MANCHESTER, N.H.—The late-night chase after Sean Hannity is fondly remembered among the adherents of Ron Paul's liberty movement. It was the Sunday before the 2008 New Hampshire primary, and Paul's ever-burgeoning grassroots base was (understandably) angry that their candidate would be boxed out of the Fox News debate. Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, and even the somnolent Fred Thompson would get seats, and Paul would not. They got back-up from the state party—then-Chairman Fergus Cullen called the Fox move "inconsistent with the first in the nation primary tradition"—but to no avail.
Revenge only came when someone spotted Hannity. Paul supporters poured out of Murphy's, the bar owned by a state representative who supported their candidate, and pursued the Fox News host. He had frequently dismissed the libertarian-leaning Paul, especially when supporters swarmed live post-debate polls to make sure viewers saw that Paul had won.
