Rep. Ron Paul may not have shaken up the Republican 2008 Presidential nomination race yet in terms of poll numbers, but he is certainly rocking the establishment’s conventional wisdom world in terms of fund-raising:
Ron Paul’s head-snapping fundraising puts a new face on a campaign that the media, politicians and much of the public had relegated to the sidelines.
The Texas congressman is now the presidential candidate tugging at the establishment’s coat.
The question: will it remain just a tug?
Or can part of the coat possibly come off?
Funneled through the Internet, Paul’s one-day loot totaled $4.3 million from about 37,000 donors, considered the largest sum ever collected online in a single day by a GOP candidate.
That means he’ll easily get his message across via TV, radio and…of course…. the (cheaper) “new media.”
Paul is indeed an online force who attracts support from people who do not fit easily into the standard Democratic and Republican political pigeonholes. His fame, as much as it is, stems from the political shorthand that has defined his candidacy: The only Republican opposed to the war in Iraq.
But Paul leans libertarian in his ideology and cites the Constitution as his guide. He opposes law enforcement or anti-terrorism measures that he believes encroach on civil liberties. His views on small government extend to weakening if not eliminating the Education Department. He favors limiting immigration and strengthening border security.
In that sense, he appeals to voters who may be happy mixing and matching their political views.
The Washington Post’s The Trail campaign blog:
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?
The Post blog talks about his online popularity and also contains this quote from a veteran political GOP pro:
“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.”
And, indeed, in the case of Ron Paul the Washington Insiders are as out-to-lunch in understanding what’s going on as many newspapers that have responded with lame efforts to compete with Internet web blogs ( My former employer The San Diego Union-Tribune has a really good one that was highly popular, useful and constantly updated during the recent fires). The Post again:
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 1988). 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.
Not only that, but Paul is getting a considerable “bounce” due to the fund-raising in terms of free media news coverage — and he is becoming a major political celebrity to boot.
CNN reports on the fund-raising drive:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd1kLATVljY
He appears on Jay Leno’s late night show:
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Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.