Ron Paul presidential campaign, 2008
Encyclopedia
Ron Paul
was a Republican Party
primary candidate in the 2008 United States presidential election
.
Initial opinion polls
during the first three quarters of 2007 showed Ron Paul consistently receiving support from 3% or less of those polled. In 2008, Paul's support among Republican voters remained in the single digits, and well behind front-runner John McCain
.
During the fourth quarter of 2007, Paul was the most successful Republican fundraiser
, bringing in approximately $20 million. He also received the most money from the armed services of any candidate in the fourth quarter. Ron Paul's campaign set two fund raising records: the largest single day donation total
among Republican candidates and twice receiving the most money received via the Internet
in a single day by any presidential candidate in American history. Paul's run for president is also noted for its grassroots
social networking, facilitated by the Internet
. Ron Paul's enthusiastic supporters were noted by the media, who called them "Paulites". Paul receives most of his contributions from individuals, at ninety-seven percent; compare to other candidates.
As of February 5, 2008, Paul had won sixteen delegates to the Republican National Convention
, placing him last amongst the four Republican candidates still in the race at that time. The campaign projected on February 6 to have secured at least 42 delegates to the national convention.
On March 4, 2008, John McCain
earned enough pledged delegates to become the Republican presumptive nominee
, but Ron Paul decided to continue his run.
On April 29, 2008, Ron Paul released The Revolution: A Manifesto
, which collected essays based on thoughts that arose from his experiences running for president in 2008. The book went on to be a #1 bestseller
among political books on Amazon.com
and the New York Times nonfiction list.
On June 12, 2008 Paul announced that he was ending the presidential campaign, investing the more than $4.7 million of remaining campaign contributions to build up the new advocacy group Campaign for Liberty
.
Although he suspended his campaign, he appeared on the ballot in Montana and Louisiana in the 2008 general election. He was also listed in some states as a write-in candidate. He received nearly 20,000 votes, giving him the eighth highest popular vote total in the election.
movement around him (the "Ron Paul Revolution"), see Grassroots campaign efforts.
In a February CNN
landline
opinion poll
, Paul was the candidate with the least name recognition besides John H. Cox
. On March 20, Paul signed the American Freedom Agenda
Pledge.
, Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa
Christian Alliance invited all Democratic Party candidates and all Republican presidential candidates except Paul to a presidential candidates forum. Six candidates appeared: Mitt Romney
, Sam Brownback
, Jim Gilmore
, Mike Huckabee
, Tommy Thompson
, and Tom Tancredo
. In July, the New York Times wrote that Paul's "message draws on the noblest traditions of American decency and patriotism
."
in Ames, Iowa
on August 11. He ranked fifth out of 11 candidates, receiving 9.1 percent of the votes. According to John Fout, on TheStreet.com, Paul "shocked people in Iowa" by receiving more than 9 percent of the vote after making only three trips to Iowa, releasing ads only one week before the poll, and for beating Tommy Thompson, who visited all 99 counties in Iowa. In an interview about the results of the straw poll, fellow candidate Mike Huckabee, who placed second, said that Ron Paul was the candidate most likely to overtake him nationally, saying, "I'm keeping an eye on him."
During the Straw Poll Ron Paul supporters gathered to form a parade, that marched hundreds of people many of whom bore colonial costumes and drum and fife instruments, flags and other around the ISU grounds for hours chanting back and forth slogans that would later be used in many marches and events throughout the campaign.
, starting with the Web-site TeaParty07.com. In support of the rally, Paul supporters purchased a blimp to display campaign messages to observers. On December 16, 2007, Ron Paul supporters re-enacted the dumping of tea into Boston Harbor by tossing banners that read "Tyranny" and "no taxation without representation
" into boxes that were in the harbor. Ron Paul supporters also gathered in several other cities as part of the Tea Party re-enactment, including Strasbourg, France, Santa Monica, California
, Maui, Hawaii, and Freeport
and Austin, Texas
. Paul himself tossed a barrel labelled "Iraq War" overboard at the Tea Party Re-enactment in Freeport, Texas. The Austin Police Department estimates 2000 to 3000 attendees at the Austin Tea Party.
Paul's first major television campaign began November 8, at a total cost of US$1.1 million, started advertising in New Hampshire.
Mid November, 2007 Operation: Live Free or Die, An effort to bring volunteers to campaign door to door in New Hampshire was started by Google employee Vijay Boyapati. His idea to rent a few houses to hold volunteers turned into 14 houses with over 600 people arriving in New Hampshire to knock on doors, organize marches, phone bank at the Concord and Nashua Headquarters. Ron Paul visited OLFD volunteers at a local restaurant owned by a member of the Free State Project called Murphy's Pub, a frequent establishment for FSP members, to thank them in person for their dedication.
On Jan 7, 2007 many of these volunteers worked at polling stations across the state and later held a party which Ron Paul attended and spoke. Many of these volunteers, including Vijay went on to other states to continue the efforts.
On December 1, 2007, the Los Angeles Times
declared Paul a player in the presidential campaign. The Libertarian Party
adopted a resolution on December 12 urging Paul to run on the Libertarian ticket if he does not get nominated by the Republican Party.
In December 2007, the Associated Press reported that Paul kept a US$500 donation from Don Black, operator of Stormfront
, a white nationalist organization website. Paul's campaign stated that "If someone with small ideologies happens to contribute money to Ron, thinking he can influence Ron in any way, he's wasted his money," responding that they would spend the money on spreading "the message of freedom" and "inalienable rights".
CBS News
reported on December 21 that "Ron Paul can no longer be dismissed as the favorite of the fringe".
Many presidential candidates released apolitical Christmas-themed advertisements. Paul was the first nationally recognized candidate to post such an ad on YouTube. In the ad, Paul's family sings a rendition of "Deck the Halls" amid a brief narrative from Paul wishing the viewer "an absolutely great 2008". CBS News
described it as portraying Paul as "warm and fuzzy", with fewer religious overtones than other candidates'.
Paul was questioned on Meet the Press
by Tim Russert
for asking that US$400 million in previously earmarked funds
be directed back to his district for water projects, a nursing program, to expand a hospital cancer center and US$10 million to promote Texas shrimp. On Meet the Press, Paul defended his bid for the earmarked funds saying he never voted for an earmark in his life. Russert said Paul's statement was like saying, "you voted for it before you voted against it." Congressman Paul responded,"I put them in because I represent people who are asking for some of their money back, ... I'm against the tax system, but I take all my tax credits. I want to get their money back for the people."
Also on January 15, James Giles, writing for The Bulletin
of Philadelphia, said that Paul represented "the dominant foreign policy consensus in the Republican Party from 1920 to 1952."
Ron Paul campaigned heavily in Nevada, more than Mitt Romney, the only other candidate to go there. On January 17, Paul's Nevada campaign representatives warned state GOP officials that thousands of caucus-goers had been given wrong caucus locations. A correction was put onto the Nevada GOP website that morning, two days before the caucuses. Then Paul's campaign criticized inconsistencies, confusion over rules, and a shortage of ballots in some counties. They asked the state Republican Party to consider postponing the vote because of those problems and others, such as unclear rules on who could vote.
In January, Paul released an economic revitalization plan and named Peter Schiff
and Don Luskin
economic advisors to the campaign. The National Taxpayers Union
found that among the remaining presidential candidates, only Paul proposed sufficient federal spending cuts to more than offset new spending plans.
