Breaking News: Ron Paul campaign donors set a record

Well, it looks like Ron Paul, the 10-term Republican congressman from Texas with the libertarian ideas, and his brave band of fervent followers have broken their own one-day online fundraising record.

Back in November, the Paul campaign reported raising $4.2 million online in one day with what they call a "money bomb," a fundraising gimmick devised by Trevor Lyman, a musician and self-appointed Paul fundraiser profiled by The Times' Dan Morain yesterday. Sunday's gimmick was to celebrate the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party on a website with a drawing of Paul that looks remarkably like that president on the penny.

As of shortly after midnight Sunday Pacific time, the Paul website was reporting more than $6 million raised on Sunday from more than 30,000 donors and an amazing fourth-quarter fundraising total surpassing $18.1 million. The little-known pro-life Texan, who favors abolishing much of the federal government and the Federal Reserve, could raise the most money of any Republican candidate this quarter. A spokesman said the average donation was $50.

If the reported number holds up when officially reported to the Federal Election Commission in early January, Paul will not only be the only Republican candidate to oppose the Iraq war, he'll be the only GOP candidate to increase fundraising totals each quarter this year -- from $640,000 to $2.4 million to $5.1 million to whatever this quarter's final total becomes above $18 million with two weeks to go.

Although Paul's poll numbers have only climbed from zero to the high single digits, the fundraising totals (he raised five times as much as Mike Huckabee in the third quarter) have brought "the Ron Paul Revolution" broader attention and credibility and the ability to advertise in the early voting states. With the funds his campaign has, among other things, produced a 30-minute TV biographical documentary to be broadcast across Iowa this coming weekend and available online here. Next Sunday morning a network TV audience will get a chance to see him grilled by Tim Russert for a full hour on "Meet the Press."

His legions of alert supporters scour the Internet for slights to right, frequently crudely, and any opportunities to promote their strict constructionist candidate. They dismiss the polls as slanted and the money-raising as the real indicator of the 72-year-old ob-gyn's growing national support among disaffected Republicans, Democrats and previous non-voters. The Times' James Rainey examined one Southern California meet-up group for Paul here.

We've written about these supporters here and examined hundreds of their comments here. No doubt there'll be some more to read down below here shortly.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[Stephen G.]

Why can't the MSM be more like you guys?
Professional, informative, accurate reporting.

It's about time.

Thank you very much.

[Hank Xavier]

The truth is simply that Ron Paul has rebuilt and recreated the GOP. The traditional phone polls of Republicans who voted in the last election no longer represent the reality of the party on the ground. LOL. Get ready for some shockers in the earlies.

[Paul Aujla]

Thank you for this article. So rare to see one without any sort of distortion or early prediction of future voting trends. As Kerry's rise ahead of Dean and Huckabee's own recent boom demonstrate, sometimes voters change their minds.

[akak]

Wow, I get to be first!

While I hope that Ron Paul's latest "money bomb" ($6M+) will get the massive news coverage that it deserves, somehow by this point I'm assuming that the so-called "mainstream" media will manage to ignore, marginalize and dismiss it almost as thoroughly as they have almost everything else about this unique candidate of outstanding vision and integrity. Never have I been so cynical of our media, and our society that supports it, as I have during the last several months of seeing Ron Paul's campaign effectively censored and ignored, at times so blatantly (I would like to say criminally) that it would be laughable if it weren't so serious. Please, LA Times (and CNN, MSNBC, FOX, CBS, NBC, and others), prove me wrong!

(Actually, you're fourth, but still pretty quick. BTW, doesn't this latest item prove just what you seek, at least as far as LATimes.com is concerned?)

[Taylor Buchanan]

It's truly beyond belief, for me anyway, that we are witnessing a true GRASSROOTS revolution of change occurring before our very eyes.
Just to watch the YouTube videos and to see the hard work that REAL people are doing, much less the money aspect, to try and support this man is nothing short of astonishing.

If it were any of the "top tier" it would be called "a mandate". What we out here in consumer land are witnessing firsthand however, is the continued SLANT of poor coverage. What I mean by that is that it's always negative in tone, "he can 't win", "he'll never get the nomination", "darkhorse", "long shot" and "radical". The people are hearing his call and great MESSAGE.

Thanks for the article and following history in the making. Hopefully this latest "moneybomb" will propel him into the stratosphere. He deserves to be given a chance to stand toe to toe against any candidate and any party, anyone could throw against him. He's simply an American hero in my eyes.

[Nash]

Andrew I am a lot of things. Crude is not one of them (except when I'm hungry).

