The Ron Paul Express keeps rolling

Certain numbers keep calling attention to the phenomenon that is Ron Paul.

The most obvious one, of course, was the more than $4.2 million that his campaign reported raising in a single day via the Internet earlier this month.  This week, other figures stand out: He attracted a crowd of more than 1,000 people in Nevada, and a new poll showed him doubling his support in New Hampshire.

As is increasingly the case with Paul, the audience that came to hear him speak Monday in Las Vegas was not only large, it was enthusiastic.  A story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal has the details and the atmospherics.

In New Hampshire, the survey of likely Republican primary voters by CNN and Manchester-based television station WMUR found backing for Paul jumping from 4% in a September poll to 8% now.  In July, Paul was at 2% in the poll; the geometric progression clearly is a trend the Paul camp wants to see continue.

Will it?  The "smart" political money would bet against it.  Then again, who would have predicted a few months ago that Paul would be closing in on double digits in a New Hampshire poll.

GQ today joined the growing list of those paying more attention to Paul (though likely not enough to satisfy his ardent band of followers).  The magazine named him an honoree in its annual Men of the Year issue; he's part of a truly eclectic roster that includes Bill Clinton, actor Daniel Craig, hip-hop musician Kanye West, "Sopranos" creator David Chase, tennis star Roger Federer, baseball's Alex Rodriguez and flamboyant artist/filmmaker Julian Schnabel.

-- Don Frederick

Comments

[Brent]

Oh, we like the fact that he's in GQ :). Also, one supporter paid 85,000$ for a full page ad in the New York Times. And, a recent Zogby poll had 4 Republicans poll against each other in a blind-poll (read biographies) with 1009 voters (Republicans, Independents, and Democrats) and Ron Paul got 33% - the compared to 19% for Giuliani, 15% for Romney, and 13% for Thompson.

Things are looking up!

[Cleaner44]

Ron Paul is gaining ground every day. He has clearly surpassed John McCain and is now a "top tier" candidate. He dominates in Straw Polls, Debate Polls, Fund Raising, Web Traffic and Grass Roots Networking. I have created a website to support this statement.

Please visit www.thecaseforronpaul.com and judge for yourself.

[James]

GO RON GO! It is such a breath of fresh air to see positive things about Ron Paul and hear people admidt that he 'may be going somewhere'. While the other contenders are knocking each other out, Paul pushes past with his honesty and sincere message. With Paul, its not just the man, its the issues.

[J.P.]

Barry Goldwater Jr., former congressman and son of the founder of modern conservatism, endorsed Ron Paul this week. If you call yourself a conservative--you should too.

For some reason this major endorsement did not make the news.

I am a career Naval officer who has always been politically neutral, but voting for Congressman Paul is about voting for America and our Constitution--which I took an oath to preserve.

[Roger Pariseau]

Who are (were?) America's statesmen? When was the last time you heard no fallacies emanating from a person on the stump? Dr. Paul writes prolifically about the country he loves. Nary a fallacy in the thousands of documents of his I've read. He cares about people. He cares about our country. He cares to take care when taking about other nations. What's wrong with all that? We are presented with a true leader willing to assume greater responsibilities -- not greater wealth. After listening to the debates and visiting each contender's website, I find Paul has no real competition as far as true patriotism and objective leadership are concerned.

[Nash]

I live in West Los Angeles, I usually "lean Republican". I don't own a ranch or a firearm. I have a full time job that pays pretty well. I don't believe in conspiracy theories and I've never been arrested but I'm sick and tired of the government taking a massive chunk of paycheck when I'm still trying to pay off student loans with my wife and we can't even afford a house.

I don't attend political rallies or marches. I don't even have a bumper sticker on my car.

I'll be voting for Ron Paul.

[Brad]

Freedom And Liberty Are Popular !!!

Why is that so amazing to everyone in the media?

Those who actually take the time to review the rational and reason behind Ron Paul's stands on the issues become enamored with the honesty and integrity of this man. Logic and reason guided by the constitution; Root Cause and Corrective Action analysis.

He is a breath of fresh air in the sewer of politics.

I Vote For Virtue; I Vote For Ron Paul !!!

[Karl]

Is it so surprising that once the media allows Ron Paul's message to actually be heard that the people of America support him? This is just the beginning. Join the Revolution!
The most Ron Paul news here:
http://www.ronpaulforpresident2008.com/news/

[Tom Walls]

Good post, Don. A lot of us are disgruntled Republicans sick of the Administration's reckless foreign policy. We support pursuing the bad guys who hit us on 9/11, but we think the Iraq War was both unjustified and unrelated to the War on Terror. History has borne us out, yet establishment GOPers are still telling us to shut up and follow. Lord keep us out of Iran.

I have always known Texas Rep. Ron Paul to be a man of integrity and no compromise! Like the candidate himself, I was a little skeptical of a Presidential bid at first, but whoa, boy! It's good to see independents and Dems coming out for a man who's up front about cutting back government across the board. He's now tied with other candidates among voters under forty. There is hope for America yet.

[Travis H.]

