The Momentum Behind Ron Paul
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Technology
So first we have an interview from the Columbia Tribune, a paper from my alma mater Mizzou.
Paul explains pretty succinctly why he thinks he’s gaining traction online:
Q: Your presence on the Internet has been a prime topic of conversation. You’re a 71-year-old physician from Texas, but on one site you’ve become a more searched-for name than Paris Hilton. How did that come about?A: I think the ideas of liberty are very young historically. It really had a burst of enthusiasm with our revolution. If you look at all of history, the notion that government should be minimal in size and that individuals should rule their own lives – it’s a real modern idea. And I think young people just naturally go in that direction. What they’re realizing is that they’re being delivered a horrendous deal and a lot of obligations. And all of a sudden, when they hear someone say something what they’ve been thinking about, I think they respond very favorably. I’m really happy about it. So I think the age of the individual delivering the message is irrelevant if the message is young and exciting. In contrast, the ideas of big government and controlling other people’s lives and invading other countries – that’s been around for thousands of years. And it’s old and ancient, and it fails. And young people are more idealistic, and I think that’s one of the reasons they are looking at our campaign really carefully.
Well put and well positioned. He’s the “sincere” politician, and what’s more is he has the record to back it up. Look for more of that in the coming months.
And then we have this from the Wash Post:
On Technorati, which offers a real-time glimpse of the blogosphere, the most frequently searched term this week was “YouTube.”Then comes “Ron Paul.”
The presence of the obscure Republican congressman from Texas on a list that includes terms such as “Sopranos,” “Paris Hilton” and “iPhone” is a sign of the online buzz building around the long-shot Republican presidential hopeful — even as mainstream political pundits have written him off.
Rep. Ron Paul is more popular on Facebook than Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). He’s got more friends on MySpace than former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. His MeetUp groups, with 11,924 members in 279 cities, are the biggest in the Republican field. And his official YouTube videos, including clips of his three debate appearances, have been viewed nearly 1.1 million times — more than those of any other candidate, Republican or Democrat, except Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).
Actually, those numbers for Meetups are now 12,572 members in 293 cities, but I digress…
However, I think this could be the most telling paragraph about Paul’s popularity…
“At first I was skeptical of his increasing online presence, thinking that it’s probably just a small cadre of dedicated Ron Paul fans,” said Matt Lewis, a blogger and director of operations at Townhall, a popular conservative site. “But if you think about it, the number one issue in the country today is Iraq. If you’re a conservative who supports the president’s war, you have nine candidates to choose from. But if you’re a conservative who believes that going into Iraq was a mistake, Ron Paul is the only game in town.”
Hmmm, sounds very familiar…almost like we’re back in 2004 and a certain dark horse is speaking out against the war when others weren’t…
And by the way, not one mention of Howard Dean in either article.
But this blog post from Reason discusses Paul’s crossover appeal to Dems and the obvious tie to Dean…
It’s no coincidence that meetup.com made its first big political splash for a Democrat, Dean. Conceptually, the meetup model fits well with a certain story that Democrats like to tell about themselves�all cutting edge and grassroots and people power, the sort of things a party that was, until 2006, largely out of federal power needs to court and cultivate.That thought, and my experience at a meetup-generated Paul supporters meeting this week in Pasadena, made me wonder about Paul’s potential to appeal to disaffected Democrats.
The meeting, which I stumbled into by accident (I hadn’t signed up for Paul’s meetup group myself and was unaware it was happening), had, even two and a half hours after its official beginning, a good 75 people filling the room. Attendees told me more than 100 were there at peak�which I found quite impressive, but the Paul rally coordinator I spoke to seemed disappointed. There were more people under the age of 30 in this room then I saw at the national convention of the Libertarian Party in Portland in 2006.
When I asked one former Democrat at this gathering, who told me he got excited by Paul during the first televised GOP debates, whether he was a common phenomenon, both he and another supporter (who came to Ron from the hard money side) shook their heads wonderingly as if I’d asked them something as ridiculous and obvious as if Ron Paul believes in the Constitution; it’s a constant phenomenon, they insist. The hard money guy, who likes to wear his nifty “Ron Paul Revolution� t-shirt (with the “evol� in revolution laid out to make the “love� backwards part stand out), says he’s constantly approached by interested civilians, many of them Democrats, excited and eager to know more.
So will Paul be the unity candidate?
This entry was posted on Saturday, June 16th, 2007 and is filed under 2008 Election, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 16th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Cynicism and defeatism are NOT options to be entertained.
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June 16th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
I just don’t see how Paul can be a unity candidate if anyone really studies his views. Notice how completely and utterly vague Joel’s post is. It does nothing to address Paul’s real stand on the issues.
While he says he doesn’t want the federal government involved in the issues dear to social conservatives’ hearts he has no problem with the states trampling on people’s rights to live their lives in their own ways. Banning abortion? Fine. Banning stem cell research? Fine. Eliminating gay rights? It’s OK with Mr. Paul.
He wants a government so small that it might as well not exist by modern standards. No controls on bad products, fraud or worker safety at the federal level. Virtually every federal government department except defense and justice should be shut down in his belief system.
There are those who say that this doesn’t matter. They say that he’s too pragmatic to actually try to accomplish these things because of the opposition he’d face. How inane is it to vote for someone in spite of his views on the issues of the day? What kind of logic is it to vote for someone not because of what he believes about the government that you are voting for him to lead but what you think he’d settle for? I would think that one of the things we’ve learned from the Bush Administration is that the President can do more without going through congress to cripple agencies from doing their job than people thought. All he has to do is put the “right” people in place. Put someone in charge of the EPA who doesn’t believe in pollution regulation. Make certain that the head of OSHA is someone who thinks that if workers think their job isn’t safe they should just quit and find something else and quit whining about how they can’t do it because they’re paid so little that they live from pay check to pay check. Yep, what the President believe most definitely affects the nation no matter what the make up of congress. And don’t forget, all you Democrats and Independents who are going ga-ga for Ron Paul, some of what he wants is most definitely what the more extreme Republicans want in many areas so he can find allies. Quit listening to the Ron Paul fanatics and google Paul’s name and whatever policy areas you are concerned about and see what you find. Don’t stop at the first articles either. Dig for it.
June 16th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
[...] Wesley Clark Link to Article The Momentum Behind Ron Paul » Posted at Donklephant on Saturday, June 16, 2007 So first we have an interview from the Columbia Tribune, a paper from my alma mater Mizzou … on Facebook than Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). He’s got more friends on MySpace than former Massachusetts go View Entire Article » [...]
June 16th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
Thats because Joel has decided to be a human spambot.
June 16th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
[...] Wesley Clark Link to Article The Momentum Behind Ron Paul » Posted at Donklephant on Saturday, June 16, 2007 So first we have an interview from the Columbia Tribune, a paper from my alma mater Mizzou. Paul explains pretty succinctly why he thinks he’s gaining traction online: Q: Your presence on the Internet has been a prime topic of conversation. You’re a 71-year-old physician from Texas, View Entire Article » [...]
June 16th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
I’m all for breaking outside the typical Demublican “career politician” party-insider mode. Way overdue.
But, I don’t even have to look at the positions on “issues” and what Ron Paul stands for to decide I will be casting my vote elsewhere. I prefer that the #1 CEO job in the world, heading largest organization (that I know of) anywhere be someone who has actually RUN something besides a medical practice, a campaign, and a Congressional office staff.
Jeeez, is that too much to ask? Sometimes I think it is, sadly.
June 17th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naMtwqBzja0&mode=related&search=