Ron Paul's growing popularity is beginning to remind me of an old Stephen Stills song, and it has two different meanings. One meaning is that the Paul campaign seems to be catching on. The other is that it's catching heat. It's not surprising that the two go hand in hand. At this point, the big question is...how far can it go? by Walt Thiessen
(libertarian)
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
There's something happening here, What it is ain't exactly clear. There's a man with a gun over there, Telling me I've got to beware.
I think it's time we Stop!, children, what's that sound? Everybody look what's going down.
That spooky guitar riff from the 1960s and 1970s is going through my mind these days. It last entered my head on September 11, 2001. Now, it's here for a different reason.
Every time one of our columnists publishes a piece that touches on the campaign of Ron Paul, traffic spikes. The number of daily visitors sometimes increases as much as 3 or 4 times more than average. Other news websites are reporting the same phenomenon. The Washington Post and the LA Times have already noted the tendency, according to USA Daily.
Paulites show up in droves and leave comments of every kind, usually in fervent defense of their candidate. Meetup groups have long been a staple of these stalwarts. Media notice is increasing. MSNBC reported just today that over 700 people attended a Ron Paul rally at Iowa State University. Another rally in Des Moines attracted another 300. They even quoted the candidate himself expressing surprise:
""I've been used to delivering a message very similar to what I'm delivering tonight for many, many years and not getting a whole lot of responses. And all of a sudden, there's a whole generation of people now very excited about hearing about the message of freedom."
The Boston Globe describes Paul as, "a sensation." Political website Outside The Beltway takes note that Paul is only ten points behind Hillary Clinton. The National Ledger, not exactly known for being friendly to the Paul campaign in the past, has just noticed the same trend and now writes, "Can Ron Paul win the Republican nomination and then go on to be elected as the forty-fourth president of the United States? He just might if he is able to run against Hillary Clinton."
On the negative side, there's Red State and blogger Hot Air singing their equivalent of the last verse of the Stills song:
Paranoia strikes deep Into your life it will creep It starts when you're always afraid You step out of line, the man come and take you away
I think it's time we Stop!, children, what's that sound? Everybody look what's going down.
The next big event to watch on the campaign timeline is November 5th. That's the day of the grassroots surge in contributions that some are attempting to acquire on behalf of the Paul campaign. The official campaign website doesn't even take note of it, but Paulsters everywhere are pushing it anyway. October's online haul so far is roughly $2.5 million, although I can probably expect to get a comment or two from some Paul supporters reminding me that his offline contributions will make that total even higher. But the goal on November 5th, depending upon whichever Paul supporter you read, is to get a million contributors giving $12 each or some other similar combination, in commemoration of Guy Fawkes Day. Why Guy Fawkes Day, you ask? Because of a Natalie Portman film from a couple of years ago called V For Vendetta which has apparently developed something of a cult following here in the U.S. In fact, a source tells me that when a number of people went to the mall in Washington, DC on Nov. 5 last year and found others who had the same idea and dressed up in the Fawkesian masks and outfits, the general feeling was that an even bigger group would do the same thing this year.
I don't know how many of those who show up in DC will also be Paul supporters, but I certainly wouldn't bet that the percentage will be low. I'm also waiting keenly to see how much steam the grassroots effort has as measured by Nov 5th online contributions to the Paul campaign.
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Posted By: Michael McDonnough
Date: 2007-10-30 14:44:28
Walt,
I am signed up for Nov 5th and will send Ron Paul $100. At present the number of site visitors is 168,698 total visitors, with 13,102 subscribers signed up. I would not be suprised if the actual donations is higher than the slightly over 13K subscribers would indicate. A lot of people do not want to be on a list like this but might be very inclined to make a donation. Incidently I do not call my payments to Ron Paul's campaign donations I call them an investment. When Ron Paul is elected he will eliminate the personal income tax so in my view donations that might help him get elected should be considered an investment or at least a good gamble.
For what it's worth I will be watching Jay Leno with Ron Paul tonight and most of my friends that are not up that late will be making a Tivo copy for later viewing. Since he shares the couch with Tom Cruise and the movie Cruise is staring in is a critique of the so called War on Terror this might be a good show to watch.
Walt, You have it right. RP supporters are a zealous, eclectic bunch who know how to rally behind their candidate. I am part of the web traffic admittedly. This Guy Fawkes day thing is new to me but your analogies are quite interesting and it is my hope that the GOP is knocked on their a**** (posterior ends) come the primaries. It's quite obvious the thouoght of which scares them spitless, thus the attacks. Great write up overall. Thanks.
My whole family signed up for Nov. 5th to send Ron Paul 100.00 each. I am almost sure one family member will kick alot more.. That doesn't include all my friends who are doing the same. I have never gave to a candidate before, neither have my family members.
Yes the 5th of November push is to get 10,000 people to give $100. That's $10,000,000 in one day. That is also so easily going to happen and it's going to be a new record. It's also gonna make the neocons tremble with fear. Moreover, Hillary ought to start thinking about how her usual BS isn't going to compete with the straight talk of RON FRICKIN' PAUL BABY! Oh yeah.
I'm also signed up. I saw the movie V for Vendetta, and now that I read this I understand why they chose Nov 5th. AWSOME!!! I sending more than $100 for my next president. YEAH!!!!
As an RP supporter, originally I was taking offense at some of the articles written to paint him as irrational. Then I realized that there wouldn't be such a need for people to try to denigrate him unless he somehow posed a threat to win. I don't think you see such support for other candidates, so we should expect them to come after RP with pitchforks soon. I don't know anything about V for Vendetta, but I can tell you as a 51 year old financial executive, RP supporters are not all Trekkies with 9-11 conspiracy theories.
Used to vote Republican, until George. Switched to independent in disgust. Switched back to Republican to vote, for the First time, for someone I truly believe in. I, like the others, am one of the people who respond to articles about the good Doctor. I will also be donating on the 5th of November! Let Freedom Ring. Honesty, Integrity, Humility Ron Paul is the Man!
Certainly Paul has amassed a real cult following with all the virtues of a cult -- hysterical, uninformed, intimidating, etc. The libertarian message is now being distorted and confused with the message of Rockwellians and their bigotry and social conservatism. Pity libertarianism. It is being killed from within just at the moment the country desparately needs it. It is not Paul's message of govt. control of abortion. It is not Paul's rejection of libertarianism on immigration and his adoption of the most disgusting aspect of the Theopublican movement. It is not his opposition to separation of church and state. It is not about state's rights but individual rights. Nor is it even about his less than stellar understanding of free market economics (actually his understanding is pretty sad).
My wife thanks you, my mistress thanks you, my banker thanks you, and I thank you. You can rest assured that even if I don't get 2% of the votes, your money will be used wisely by all of the above.
Yea man im dontating on the 5th but not a 100 bucks, im going to drop a cool grand for my man Ron, just incase 9 other Ron supporters cant afford it. I dont want to twist anyones arm but it wouldnt be a bad idea to either max out your donations on the 5th or drop a little more than 100, if you can that is. It could be huge for Ron, and also a great big punch in the face of the other candidates and or knuckle heads that say Ron has never had a chance. Yea buddy GET SOME! and give some to Ron Paul!!!
Posted By: W Gary Johnson
Date: 2007-10-31 06:33:07
I get google and yahoo news alerts in my email whenever a story mentions Ron Paul. This means I spend a lot of time on sites I wouldn't ordinarilay visit (like RedState or Pajamas Media). I'm sure a lot of other people are doing the same thing and causing the spikes in traffic.
I saw the Tonight Show last night and thought that Congressman Paul did very well in the little time that he was on the stage. I totally support his bid for the Republican nomination and believe that he is the best candidate running in one of the major parties. GO RON!!!!
I don't agree with Dr. Paul on every issue but he represents our last, best hope for smaller government and return to our constitution and republic. If the GOP fails to nominate him, I say "Write Him In!"
I am one of the Paul supporters that causes the traffic spikes you mention. I am 27 years old, and have never fervently supported a candidate before. Ron Paul gives honest answers and adopts a constitutional, limited government approach that no other candidate will commit to.
My support was with another candidate. I was basically inclined to vote the lesser of the two evils. I was on youtube watching some of his videos when i saw a Ron Paul vid response..Never has any politician made more sense and given cold hard facts and truth about our nation. Nov 5th im investing my paper money for a man i truly stand for. never have i felt so proud to be American! Finally a politician w/o a secret agenda i would trust my life with Dr. Ron Paul for president! God Bless that man!
Posted By: Donald Rogers
Date: 2007-10-31 20:24:04
Not only am I re-pledging another $100....I know of 7 others in this small mountain town that has NO internet also stating....time to bump up the cauffers....I'm in...and guess what? all I had to do was show them 2 u-tube videos of their choosing. The message speaks louder than any words the MAIN STREAM JOKERS could EVER put out.
Â
Grab yourselves reporters where it hurts...where its been hurting the american population along time....and become american again...FREEDOM WORKS!
What did you do, Walt, send emails to trailer parks? You've revived Ross Perot's old gang. This is like reading "You Might Be A Red Neck" and/or "Joy of Pentecostalism". This page is word for word the type of language used by those who flocked to Perot, and the outcome is going to be the same
"My whole family signed up for Nov. 5th to send Ron Paul 100.00 each. I am almost sure one family member will kick alot more."Â (Is this a family or herd?)
"Yes the 5th of November push is to get 10,000 people to give $100. That's $10,000,000 in one da."Â (This person could get a job as an accountant with the Bush Administration or as a math teacher in Mississippi.)
"AWSOME!!! I sending more than $100 for my next president. YEAH!!!!"Â (These exclamation marks suggest this person might be from the Appalachian Mountain area or has a hearing problem.)
"Yea man im dontating on the 5th but not a 100 bucks, im going to drop a cool grand for my man Ron, just incase 9 other Ron supporters cant afford it."Â (This is either a black person or a full of crap young white who will most likely never give $10 to a political candidate so long as they live).
One who uses a phony name to post and make comments has the breeding and class of those who set up secret camps of torture, lie about WMD, and take no responsibility for such actions. These are the characteristic of a sociopath.
Walt, do you really need volume this desperately? To do so is to set up a breeding ground for sociopathic behavior, and since there are already more two-faced cowards and bigots in the U.S. today than fleas, a safe harbor for cowards and hypocrites is not a plus. Ask yourself, "What would Ron Paul do?"