In February, suicide terrorism expert professor Robert Pape
joined the campaign as foreign policy
advisor; Ivan Eland
and Leon Hadar
also joined Paul's foreign policy team.
After Romney left the race in February, leaving John McCain strongly favored to win the nomination, Paul e-mailed his supporters on February 8 and stated that he was refactoring his presidential campaign to be "leaner and tighter" and would devote a significant portion of his time specifically to his campaign for reelection to the U.S. House, representing Texas's 14th congressional district, where Paul is being challenged for the Republican nomination by Friendswood
mayor pro tem Chris Peden
. Paul recognized a nearly zero chance of a brokered convention
. He was determined to continue in every caucus and primary remaining and promised not to campaign for president for another party. Staffer Dan McCarthy clarified in a blog post on February 9 that Paul's presidential campaign "is not ending, not being suspended, and not even drawing down", stating that "[a] few news sources are misreporting Ron Paul’s e-mail from last night."
On February 11, Ron Paul posted a video via YouTube and his campaign website in which he states that he would like to organize a march on Washington in order to show the support he has received and give his campaign a boost in the presidential race.
On March 4, John McCain
earned enough delegates to become the Republican nominee. Mike Huckabee dropped from the race as a result, but Ron Paul decided to continue his run, having successfully defended his congressional seat.
On March 8, Paul released a video to his supporters acknowledging that he would not be able to win the nomination, interpreted by some news sources as a hint that the campaign was over. Ron Paul's son Rand Paul
publicly denied the allegations and stated the campaign "will continue to contest the remaining primaries." On March 10, Ron Paul appeared on CNN's American Morning
to explain that he has not withdrawn from the race and he will keep campaigning to keep his ideas in the arena, and to fulfill an obligation to his supporters in states that have not yet held primaries.
primary, The New Republic
published a story by James Kirchick
quoting from selected newsletters published under Paul's name. The publications had various names bannering "Ron Paul" prominently in the title, such as The Ron Paul Survival Report. Kirchick said that the writings showed "an obsession with conspiracies, sympathy for the right-wing
militia movement, and deeply held bigotry
", and were "saturated in racism
", charges echoed by Kevin Drum of the Washington Monthlys Political Animal blog. Kirchick noted that one article referred to African-American rioters as "barbarians" and suggested that the Los Angeles riots of 1992 only stopped when it came time for "blacks to pick up their welfare checks". Other issues gave tactical advice to local militia groups and advanced various conspiracy theories.
In 1996 the media inquired into these passages, having been brought to light by Paul's congressional opponent Charles "Lefty" Morris; Paul's congressional campaign countered the statements were taken out of context. The newsletters, attributed to Paul, made statements such as "opinion polls consistently show only about 5% of blacks have sensible political opinions," "if you have ever been robbed by a black teen-aged male, you know how unbelievably fleet-footed they can be", and referring to Martin Luther King as a "pro-communist philanderer" and to Martin Luther King Day as "hate Whitey day." An issue from 1992 refers to carjacking as the "hip-hop thing to do among the urban youth who play unsuspecting whites like pianos." In an article title "The Pink House" the newsletter wrote that " "Homosexuals, not to speak of the rest of society, were far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities."
In 2001 Paul gave his own account of the newsletters, stating the documents were authored by ghostwriters, and that while he did not author the challenged passages, he bore "some moral responsibility" for their publication. Paul's 2008 presidential campaign repeated these assertions when the challenged passages resurfaced again in Kirchick's January 2008 article. Paul "never uttered such words and denounced such small-minded thoughts," saying Martin Luther King, Jr.
, and Rosa Parks
were personal heroes because they stood for individual rights
, and that he had spoken highly about Parks in a 1999 floor speech in the House of Representatives. Paul took the position that the Kirchick story was a "rehash" of a political attack received during his 1996 campaign.
In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer
, Paul asserted that racism is incompatible with his beliefs and that he sees people as individuals
, not as part of collectives
. He also dismissed the attack as an attempt to accuse him of racism by proxy, claiming that he has collected more money among African-Americans than any other Republican candidate. Blitzer stated that he was "shocked" by the newsletters, as they did not seem to reflect "the Ron Paul that I've come to know, and the viewers have come to know" over the course of several interviews during the campaign.
Nelson Linder, president of the Austin
chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP), also defended Paul, though not in his official capacity under the NAACP: "Knowing Ron Paul's intent, I think he is trying to improve this country but I think also, when you talk about the Constitution and you constantly criticize the federal government versus state I think a lot of folks are going to misconstrue that....so I think it's very easy for folks who want to take his position out of context, and that's what I'm hearing."
Reason magazine contributing editor Matt Welch
found numerous references to the newsletters in news coverage of the 1996 race, many showing a defense of the newsletters by Paul and his campaign. But in 2001 Paul claimed he only said otherwise in 1996 because it was too confusing to explain in the fervor of a campaign.
in anticipation of the April 22 primary, including two stops in his birth place of Pittsburgh at Indiana University of Pennsylvania
and the University of Pittsburgh
. He also made several campaign stops in Montana. He was the keynote speaker at the April 26 Nevada Republican State Convention, where his supporters comprised over 2/3 of the 1200 some attendees. Paul's supporters used their super-majority to allow any state delegate to be considered for the position of national delegate, rather than voting on an pre-approved small slate of possible national delegates. Ron Paul is expected to capture most or all of Nevada's 31 delegates to the RNC as a result. The main purpose, according to Paul supporters, is not to make Ron Paul the nominee but to influence the official RNC party platform so it adopts several of the issues advocated by the Texas congressman.
In Missouri
, some 145 "suspected" Ron Paul supporters were barred from participating in the state selection process or from being delegates to the national convention by local GOP party leaders. This has led to accusations of procedural violations on the part of state GOP leaders by Republican voters.
The Independent Greens of Virginia (IGVA) petitioned to have Ron Paul as their vice-presidential nominee, putting him on a ticket with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
. Paul himself had nothing to do with the nomination, and was only a placeholder candidate who was later replaced as the vice-presidential candidate on the IGVA ticket by Darrell Castle
, running mate of Chuck Baldwin
.
On June 26, Kent Snyder, Ron Paul's campaign chair, died of viral pneumonia
, leaving $400,000 in unpaid medical bills. Other staffers on Paul's campaign started a collection service to help pay for Snyder's remaining medical bills, as the campaign did not provide its workers with health insurance.
In Nevada on June 28, Ron Paul delegates reconvened the state convention to elect national delegates to the RNC. They cited a rule that when the chair of the previous meeting called recess without a vote by the delegates, it broke the rules, meaning that the previous state convention never concluded. From this new convention, Ron Paul was awarded all of Nevada's national delegates, winning him the state. The Nevada Republican Party challenged the results and elected their own national delegates. Nevada party officials later decided to not have a convention and have the issue decided by the party's executive board via conference call. The RNC rejected the delegates chosen by both groups, eventually granting Paul four of the state's delegates and the rest to McCain.
On June 12, 2008, Paul announced that he was suspending the presidential campaign, investing the more than $4.7 million of remaining campaign contributions to build up the new advocacy group Campaign for Liberty
.
