of volunteers and supporters, Ron Paul getting third place in the Illinois Straw Poll can be considered as much of a miracle as this holy aberration of the virgin mother Marry on this piece of toast that came out of my toaster later that night ... any bids ... anyone? (thanks Meghan!)
See the video of the Straw Poll below! Join the Springfield Illinois Ron Paul 2008 Meetup Group today!
Greg Bishop can be reached by email: Bishop@wmay.com
Dr. Ron Paul has made the Illinois Times. President of Springfield, Illinois' widest read weekly magazine, 
Lights, microphones, cameras, action! Greg Bishop joins Ted Keylon on Springfield Illinois' public access television show 
