Ron Paul Report: Who Supports Him and Why is November 5th Important?
The British version of Halloween is Guy Fawkes Night, November 5th.� Guy is a well known anarchist who tried to blow up the British parliament, with everybody in it,�on November 5th, 1605. As much as the English love democracy, Brits and Scots and Irishmen often say with dry humor “Guy Fawkes was the only man who ever entered Parliament with honorable intentions.” British, Canadian, Australian and South African children sang the following song for centuries right up to at least the last generation before TV:
Anyway, the�Republican presidential candidate, Ron Paul, wants to dismantle (figuratively blow up) a number of large government agencies (without people in them of course). His supporters, now numbering at least 3% of registered Republicans and probably numbering at least�3% of the US population, are not anarchists, despite their choice of Monday, November 5th as the day when they try to get 100,000 people to donate $100 each�in a “Money Bomb” that would put Ron Paul in the major leagues in terms of being able to�compete financially in the 2008 election cycle.�Ron Paul has already raised enough money to be considered a first tier candidate (financially), but he wants to break records with the November 5th effort.
Who are these people?
I went under cover in the past week to investigate the “Ron Paul Revolution”. On the Internet there is a lot to be found on the phenomenon and a lot of evidence that this man is the most popular candidate among users of the Internet. Whereas a well-made amateur video can expect to get no more than 2000 views on YouTube, there are dozens of Ron Paul videos with an excess of 600,000 views. My favorite videos are the Ron Paul Girl series�which features a bright young American college coed who explains politics with a deadpan humor such as “Howard Dean was doing well until he left his Ritalin prescription at home in Vermont”. A�good news site to keep track of would be DailyPaul.com. Ron Paul has more Meetup groups and more Meetup members than all the other presidential candidates in both parties combined.
Ron Paul supporters are�an eclectic group, mostly under 45, who are promoting the 72 year old Texas congressman at least in an effort to make sure other Republicans and the media mention the Constitution and individual rights at all during the coming election year 2008.
Before I�describe who I see them to be,�I will explain who they are not: Paulites are not�Moonbat Lefties. A Moonbat is defined as someone who swallows the entire Marxist smorgasbord of which being reflexively anti-war really means wanting the white patriachy to be defeated. If a Paulite agrees with Ron Paul about not wanting to fight wars all the time, it comes from�recognizing that a nation’s worst enemy is most often itself, and fighting corruption and defending freedom at home is a full-time job. That being said, Ron Paul has been getting more donation support�from pro-war vets and active duty servicepeople than any other candidate.
Socialists are absent in the crowd of Paul supporters. Gender feminists are absent in the crowd. Men who no longer have a pair are absent as well. One would think this might be a good milieu for the�Men’s Rights Movement.
My observation of the make-up of Ron Paul supporters so far:
1) True intellectuals who may have actually read the Constitution and want to at least send a message about that
2) Successful businesspeople between 25-45 who would rather save for retirement than pay for more government
3) Expats, Americans living in other countries whom Congress apparently believes can still be regulated and ruled over
4) Military, especially those who may have been wounded or almost killed defending the Constitution
5) Males who still have a pair and who at least want to send a message about men’s rights
6) Women who respect males who still have a pair
7) Women who really think for themselves and not for the sisterhood
That would be about 3% total of the US population.
In order to get more votes than that, the above people will have to get their parents and relatives on board and convinced, especially those with landlines who are, apparently, the only ones the media pollsters contact.
I forgot to mention that most foreigners, who know about Ron Paul, are�for him as well. A�poll in Switzerland has him winning the US Presidency if the Swiss were the ones who decided. In Germany, a�poll has shown that Ron Paul�loses to Dennis Kucinich by a few votes.
Don’t laugh: Europe was solidly behind Gore and Kerry in the last elections and the European preference influenced American voters big-time. If European journalists play up Ron Paul over the next year, which would be in accordance with the preference of many of their citizens, it could boost Ron Paul’s stature considerably. If Nicolas Sarkozy or Vladimir Putin were to mix with American politics by�just discussing�Ron Paul’s ideas, the ensuing controversy�would not hurt the candidate either.