Ron Paul placed third in the Illinois Straw Poll on August 16, 2007, with 18.87 percent of the vote, polling just 0.4 percent behind undeclared candidate Fred Thompson. Paul won the similar West Alabama Republican Assembly 2007 Presidential Preference Straw Poll on August 18, 2007, capturing 216 of 266 votes (81 percent), ahead of second place Mitt Romney
On August 18. Paul won the South Sound Ronald Reagan Republican Club's straw poll on August 21 in Snohomish County, Washington, with 30 percent of the vote, with Fred Thompson coming in second with 27 percent.
On November 20, 2007, Ron Paul finished fourth behind fellow Republicans Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson in a Zogby International
"blind bio" poll of likely Republican voters. However, Paul was first when Democrats and Independents were included in the survey. The poll presented potential voters with descriptions of each candidate's resume
rather than candidate names.
National polls conducted in January 2008 showed Paul with an average of just under 5% among Republican candidates.
with nearly 10 percent of the votes and 2 delegate
s according to CNN. At the January 5, 2008, Wyoming Republican County Conventions, Ron Paul placed fourth, receiving no delegates. The Wyoming primary was largely ignored by candidates in favor of the higher-profile race in New Hampshire, but four candidates did campaign there, including Paul. The majority of the 1224 eligible voters at the conventions were elected in 2006.
Paul received 8 percent of the vote in the January 8 New Hampshire primary
, finishing fifth in the Republican field and receiving no delegates. Though he had hoped to improve on his Iowa performance, he vowed to stay in the race, telling supporters, "It's really only the beginning." A recount, which Paul does not support, began January 16, 2008. Paul placed fourth in the January 15, 2008, Michigan Republican primary
, with 6 percent of the votes and no delegates.
Paul finished second in the January 19 Nevada Republican caucuses
with 14 percent of the vote, finishing behind Mitt Romney
and earning an estimated four delegates to the national convention. Paul finished fifth in the January 19 South Carolina Republican primary
, with 4 percent of the vote and no delegates. Paul had 3 campaign offices in South Carolina and noted that it was "absolutely vital" since every Republican winner of the state since 1980 has gone on to win the nomination.
The Louisiana Republican caucuses
were held on January 22, 2008. Official results have not yet been reported; preliminary results show Ron Paul
in second place among candidates. On January 26, the Paul campaign filed a complaint with the state GOP contesting Louisiana's process of choosing delegates.
The Florida primary
was held on January 29, 2008, and was a state-wide winner-take-all contest for all 57 of Florida's delegates. Philadelphia Inquirer noted that Paul did not campaign in the state, and he finished in fifth place with 3% of the vote. LA Times listed Florida as part of an eight state radio ad campaign by Paul during January 2008.
Ahead the 3 day Maine caucus
before Super Tuesday, Paul was the only Republican candidate to visit the state. Paul held campaign events, including a rally at the Maine State House on January 28, 2008. The week before the caucus, Paul said that he was hoping for a "grand showing" in the state. With 74.7% of the precincts counted, Paul placed third in the voter preference tally with 19%. National delegates are assigned to candidates May 2 when state delegates hold their convention. Paul earned 35% of the state delegates to take second place.
, Ron Paul spoke at the GOP convention alongside Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. Paul came in a distant fourth (10%) in the first vote by the state GOP convention and was eliminated for the second round, with McCain eliminated next. Paul's and McCain's supporters voted for Mike Huckabee. Paul's campaign stated that they had a deal with Huckabee to get 3 delegates in exchange for the support they gave to him. The Huckabee campaign has not confirmed that.
Paul's best showings were in Montana, with 25% for second place and no delegates, third in the North Dakota caucus
with 21% and five delegates, third in Alaska
with 17% and five delegates, and third in Utah with 3%. In that day's 16 other primaries and caucuses (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee), Paul finished fourth among current candidates. (He placed fifth in California overall, as Giuliani received absentee ballots.)
Paul received 4% of the popular vote among all Super Tuesday states.
On February 9, Kansas, Louisiana, and Washington held their contests. In the Kansas caucuses, Ron Paul finished third, with 11% and no delegates. In the Louisiana primary, Paul finished third among current candidates (fourth overall, as Romney was still on the ballot) with 5%, though no delegates were at stake. In the Washington state caucuses, Paul placed third, with 22%, behind Huckabee (24%) and McCain (26%). Nearly half of Washington's delegates are picked at this caucus and the rest in the primary February 19, 2008.
On the February 12 Potomac Primaries, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC, held their contests. Paul came in third among current candidates in each of them, receiving 6% in Maryland, 4% in Virginia, and 8% in the District of Columbia. A Fox News exit poll showed that in Virginia, 20% of independent voters voting in the Republican races voted for Paul.
In the two February 19 primaries, Paul came in third in Wisconsin with 5% and fourth in Washington state's follow-up primary (8%), even though he was third in the state's caucus with 22%. Paul placed third in the caucus of Puerto Rico
(4.33%), tied with Mike Huckabee for second place in the Northern Mariana Islands
caucus (4.35%), and has an unknown standing in the American Samoa
caucus.
In the four Republican primaries on March 4, Paul came in third in every state. He earned 5% in Texas and Ohio and 7% in Vermont and Rhode Island.
Mississippi held their Republican primary on March 11, 2008. Paul finished 3rd with 4% of the vote.
In the April 22 Pennsylvania Primary
, Ron Paul finished second with 16% of the vote overall. Paul and Mike Huckabee
, who was also on the ballot, did best in Pennsylvania's conservative regions. In the May 6 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina, Paul earned 8% of the vote in both states. In the May 13 West Virginia primary, Paul received 5% of the vote. In the May 20 primaries, Paul received 15% of the vote plus 4 national delegates in Oregon and 7% in Kentucky.
Paul won 24 percent of the vote in the May 27 Idaho Republican primary
, which was his best showing in a primary state.
Paul's fundraising increased significantly over the campaign. The campaign holds an all-time record for political one-day fund-raising. The Paul campaign disclosed donations immediately, instead of on a quarterly basis.
Among the active candidates per February 2008, Ron Paul devoted the smallest portion of his funds to salaries and benefits - 8 percent.
As of February 14, 2008, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air force members represent three top contributors to Ron Paul's campaign, respectively.
in the first quarter of 2007 than presumed Republican front-runners John McCain
and Rudy Giuliani
. As of March 31, 2007, Paul had raised $63,989 for his campaign nationwide. Of that, he had spent US $15,070, giving him $47,919 cash-on-hand.
, having spent only 34 percent of the proceeds of the preceding three quarters.
As of December 31, Ron Paul raised $19,765,974 in the fourth quarter, bringing him to roughly $28 million total. His fourth quarter donations came from 130,000 donors, including over 100,000 new contributors. Ron Paul raised more money than any other Republican candidate in the fourth quarter. The second highest total raised was by Rudy Giuliani
, who got $14.4 million before dropping out of the race. Mitt Romney raised $9 million in the fourth quarter from contributors, but lent himself $18 million of his own money, giving him the largest total. According to the campaign, Paul's donations average $100 per donor Compared to Democratic candidates, Paul's fourth quarter total was close to Hillary Clinton's, who raised approximately $20 million.
