Opinion: Quietly, persistently, fans spread the gospel of Paul
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(UPDATE: Note to Readers, Nov 8, 2007. Click here or www.LATimes.com/topoftheticket
Ron Paul supporters will be out in full force this weekend online and in Fort Worth for the Texas straw poll, where they will cite any success whatsoever as proof that their grassroots grassfire rebellion is taking off again. The fact that no top-tier Republican candidates and even some second-tier ones are skipping the symbolic vote will not douse their enthusiasm one drop.
The fact that their savior, an elderly Texas congressman and former doctor who once ran for president on the Libertarian ticket, doesn’t register in state or national polls doesn’t register with passionate Paulites. At all hours of the day or night they constantly scour the Internet for Web polls to vote for their man repeatedly, making his support appear far stronger than the single digit he usually gets in scientific polls. Two weeks ago they had minor reasons to celebrate for Ron Paul’s 72d birthday.
They jump into Comments sections and discussion boards to proselytize for Paul in messages FULL OF CAPITAL LETTERS AND EXCLAMATION MARKS !!!!!! They chastise those writers who don’t take seriously the candidate with two first names. And they’re always uploading new videos of Paul onto YouTube and running up the numbers of viewers.
If their activities had anything to do with political organizing, the Paulites might have a chance of gathering some serious votes. But that does not faze these amateur hardcore conservatives one bit. They are convinced that if they spread the gospel of Paul enough, enough people will see the light.
On their own websites, they chatter and exchange gossip about writers who have mentioned Ron Paul’s name, always referred to reverently as Dr. Paul. And, because earlier this year many were overbearing and aggressive, they offer each other tips on how to make the best impression with their online comments, using jokes and self-deprecating humor.
It’s an admirable brand of do-it-yourself campaigning using few funds and lots of duct tape and heart. ‘Google Ron Paul’ is their motto, trying to draw more people to become admirers of the strict constitutionalist and ultraconservative isolationist who never saw a government dollar he did not want to not spend. A recent Associated Press feature on Paulites noted the Google phrase painted atop a Manhattan apartment building in huge letters in case any air passengers overhead looked out their window.
When you do Google Paul, you get RonPaul2008.com where he is hailed as ‘the leading advocate for freedom in our nation’s capital.’ But what about the rest of the country?
‘Dr. No’ is Paul’s congressional nickname for his predictable ‘nay’ votes, a nickname that Paul himself says with a smile is really ‘Dr. Know.’ Google Dr. No and you get a James Bond movie. Google Dr. Know and you get the Health Channel’s Dr. Paul Trotman, who debunks medical myths.
--Andrew Malcolm