Oscar Wilde once said “The only thing worse than being talked about, is not being talked about”.
We will see this coming week whether Ron Paul’s November 5th “Money Bomb” event rivals Guy Fawkes in terms of getting people to talk about him.
| More from Jim Peterson
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November 4th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
“One would think this might be a good milieu for the Men’s Rights Movement.”
Interesting idea; has Ron Paul said anything to that effect, or do you gather that from free association (which we’ve lost) men will spontaneously congregate?
November 4th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Thank you for writing this article about Ron Paul. I am one of his supporters. He is a great man, and I believe our Country needs him as President. He will make the necessay changes in our government so that we can be the America we once were. God bless Ron Paul. I am a middle class, hard working, tax paying, ex military United States Citizen female. This great man Ron Paul has my vote and support, and I wish him all the best in his campaign and Presidential journey.
November 4th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Well, I’m a bit older than the age group you cite, but am in favor of younger people having the chance to “opt out” of Social Security, which has been a despicable sham. Dr. Paul’s plan is to use the billions in dollars of savings we’ll see from scaling back our overseas empire to honor our commitment to those who paid into the program throughout their careers. The accusations from some in the media that he plans to cut the program off at the knees is not only a lie, but especially outrageous because he has, in fact, been fighting our federal government’s taxation of Social Security benefits.
I will be donating $200 to the Paul campaign on November 5th.
November 4th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
I am a 39 year old American male, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a Ron Paul supporter. Nov 5th is important not only because it will infuse a large sum of money into the Ron Paul campaign but it should also serve to show the media and the public that Ron Paul is in fact a “top tier” candidate.
The media currently refers to Ron Paul as a “long shot” candidate but I believe that is quite false. I have been creating a web site to demonstrate just how wrong this “long shot” label is when referring to Ron Paul. While Ron Paul registers low in the national polls, he dominates in the Straw Polls, Debate Polls, Fund Raising, Web Traffic and Grass Roots Networking.
Please visit http://www.thecaseforronpaul.com and decide for yourself.
November 5th, 2007 at 2:23 am
I got a computerized polling call yesterday.
I answered about 10 or so questions including that I intend to vote for Ron Paul.
The phone call then just terminated abruptly.
Was my response counted?
I am suspicious about polls.
They will tend to give the results desired by those who commission them.
The poll came from this phone number: 214-283-1316
November 5th, 2007 at 3:12 am
Ron Paul winning a straw-poll vote at:
http://www.presidentpolls2008.com/
Is such a poll more revealing than the ones produced by managed news and political parties? Would Ron Paul stand a better chance of winning if people were not being convinced by managed news that he doesn’t stand a chance?
November 5th, 2007 at 9:31 am
The media, pollsters, and National Partys control what you see and hear, except on the Internet. (National Party; sounds familiar). They want to elect a Repugmocrat that will continue the War Powers Emergency declared in 1933 which effectively threw out the US constitution.
They continue to ignore and downplay Mr. Paul’s candidacy because most of the perverted patriots (Repugmocrats) will vote their party line hoping for a “win”. I will vote my conscience. Come election in Nov, 08 I will vote for Ron Paul, or I will write him in.
When the media does discuss his issues, they make hay of the fact that he wants to put us back on the gold standard. I say to them, it’s not the gold standard per se, sucker, it’s a return to the Constitution!
Vote for Ron Paul, or be a pervert(ed patriot)!
November 5th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
I would just like to point out that you’ve made a huge error in the start of your article. Guy Fakes not is in no way ‘the British version of Halloween’. We celebrate Halloween on the 31st just like you do and also Halloween isn’t even an american holiday it’s Irish.
November 6th, 2007 at 12:25 am
Talk about pulling an analogy out of thin air.
What _is_ the point of comparing consititutionalist and freedom-loving Ron Paul with a Jesuit swine who plotted the spilling of innocent blood on a massive scale. Why not just say “figuratively blow up,” and skip the pathetic attempt to
paint Guy Fawkes out of the murderous history of Roman Catholic terrorism.