Ron Paul received more money from donors in the military, over $200,000, than any other candidate, Democrat or Republican.
noted that Paul has a "robust online presence." TIME
magazine labels Paul "the new 2.0 candidate" in reference to "his success recruiting supporters through new social media channels". The New York Times wrote that his campaign "snowballed on the Internet". According to KDPaine and Partners, Ron Paul's YouTube videos made up half of the top ten of all candidate videos, and he had the largest overall viewership of any candidate. Jack Cafferty
stated that Ron Paul's followers "at any given moment can almost overpower the Internet."
Forbes.com noted a disparity between Paul's online support and his performance in the primaries: while Paul supporters responded in droves to text-message and online polls following televised debates, he received 10% of the vote in Iowa and 8% in New Hampshire. David Thorburn, director of the MIT Communications Forum, said that while the Internet is a major source of fundraising, it is not yet able to compete with traditional media for influence in campaigns. Thorburn added that support from "an intellectually elite minority that lives in cyberspace does not translate into support among the general population."
Blogger Tommy Christopher noted that critics of Ron Paul's followers accused them of being "cult-like" in an attempt to marginalize Paul's support base. Christopher opined that this was part of a "seemingly willful determination by the mainstream media to completely ignore or glibly dismiss Paul's many successes."
, as well as roughly equal traffic to John McCain
. However, Paul's traffic far exceeded Clinton's, and even Obama's as far back as January, evidence of his intense web-based following. Paul's site receives more traffic than Rudy Giuliani
, Mitt Romney
or Fred Thompson. Hitwise
ranks Ron Paul as the seventh most frequent candidate search. In June 2007, Kate Kaye of ClickZNews used Hitwise data to report that Ron Paul had "rocketed from fifth place to first" in their Republican Candidates' Site Traffic Market Share and Rankings report. By October 2007 Fred Thompson had pushed Paul out of the first place position. After March 2008 Paul's site traffic as measured by Hitwise trailed that of McCain, Clinton, and Obama. The SIPP index, a site that claims to track how candidates connect with voters, had Ron Paul ranked #3 out of all of the candidates in the 2008 primary when he dropped his bid.
In addition to his search popularity, Ron Paul has become popular on a variety of social networking websites. On Jan. 30, 2008, Paul had over 131,000 "friends" on MySpace
, and was the Republican winner of the MySpace Presidential Primary in January 2008, with 37% of the votes. He also has a presence on Facebook
, with over 58,000 people in a campaign-related group as of July 22, 2008. As of January 30, 2008, he received 10 percent of the votes in Facebook's Elections 2008 presidential poll, placing him first among Republicans and second among all candidates, behind Barack Obama
(at 25%), but ahead of Hillary Clinton at 9%.
Paul claims the most YouTube
views of all Republican candidates, over 6.8 million. Paul's YouTube channel is among the Top 40 most subscribed of all time, achieving 40,000 subscribers in December 2007. The Weekly Standard
on December 10, 2007, reported: "To give an idea of Paul's viral velocity, if you hit “Rudy Giuliani
” or “Mitt Romney
” into YouTube
's search engine, you'll turn up about 3,700 hits apiece. Do the same with “Ron Paul
”, and you'll be wading through 63,000 videos." The Ron Paul Girl is an internet video not originally generated from the campaign, but which received hundreds of thousands of viewings and is thought to have contributed materially to internet fund-raising. Also, many World of Warcraft
players have named themselves after Ron Paul and staged an in-game support march.
In January 30, 2008, Ron Paul had the largest distributed grassroots organization on Meetup.com
of all candidates, with almost 105,000 members in 1,600 Meetup groups, that collectively planned and held nearly 31,000 offline events to rally support (and raise money) for their candidate. In comparison, Barack Obama — who had the second largest Meetup organization among active candidates — had close to 5,000 members among 82 Meetup groups.
Summed up by James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times
, "Paulites tend to be tech-savvy, tired of traditional politics and suspicious of their government and the mainstream media. But after that, they defy categories...[consisting of] Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and Constitution Party followers uniting behind some or all of the Paul libertarian agenda – ending the war in Iraq, abolishing gun control laws, legalizing marijuana and dismantling big hunks of the U.S. government, especially the IRS
and Federal Reserve system."
Jack Cafferty
observed that Ron Paul's grassroots network is one "politicians dream about" and that no other candidate running had a base as dedicated or as vocal as Paul's. Ron Paul also earned the attention of many sympathizers outside of the United States.
's Spam Data Mining for Law Enforcement Applications project examined a large amount of spam supporting Paul's candidacy. Gary Warner, UAB's director of computer forensics, called the spamming "a criminal act in support of a campaign," but stated that he does not believe the campaign itself is in any way responsible. Paul's spokesman, Jesse Benton, said in an email to Wired
magazine calling the spamming the work of "a well-intentioned yet misguided supporter or someone with bad intentions trying to embarrass the campaign." The spamming resulted in the removal of at least one Ron Paul video from YouTube, according to anti-phishing researcher Chris Barton of McAfee.
The Wired article claimed that the finding is "significant" because of Paul's popularity in online polls, which Wired says does not reflect offline polling, and suggests technically sophisticated Paul supporters may have been "manipulating" polls.
Earlier, the prominent conservative blog RedState
barred users with accounts less than six months old from posting messages supporting Paul. This was due to a torrent of pro-Paul comment spam
. Other blogs at least temporarily shut down their online polls due to concerns the results may have been stacked by Paul supporters.
Paul's candidacy drew a significant degree of support from grassroots movements, and supporters worked independently of the official campaign or the GOP to raise Paul's public profile and bring in record breaking campaign donations. A number of supporters have described these efforts as the "Ron Paul Revolution," an allusion to the American Revolution
that frequently appears on placards and t-shirts at rallies and serves as a slogan that the official campaign has adopted. Supporters use the letters "EVOL" ("love" reversed) to represent peace and hope.
In late October, a grassroots website called "This November 5" was launched, requesting pledges for the Paul campaign on November 5, the same day as Guy Fawkes Day. They collected over 18,000 e-mail addresses.
On November 5, 2007, the campaign raised over $4.3 million. That amount is the largest amount collected on a single day by any Republican candidate, and the record for largest amount of on-line fund raising in a single day ever in U.S. history. Paul eclipsed his overall third-quarter fund-raising total around 2:30 p.m. EST.
Paul's December campaign contributions rose to over $7.1 million and the Q4 campaign contributions rose to over $17 million as a result of this push. The campaign website displayed a novel real-time display of the funds raised and the names of donors. Smaller fund raising money bombs continued throughout November and early December.
A December 16, 2007, money bomb on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party
broke the campaign's previous record, raising nearly $2 million more than the November 5 event, bringing in over US$6 million in the largest single day of fund raising, on-line or not, in U.S. presidential campaign history. During the last minutes of the drive, the server refused to accept contributions due to an overload of donations, as about 100 contributors per minute donated to the campaign; more than an additional $100,000 were donated within the hour past midnight.
February 1, 2008, marked the 51st anniversary of Carol and Ron Paul's marriage. Supporters raised over $1 million in the 24-hour period for the campaign as an "anniversary gift," making the it the fourth largest campaign donation day to date.
The Ron Paul Blimp was an aerial billboard launched in December 2007 with considerable publicity. It was emblazoned on one side with "Who is Ron Paul? Google Ron Paul" and, on the other, "Ron Paul Revolution." At 200 feet (61 m) long, the blimp was longer than the Goodyear Blimp
. With a stated cost of $400,000 per month, supporters raised enough money to keep the blimp afloat for about six weeks. Piloted by Dick Schwenker, it flew over Walt Disney World for several days, as well as the January 10 presidential debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
.
The blimp was financed by a for-profit company (Liberty Political Advertising, L.L.C.), rather than the campaign itself. This structure was created to permit donors to escape federal limits of $2,300 per person on campaign donations. The FEC has not commented on the validity of such a finance structure.
A supporter named Elizabeth Blane also created a 20 feet (6.1 m) "micro-blimp" emblazoned with the same logos as the full sized blimp, which flew over the San Diego area.
A Nevada brothel owner promised to take up a collection from his customers to back Paul's bid.
Paul supporters created a number of songs in support of Ron Paul. Steve Dore, for example, produced a CD called "Early Songs of the Great Ron Paul Revolution," the profits from which were donated to Paul's campaign.
Artists in Texas and other states created homemade signs in support of Paul's candidacy.
Dean Van Gundy in Grand Junction, Colorado
paid for a bus full of "campaigners" to sit in a prominent location, hoping to pick up more supporters.
Some Paul supporters announced plans to build a cooperative community populated solely by those philosophically aligned with Paul dubbed "Paulville" on a plot near Dell City, Texas
, in a sparsely populated area between San Angelo
and El Paso
. Paul himself was not in favor of the idea, stating "I don't see that as a solution, but it can't hurt anything either".
Supporters of Ron Paul held a rally in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, at the same time the 2008 Republican National Convention
took place in that city, and officially commenced the Campaign for Liberty.
On May 3, 2007, Ron Paul participated in a 90-minute presidential debate at the Reagan Presidential Library, alongside nine other Republican candidates. In online voting hosted by MSNBC
and The Politico
, Paul was ranked first for "Best one liner," "Who stood out from the pack", "Most convincing debater", and "Who showed the most leadership qualities?" and was winning the "rating and comparing candidates" question.
Paul participated in the Fox News Channel
First-in-the-South Republican Party Presidential Candidates Debate at the University of South Carolina
on May 15, alongside nine other Republican candidates. In a phone text message
based vote among viewers after the debate, Paul finished second, winning 25% of the votes.
During the debate, Congressman Paul commented that America's history of interventionism
in the Middle East
has led to an unpopular view of the U.S. in Middle Eastern countries, and argued that the CIA's removal of Iranian leader Mohammed Mosaddeq in Operation Ajax
, the Iraq war and the bombing of Iraq in the 1990s had led to increasing anti-American sentiment in the Middle East and promoted terrorism. When the moderator asked if Paul was suggesting that the US had "invited" the 9/11 attacks, Paul argued with fellow candidate Rudy Giuliani
, who responded to Paul's suggestion that the U.S. pay attention to the underlying causes of terrorism by saying "I don't think I've heard that before, and I've heard some pretty absurd explanations for September 11. And I would ask the congressman to withdraw that comment and tell us that he didn't really mean that." Paul responded that terrorists were the result of "blowback
" from poor foreign policy, and that they "don't come here to attack us because we're rich and we're free, they come and attack us because we're over there."
Though the confrontation was noted in the media and cast as a political win for Giuliani, Paul's remarks were debated. Conservative pundits including Sean Hannity and Michael Steele criticized them; former CIA Bin Laden Issue Station
head Michael Scheuer
endorsed them as "obvious" and an "immense service to all Americans"; and commentator Andrew Sullivan
agreed with Paul, citing his comments as evidence that he was the only GOP candidate "serious about national security." Paul condemned Giuliani's attack in a press release, later demanding an apology on CNN's The Situation Room
with Wolf Blitzer
.
In the debate, Paul and McCain refused to endorse torture
, with Paul labelling the phrase "enhanced interrogation techniques
" as "Orwellian".
Ron Paul participated in the CNN
Republican debate in New Hampshire
on June 5. Paul argued against a preemptive military policy
in favor of going "back to traditions and our Constitution" and "[defending] our liberties and [defending] our rights.". He was given fewer than six minutes of time, less than Mitt Romney, John McCain, or Rudy Giuliani.
Paul participated in ABC News
's Republican presidential debate at Drake University
in Des Moines, Iowa
on August 5. Time Magazine's Mark Halperin evaluated Paul's performance "crowd-pleasing," and added, "if the Republicans nominated a candidate based on who most moved the applause meter, Paul would be giving his acceptance speech next summer." Paul was the favorite of an on-line poll at ABCNews.com, winning 63 percent of votes.
Paul participated in the Fox News debate at the University of New Hampshire
on September 5. Paul and Mike Huckabee
argued over the war in Iraq, with Paul attributing Republican losses in the 2006 elections
to the unpopular war. Paul won a Fox-sponsored text-messaging poll with 33 percent of votes.
On September 17, Paul participated in the GOP "Values Voters' Presidential Debate" in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
, alongside six other candidates --- John H. Cox
, Sam Brownback
, Mike Huckabee
, Duncan Hunter
, Alan Keyes
, and Tom Tancredo
. Paul finished second in an official post-debate delegate straw poll, trailing Mike Huckabee
's 63% showing with 13% of the vote.
Paul participated in a September 27 debate hosted by PBS
television at Morgan State University
with a panel exclusively of journalists of color. The organizers put empty podiums on the stage in the names of the absent candidates. Answering questions were Sam Brownback
, Mike Huckabee
, Alan Keyes
, Ron Paul
, Duncan Hunter
, and Tom Tancredo
.
, The Wall Street Journal
, and the University of Michigan–Dearborn. The debate aired on MSNBC
at 9 pm ET. Paul fielded several questions relating to economic issues, warning that "as long as we live beyond our means, we are destined to live beneath our means". As in previous debates, he also addressed monetary theory.
The Republican Jewish Coalition
candidates' forum on October 16, 2007, did not invite Ron Paul due to "time only for leading candidates" and his "record of consistently voting against assistance to Israel and his criticisms of the pro-Israel lobby
", according to sources close to the RJC.
Paul appeared in a 90-minute October 21 debate in Orlando, Florida sponsored by Fox News, winning an informal "cell phone” vote, but drawing jeers during the debate for advocating non-interventionist foreign policy.
Paul participated in the November 28 Republican CNN-YouTube Presidential Debate
in St. Petersburg, Florida alongside seven other candidates. He obtained less than 8 minutes of time, and wasn't addressed with a question until the second half hour. Paul debated John McCain
on the merits of isolationism versus non-intervention. Paul won an CNN online "scorecard" with 51% of the vote; two of three CNN analysts stated that he had a "disappointing" performance, but the other argued that Paul "came off very direct and clear" and "stood out the most".
Paul participated in the December 9 GOP debate hosted by Spanish-speaking television network Univision
at the University of Miami
, alongside seven other candidates.
Sponsored by The Des Moines Register
newspaper and Iowa Public Television
, the December 12 debate among nine Republican candidates was broadcast live on the state-wide television network and re-broadcast later. It was available to all PBS
stations, and was the last debate before the Iowa caucuses, January 3, 2008.
/WMUR-TV
/Facebook
Republican debate at Saint Anselm College
in New Hampshire on January 5, 2008. Charles Gibson
moderated.
Fox News excluded Paul, Duncan Hunter
, and Alan Keyes
from a January 6 New Hampshire forum, sparking numerous protests from Paul supporters. Fox said that due to having limited space in the "souped-up bus" in which the debate was to talk place, they required that the candidates must have been polling at least ten percent in recent nationwide polls to be included in the debate. In a nationwide poll conducted by the Associated Press and Yahoo, December 14–20, Paul was only polling at three percent which was far short of the threshold necessary for debate inclusion. The Paul campaign said they were not given a reason for the exclusion, and the New Hampshire Republican Party withdrew their sponsorship. Instead of attending, Paul held his own town hall event, where voters were allowed to ask him questions. It was broadcast live on local New Hampshire television and streamed online. Jay Leno
invited Paul as a Tonight Show guest January 7 specifically because he said he thought Paul's exclusion was "unfair."
Fox News hosted a January 10 debate at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center
in South Carolina. Ron Paul participated despite his exclusion from the Fox News debate. Paul declined to be interviewed after the debate by Fox News anchors Sean Hannity
and Alan Colmes
, citing other commitments.
MSNBC
hosted a two-hour debate at Florida Atlantic University
on January 24, the last before the Florida Primaries. Ron Paul took part, and a text message poll asking viewers who they believed had won showed Romney in first with 41% and Paul in second at 40%. On January 30, Paul was one of four candidates in a debate hosted by Los Angeles Times
, The Politico
and CNN
in Simi Valley, California
, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
.
On February 2, MTV
and MySpace
hosted a two-party debate broadcast live from New York City: "Closing Arguments: A Presidential Super Dialogue." Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee were the only Republicans to attend.
and instead hosted the Rally for the Republic with Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty
and 10,000 supporters. This protest convention on September 2 was held a few miles from the convention center at the Minneapolis Target Center
in direct contrast to the Republican National Convention. Paul received 15 delegate votes (0.63%) for the Republican nomination, falling far short of McCain's 2,343 (98.45%), which cinched him the nomination.
On September 5, 2008, the Constitution Party of Montana
removed Chuck Baldwin
from their presidential ticket, replacing him with Ron Paul for president and Michael Peroutka
for vice president. Paul made an announcement stating that he "was aware that the party planned to do this, and has said that as long as he can remain passive and silent about the development, and as long as he need not sign any declaration of candidacy, that he does not object." However, Paul requested on September 11 that Montana take his name off the ballot, stating that he did not "seek nor consent" to the Montana Constitution Party's nomination. He also suggested the Party list official Constitution Party nominee Baldwin on the Montana ballot instead. Five days later the Montana Secretary of State denied Paul's request for withdrawal, stating that the request was sent to them too late. On September 4, 2008 a list of electors in Louisiana using the label "Louisiana Taxpayers Party" filed papers and paid $500 with the Secretary of State's Office. They are pledged to Paul for President and Barry Goldwater, Jr.
for Vice President.
The same day, Paul made a brief press statement: "On the heels of his historic three-day rally in Minneapolis that drew over 12,000 attendees, Congressman Ron Paul will make a major announcement next week in Washington at the National Press Club." The congressman had reportedly invited presidential candidates Chuck Baldwin, Bob Barr
, Cynthia McKinney
, and Ralph Nader
to the press conference, leading some to speculate that they would endorse Paul running for president on the ticket of either the Constitution, Libertarian or other third party.
On September 10, 2008, Paul confirmed his open endorsement for the four candidates at a press conference in Washington D.C. He also revealed that he had rejected a personal request for an endorsement from John McCain. He later appeared on CNN
's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer with Nader where they presented and briefly laid out the four principles that all the independent candidates had agreed on as the most important key issues of the presidential race.
On September 22, 2008, Paul announced his support for Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party
.
In October 2008, Paul was declared an eligible write-in candidate in California.
In the 2008 presidential election, Paul received approximately 47,507 votes.
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
was a Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
primary candidate in the 2008 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
.
Initial opinion polls
Nationwide opinion polling for the Republican Party 2008 presidential candidates
This article is a collection of nation-wide public opinion polls that have been conducted relating to the 2008 Republican presidential candidates, typically using standard statistical methodology...
during the first three quarters of 2007 showed Ron Paul consistently receiving support from 3% or less of those polled. In 2008, Paul's support among Republican voters remained in the single digits, and well behind front-runner John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
.
During the fourth quarter of 2007, Paul was the most successful Republican fundraiser
Fundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
, bringing in approximately $20 million. He also received the most money from the armed services of any candidate in the fourth quarter. Ron Paul's campaign set two fund raising records: the largest single day donation total
Moneybomb
Moneybomb is a neologism coined in 2007 to describe a grassroots fundraising effort over a brief fixed time period, usually to support a candidate for election by dramatically increasing, concentrating, and publicizing fundraising activity during a specific hour or day...
among Republican candidates and twice receiving the most money received via the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
in a single day by any presidential candidate in American history. Paul's run for president is also noted for its grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
social networking, facilitated by the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Ron Paul's enthusiastic supporters were noted by the media, who called them "Paulites". Paul receives most of his contributions from individuals, at ninety-seven percent; compare to other candidates.
As of February 5, 2008, Paul had won sixteen delegates to the Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
, placing him last amongst the four Republican candidates still in the race at that time. The campaign projected on February 6 to have secured at least 42 delegates to the national convention.
On March 4, 2008, John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
earned enough pledged delegates to become the Republican presumptive nominee
Presumptive nominee
In politics, the presumptive nominee is a political candidate who is all but assured of his or her party's nomination, but has not yet been formally nominated...
, but Ron Paul decided to continue his run.
On April 29, 2008, Ron Paul released The Revolution: A Manifesto
The Revolution: A Manifesto
The Revolution: A Manifesto is a New York Times #1 best seller by Republican U.S. Congressman Ron Paul. According to Paul, the book is based on written notes during his 2008 presidential campaign....
, which collected essays based on thoughts that arose from his experiences running for president in 2008. The book went on to be a #1 bestseller
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
among political books on Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
and the New York Times nonfiction list.
On June 12, 2008 Paul announced that he was ending the presidential campaign, investing the more than $4.7 million of remaining campaign contributions to build up the new advocacy group Campaign for Liberty
Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty
Campaign for Liberty is a political organization founded by twelve-term United States Congressman Ron Paul. The Campaign for Liberty focuses on educating elected officials and the general public about constitutional issues, and currently provides a membership program. Its legal status is that of a...
.
Although he suspended his campaign, he appeared on the ballot in Montana and Louisiana in the 2008 general election. He was also listed in some states as a write-in candidate. He received nearly 20,000 votes, giving him the eighth highest popular vote total in the election.
Campaign developments
These are events related to Ron Paul's official 2008 campaign. For events related to the independent grassrootsGrassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
movement around him (the "Ron Paul Revolution"), see Grassroots campaign efforts.
First quarter 2007
Ron Paul formed a presidential exploratory committee on January 11. He also acquired data on public interest in his running for President around February 19. Based on the results from the exploratory committee and polling, Paul officially entered the race on March 12.In a February CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
landline
Landline
A landline was originally an overland telegraph wire, as opposed to an undersea cable. Currently, landline refers to a telephone line which travels through a solid medium, either metal wire or optical fibre, as distinguished from a mobile cellular line, where transmission is via radio waves...
opinion poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
, Paul was the candidate with the least name recognition besides John H. Cox
John H. Cox
John Herman Cox is an American lawyer, accountant, businessman, broadcaster, and aspiring politician. He was the first Republican to seek formally the party's 2008 nomination for president, but effectively withdrew from the race in late 2007 and suspended his campaign shortly after.-Biography:Born...
