WINDHAM, N.H. — A group of Ron Paul supporters staged a satirical protest outside at least two Newt Gingrich events today, pretending to be ardent fans of the former House Speaker while holding signs that criticized his past positions and personal baggage.
They call themselves the Party Crashers (or, they did, when asked if they had a name), and held signs with slogans including “Divorce Lawyers for Newt” and “TARP recipients.”
“We love Newt!” said one, when approached by The Daily Caller and asked who they were with.
“We stand out in the cold for Newt!” echoed another.
“We’re from America. We love America, that’s why we want Newt. He’ll start more wars. We want that,” said a girl with dreadlocks.
The group was reluctant to say which candidate they were actually supporting.
“Do a story on us without knowing who we’re with,” implored one female Crasher. “Please?”
After some prodding, she finally agreed to give the initials of the candidate her group was in fact supporting: “R.P.”
“We’re with Mitt Romney,” another was overheard saying as they heckled Gingrich event attendees as they streamed out of Windham High School.
The Party Crashers handed out constitutional report cards on which Gingrich earned an F in every single category “so that everybody knows if you really want to destroy the constitution, this is the man,” one girl explained.
Only Ron Paul got straight A’s, a rating the group joking insisted was actually a bad thing.
“We want a Washington insider,” a girl said.
“We like Freddie Mac,” said another.
“He’ll keep the ‘too big to fail’ alive, sucking the last life out of the treasury. And we know that he wants individual mandates,” added another.
“We want to see corruption not only continue, but increase,” insisted one girl.
“And the wars!” another woman chimed in. “We want Syria bombed. And Iran.”
One cheerfully sarcastic Crasher scoffed at Gingrich’s current front-runner status in the polls.
“I don’t think he’s the flavor of the week. I really don’t. I think we’re good,” she said. “I think we’re going to stick, too. Because people are saying he’s the flavor of the week, but he has important people with lots of money and power and influence, so I think he’ll be the nominee.”
In a rare moment of seriousness, another Crasher criticized the former Speaker for not treating his supporters with respect. She noted that the Gingrich campaign had too many people to register for the event.
“They told all 1,200 people that they had seats, and that they just had to show up,” she said, though the venue seated only 650 people.
“We make sure we take care of the people who can take care of us,” she said. “We’re not dumb.”
With that exception, however, everyone the group stayed in character.
“He’s a dirty hippie,” said one girl, referring to a Paul supporter who was mentioned in conversation. “Ron Paul’s a dirty hippie,” she laughed.
The group came together through Meetup, a website that arranges group meetings. “The Meetup for Newt,” joked one. “Newtup! Newt Hampshire.”
“Today was the first day, but we plan to go a lot,” a girl explained. Another added later that her group planned to “increase our numbers” before next month’s New Hampshire primary.
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