There's a big fundraiser coming up to. As everyone knows, Paul's grassroots fueled campaign has chosen the theme of "revolution" as a carrier of the message. One of the most successful revolutionary acts of our forefathers was the Boston Tea Party. On December 16th, the Ron Paul grass roots will commemmorate this act by conducting the most successful one day fundraising effort in the history of the United States:

http://www.teaparty07.com

[BMW111]

Ron Paul is the answer to our economic woes and the falling dollar. Read this article on the 2008 Presidential Candidates and The Fourth Turning -- very interesting.

http://truthalert.net/2008%20Presidential%20Candidates%20and%20the%20Fourth%20Turning.htm

[H Spencer]

Things are getting interesting, I think the battle for the actual soul of the GOP is between Huckabee and Paul. Though both are unlikely (not impossible) to get the nomination. I will vote for Ron Paul. Though I'm a republican I haven't voted for the nominee since 1988 (after i read Bush sr's lips and got hoodwinked).
Huckabee will probably get asked to be VP if Rudy or Romney get the nomination, in that case it will be one more time i don't vote for GOP or Donkey nominee.

[a nadon]

Thanks Don! I look forward to more.

[TheIns]

It's due time that the nation started paying attention to Ron Paul and his pure message of truth .

He brings a refreshing new element to American Politics and the other candidates don't know quite how to handle it .

I have never been so enthusiastic to cast my vote for any other candidate .

The world is watching our next election and it is time that we show them that as Americans we are peaceful people and take out the trash in Washington .

Ron Paul Has my vote !

[John]

It is no surprise to me that his crowds are large and excited. Why shouldn't we be? RP delivers the message of freedom, justice, and rule of law; something that is missing in our government today. I'm an So Cal, Arcadia resident and love his message. I've been following him before he announced to run...what we have is a genuine, contemporary American hero. God bless Ron Paul.

[Amit]

http://www.teaparty07.com

keep it rolling! Go Ron Paul. Believe!

[Jess]

GO Ron Paul. Yea he has a good chance. Remember the 16th of Dec. It will make history Donate 100$ to Ron Paul.

[Brian Middleton]

Good article.

It is time for change. It is time for RON PAUL 2008

Let's show our Government that WE THE PEOPLE are still in charge!

Donate now. We need to win!

[bgodley]

Any great endeavor in history has usually been an individualistic push against the status quo. Yes, he is still not the highest in the polls. Yes, the odds are well stacked against him. Yes, he has a motley crew off supporters. Yes, yes, yes. Those stories are getting as old as last week's bread.

The true story about this man starts well before his current run. Here is a man who, often with only his personal conviction aiding him, fought against the tide for many years. While the Republican party was being hijacked with big government, big gun so called conservatives, he stood out as the lone voice of reason. He was busy researching and writing legislation while the good 'ol boys were at the barbeque laughing at his expense.

The road he chose was definitley the one less traveled. It was probably filled with much heartache and a dash of loneliness as any greater leader will profess. However, he stuck to his guns and never wavered. That my friend is the definition of a real man and patriot. Of course there are those very few who would like to say that he is a kook or try to peg Ron Paul supporters as fringe voters. However, nothing would be further from the truth. These individuals who get off the derriers and stand out on street corners and passionately speak their minds ARE what America is about, they ARE what has always seperated this country as the pursuer of freedom of spirit and individuality. Yes there are going to be a few oddballs in the camp but that is a by product of a message that resonates. Again, they too are in the extreme. By and large I have found most Paul supporters to be intelligent and concerned. Persistance and tenacity to purpose are the hallmarks of a sane group - not nutty.

These Paul naysayers lurking in the shadows throwing pot shots are indeed probably just a handful but through usurping the simple minded they find a conduit for their unpleasantness.

By whatever grace of god Paul has broken through the roadblock and his message is coming. For all our sakes I hope he wins.

[Stephen G]

Thank you very much for not having a condescending tone towards Paul. I've read a plethora of articles concerning the doctor and most of them contain one of these words: Crackpot, loon, loony, kook, crazy, crank, flake, nut job, nutty, nut, kooky, long-shot...

Thank you for actually being a journalist without injecting snide descriptions of him like so many do. I appreciate your maturity.

:)

[Gerudomar]

It seems strange that a candidate with such anti-semitic views as abolishing the FED, opposing income tax on labor to fund the FED, opposing the idea of sending billions to Israel to support the right of Jesus' homeland to exist, replacing fiat money with "honest" currency backed by some gold standard would get so much attention. We should make sure that the country is not taken over by anti-semites. Thanks God we have the neocons to protect us.

[Aaron Brooks]

Hi Don. Your title is quite right for today. "The Ron Paul Express keeps rolling." Today the grassroots Ron Paul group decided, around 2PM EST, to out-raise the several weeks planned fundraiser for MH. Within hours Ron Paul's fundraising had surpassed the other group. Have a look at the graph I included in this post.

cheers!

http://www.ronpaulgraphs.com/rp_vs_huck_today.html

[PK]

Don,

Thanks for the update on Dr. Paul's campaign as it continues to grow. It looks as though his 4th quarter fundraising total will double the previous quarter once again. Be sure to also check out -
www.operationlivefreeordie.com and www.teaparty07.com.

PK

[/////ANDRE]

Whooo Whooooo! Chugga! Chugga!

The little engine that could...

;-)

[Christopher Thurow Sr.]

Thanks for this nice article. All of us Ron Paul supporters are working hard.
Our candidate works harder than any of his competitors! We're just getting cranked up!