[Ron] Paul To Surprise Again? (Fundraising)

RealClearPolitics ^ | September 30, 2007 | Reid Wilson

[dragnet2]

I don’t agree with Paul on Iraq (and I plan on Voting for Duncan Hunter) but these anti-Paul types as far as I can tell are simply Big Gov’t Republicans who want to cling to power as much as Hillary and her ilk do and are scared to actually have a change in the status quo in Washington.

You're right over the target.

[George W. Bush]

Final total in the $500,000 challenge: $1,198,000

Missed that $1.2M target I mentioned earlier by a hair. Still, it's an impressive demonstration of steady small contributions that are the backbone of any real campaign.

I hope we don't have to wait two weeks to find out how well these campaigns did. I thought Fred did well by his supporters by telling them he raised the $8M so they aren't wondering how they did.

I do like Fred's idea that we should have immediate disclosure of all contributions via internet. I'd like it if they included daily or weekly disbursements by the campaign as well so we'd know who is giving, how much, and what it's being spent for.

[jmeagan]

*****I’m at a loss as to how the Paul campaign is able to utilize all that “loose cannon” volunteer support, money, blogs, signs and other activity without attracting attention and discipline from the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Is it because it is so “grassroots” and “under the radar” and Internet-based that the FEC can’t track it? Any other candidate doing the same thing would be fined millions of dollars! The liberal blogger Lane Hudson turned in Senator Fred Thompson to the FEC for supposedly not dotting every “i” and crossing every “t” but no one seems to care that Paul’s campaign is flagrantly violating the rules of the game. Most of it is “in-kind” contributions by supporters usually not under the campaign’s direct control, but it is still illegal, IIRC. Any lawyers here that know what’s what?*****

Oh, blow it our your @ss. Ron Paul supporters receive no directions from the national campaign. We are all doing it because we believe in him.

I wear a Ron Paul shirt every day, which I bought. I have a Ron Paul bumber sticker on my car, which I bought. Shortly, I am going to put Ron Paul signs in my yard. And I will probably buy them too.

I have also made a small cash contribution to his campaign. Actually, I think my talking about him to people is much more valuable than my cash contribution.

If he makes it through the primaries, I will get him 50 votes, because I am so well respected around here. To get votes in the primaries would require people to switch parties as this is an extremely democratic area.

[jmeagan]

****Not that I am anti-Paul in any way. Frankly, I would prefer him much more than Hillary. But the reality is that he’s not going to defeat Hillary.***

Have faith, Ron Paul can defeat Hillary. Probably pretty easily. He will pull a lot from her base.

He will lose some pro war republicans, but not enough to matter. But they won’t vote for Hillary.

Ron Paul’s biggest hurdle is gettin the nomination. He will beat whatever Democratic Candidate is up there.

[montag813]

I can’t imagine why anyone would donate a single penny to the Paulestinian Authority.

[2ndDivisionVet]

I bundled just over $20K for him this quarter, and I hope to add another zero next time.

[jmeagan]

*****I thought the earlier thread today on Fred raising $8 million was interesting. I guess I thought he’d easily raise more like $10-$15 million given how famous he is but I also didn’t see him really spending a lot of time at big-money fundraisers in NYC, CA, etc. (like Rudy & Romney did) so he’s done pretty well and has enough money to compete in 4Q as voters get more serious about picking and supporting a candidate financially.*****

Oh, come on. Every other one of the candidate is getting most of their money from lobbyist type people who want something in return. Can you think of one special interest group that would want to contribute to Ron Paul?

This is just the second time that I have contributed any cash to a political campaign. the other time was to Pat B. as I really liked his trade policies and I liked the fact that he would have brought the troops home from all over the world.

[traviskicks]

Interesting graph here, sort of surprising, looks like the fundraising was pretty steady:
http://www.chowda.net/graph.png/graph-full.jpg

[George W. Bush]

Can you think of one special interest group that would want to contribute to Ron Paul?

Actually, a ton of them. RP has a huge number of single-issue groups that really like him. But they don't form PACs or hire lobbyists generally. It's one of the benefits of being a strict constitutionalist and voting no, often alone, against things like outlawing online gambling, to give just one example. Other groups would be privacy advocates who hate ReadID or any other national ID card. Many homeschoolers like him for his record in opposing Xlinton's old nationalized schooling which was rebranded as No Child Left Behind; these folks really want the DoE defunded and abolished.

It really is true that many of RP's supporters are drawn to him because of his positions on issues other than the war. Of course, he undoubtedly has antiwar voters as well but I would guess their numbers at 15%-20% though that might increase sharply as many antiwar folks, especially Dims, realize that the first-tier Dims have no intention of ending the war and the Dims in Congress are perfectly happy to keep funding it. However, antiwar Dims can still support Richardson so I don't think they will flock to Dr. Paul in the way that many FReepers say.

[George W. Bush]

I bundled just over $20K for him this quarter, and I hope to add another zero next time.

I think bundling should be outlawed. Just send them a check or donate at their website. Bundling can open the doors to fraud. I think that's part of how Hitlery and Obama are doing so well.

[Cyclops08]

“Tell it to the crew of the U.S.S. Liberty.”
Spoken like a true anti-Semite. Too many of Paul’s followers fall into that category.

Friendly fire is a fact of life in military conflicts, but I doubt Paul supporters are capable of seeing that.

[End Times Crusader]

What’s your handle at Stormfront, Adolph?

[End Times Crusader]

Can you think of one special interest group that would want to contribute to Ron Paul?

Al Qaeda?

[End Times Crusader]

This is just the second time that I have contributed any cash to a political campaign. the other time was to Pat B. as I really liked his trade policies and I liked the fact that he would have brought the troops home from all over the world.

Suprise, Suprise!

[End Times Crusader]

He will beat whatever Democratic Candidate is up there.

And you base this on what?

[John D]

I will get him 50 votes, because I am so well respected around here.

I think you are forgetting that an election is not a push poll where you can vote 50 times.

[KentuckyWoman]

“Tell it to the crew of the U.S.S. Liberty.” Spoken like a true anti-Semite. Too many of Paul’s followers fall into that category. Friendly fire is a fact of life in military conflicts, but I doubt Paul supporters are capable of seeing that.

Friendly fire? Are you being deliberatly obtuse? Listen to the other ship's commanders who were there that day. President Johnson gave one of them a direct order to stand down when he wanted to launch his ship's planes to defend the Liberty!! The attack on the Liberty went on for several HOURS and her U.S. flag was plainly visible! The Liberty, in all likelyhood, would have been completely sank had it not been for RUSSIAN fighter planes who saw what was happpening and reported it back to the USSR!! Do a little research on the Libetty and THEN get back to us 'anit-semites' who simply want the truth to be told no matter who doens't like it.

[Cyclops08]

Calm down, honey.
This is history, not a recent event.
Anti-semites love to use this single event to try and white-wash their hatred.

[the808bass]

Again, polls are meaningless for now.

They're not meaningless. They may not mean that Ron Paul cannot win NH and/or Texas but they certainly show he has much work to do in those states to either a) get some people to notice him and/or b) convince them his policies are good ideas and executable. So while the polls may not be a true predictor of what will happen, they certainly show that without a major shift, he will not win either state.

the blogs got Paul at 25%.

What does this even mean? Seriously. I'm hardly anti-blog, but I don't know how this statement means anything at all. To say "polls are meaningless" and then to follow that statement with "the blogs got Paul at 25%" is odd, to say the least.

[Cyclops08]

Wow, you’re admitting the Paul cannot even win Texas? How can the fool run for president if he cannot win his own state?