Saturday morning started nice and early at 5am as a friend and I drove 3.5 hours down to Louisville to help the Rand Paul campaign go door-to-door in the freshly fallen snow.
There were about 20 of us bundled up for the unforgiving January weather. Much to our dismay, Kentucky is not a fan of sidewalks or salt trucks, so our 3.5 hours of canvassing included a lot of high-speed slush-slinging from passing traffic coupled with unshoveled driveways. Fortunately our hand warmers, lots of coffee, and support for Rand got us through.
According to this writer from The Bluegrass Bulletin, even having 20 of us out that morning was a notable feat:
“I arrived just as Rand and about 20 volunteers had finished going door to door in the snowstorm asking for votes in Louisville in January. Now for anyone ever involved in a political campaign this is notable for several reasons. January door to door work is rare. Doing it in a snowstorm is dedication and getting 20 volunteers to do almost anything this early in a campaign is remarkable.”
Yes, the hope of liberty will make people do crazy things.
Whitney, Rand Paul, and Me
On our way back to drop off the canvassing data, I said to my friend “I hope they give us a bumper sticker or something.” Much to my surprise, we were invited to attend the private reception with Rand and Ron before the rally (tickets were $500 for everyone else.) Let the freaking out begin!
Still in shock, we grabbed a quick dinner and made our way to the reception…
The hour-long reception was mostly taken up by a local media interview (included at the end of this post.) We stood about five feet away throughout the taping, I happened to be at perfect eye level with Ron Paul who made eye contact with me randomly throughout the interview. My heart was racing the whole time, it was so surreal!
WHAS 11 interview
If you’ve never been in the same room as your hero, someone who has single-handedly changed your life/views/future ambitions, it’s impossible to explain, so I won’t even try.
I’m not even sure what exact words we exchanged, I know I said “thank you for everything you do” and mumbled something about being from Columbus but I’m not sure what he said in response. I suck at meeting heroes, I guess.
Me and RON PAUL!
After the reception we managed to snag a photo with Aimee Allen, I love her!
Me, Aimee Allen, and Whitney
The rally started at 4 with Aimee Allen performing the Star-Spangled Banner.
Apparently she had no idea she’d be asked to sing that, and had never once performed it live. Given the circumstances and short amount of time to prepare, I think she did great. She also did a few of her own songs, including an acoustic version of the “Ron Paul Anthem” — substituting “Ron Paul for President” with “Rand Paul for Senator.” Talk about syllabic luck.
Finally, it was time for Ron Paul. He gave an amazing, inspiring speech, as he always does.
I think he had more standing ovations than the State of the Union Address, and his were actually deserved. There was at least one crowd-chanting of “End The Fed!” and afterwards I was left overflowing with a renewed energy to continue the fight for liberty.
Photo by Gage Skidmore
This quote sums up the speech well:
“If you have a true understanding of liberty, everything else falls into place.”
– Ron Paul
Rand Paul came on next, this was my first time hearing him speak live.
My first observation was that he spoke intelligently and eloquently– without a teleprompter. Just like his dad. And he was full of common sense. Just like his dad. I can’t imagine having two of them in Congress.
My remarks on the speeches are limited because it’s best if you listen/watch for yourself.
Ron Paul and Rand Paul’s Rally Speeches:
(Can’t see the video? Click here.)
Full WHAS 11 Interview with Rand and Ron Paul (unedited)
24 minutes long, includes some predictable/pathetic mainstream media questions like “was 9/11 our fault?” but ultimately yields great responses (as always) from both Rand and Ron.
(Can’t see the video? Click here.)
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