. On March 20, Paul signed the American Freedom Agenda
American Freedom Agenda
The American Freedom Agenda is a United States organization established in March 2007 by disaffected libertarian-oriented conservatives demanding that the Republican Party return to its traditional mistrust of concentrated government power...
Pledge.
Second quarter 2007
On June 30, 2007, in Des Moines, IowaDes Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
, Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
Christian Alliance invited all Democratic Party candidates and all Republican presidential candidates except Paul to a presidential candidates forum. Six candidates appeared: Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
, Sam Brownback
Sam Brownback
Samuel Dale "Sam" Brownback is the 46th and current Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996...
, Jim Gilmore
Jim Gilmore
James Stuart "Jim" Gilmore III is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia, former 68th Governor of Virginia, and a member of the Republican Party. A native Virginian, Gilmore studied at the University of Virginia, and then served in the U.S. Army as a counterintelligence agent...
, Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
, Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
Thomas George "Tommy" Thompson , a United States Republican politician, was the 42nd Governor of Wisconsin, after which he served as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Thompson was a candidate for the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, but dropped out early after a poor performance in polls...
, and Tom Tancredo
Tom Tancredo
Thomas Gerard "Tom" Tancredo is an American politician from Colorado, who represented the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009, as a Republican...
. In July, the New York Times wrote that Paul's "message draws on the noblest traditions of American decency and patriotism
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
."
Third quarter 2007
Paul participated in the Ames Straw PollAmes Straw Poll
The Ames Straw Poll is a presidential straw poll taken by Iowa Republicans. It occurs in Ames, Iowa on the campus of Iowa State University, on a Saturday in August of years in an election cycle in which the Republican presidential nomination seems to be undecided...
in Ames, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
on August 11. He ranked fifth out of 11 candidates, receiving 9.1 percent of the votes. According to John Fout, on TheStreet.com, Paul "shocked people in Iowa" by receiving more than 9 percent of the vote after making only three trips to Iowa, releasing ads only one week before the poll, and for beating Tommy Thompson, who visited all 99 counties in Iowa. In an interview about the results of the straw poll, fellow candidate Mike Huckabee, who placed second, said that Ron Paul was the candidate most likely to overtake him nationally, saying, "I'm keeping an eye on him."
During the Straw Poll Ron Paul supporters gathered to form a parade, that marched hundreds of people many of whom bore colonial costumes and drum and fife instruments, flags and other around the ISU grounds for hours chanting back and forth slogans that would later be used in many marches and events throughout the campaign.
Fourth quarter 2007
On October 25, work began among Ron Paul's supporters to commemorate the anniversary of the Boston Tea PartyBoston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
, starting with the Web-site TeaParty07.com. In support of the rally, Paul supporters purchased a blimp to display campaign messages to observers. On December 16, 2007, Ron Paul supporters re-enacted the dumping of tea into Boston Harbor by tossing banners that read "Tyranny" and "no taxation without representation
No taxation without representation
"No taxation without representation" is a slogan originating during the 1750s and 1760s that summarized a primary grievance of the British colonists in the Thirteen Colonies, which was one of the major causes of the American Revolution...
" into boxes that were in the harbor. Ron Paul supporters also gathered in several other cities as part of the Tea Party re-enactment, including Strasbourg, France, Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, Maui, Hawaii, and Freeport
Freeport, Texas
Freeport is a city in Brazoria County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area and is situated in Southeast Texas. As of the 2000 U.S...
and Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. Paul himself tossed a barrel labelled "Iraq War" overboard at the Tea Party Re-enactment in Freeport, Texas. The Austin Police Department estimates 2000 to 3000 attendees at the Austin Tea Party.
Paul's first major television campaign began November 8, at a total cost of US$1.1 million, started advertising in New Hampshire.
Mid November, 2007 Operation: Live Free or Die, An effort to bring volunteers to campaign door to door in New Hampshire was started by Google employee Vijay Boyapati. His idea to rent a few houses to hold volunteers turned into 14 houses with over 600 people arriving in New Hampshire to knock on doors, organize marches, phone bank at the Concord and Nashua Headquarters. Ron Paul visited OLFD volunteers at a local restaurant owned by a member of the Free State Project called Murphy's Pub, a frequent establishment for FSP members, to thank them in person for their dedication.
On Jan 7, 2007 many of these volunteers worked at polling stations across the state and later held a party which Ron Paul attended and spoke. Many of these volunteers, including Vijay went on to other states to continue the efforts.
On December 1, 2007, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
declared Paul a player in the presidential campaign. The Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
adopted a resolution on December 12 urging Paul to run on the Libertarian ticket if he does not get nominated by the Republican Party.
In December 2007, the Associated Press reported that Paul kept a US$500 donation from Don Black, operator of Stormfront
Stormfront (website)
Stormfront is a white nationalist and supremacist neo-Nazi Internet forum that has been described as the Internet's first major hate site.Stormfront began as an online bulletin board system in the early 1990s before being established as a website in 1995 by former Ku Klux Klan leader and white...
, a white nationalist organization website. Paul's campaign stated that "If someone with small ideologies happens to contribute money to Ron, thinking he can influence Ron in any way, he's wasted his money," responding that they would spend the money on spreading "the message of freedom" and "inalienable rights".
CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
reported on December 21 that "Ron Paul can no longer be dismissed as the favorite of the fringe".
Many presidential candidates released apolitical Christmas-themed advertisements. Paul was the first nationally recognized candidate to post such an ad on YouTube. In the ad, Paul's family sings a rendition of "Deck the Halls" amid a brief narrative from Paul wishing the viewer "an absolutely great 2008". CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
described it as portraying Paul as "warm and fuzzy", with fewer religious overtones than other candidates'.
Paul was questioned on Meet the Press
Meet the Press
Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...
by Tim Russert
Tim Russert
Timothy John "Tim" Russert was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Washington bureau chief and also hosted the eponymous CNBC/MSNBC weekend interview...
for asking that US$400 million in previously earmarked funds
Earmark (politics)
In United States politics, an earmark is a legislative provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects, or that directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees...
be directed back to his district for water projects, a nursing program, to expand a hospital cancer center and US$10 million to promote Texas shrimp. On Meet the Press, Paul defended his bid for the earmarked funds saying he never voted for an earmark in his life. Russert said Paul's statement was like saying, "you voted for it before you voted against it." Congressman Paul responded,"I put them in because I represent people who are asking for some of their money back, ... I'm against the tax system, but I take all my tax credits. I want to get their money back for the people."
First quarter 2008
On January 7, Paul's campaign launched an eight-state TV ad campaign for California, Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, North Dakota, Louisiana, Maine and Florida. That was in addition to the campaigns in New Hampshire and South Carolina.Also on January 15, James Giles, writing for The Bulletin
The Bulletin (newspaper)
The Bulletin was a newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper, which until 2009 was a daily, was founded in 2004 as a modern iteration of the Philadelphia Bulletin, originally founded in 1847....
of Philadelphia, said that Paul represented "the dominant foreign policy consensus in the Republican Party from 1920 to 1952."
