Today, local supporters of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul gathered in downtown Harrisonburg, waving signs at passing traffic to demonstrate their enthusiasm for their hero. Nearly all of the fourteen or fifteen participants were from Harrisonburg or Rockingham County though two traveled from as far away as Madison County.
Starting off at the four corners of the intersection of Liberty and Water Streets, the group soon migrated to the busier intersection of Main and Cantrell Streets. Shouting slogans of “end the Fed”, “end the TSA”, and, of course, “Ron Paul for President”, the participants attracted considerable support given the numbers of honking motorists. Several passersby even requested or accepted bumper stickers.
At one point, WHSV, the local ABC affiliate, covered the event for the 6:00 news. Although invited, it did not appear that The Daily News Record, the local newspaper, nor WSVA, the local news radio, chose to report upon this story.
Given the positive response, Harrisonburg/Rockingham County for Ron Paul, the Facebook group responsible for the event, promises to hold another sign wave, perhaps even as many as one a week.
Admittedly, it is difficult to gauge the benefits of sign waves, but this event does show that there is a groundswell of committed activists who are willing to volunteer their time in support of Dr. Paul. Can any of the other candidates, be they presidential, senatorial, or for the House of Representatives say likewise? After all, how many sign waves have you seen for Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, or Rick Santorum anywhere in the Shenandoah Valley?
Nevertheless, both the Paul and the Romney campaigns ought to be stepping up their ground game in the heavily conservative Shenandoah Valley. After all, in just twenty-nine short days, Virginia voters will go to the polls to select between the two. And in this contest, he who is the most organized and has the best volunteers will likely win.
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