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  1. #1
    Senior Member CitizenJustice's Avatar
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    Paul's Money-Bomb Throwers

    Paul's Money-Bomb Throwers

    Paul's record tally.


    Everyone -- Republicans, Democrats, pundits who crowd the cable news cycle, you name it -- is wondering: Who are these Ron Paul people?

    Speculate, theorize, stereotype. Only one thing is clear: the Paulites, the loyal, organized, Web-savvy supporters of Rep. Ron Paul, know how to raise money online, and 37,000 Paulites set a record yesterday by hauling in more than $4.2 million in 24 hours. That's the most money raised online by a candidate in a single day. A Paulite came up with the fundraising idea, a few more Paulites joined in and set the date for Nov. 5, Guy Fawkes Day, a symbol of rebellion in British history, then the "money bomb" effort spread virally.
    Context is crucial here. Sen. John McCain, who placed second in the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, raised $6 million last quarter. But that took three months.

    Sen. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, still holds the record for raising the most money in one day: $6.2 million on June 30. But she's a Clinton, and that cash didn't come entirely from Internet fundraising.

    So who is Paul and how did he set this record?

    He's a 72-year-old obstetrician-turned-congressman who's known as the "Dr. No" of the House of Representatives. No to big government. No to the IRS. No to the Department of Homeland Security. Alone in the GOP field, he's been against the war in Iraq from the beginning, a fact not lost on many of the Paulites. Most of his funds, at least two-thirds, his aides say, have come from the Internet. In the first quarter, he raised $640,000, $2.4 million in the second and $5.1 million in the third. By 3 p.m. EST today, he had raised $7.3 million since the beginning of October-- on track to raise the campaign's goal of $12 million by the end of the fourth quarter.

    "What he's done -- what his supporters have done -- is astonishing," Ed Rollins, who managed Ross Perot's campaign in 1992 and served as an adviser to President Reagan, told The Trail. "You can't dismiss his anti-war vote. You can't dismiss the power of one man standing up with a powerful message. I'll tell you, I've been in politics for 40 years, and these days everything I've learned about politics is totally irrelevant because there's this uncontrollable thing like the Internet. Washington insiders don't know what to make of it."

    One main asset for Paul is his multi-leveled appeal. Analysts like Rollins say it's the whole Perot-Buchanan-Nader effect, an anti-establishment, outside-the-mainstream candidate who's got a message and has rallied a group of messengers. Though, unlike some of those other outsiders, Paul has not talked about running as an Independent (although he did run as a Libertarian in 198. Online political strategists argue that Paul's fundraising success proves the power of Web 2.0: build a site, like RonPaul2008.com, tap the grassroots support and wait for the supporters to join the campaign.

    And that grassroots support, especially his popularity online, has been something of a phenomena.

    That support appears only to be growing, as the Paulites' Guy Fawkes day showing underscores. Jim Forsythe, 39, a former Air Force pilot and a Republican who voted for President Bush in 2004, is one Paul fan who helped boost Paul's tally. "I voted for Bush, and I'm not proud of it," Forsythe told The Trail this afternoon. Forsythe donated $301 to Paul yesterday and has so far given $2,026 to Paul this year.

    He intends to give as much as the law allows.

    -- Jose Antonio Vargas

    http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trai ... t_184.html

    The comments after the article just go on and on. Too many to bring to the thread. By all means, go there and read them........very heartening!!!!!!!!

  2. #2
    Senior Member USPatriot's Avatar
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    I just added my comment .
    "A Government big enough to give you everything you want,is strong enough to take everything you have"* Thomas Jefferson

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