Unlike other candidates vying for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, Ron Paul has a grassroots campaign here in St. Louis. Scene went to the campaign’s St. Louis headquarters to discuss the life of an activist with Mark Ogier and Kelly Owens

Ogier and Owens are activists supporting Ron Paul. Unlike a traditional campaign, which has specific roles like political advisor, grassroots movements may lack strict organization. Ogier and Owens are among the more devoted members of the organization and donate a significant amount of time. The two sit in the office, answer the phones and distribute literature about Ron Paul and his views. Owens describes keeping everyone affiliated with the movement in line is “like herding cats.” Ogier and Owens receive no compensation for their work and have little contact with the national Ron Paul campaign. “It’s like a club,” Ogier explains. A huge Ron Paul sign dominated the room, and one of the activists had a bumper sticker reading “The doctor will free you now” on her computer.

Student Life: What is a grassroots campaign, and how does it differ from a more traditional political campaign?

Mark Ogier: There’s a little irony in the origins of the term “grassroots.” In the past there was a campaign against Monsanto, and Monsanto hired some people to go online and present their point of view. Grassroots is actually an ironic opposite of Astroturf, which is a Monsanto-type product.

What you have in an official campaign is a set message and a set distribution system, whereas in a grassroots program, you just got a bunch of different people making signs in a garage, standing on a street corner, making their own information, making Youtube videos. In other words, taking it upon themselves to put the message out. It’s very unorganized. As far as from a nationwide point of view, there is no single message. Hopefully, the people do understand the general concepts, in this case Ron Paul, and they feel free to go out and extol that message as they see fit.

Kelly Owens: I would also add that there’s more creativity in a grassroots campaign, and it’s from the bottom up versus top to bottom.

SL: How much contact do you have with the national campaign?

KO: We’re not really in communication. Just recently, we’ve had a little communication but very minimum.

SL: Do you order your signs from the national campaign then? There’s a big one behind you.

KO: These are hand-lettered. In fact, this one is from 2008, and we put a 2012 sticker over it. We order some supplies through the campaign, but it’s pretty much half and half. Otherwise supporters bring in supplies that they’ve ordered or made themselves. And legally, I don’t think they [the national campaign] can be too involved due to federal election laws.

MO: A grassroots campaign is more like a hobby, whereas when and if the campaign actually opens up a presence in this state or any other state, then it’s official—a job—with people getting paid, and all that is recorded due to IRS requirements, all that. This is more like a meet-up group.

SL: What sort of activities do you sponsor throughout the greater St. Louis area to promote Ron Paul?

KO: We have booths at different events like gun shows and a nullification tour. We wave signs, host debate viewing parties, did some phone-banking. We’ve had a documentary viewing party. We try to have social events, as well as educational events. We’ve had like coordinator training, so people know their local boundaries, districts, and also the political meetings within those districts. We teach that you have to stay involved locally to make a change, so we have caucus training at least once a week.

MO: A big part of the message with Ron Paul is that if he gets elected, and everyone goes home and sits on the couch, that’s not going to work. There are a lot of us here who have been here since ’07 through the ’08 election. Once that was over, we kept moving in and getting involved. I’m from the city, so I go to the Board of Aldermen meetings. Part of this process is going to these local meetings and letting the politicians know that there are people watching them at the meetings. Take a camera to a meeting. You’ll be amazed how suddenly they’ll sit up in their chairs. A lot of the stuff that might normally happen won’t happen if it’s going to be on Youtube.

If Ron Paul gets elected, he needs us in these positions. If he doesn’t get elected, then he really needs us in these positions. That’s the educational aspect of it. People show up; they may not know their township, their congressman, where they fit into that.

SL: What’s the typical profile of an activist here? Do all activists agree with Dr. Paul’s more unconventional views, like abolishing the department of education?

KO: There isn’t one. They come from all walks of life: from the right, who supported McCain last time, from the left, who supported Obama last time, to people who have supported Ron Paul last time, or a third party.

MO: In general it’s people who look at things and say, “It doesn’t add up.” They’re looking for another approach. We call it waking up. You start off disinterested in politics, but at some point that isn’t enough.

There are people I know who are with Ron Paul on everything except foreign policy or the war on drugs. It all depends on personal experience. There are more opinions here. I think most people here agree with Ron Paul about 80 percent. We know where the candidate stands on the issues.

KO: We know where he stands because he’s been saying the same thing for 30 years.