November 6th, 2007 at 5:52 am
Hi Ulysses,
You are correct, but Americans can best understand the popularity of Bonfire Night by its being compared to Halloween rather than, for instance, St. Martin’s Day in Germany which is also November 5th I believe.
Chuckle. Note to Mike Lasalle: Any post mentioning Ron Paul gets more hits than usual from lots of new readers.
Here is a video about the V for Vendetta film that modernized a Guy Fawkes concept (although Guy’s cause was selfish for Catholics only and, although he would have killed everyone he wanted to kill with that gunpowder, his cause would have lost as the Protestants would have murdered thousands of Catholics in response). This movie better depicts what we face with the Repuglicrats:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TLD3Z6sJWA
Ron Paul does not speak out for men’s rights per se, but he did vote against VAWA along with only 3 other Congresspeople and 0 Senators.
November 6th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Thanks for the great article, but I must disagree with your characterization of Ron Paul’s supporters.
I’m a bleeding-heart, Bush-hating, dovish liberal, who admires the European social model.
But I love Ron Paul, and I donated to his campaign on Nov5. He’s the best hope we have right now.
He’s better than virtually all the Democratic candidates in my opinion, and needless to say I’m terrified by the rest of the Republican field. They’ll make Bush look like a teddy bear.
I love Ron Paul because he best exemplifies many of my “liberal” beliefs, such as my hate for American empire-building, and the financially-wasteful more-dangerous-than-drugs Drug War.
Go Ron Paul!
November 6th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
That’s quite a balanced, well-researched article. Thanks for that.
So, you spent a week undercover cruising the supporter sites? Good idea! So few reporters (yes, you, MSM) would do such.
I’m of the belief that his message – and the man himself – are so powerful, and compelling, that any amount of prolonged exposure to him brings about almost certain conversion. That’s one of the key reasons why the mainstream media are so resistant to giving him fair coverage, terms of both quality and quantity.
On that basis, I can’t help but wonder what effect that week had on you, in terms of your exposure to his policies. I know that you may be reluctant to state your opinion openly, but, methinks by the fairness of the article, you may at least be heading down the right path.
Kudos to you, for putting in the research, and being so open-minded.
November 6th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
I am a black American female, 39, and a Centrist. I’ve had to vote Democrat my entire voting life because once I was of age to vote, I noticed the GOP was hijacked by am extreme right that would be rightly called fascist in many developed nations. Until recently, Democrats pretended to stand opposite to this. Now the DNC’s complicity with America’s current corporate banana republic of fascist squatters and their GOP flunkies is exceptionally clear. Nader was right about one thing his entire life: the DNC and the RNC are the same.
Expect the mass media to bring out its most virulent snarling dogs to snuff him this time: I’ve made a small checklist and am watching it in amusement to see if the following things come true:
1. Allegations of homophobia either on Paul’s part or one of his close fundraisers or advisors. A convenient token plant will emerge to support the smear, claiming Paul said or did something “against the gays”. His every past statement is likely being combed this very second by media personnel for faint scents of homophobia to be used against him on a very loudly amplified national scale.
2. If using my people doesn’t work and push enough buttons of outrage for the media, there will be allegations of anti-Semitism. Plants at Columbia University continue to try to smear and call negative attention to that school for inviting Ahmadinejad to speak. First it was a noose. That didn’t spark enough outrage. Next a swastika conveniently appeared. Still no ejection for Bolinger. I predict similar plants will begin to pop up like mushrooms around Paul and his campaign. Paul’s commitment to closing and enforcing our nation’s border will be painted as “hateful” and “hate-filled” to Mexican-American citizens and an attack on Latinos instead of what it is: defense of the Republic against persons residing and working here illegally, regardless of ethnic background. The GOP and DNC will aggressively mobilize Latinos in and outside America to march against, protest and smear Paul. As a minority, trust me: the powers that be are fond of and well versed in manipulating gullible extremists within our ranks to smear opponents and stay firmly in power. The problem for them is that with the exception of gays and Latinos, the rest of us see it now and are no longer fooled.
