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

[lnardozi]

VERY nice article, sir. Don't let some of the more excitable supporters get to you - we really DO appreciate the coverage. We're a little disappointed in the level of coverage we receive, but by no means is that your fault.
Have you ever wondered about Ron Paul's positions? Wondered if they are financially supportable and responsible? I am working on fact-checking his positions using mathematics and government statistics. I invite you (and Dr. Paul's supporters) to drop by and fact check my fact checking.

[maxwell105]

Ron Paul is a good and honorable man. He has a true vision of change for our country. He has a vision of returning power to the people and taking power away from the powerful corporate interests. He wants to restore respect for the constitution and the principles on which the great nation was founded. He inspires greatness in ordinary individuals. God Bless Ron Paul! I pray he wins it all!

[Jacob Thielman]

Not a bad article - not as biased as the above make it out to be, certainly. It's still not quite the truth, though, because Bill O'Reilly hasn't coined a not-catchy put-down for your paper yet. I do wish we could get away from the weird currents of media opinion that seem to govern conversations with topics unrelated to the issues. Mike Huckabee wants to get rid of the IRS too. It's not unrealistic. It's certainly possible to say reasonable things with raised eyebrows, though - especially if most people have never thought about it before. Let's please stop diverting discussion instead of promoting it. Just once, I want a news outlet to admit that when they say "Kill the federal reserve? Really?" they are tacitly saying, "Let's get back to the real issues, like whether Obama should wear a flag pendant, or whether Mitt Romney is Christian enough, or which Presidential candidate is the most patriotic."

Ron Paul supporters may be overzealous (kind of like Mac owners), but at least we come in legions.

(THAT'S an understatement!)

[Nick]

This is the first time I have read about RP supporters being "crude" from a credible source. It's funny because as a middle-aged business person and Meetup organizer for Paul, I have not met a single RP supporter who used profanity "off-line." Not that they're incapable of it, just that they tend to be a very polite, if passionate group. So in the past, I've given the reports of crude language the same credibility I've given to MSM reports that the campaign was just a bunch of too-young-to-vote internet spammers (in my Meetup group the average age is above 30--actually it could be as high as 40, but I'm too polite to ask anyone's age!). I am sorry to hear your experience contradicts my experience--and I hope the messy-ness of our supporters can be seen as a consequence of our extreme diversity united by a love of freedom. Thanks for the excellent writing, again.

[James]

I never really considered myself a conspiracy theorist but this election has made me a true believer. I enjoy watching the media down play our man. I love when they roll their eyes and call Ron Paul supporters terrorist or fringe groups. The media must want Ron Paul to win because everytime they do that I am more resolute and I do pull my wallet out. I am now sitting on a vessel in the gulf of mexico with 60+ men. Guess what the only things these guys care about is the foot ball scores so who do you think is going to vote. I will walk through the snow and the rain 20+ miles if I have to to vote. Oh btw people hear about Ron Paul every day on this vessel and guess what the only other front runners can't be mentioned by these football fans without cursing envolved. The Ron Paul campaign is gaining strength every day and guess what I am not even close to my limit because I just started donating and will donate each month till He is in the office. Well if He doesn't win the office I think its time to take my tax money to canada and let someone else choke on the burden of taxes.

(Thanks for the comment, but a little tip. Taxes are higher in Canada.)

[AfricanAmericans4Paul]

"ANYONE can announce they've raised ANY sum. These numbers aren't official until they are reported to the FEC. And truth is, a fair number of pledges are not lived up to. Hence, the phrase if it holds up."

If you visited the RonPaul2008.com website, you'd notice that there's a "donate" button, not a "pledge" button. If you click the "donate" button (and I suggest that you do, and that you give genorously), you'll notice that you'll have to actually process a DONATION (i.e., give your credit card info), in order to be counted toward the total. In fact, there is no option of making a "pledge" to the Ron Paul campaign (perhaps you're thinking of PBS). Have you even visited the campaign website, or did you just pick up the story from AP? Perhaps your confusion stems from the fact that some of the other campaign "records" reported by the MSM include pledges (Romney, Obama, Clinton, Kerry). Ron Paul does not include pledges in his numbers. In fact, I don't even believe that it's possible to make a pledge to his campaign. If the campaign reported the numbers, the dollars have already been collected.

[Josehp Hill]

It appears that no matter the outlet, the LSM still has to find ways to try and marginalize the efforts of Ron Paul and his supporters.

"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."

