Ron Paul now a frontrunner, in the race to win it Larry Fester Published 11/07/2007 - 4:58 p.m. EDT http://www.usadaily.com/article.cfm?articleID=154392 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul just demonstrated that he is one of the frontrunners and in the race to win. Two days ago Ron Paul raised 4.2 million online from over 36,000 donors averaging $103 per person. It was the largest online haul and the biggest single day of donations for a Republican candidate ever. Bob Novak said of Ron Paul: "Raising this sort of money could increase Paul's support. First, it suggests that he is a legitimate candidate and not the Dennis Kucinich of the GOP. This might make some potential supporters less wary about "throwing away their vote." Also, going into the early states, he will have a huge cash-on-hand" Paul did well raising over 5 million in the third quarter with over 5 million in cash on hand at quarterâs end. At that point his candidacy should have been recognized by media outlets as the real deal but instead media outlets have continued to rely on their own polls to determine a candidateâs viability. In this election the media polls have proven to be at best an obsolete and lagging indicator, or worse, a tool to manipulate the public. There also appears to be a faulty view among media pundits that online users are a different group of people than Cable News viewers. Media corporations appear to be struggling with the possibility that they are losing control over the election process and becoming slightly less relevant than before. The internet is user driven and as its role in politics grows, media corporations may have to adapt and follow the lead of online indicators instead of their own polls. Paulâs recent surge in fund raising along with the large crowds that show up at events has made him one of the frontrunners in the GOP race. Up until now many Republicans sympathetic to his message, as Novak points out, have been afraid to waste a vote on Paul. That view has changed. Paul told supporters today, âThe day is coming--far faster than they know--when they will not be able to ignore our freedom revolution. He continued, âThere is hope for America--in a people's revolution that brings us all together, of whatever race and age and background.â Ron Paul does not sound like a protest candidate but a candidate that can win. Paul seems to have the momentum now regardless of what the polls say. Paulâs issues like civil liberties, military non interventionism, border security, monetary reform, eliminating federal income taxes, and limited government, appear to be resonating in a big way.
Ron Paul is quickly becoming the story of this campaign. None of the other candidates has any real support beyond people on their payroll. Paul has improbably become the rock star candidate. Very bad news for the other guys, some of whom could find themselves rendered irrelevant in a couple of weeks.
I don't want to rain on anyone's parade but Ron Paul is still polling below 5% Ron Paul, November 2007 CNN - 5.0% NBC - 4.0% Newsweek - 2.0% USA Today - 1.0% http://www.usaelectionpolls.com/2008/candidates/Ron-Paul.html And these polling numbers are probably quite accurate as they are roughly the same as the number of americans who believe in the abolition of the federal reserve, the IRS and public education, in the idea that 9/11 was our own fault and that an isolationist foreign policy will keep us safe. There is of course the option of ignoring these polls and other inconvenient facts if they get in the way of a good story and blaming them on media conspiracy.
dddooo As Deepthroat told Woodward & Bernstein, "follow the money..." That'll be the litmus test. Don't underrate money as a proxy for support in our political system - especially grassroot groundswell cash.
I wouldn't mind. Coming from Europe I'm naturally more attracted to the left side, but there are some republicans that might get my vote, like Pat Buchanan and this mr. Paul. They are straight guys with no hidden agenda. Their agenda is clearly visible and I disagree with some parts of it but I can where they're coming from. If RP would be candidate I think the DEMs will have a very very strong opponent.
Well, tell this to Howard Dean Mr Dean has broken Bill Clinton's fund-raising records for a Democratic candidate, has an army of energised supporters and has the lead in the race for his party's presidential nomination. Sounds familiar, does not it and we know the rest of the story. Also keep in mind that Howard Dean was actually a real democrat, had a huge support among the grassroots and was in the lead for a very long time while Ron Paul is way behind in the polls and is not even a true republican, he is a libertarian who's supported by 3-5% of public who are libertarians and an equal number of libertarian-leaning republicans. That Ron Paul's supporters organized to make their donations on the same one day means absolutely nothing, his views are still not shared by the remaining 95% of the country.
How do you know how 95% of American's feel about just one issue, let alone all of the issues, dddooo? Do you have any data to support that claim? BTW, Dean had a meltdown that cost him the nomination. That was the moment of his undoing. It is an irrelevant point in analyzing Paul's viability.
dd: >...his views are still not shared by the remaining 95% of the >country. 95% of the country are sold their views (meaning they're canned, without thought and meaningless). JB PS: I do recognize however, that the votes of those 95% are still counted.
Well, given that 95+% of the country are not libertarians and don't share the libertarian philosophy it's probably safe to assume that they don't believe in the abolishment of the federal reserve, the IRS and public education, they don't believe in international isolationism and quite a few other positions that Ron Paul and the libertarians hold dear. Fair enough but it still demonstrates that money and grassroots support are overrated, Dean had both, his meltdown was not with the grassroots who kept adoring him and kept donating to him, he had a meltdown with the rest of the country. The comparison with Dean is relevant in this respect only, that money and grassroots support did not save his campaign. Of course Dean's meltdown was caused by the Scream, Ron Paul's inability to get traction with the voters is caused by his [extreme] views. No amount of money will change it.
95% of the country are sold their views (meaning they're canned, without thought and meaningless). that does not necessarily make their views wrong (or right for that matter). My point is though that Ron Paul is not where the voters are, not even close. PS: I do recognize however, that the votes of those 95% are still counted. Unfortunately they are counted indeed (with the exception of Florida votes of course )