The second Ron Paul “money bomb” exceeded even the first, raising $6.04 million in 24 hours, beating John Kerry’s previous one-day internet fund-raising record. The event on December 17 honored the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.
There were 58,407 individual contributors, of whom 24,915 were first-time donors. The average donation was $102. Dr. Paul, a life member of AAPS, describes the effort as an “entirely voluntary, self-organized, decentralized, independent effort.”
As others keep asking Dr. Paul who runs the fundraising and campaigning, he notes that “to these top-down central planners, a spontaneous order like our movement is science-fiction.” (See Message from Ron at www.ronpaul2008.com).
To those who call his supporters “angry,” Dr. Paul writes: “Well, we are the happiest, most optimistic ‘angry’ movement ever, and the most diverse. What unites us is a love of liberty, and a determination to fix what is wrong with our country, from the Fed to the IRS, from warfare to welfare. But otherwise we are a big tent.
“Said the local newspaper: ‘The elderly sat with teens barely old enough to vote. The faces were black, Hispanic, Asian and white. There was no fear in their voices as they spoke boldly with each other about the way the country should be. Held close like a deeply held secret, Paul has brought them out of the disconnect they feel between what they know to be true and where the country has been led.’”
Three of the more than 178 comments (all but about eight of which were positive) posted on the Boston Globe website in response to an article about the tea party.
“I feel stupid. I’m one of the people who thought Ron Paul was fringe (because the media told me so)…. I’ve spent the last 2 hours reading his speeches and articles and I can’t stop….”
“I am heading to a frozen lake to stomp RON PAUL into the lake as a billboard.”
“I re-registered Republican to vote for Dr. Paul.”
“I couldn’t make it to the Tea Party this weekend due to bad weather. So, I made a sign that said ‘Ron Paul is making history today’ and went to the closest intersection. This was a little scary at first, but I thought people in my area needed to know the truth. At first I was met with blank stares. But, after that first person gave me a thumbs up I was on a new high. They just kept coming, people yelling out the windows, ‘RON PAUL….’ The next thing I knew I’d been standing there over 3 hours.”
About 500 people braved the blizzard in Boston to go to Faneuil Hall for the tea part event, where Dr. Paul’s son, Rand Paul, spoke.
Paul could end up raising more money than any of the other Republican contenders and providing the only serious competition for Democrat money leaders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, wrote John Nichols (Nation 12/18/07).
The dramatic fundraising feat has attracted some major media attention. See clips on YouTube.
Additional information:
