Former Google Employee Engineers NH Ground Campaign For Ron Paul

The following piece was produced by HuffPost's OffTheBus.

Following a day of campaigning in New Hampshire, Ron Paul addressed supporters in Manchester at Murphy's Taproom on Saturday night. He may have met a few undecided voters, but the bulk of the crowd was composed of Paul supporters who had spent the day knocking on doors for their favorite congressman. Paul expressed amazement at how many volunteers had flocked to New Hampshire from across the country to spread his message in the run-up to New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary.

"You are the campaign; I have joined your revolution; thank you for having me," he concluded before giving way to a chorus of cheers and chants.

How is Paul getting so many activists to New Hampshire? It's simple -- he isn't.

The innovator behind the activist relocation program known as "Operation Live Free or Die" is not an employee of the campaign; Vijay Boyapati is just a bright, motivated guy who decided to get involved.

Until two weeks ago, Boyapati was an engineer at Google. Now he's organizing activists all over the country and bringing them to the "Live Free or Die" state to assist with the Paul campaign. For Boyapati, the saga began in July when he flew from Seattle to California to hear Paul speak at Google Headquarters.

Now the Australian-born Boyapati is braving the cold New Hampshire winter and urging others to do the same. According the the website, 405 activists are in New Hampshire or on their way. The goal is to recruit 1000, and progress has been steady.

"They're all converging on New Hampshire now," Boyapati observed with a smile.

Trevor Lyman met Paul for the first time Saturday evening, a few weeks after the November 5, V for Vendetta-inspired "Money Bomb" he organized raked in $4.3 million for the campaign from over 38,000 contributors.

Lyman, a former music promoter, is now a resident of Manchester, and he's promoting a fundraiser he says will exceed the last. Dec. 16 is known to revolutionary-era historians as the date of the Boston Tea Party, and now it's also being peddled as a better than average day to contribute to the Paul campaign.

Lyman says 23,000 individuals have already pledged at his newest website, TeaParty07.com, that they will donate to Paul's campaign on Dec. 16. "I think we'll definitely beat the $4.3 million, and beyond that I really don't know," he said.

One might assume that Boyapati and Lyman are long-time disciples of Dr. Paul, but neither was aware of the Congressman until this year.

Lyman, a non-voter, was initially spurred into action by his disdain for the newly-elected Democratic majority in Congress. Lyman said Democrats were elected to end the war, but instead they shirked their responsibility and went along with a plan which escalated the conflict. When Lyman got wind of Paul on the internet, he took a deeper look and liked what he saw. "Here's a guy who voted against the war all the way through, and also was very consistent in the way that he voted at all times," he explained.

Boyapati said his initial exposure to Paul was at the first Republican debate, which left him amazed. His understanding of the system had been that no politician could survive in Washington without being corrupted by special interests. To Boyapati, Paul was instantly and obviously different. "When I found him, I wanted to do everything I could to support him," he explained.

Contrasting Paul with candidates who have taken an anti-war position only after voters began demanding it, Boyapati said he admired the Texas Congressman for his foresight in opposing the Iraq invasion all along. "He knew why it was wrong," Boyapati said, "and to have the courage to stand up in front of Congress and say why it was wrong before it started was a really amazing thing -- there were very few people who did that."

Born and raised in Australia, Boyapati moved to the U.S. seven years ago and last year took the oath of citizenship. "I became a citizen not because I was trying to escape war or destitution or anything like that, because I came from Australia," he explained. "I became a citizen because I believe in the principles that the U.S. was founded on, and those principles are lost today, but they're not forgotten."

Comments

[samuraijack]

These two guys obviously went insane while working at Google and "promoting music"- (is that like booking two-bit bands at two-bit bars?) Ron Paul is also as crazy as a shit house mouse. Jack Out.

[samuraijack]

These two guys obviously went insane while working at Google and "promoting music"- (is that like booking two-bit bands at two-bit bars?) Ron Paul is also as crazy as a shit house mouse. Jack Out.

[Galvestonians for Dr. Ron Paul]

Press Releases › 21 Academics from Prestigious National Universities Join to Endorse Congressman Ron Paul for President
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December 6, 2007 3:38 am EST

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – A group of professors from a wide range of academic disciplines have formed an “Academics for Ron Paul” group to declare their support for presidential candidate Ron Paul. The academics hold positions at national institutions including Northwestern University, University of Alabama, American University, The Citadel, Brigham Young University, Hillsdale College, Indiana University, Ohio University and The Hoover Institution.

In their announcement they wrote:

“Americans have lost faith in politicians, and for good reasons. Taxes, spending, and the national debt continue to rise, special interest bribes riddle the Congress, courts, and executive branch, and our schools are in shambles. Yet our government continues to wage a ceaseless assault on the American people’s rights to make their own choices. It has done so through the USA Patriot Act, the REAL ID Act, the War on Drugs, McCain-Feingold, and countless other initiatives. The endless and inept foreign policy of interventionism of the establishment politicians has put our country in grave danger not only of a destructive war with Iran but a new financial crisis.

“The 2008 election thus comes at a critical time in the history of the United States and the world.

“We endorse Ron Paul for president because we believe he is the candidate best able to solve these profound problems. We come from a broad and diverse range of academic fields and specialties. We unite under the banner of liberty and are proud to announce our support for Ron Paul.” The full endorsement can be found here: www.academicsforpaul.com

Dr. Paul recently was also endorsed by Barry Goldwater Jr., who served in Congress for six terms with Congressman Ron Paul, and is the son of former Republican presidential nominee and Arizona U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater. His video endorsement can be found here."

-30-

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[pysong]

I know that Ron Paul stated in the CNN debates that he would not run as an independent, but I really think he needs to re-consider whether he might have a better overall chance as an independent third party candidate!!
Too many states have “sore loser” laws where you can’t run in the primary, lose, and then run in the General Election as an independent or third party candidate.
I am a huge supporter of Dr. Paul, but think he has a much better chance in the general election than in the Republican primary.
He has been able to use the debates to gain much needed recognition, momentum, and support, but should now consider dropping out before Iowa and mounting a serious third party campaign.
The time is right and the country is yearning for an independent choice!!

[Galvestonians for Dr. Ron Paul]

I would invite all who read this, after you leave your comment to go to Rep. Conyers thread and leave a post on your feelings.
He is listening and all should write to him.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-conyers/setting-the-record-straig_b_75448.html

[CharlesMac]

Stand up.

Unless You haven't been keeping up with current events, Your government is beyond out-of-control with power and greed. The Democrats were put in Washington to straighten things out. They liked so much the way the one party regime of Bush and the Republican Congress had transformed Washington, that they have decided to leave it the way it is.

The simplified message of Ron Paul is that he wants to wrest the power from the federal government, because much of it does not belong to them. And that which they have taken, they have abused.

The Democrats vs Republicans is a play for our entertainment and distraction. The undeniable issue after the past 7 years is the People vs their Government.

Paul wants the power removed from Washington and returned to state governments, local governments, and individuals. Where life-changing decisions are not made behind closed doors in committees, cloaked in volumes of confusion, and cleverly metered out by the Washington press.

The system is broken and nobody in Washington, or their financial backers, want it fixed.

He has a blueprint for getting America back on track. It is not his opinion, sophistries of some demagogues, or bold face lies.

It is the Constitution.

At the same time, rest assured he is not a naive or sadistic ideologue. His solutions to such issues as Medicare and Social Security go much deeper than can be fired off in sound bytes. On the other hand, his solutions to Iraq, lobbyists, HMOs, corporate welfare, and the oligarchy in general.. will be very direct.

Ron Paul may be a major opportunity for young adults to save the future my generation is well on their way to leaving behind. At the very minimum, he must be kept in the national discussion as long as is humanly possible.

We Baby Boomers would push an old lady down the steps, if there was a buck in it.

It is time for the next generation to begin a New America. The great America... as it should be.... and as it once was.

[mary4peace]

Being a dem my whole life and just switching to republican so I could vote for Dr. Paul and I always try to engage people on what is taking place with our country. Dems that I talk to are always positive about Dr. Ron and if anyone is negative it is more apt to be a republican. Sometimes I feel he would do better running as a dem. There just seems to be such a depressing sense of doom in the country these days and the front runners of both parties are both warmongers, what are we going to do? We can't let either of them win. And that Huckabee he is an evangelical nutball who supports the Iraq Oil For Buds War. We still haven't yet finished with the last 7 years of disasterous religious nutball dictatorship. We have got to take our America back from the corporations that are running our country and controlling our media. Please vote for Ron Paul, he is the only one not bought and paid for by Corporate America.

[frantaylor]

These Ron Paul people sound just like the fools who get mixed up in pyramid schemes to sell phony 'gas saving' pellets and such. He just sounds so good! Oh my! I really have no idea how he's going to get anything done. He's never going to be able to convince Congress or the courts to along with any of his schemes. If he's president, he won't even be able to vote for his proposals like he can now, he will just push his ideas at Congress, who will summarily ignore him. He'll be a lame duck on inauguration day.

[desertdweller]

Ron Paul never seemed to have a problem following fellow-Texan Tom Delay's marching orders. If he was truly an independent thinker and protector of the Constitution, he would have raised his voice in protest of Delay's corrupt ways. Not being a part of the solution therefore, Ron Paul was part of the problem. On that basis alone, he is unworthy of consideration.

[leftLibertarian]

Legalize Liberty
Vote for Ron Paul

[stressfreeliving]

I think the passion of the Ron Paul supporters is one to be commended. I do not see that passion with any of the other candidates at this time.

[Wrong2bRight]

Most republicans want to turn the US back into the 1950s. Ron Paul wants to turn it back to 1776.

Enlighted people like Hillary Clinton and Hugo Chavez want to bring the world into the light of a modern era. An era without poor people or rich people. An era where businesses serve the people not the owner. An era where if one person prospers, everyone around him prospers as well.

[phatphing]

I really identify with Vijay. I thought Congress was sold in entirety long ago. I had on idea someone like Ron Paul existed,... and a Republican no less.

America would be a fool to pass him by.

[mary4peace]

Everyone please join the revolution, I have been a lifelong democrat who was against the Iraq invasion from the start, that is how I found Dr. Paul,and I was awed. I truly felt as if I was watching a great statesman and patriot, the way he fights for what he believes and has never been bought by special interests or lobbyists. This man has a congressional record dating back to the 70's and every vote has been according to the constitution, he has always been this way. He didn't just clean up his act 5 years ago so he could run for prez. Please do not let the social issue of abortion keep you from voting for this great patriot. He was an ob/gyn who delivered 4000 babies for chrissake how do you expect him to feel after holding 4000 babies at the moment of their birth, having those tiny faces gazing at you.. You think you are going to do that for a living and then have anything to do with their destruction at any stage. They also try to make him out to be a kook, fringe, crazy....get real and wake up!!! This country has been taken over by corporations that are making our decisions and reporting our news. Something needs to be done. Look how our standard of living is decreasing every day. Please talk to people, engage them in conversation about what is taking place. Iraq was never about anything but OIL.

[clumberfeet]

When Ron Paul speaks he makes too much common sense.

He would be doing better if he said things that were meaningless, slanderous or totally false.

America won't believe the truth.