Question since you're a few scores older than myself you might have some more insight on this. Gene McCarthy, George McGovern, Barry Goldwater, Ron Paul. Can you contrast the perceived support of these candidates? I suppose the internet changes things but I'm wondering by how much. I think Paul surpasses all of them and I point to more of a Pat Buchanan effect at work here, though I feel Paul is bulletproof without all the Watergate baggage. Your thoughts?

(Clearly, the internet changes things radically. But the fan fervor is very familiar, except now it can spread quicker. And I wouldn't put Geo. McGovern on a list of insurgent candidates. Maybe you're thinking of Geo. Wallace.)

[Mark D]

Great that you reported on the successful fundraising of Ron Paul and the Ron Paul supporters. But you devote way too much time to the other side-- journalists tired of reading Ron Paul postings. These postings are often necessry to correct errors such as the claim that Lyman originated the idea of money bombs. He did not. He popularized it. I look forward to more positive articles in the future.

[Charles Higgins]

Wow, for a story about a Presidential candidate you you seem to spend a great deal of copy trash talking his supporters. Can't say as I have ever seen that done before, how come? Is this about the supports or the candidate?

(A lot of people make judgments about candidates by the supporters they attract. Many people would read the hundreds of comments by Ron Paul supporters here and elsewhere--plus the obscene and abusive ones we deleted--and make a negative judgment about Dr. Paul, fair or not. I understand a few political websites now refuse to publish any RP comments. Which is why there were also some RP supporter comments urging restraint by their pals. Thanks for reading.)

[John]

I used to think voting didn't do much. Now I see real, normal people actually making an impact for freedom. This is like a Revolution!

P.S. As a California voter I'm glad to see some Ron Paul News on the LA Times site. Thanks Andrew Malcolm.

[Daniel Kirsner]

With his astounding upward vector, and with Rudy, Huckabee, McCain and Romney all imploding, Ron Paul is now the clear frontrunner for the GOP nomination. This graph provides a dramatic contrast between what the MSM claim and what reality actually looks like:

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

[Dan Alba]

Thanks, Andrew, for this tepid account of what is a most exciting and encouraging time for us Ron Paul supporters.

[Lee]

We all thought you'd have posted something on this before now seeing as it ended 4 hours ago. You're slacking, Mr. Malcolm - you're slacking. If you want that Press Secretary position in the Paul Administration you better tighten up and get with it.

Seriously. Can you dig around and find out what the official 24 hour fundraising record is for all parties? There are mixed reports. One saying Kerry held it at 5.7 in 2004 and another 6.2 that Hillary holds from earlier this year. Hillary's has never been verified to my knowledge and it's thought to be that the 6.2 was a culmination of a weekend and just reported in a single day. Or something like that. The reason this is important is b/c we may now hold the ALL-TIME record in a 24 hour period.

Thank you, Sir.

Godspeed

(Imagine , I took a whole evening off. And here it is nearly 2 a.m. and I'm still posting messages. Glad you missed me and thanks for reading.)

[Lorenz]

You guys get an "A" rating - Great job - why can't more journalists write like this?

You got a good name with me - keep up the good work.

(Thank you. Hope you'll bookmark the blog and return often. And tell your friends.)

[Nathanael Kraintz]

Bravo Dr. Paul! The momentum behind your campain continues to surprise, and I could not be more pleased. Keep it up!

The neo-cons are starting to warn eachother "Beware of the Ron Paul supporters, don't let them take over the party..." No no no, my war-mongering friends, we're not taking over the party. We're taking *back* the party. Wake up to the fact that the only way the Republicans will win the whitehouse is with Ron Paul leading the way. Not even the most soft-spoken war-monger will beat the Dems.

[Andrew]

Great Article,

Thank you very much!

There are many changes in the voting demographics that other candidates have not yet grasped. The presidential races of the future are forever changed.
Ron Paul is our vehicle.

[william henry childers]

"We've written about these supporters here and examined hundreds of their comments here. No doubt there'll be some more to read down below here shortly."

Isn't it exciting how Americans are re-investing themselves into the political process, so long abandoned to pundits and back-room power brokers? Isn't the American voters' apathy the very thing that the once honest media lamented on their opinion pages after record low voter turn-outs elected lesser-of-the-evil candidates to high office by ridiculously slim, suspect margins? Are these not the days that we have been dreaming about? A time when at least one man stands up and voices a philosophy that we were all taught to believe, that We the People are the Power in the United States of America? A time when the voice of one man is echoed at first by only a few, then by thousands of other American voices that cry out, Give Me My Country Back! While a jaded MSM fills the airwaves and lavishes ink on a Dem endorsing a has-been Rep, or a former Prez stumping for his might-have-been wife, front-runner crocodile tears, a dog-mutilating son of a prickly hickster, We the People use the means we can to generate and maintain our enthusiasm for an honest-to-God real man of the People by blogging, commenting, sharing and donating in record numbers that get no news coverage. I suppose that 234 years ago the Times of London or its sister edition in the American colonies had little to say about the Boston Tea Party, but you can be sure that is was the rage of conversation in the coffee houses in every village throughout the land. And today's BTP event? Can't find it on CNN, Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, NYT, WaPo, LAT, Heralds or Tribs? Just look for it, and Dr Paul's message, as it is spread via blogs and chatrooms, the 21st version of colonial era coffee houses. That's where the revolution started. That's where it's gaining momemtum. And that's where, We the People, are today. Our faces may be basking in the pixel glow of our computers, but at the same time, we're putting on our boots.

(Well, I can't speak for the others you mention, but you just found full coverage of the big money day on this blog, with links to our numerous past items. There is an AP story on this website's Campaign page and the same story will be in Monday's print editions. So I suggest you delete the LAT from your list above. Appreciate your reading. Hope you'll return often.)

[NATHAN]

Go ron paul!!!

[James P]

One thing I absolutely love about Dr. Paul (among many things) is that, unlike other politicians, when his lips are moving.... he's telling the truth! Honesty in government... what a novel concept!

[Okinawa]

Ron Paul deserves this attention with all of this grassroots support. You don't see Americans rallying around Hillary do you? I think Ron Paul cured many Americans apathy toward politics, and now we feel that we can make a difference, and also that there is someone worthy to believe in.

[Nevadan Footsoldiers for Ron Paul]

In nevada, we amassed a force of hundreds upon hundreds of volunteer footsoldiers and reinforced the money bomb with a march down Reno and Las Vegas.

The people responded with resounding cheers, horn honking, and even crying.

Give us first strike New Hampshire and Iowa, Nevada WILL back you up. This article proves the measure of our resolve.

Pray for snow, fog, and sleet on Caucus day. We know such weather will only deter our opposition.

[Mike]

I will try to explain why us Ron Paul supporters seem so frustrated with the media:

We see America seriously under-performing: entitlements for social security and medicare far higher than what the US government will ever be able to afford, median wages that have barely increased since 1971 (for the 25-34 demographic, median wages are actually LOWER today than they were in 1971!), and an average personal savings rate now in the negative.

We see big government social programs that are failing America (e.g. health care costs are 10X more per capita than what they were in 1960 before government got involved in a big), and candidates that keep promising more of them.

We see an Israeli lobby that has a huge negative influence on American foreign policy, an influence none of the candidates resist.

We believe that if any body looks at America's situation, and studies Ron Paul's proposals, it is OBVIOUS that he is the best thing for America. When we see political pundits not promoting him as the best candidate, we get frustrated that they're not doing more to help America. But that if it was just that, us Ron Paul supporters would understand, we could concede that political pundits must remain impartial and refrain from promoting one candidate over another, but when we perceive that the media is ACTIVELY under-reporting on him, we get very frustrated. It is not enough that the media is not touting Ron Paul as the best candidate when he so clearly is, but they also are keeping him out of the limelight and giving him less attention than the other candidates proportional to what his polling figures, fundraising numbers, and online presence.

[Brian Dean]

I feel that what this article fails to emphasize is that Ron Paul's supporters have independently helped him to achieve THE all-time, single-day fundraising record of any political candidate in history. If the MSM continues to describe him as "little known" now will surely further diminish their already dramatically reduced importance and relevance in "reporting" what is happening in politics and American society today, and more crucially, what is the Ron Paul REVOLUTION. It is now in full force and he's going to make the MSM look like the incompetent morons that they are when it's all said and done and takes office and saves this once great country that unfortunnately has been hijacked and neo-conned by crime and corruption.

[Chris]

A well-written article, and the first I've read on the Tea Party totals.
It's funny, I remember reading a slightly more negative article written about Ron Paul by you a month or two ago, Andrew, but this one seems much less biased and informative. I applaud you sir, for taking Ron Paul a little more seriously.

[Eric Maher]

the MSM will certainly credit the polls as evidence RP has no chance.
Well, would you rather have 9% in the polls with $18 million or 25% with $2 million.
the numbers will come when it matters

[Matt Karnes]

Something that I think is strange (not about this article though) is how many news reports try to describe paul supporters as wacko or conspiracy theorist. If anything, I'm the typical GOPer. I was even in the room when Reagan gave his Evil Empire speech to the NAE. Just because I love the Constitution I'm partof some fringe movement?