Referring to our efforts as a gimmick! How about the gimmick that Lieberman and McCain came up with to try and steal the thunder of our success. Coincidence I'm sure.. NOT!

As for your obligatory statement of what you must believe to be obvious as it relates to poll numbers

"Although Paul's poll numbers have only climbed from zero to the high single digits..."

you might want to dig a little deeper and you might wind up with an even bigger story to tell. Try listening to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPpCvF7N3Vg

All in all it wasn't all that bad.
Thanks for trying!

(Ah, but McCain doesn't have a blimp.)

[Connie in Southwest FL]

I'm a Democrat who recently changed my party affiliation to Republican so I could vote for Ron Paul in the upcoming primary.

Like many other Ron Paul supporters, I have paid for handbills, yard signs and bumper stickers to hand out at Ron Paul sign-waving events.

You should see the thumbs-ups and hear the honking of horns in appreciation as we wave our signs roadside!

The Revolution has begun! i could not be a more proud particiipant in taking our government back to the people where it belongs.

[Nick]

By the way, I don't buy that John, above is a supporter. The internet does have its children and some of them write comments like John and then go to Digg and are part of the bury-brigade there. I think some of the crduity may also be attributed to similar sources. If not, you may need to consider the sanity of purported supporters who follow such a decent human being as Ron Paul.

(Interesting point. One of the most recent Ron Paul items we wrote went to No. 1 on Digg overall about 2 weeks ago. Good way to get the message out. Thanks for reading.)

[Dale Pettit]

The supposedly major media is digging them selves into a hole of irrelevance. There desire to ignore and skew the results has demonstrated the loss of power and impact since the last Presidential election. Suddenly, they find themselves fighting for their lives for the diminishing numbers of viewers and readers.

Two simultaneous revolutions are occurring. The populace is solidifying their position of strength through the growth and numbers demonstrated by the enthusiasm, excitement and backing of the Ron Paul Revolution through the internet. At the same time the major media outlets are riding a dead horse, trying to stay relevant to a shrinking number of subscribers.

Major media is heavily invested in the status quo, and can not shift strategies or positions rapidly as the internet has demonstrated. Lack of major news coverage, awakens us all to the fact that “major media is no longer major”! Paid news casters and bureaucratic news teams can no longer compete with non paid individual reporters at the scene and on the ground with the tool of you tube and instant feedback.

Ron Paul supporters are proof positive, what it is really like to have an exciting candidacy for the White house. The Ron Paul Revolution is awakening a sleeping giant and a monumental change of power around the world. Let the bell of freedom and liberty ring.

[Pat Clements]

There were actually almost 60,000 donors and the total was about 6.4 million when you include offline donations. That beats Kerry's 5.7 million and Hillary's disputed claim of 6.2 million (there was question whether it was a two or three day total reported as one day).

[Hdys]

Hi Andrew! I've read several of your articles and have enjoyed them as well as the dialogue they initiate! I'm sorry to hear that fellow RP supporters submit comments that you have to delete. Please trust that most of us (which include many who are not posting comments) are level-headed well-educated Americans. I wish that others would realize that by sinking to the level of name-calling and crudeness will only hurt our efforts. But also realize the sense of desperation felt by some who see where our country is headed if we don't change the course-and fast.
Anyhow, Andrew, since following your articles, I get the sense that you are starting to come around! You may be in the denial phase, but we know you want to join us. Its ok. :) I am impressed that you read and respond to many of the commenters here. You don't find many journalists who that. Thanks for the good reading.

[Jeffrey Bubb]

In defense of Patriots' post:

Malcolm: "...a fair number of pledges are not lived up to..."

The first thing that entered my mind, and I'm sure the minds of others, was that this statement conjours up the idea that people are making promises of money donated and that some of those promises might not come to fuition. Patriot is right: the donations are direct deposits; there is no promise other than from the credit cards (where default is not likely).

So, the only thing the Paul campaign has to "live up to" are the FEC filings, not the pledges committed.

[Brandon Clark]

Mr. Malcome,

I appreciate the article and the increased visibility for Ron Paul; however, I would hope that a Pulitzer award finalist with over forty years in this business would be more capable of writing and reporting objectively, and without the bias that I perceive in this article.

Does Ron Paul have many supporters who are rude and obnoxious? Absolutely. But I would venture to guess that there are just as many offensive, rude people who support other candidates. I believe what you are seeing is a combination of the level of conviction and passion that exists within the Paul camp, combined with the always-less-formal Internet medium as the primary method of communication. As someone who supports Ron Paul fervently, I understand that these people can detract from the real message this campaign is trying to promote. On the other hand, if I had a dime for every uninformed, rude comment I have heard from an adamant Bush supporter over the past 8 years through forums and chain emails (though not so much any more) I would have been able to single-handedly push the Tea Party totals up another few million dollars.

