The enthusiasm of Ron Paul's supporters is remarkable. For example, a group of volunteers organized what they call a "moneybomb" scheduled to "explode" today, November 5th. So far, they've raised $700,000 in less than eight hours.
Impressive.
I wonder, though, how many of his supporters are familiar with his actual record in Congress. I figured it would be worth a reminder, just in case you feel seduced by the dark side.
Update 4: They're going to raise about $7 million today. Unbelieveable.
Update 3: The Washington Post is on the case. Paultards have now donated a staggering $2.7 million in less than 18 hours. That's $700k in the past three hours or so. Take note people -- we're going to need to do some educating on just how backwards Ron Paul is before clueless but kind people donate to him.
Update 2: 15 hours, over $2 million. That means he's raised Mike Huckabee's goal for the month in a single day.
Update 1: In the last one hour (5-6am Pacific) he's raised $200,000. This is starting to get scary. Are there really that many Paultards our there?
Ron Paul calls himself a libertarian, but he's a strange sort of libertarian. For example, he doesn't believe you have a Constitutional right to privacy. In practical terms, this means he not only favors overturning Roe v. Wade, but he also wants to outlaw abortion rights altogether.
Ron Paul believes there is a war on Christmas.
As we celebrate another Yuletide season, it’s hard not to notice that Christmas in America simply doesn’t feel the same anymore. Although an overwhelming majority of Americans celebrate Christmas, and those who don’t celebrate it overwhelmingly accept and respect our nation’s Christmas traditions, a certain shared public sentiment slowly has disappeared. The Christmas spirit, marked by a wonderful feeling of goodwill among men, is in danger of being lost in the ongoing war against religion.
Through perverse court decisions and years of cultural indoctrination, the elitist, secular Left has managed to convince many in our nation that religion must be driven from public view. The justification is always that someone, somewhere, might possibly be offended or feel uncomfortable living in the midst of a largely Christian society, so all must yield to the fragile sensibilities of the few. The ultimate goal of the anti-religious elites is to transform America into a completely secular nation, a nation that is legally and culturally biased against Christianity.
Therefore, naturally, he favors amending the Constitution to permit organized prayer in schools.
Perhaps you can see the pattern beginning to emerge: Ron Paul is not a libertarian in the popular sense of the word. Yes, he wants to restrain the power of the federal government. The problem is, he wants to restrain the power of the federal government to guarantee basic freedoms and rights. He wants to turn back the clock on reproductive freedom, voting rights, religious liberty, and more.
I could go on and on. Over and over, Ron Paul's congressional record doesn't jive with his claim to be a libertarian. He supported the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), the legislation that DRM proponents are using to sue graduate students and that the music industry is using to stifle academic research. DMCA allows the music industry to compel internet service providersto disclose the identity of their customers.
Here's another example of Ron Paul in action. You know the Do Not Call registry to stop telemarketers from calling you at home, right? Well, in 2003, Congress authorized the Do Not Call registry. 412 Members of Congress voted for the registry; only 8 opposed it. Yup, Ron Paul supported the the right of telemarketers to invade your privacy.
In the end, though, Ron Paul's strident opposition to the war in Iraq and his openness to 9/11 conspiracy theorists have won him a tremendously devoted flock of followers.
What they are doing today online is impressive. While I wrote this blog posting, another $175,000 poured into his coffers.
The mainstream media should pay attention and report this story. The Ron Paul phenomenon is one of the most underreported aspects of the 2008 presidential campaign.
I have a feeling, however, that when Ron Paul's supporters start learning about his opposition to the basic liberties that so many of us take for granted, many of them will feel betrayed.