3. The gold standard will be mentioned over and over again, and Paul will be smeared as an extremist loon both mentally unstable and politically unreliable. The media will begin chanting “unpresidential”, “unpresident-like”, “dangerous”, “extreme” and “revolutionary” in tracts describing him. They are already terming him “left-field” and “long shot”, despite his success and obvious connection with most American voters. This trend will worsen.
4. Finally, if all else fails, the media will call him a domestic terrorist and faintly imply that if any American votes for Paul, other Americans should identify that person, and that the identification will be as “unpatriotic” as well as “endorsing domestic terrorism.”
In short, they’re going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at this guy, and that’s their standard practice. I saw it begin as an internet practice in 1997 against people who were generally doing good works and daring to be outspoken that they were. Smearing, slandering outsiders would appear to promptly Google and smear them online. The media picked this up in about 1998 and 1999, and now it has become so omnipresent that even schoolchildren recognize it: “Oh, I guess now they’ll smear so and so now.” To me that means the game is over and Americans are awake now.
Again, I am a woman, I am black, and I am a Center Democrat, and I will be voting for Ron Paul this election. The circus has escalated to surreal and no longer tolerable conditions. For the sake of the Republic, and for a return to normalcy, I consider Dr. Paul my candidate, and am alerting my family members and other black people that he exists and that he apparently stands for the old school America of morals and personal responsibility we miss and remember.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:08 am
I have 7 votes in hand from MND intelligent regulars and I do not fear interlopers like Ron Paul, even if he is stealing my anti-corruption policy initiatives. I was in first.
Guy Fawkes was not an anarchist. His beef was, like that of many folk of the day, with King James. A cursory glance at history shows that James 6th was the Catholic (Hah!) King of Scotland who took the English crown to become James 1st of the new United Kingdom quite against the will of the people of England. James was quite a nasty bastard even by the measures of the day. Fawkes was a patriot betrayed by lily-livered wassers. (Not to be cofused with Jesse James).
I too will be a nasty bastard, but only to the corrupt and the rent-seekers, the Judges and the Lawyers (for a start). Then, in the second week…..
Vote #1 Amfortas. Be in the best company.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:31 am
tbowler / Heather: I’m trying to figure out why there are so many people who still think that either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party stand for individual rights and the Constitution. Seriously, I can’t figure it out. I really want to know. I don’t really know who to ask, but Heather – you say you used to think so – tbowler – you state that you have the kind of views that in some ways agree with those of the two parties. So, I’m just speculating – maybe you two might see something that I don’t. Is it just that they’re too young to know any better?
November 7th, 2007 at 6:11 am
I strongly believe Congress needs to remain actively involved in ensuring parents’ rights are protected and I have significant concerns with recent judicial rulings recognizing “de-facto” or “psychological” parents, individuals who assist in raising a child. These types of decisions undermine parental authority, allowing any adult with an association with the child to make parental claims.
Way far from strong enough and very Republican (not Conservative) approach generally (marriage amendment to the constitution which is never going to happen; blaming the judiciary without acknowledging the role of Congress and the two parties) – but the statement almost provides a glimmer of hope. Maybe if they repeat it enough – “parental rights undermined” – they might eventually get it to the point that they’ll feel a need to do 180 degree turn on their family policy agenda and do something to fix it. “parental rights undermined” is this millenium’s understatement.
Taken into Custody: The War Against Fatherhood, Marriage, and the Family
November 7th, 2007 at 6:12 am
Ooops — the above quote (in italics) is from Duncan Hunter’s official campaign website.
November 8th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
[...] to convince you. oh, on the subject of who Ron Paul’s supporters are, i found a good article: MND: News and Commentary Since 2001 ? Ron Paul Report: Who Supports Him and Why is November 5th Impo… __________________ White ‘87 Regal T-Type (column shift, astro roof) — PT-54, 3″ DP/cutout, [...]
January 6th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
[...] write this one, but would like people to read it anyway. I’m not ALL about me, you know Ron Paul Report: Who Supports Him and Why is November 5th Important? The British version of Halloween is Guy Fawkes Night, November 5th. Guy is a well known anarchist [...]