In an earlier reply you gave to a blog response, you stated "A lot of people make judgments about candidates by the supporters they attract." My hope is that you yourself would never make this mistake, as someone who has worked in this field for so long. At this point, I have a pretty good understanding of how you feel about Ron Paul's supporters, but you have done a pretty good job of avoiding any discussion on how you feel about the man himself, or his stances on the issues. I would be interested to hear how a former Press Secretary for Laura Bush views Dr. Paul, not by a few rude blog posters, but as a Congressman and a Presidential Candidate.

Kind Regards,

Brandon Clark

(Good points. One would assume all campaigns attract some crude people. Strangely, we don't seem to get abusive comments from other candidates' supporters. Angry, yes, but not abusive. Still, the vast majority of commenters are just fine, as you can see from the volume we're trying to keep up with here. Thanks for reading.)

[Jeff]

You know, LA Times, maybe YOU GUYS should start teaching your national counterparts how to "report the news." And I'm only slightly kidding.

For any casual observer of the debates or press Ron Paul has received (or rather NOT received) the bias is obvious. They ostracize Ron and his supporters every chance they get, but unfortunately for them, they are also dealing with an honest, intellectual, principled man-- probably one of the most-so in congress. So what do they do? They "try" to attack his supporters touting us as "fringe." I'm about as middle-America as you can get, as are most of the Ron Paul supporters I know, so the day we are considered "fringe" in America, something has gone terribly wrong WITH America! But that's OK, because we have every intent to set it straight and take our country back. And the door is wide open for those who care to join us.

Thanks for a fair, unbiased article. Yes, we occasionally show our "wrath," but you've also felt our "appreciation" from other fair and balanced articles you have written, so don't forget that side of us when you report...lol.

[Bob Kelly]

A question to Andrew (and, of course, to any of the good people posting here): Do you believe, as many of the RP supporters seem to believe, that a directed effort exists in the MSM to marginalize RP?
Is at least one alternative explanation to be found in the fact that the media corporations are profit oriented- businesses first and foremost and therefore pursue the stories which attract the attention of their readership?
The irony of this would be, assuming the latter to be cause of RP's apparent exclusion, that they may be missing out on the most important story of the entire election.
I would really appreciate your thoughts on this subject which appears to be of great importance to RP supporters.

(Attributing past minimum coverage of RP to a vast corporate conspiracy gives way too much credit to corporations. Few people knew of him. As his campaign progressed and his dollars and poll numbers increased, so did the coverage. To us, it's a fascinating story. Can't speak for other blogs. Appreciate your reading and taking the time to comment. Why not DIGG this story to spread this coverage?)

[Jacqueline Singh]

Please, God. Please, let RP win.

I donated and stood by and watched the charts from my temporary duty area in Kuwait - I'll be spending the holidays here and am flying back up to Baghdad soon after the New Year.

The only hope for America stands with Ron Paul.

[Mark Leclerc]

Thank you very much for the coverage, and I am impressed highly by your immediate responses to comments in the middle of the night!

I do have a few questions though:
Why characterize these money raising events as "gimmicks"? Are you aware that thousands of people reenacted the Tea Party on the Santa Monica Pier yesterday or that a group rallied in front of the EU Parliment building in Strausburg France waiving (Ron Paul banners!)as a show of support?
"Gimmicks" don't inspire people to participate in reenactments of historical significance... perhaps you could follow up with the Meet Up group in CA and report what inspired them, as I would guess a rally of this nature has not occured in your state in quite some time...
Also, why the "liitle known" slant when referring to Ron Paul? Again, I must assume that you hope to get alot of agitated resposes that you can point to as "fringe wacko" supporters...
That's ok. The doctors, teachers, retirees, vetrans, line workers, truck drivers, or engineers such as myself don't mind seeing brash overzealous support from many of our youth... While we realize it may reflect poorly when characterized by the MSM, the fact is that they are finally awake and involved....Now the only question that remains; "are they registered to vote, and how could a 72 year old "fringe" candidate whip such a frenzy into these folks anyway?"
Would you consider printing a blog answering that question? (Hint): The answer can be found written on the crates thrown off the Santa Monica Pier yesterday....

