Ron Paul Supporters Remember the 5th of November

Ron Paul had a good Monday.

According to Paul's website, he's hauled in nearly $4 million in one day.

That's amazing.

It's stunning.

It's frightening.

WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, aided by an extraordinary outpouring of Internet support Monday, hauled in more than $4.2 million in nearly 24 hours.

Paul, the Texas congressman with a libertarian tilt and an out-of-Iraq pitch, entered heady fundraising territory with a surge of Web-based giving tied to the commemoration of Guy Fawkes Day.

Fawkes was a British mercenary who failed in his attempt to kill King James I on Nov. 5, 1605. He also was the model for the protagonist in the movie "V for Vendetta." Paul backers motivated donors on the Internet with mashed-up clips of the film on the online video site YouTube as well as the Guy Fawkes Day refrain: "Remember, remember the 5th of November."

Paul's total deposed Mitt Romney as the single-day fundraising record holder in the Republican presidential field. When it comes to sums amassed in one day, Paul now ranks only behind Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton, who raised nearly $6.2 million on June 30, and Barack Obama.

Paul spokesman Jesse Benton said the effort began independently about two months ago at the hands of Paul's backers. He said Paul picked up on the movement, mentioning in it speeches and interviews.

The Paulites are basking in their accomplishment. Even they are having troubling comprehending what they've done.

Is it possible to comprehend what we've done today? Earth-shattering, jaw-dropping... No matter which way you phrase it, Ron Paul is for real.

Over $3,800,000 raised.

More than 35,000 total donations.

1 message - and 1 candidate - unlike any other.

Can we keep our momentum going? The most successful fundraising day ever is John Kerry's $5.7 million. And that was on the day he accepted the Democratic nomination.

Let's do it: https://www.ronpaul2008.com/donate

Jonathan Bydlak
Fundraising Director
Ron Paul 2008

The Paulites believe that their candidate is no longer a long shot.

They're kidding themselves. It doesn't matter how much money Paul picks up. He won't be the Republican nominee. No way.

Will he try a third party run?

If he does, I don't think it would hurt the Republicans more than it would hurt the Democrats. It would probably be a wash, but more likely to hurt the Dems.

If the '08 election is about the war in Iraq, if that's the defining issue, then a Paul candidacy would likely peel away votes from the Dem nominee.

From ABC News:

"Remember, Remember, the fifth of November," cries the call for cash.

The catchy slogan comes from a nursery rhyme about Guy Fawkes, the 17th-century crusader for Catholics rights caught in the basement of parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder. He failed in his mission to blow the place up.

ABC News tracked down Trevor Lyman, the man behind the Web site that coordinated Paul's one-day money bomb on his cell phone in line at a Miami Starbucks, where the whir of the barista making his lunchtime latte could be heard in the background.

Lyman, 37, is not your average political fundraiser.

His day job is running a music promotion Web site, but he spends his free time at the helm of the grassroots Web site that conspired in online chat forums and meetup groups to send a fundraising bomb in support of Paul.

But Lyman, who has never worked for a campaign before -- and still doesn't, technically -- describes himself as "mostly apathetic" when it comes to politics, started supporting Paul back when the congressman was just exploring a presidential run.

He started a Web site devoted to Paul videos, the tagline for which is "Televising the Revolution."

The first video featured when we visited showed surfers how to use holiday lights to create and illuminated "Ron Paul Revolution" yard decoration.

Lyman launched his most recent site only on Oct. 18, and he is hoping to move back to New Hampshire soon, not to work on the campaign, just because he went to college there and said it would be a better place than Miami to raise a family.

Asked if it is appropriate to invoke a nursery rhyme about a man who tried to blow up parliament in the 17th-century as a fundraising tool, Lyman said, "Some people want to go that way. We're not going in any way violent."

He said the idea sprang up when he saw someone propose a mass one-day online fundraising drive in a Ron Paul meetup group.

The date Nov. 5 corresponded with the movie "V for Vendetta" and the Guy Fawkes rhyme.

"If you look at the pop culture feel-good message of the movie," Lyman said, "the people in the end say we are the deciders. That's the best way to describe it. And this is a country of and by the people."

"The entire notion of Bush saying he is the decider when 70 or 80 percent of the country wants out of the war is ridiculous. He acts like a dictator."

This Guy Fawkes stuff is pretty weird.

I think of Paul as the leader of a cult, but with a twist. Rather than Paul being a charismatic figure capable of manipulating people to follow him, it seems that his followers have thrust Paul into the role of savior.

Doesn't Paul appear like he's just going along for the ride, like he's confused?

If money is power, than the media might start treating Paul with some respect instead of as an oddity. Paul's fellow Republican candidates might begin to give him a bit of attention.

However, even with Paul's incredibly successful 5th of November, he's not going to gain traction with Republican voters.

Why? Because he acts like a loon.

He's not going to gain traction among the Dems because that party has a stable full of loons to appeal to Leftists.

Paul's fundraising success is the result of having a loyal band of core fanatics coupled with his supporters' ability to harness the Internet to organize a nationwide effort.

What I don't understand is why so many people were willing to throw their money down the drain.

It's sort of scary.



Really weird.
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I thought this was amusing:

Sen. Barack Obama has Oprah Winfrey, Sen. Hillary Clinton has Magic Johnson and Rep. Ron Paul, the online star of the primary race, has Sean Morley, aka Val Venis, the popular WWE pro wrestler who pretends to be an adult film star.

And like many of the Paulites, the Texas congressman's loyal, Web-savvy supporters, Morley is blogging about Paul on his own site. "I can't really say what my support means. But, you know, I first heard about him two years ago, and I've studied his voting record and I'm convinced that more than any candidate, Republican or Democrat, he's the most principled candidate out there," Morley, a libertarian, told The Trail this afternoon. "By the way, I'm at Denny's outside LAX. Here for a fight later tonight. I'm wearing a Ron Paul T-shirt. It's a great day for Ron Paul, you know."

Val Venis is no Oprah.