(Called them gimmicks because they are. All candidates use them. A visit to a school to show the candidate bending down to talk to a little guy. Gimmick. Great TV. Throwing boxes off the pier. Gimmick. Buying a blimp? Gimmick. Standing on a bridge waving a sign. Gimmick. It's an act designed to attract attention. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don't. Judging by the money brought in, I'd say this one worked.)

[Kevin C.]

... one nation under God, with liberty and justice: Ron Paul.

[Humberto]

Ron Paul and who he represents is not getting equitable coverage in the MSM. Even if you consider his poll numbers, the percentage of coverage he gets is far below the percentage of his poll numbers. The front page of the NY Times today has Hilary and Huckabee all over the place. Ron Paul is not even mentioned in the front page article “Candidates Scrambling to Cope With Rise of Huckabee. The NY Times website Politics page Election Guide 2008 does not even feature Ron Paul as a candidate! He only shows up when you click on the More Candidates link. How can any honest journalist argue that the coverage is balanced when the only reporting of the record largest one day fundraising event which just happened to occur on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party is relegated to the blogs? The LA Times has been better than others in its reporting, however, I would think that reporting on the driving force behind 200,648 donors that have kind of just organically self organized and given an average of $89 each since Oct 1 without much direction from any fundraising campaign would be a story worthy of front page coverage. Not as important as the story about how the Island tax havens factor into Romney’s business success but perhaps more news worthy than article on the how the Christmas goose is starting to cook.

(The LATimes newspaper and LATimes.com also carried news stories on the fundraising success. Just Googling Ron Paul produces hundreds of other similar stories.)

[Ronald Holland]

The money raised and growing public support for the Ron Paul Campaign means Ron Paul can win the GOP nomination.

Read, President Ron Paul – Could He Really Win?

Learn how outside economic and foreign policy events just might elect Ron Paul. http://www.ronaldholland.com/presidentronpaul.htm is a two part article on how current events outside the political process could elect Ron Paul as President.

[Uranga]

You have commented repeatedly about how “crude is a generous description” for many Ron Paul fans. I thank you for allowing us to see the token nut job posting above from “another well-spoken temperate supporter of Dr. Paul” but for the sake of openness how about giving some stats on how many of the “worst ones you just delete”. Why not just post them all with objectionable language redacted just like the government does? That way we'd know that what you are saying is not just hyperbole. I find it rather odd yet reassuring that here, as on other newspaper blogs, the comments are mostly positive, pro Paul whereas on other candidates’ blogs there is a mix of supporters and detractors. Why do you think that is the case? As much as I like Ron Paul, I would no sooner believe that his critics are all nut jobs that you have to censor than the other candidates don’t also have crazies you have to cut.

(By no means all. The vast vast majority are printed here. But why give nutjobs the satisfaction of seeing their words in print? We want an honest open civil dialogue and I think that's what we're getting.)

[Noreen Cullen]

Dear Mr Malcolm;

Two brief comments. The first is that I find it amazing to witness the flap it causes to have a candidate say that we ought to follow the United States Constitution that our country was founded on. It is sad that this is not the norm.

Secondly, I think the polls at some juncture will be off by the fact that growing numbers of people eschew landline phones for cell phones, the latter of which are not called for polling purposes.

Thank you,
Noreen Cullen

[Martha Barley]

Thank you for one of the fairest articles I have seen. I do agree that some of the Ron Paul supporters are crude, but I've witnessed the same from other political camps. Sadly, many American's behavior is crude in today's society and we have truly forgotten the idea of Volatire and others. We used to believe that "I may not agree with a word you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" concept. Sadly, today most feel it is perfectly find to shout down their oppositon rather than have a dialog.

I do ask you to think about the fact that if any of the "top tier" candidates had raised this much money and had this many events around the country, it would have been covered around the clock on all the TV news shows. The few times I looked yesterday at them, I saw nothing reported.

Thanks again for the fair article. May God bless us with a Ron Paul Presidency.

(Well, to be fair to the others, you didn't see much coverage during the day because it was going on during the day. You had to stay up past midnight to see the real scope of the record. We did.)

[Elaine McLellan]

Thank you for your article. . . .and thanks to ALL the Ron Paul supporters. We are part of something so big and so exciting that MSM doesn't know what on earth to do about it. Don't the words ignore and ignorance come from the same root? MSM has spent way too much time shaping our thoughts and minds. What ever happened to plain old reporting...must have gone out of style when we quit using our own brains. Well, that has changed, WE THE PEOPLE are speaking. Listen to us! Can't you feel it, don't you sense it?.....listen....