Ron Paul campaigned heavily in Nevada, more than Mitt Romney, the only other candidate to go there. On January 17, Paul's Nevada campaign representatives warned state GOP officials that thousands of caucus-goers had been given wrong caucus locations. A correction was put onto the Nevada GOP website that morning, two days before the caucuses. Then Paul's campaign criticized inconsistencies, confusion over rules, and a shortage of ballots in some counties. They asked the state Republican Party to consider postponing the vote because of those problems and others, such as unclear rules on who could vote.
In January, Paul released an economic revitalization plan and named Peter Schiff
Peter Schiff
Peter David Schiff is an American investment broker, author and financial commentator. Schiff is CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc., a broker-dealer based in Westport, Connecticut and CEO of Euro Pacific Precious Metals, LLC, a gold and silver dealer based in New York...
and Don Luskin
Donald Luskin
Donald Luskin is Chief Investment Officer for Trend Macrolytics LLC, a consulting firm providing investment strategy and macroeconomics forecasting and research for institutional investors....
economic advisors to the campaign. The National Taxpayers Union
National Taxpayers Union
National Taxpayers Union is a taxpayers advocacy organization and taxpayers union in the United States, founded in 1969 by James Dale Davidson. NTU advertises that it is the largest and oldest grassroots taxpayer organization in the nation, with 362,000 members nationwide. It is closely...
found that among the remaining presidential candidates, only Paul proposed sufficient federal spending cuts to more than offset new spending plans.
In February, suicide terrorism expert professor Robert Pape
Robert Pape
Robert Anthony Pape, Jr. , is an American political scientist known for his work on international security affairs, especially the coercive strategies of air power and the rationale of suicide terrorism. He is currently a professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and founder of the...
joined the campaign as foreign policy
Foreign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
advisor; Ivan Eland
Ivan Eland
Ivan Eland is an American defense analyst and author. He is currently a Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace and Liberty at the Independent Institute. Eland's writings generally propose libertarian and non-intervertionist policies....
and Leon Hadar
Leon Hadar
Leon Hadar, is a global affairs analyst, journalist, blogger and author. A long-time critic of American policy in the Middle East, and a former research fellow with the Cato Institute, Hadar is a contributing editor for the American Conservative and a regular contributor to Chronicles and Reason...
also joined Paul's foreign policy team.
After Romney left the race in February, leaving John McCain strongly favored to win the nomination, Paul e-mailed his supporters on February 8 and stated that he was refactoring his presidential campaign to be "leaner and tighter" and would devote a significant portion of his time specifically to his campaign for reelection to the U.S. House, representing Texas's 14th congressional district, where Paul is being challenged for the Republican nomination by Friendswood
Friendswood, Texas
Friendswood is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The city lies in Galveston and Harris counties. As of the 2000 U.S...
mayor pro tem Chris Peden
Chris Peden
Chris Peden is a Friendswood, Texas, City Councilman and served as Mayor Pro Tem. Peden was elected to the Friendswood City Council in 2005, receiving over 67% of the vote. One year after he was elected to City Council, Peden was elected Mayor Pro Tem by his fellow council members.Peden was a...
. Paul recognized a nearly zero chance of a brokered convention
Brokered convention
A brokered convention is a situation in United States politics in which there are not enough delegates 'won' during the presidential primary and caucus elections for a single candidate to have a pre-existing majority, during the first official vote for a political party's presidential-candidate at...
. He was determined to continue in every caucus and primary remaining and promised not to campaign for president for another party. Staffer Dan McCarthy clarified in a blog post on February 9 that Paul's presidential campaign "is not ending, not being suspended, and not even drawing down", stating that "[a] few news sources are misreporting Ron Paul’s e-mail from last night."
On February 11, Ron Paul posted a video via YouTube and his campaign website in which he states that he would like to organize a march on Washington in order to show the support he has received and give his campaign a boost in the presidential race.
On March 4, John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
earned enough delegates to become the Republican nominee. Mike Huckabee dropped from the race as a result, but Ron Paul decided to continue his run, having successfully defended his congressional seat.
On March 8, Paul released a video to his supporters acknowledging that he would not be able to win the nomination, interpreted by some news sources as a hint that the campaign was over. Ron Paul's son Rand Paul
Rand Paul
Randal Howard "Rand" Paul is the junior United States Senator for Kentucky. He is a member of the Republican Party. A member of the Tea Party movement, he describes himself as a "constitutional conservative" and a libertarian...
publicly denied the allegations and stated the campaign "will continue to contest the remaining primaries." On March 10, Ron Paul appeared on CNN's American Morning
American Morning
American Morning is the morning television show on CNN. It premiered in 2001.-About the show:American Morning is hosted by Ashleigh Banfield, Zoraida Sambolin & Soledad O'Brien. Others who appear regularly are Rob Marciano with the weather, Sunny Hostin on legal news, and CNN senior medical...
to explain that he has not withdrawn from the race and he will keep campaigning to keep his ideas in the arena, and to fulfill an obligation to his supporters in states that have not yet held primaries.
Ron Paul newsletter controversy
On January 8, the day of the New HampshireNew Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
primary, The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
published a story by James Kirchick
James Kirchick
James Kirchick is a reporter, foreign correspondent and columnist. He is a fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington; prior to this he was writer-at-large for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty....
quoting from selected newsletters published under Paul's name. The publications had various names bannering "Ron Paul" prominently in the title, such as The Ron Paul Survival Report. Kirchick said that the writings showed "an obsession with conspiracies, sympathy for the right-wing
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
militia movement, and deeply held bigotry
Bigotry
A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs...
", and were "saturated in racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
", charges echoed by Kevin Drum of the Washington Monthlys Political Animal blog. Kirchick noted that one article referred to African-American rioters as "barbarians" and suggested that the Los Angeles riots of 1992 only stopped when it came time for "blacks to pick up their welfare checks". Other issues gave tactical advice to local militia groups and advanced various conspiracy theories.
In 1996 the media inquired into these passages, having been brought to light by Paul's congressional opponent Charles "Lefty" Morris; Paul's congressional campaign countered the statements were taken out of context. The newsletters, attributed to Paul, made statements such as "opinion polls consistently show only about 5% of blacks have sensible political opinions," "if you have ever been robbed by a black teen-aged male, you know how unbelievably fleet-footed they can be", and referring to Martin Luther King as a "pro-communist philanderer" and to Martin Luther King Day as "hate Whitey day." An issue from 1992 refers to carjacking as the "hip-hop thing to do among the urban youth who play unsuspecting whites like pianos." In an article title "The Pink House" the newsletter wrote that " "Homosexuals, not to speak of the rest of society, were far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities."
In 2001 Paul gave his own account of the newsletters, stating the documents were authored by ghostwriters, and that while he did not author the challenged passages, he bore "some moral responsibility" for their publication. Paul's 2008 presidential campaign repeated these assertions when the challenged passages resurfaced again in Kirchick's January 2008 article. Paul "never uttered such words and denounced such small-minded thoughts," saying Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
, and Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
were personal heroes because they stood for individual rights
Individual rights
Group rights are rights held by a group rather than by its members separately, or rights held only by individuals within the specified group; in contrast, individual rights are rights held by individual people regardless of their group membership or lack thereof...
, and that he had spoken highly about Parks in a 1999 floor speech in the House of Representatives. Paul took the position that the Kirchick story was a "rehash" of a political attack received during his 1996 campaign.
In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer
Wolf Blitzer
Wolf Isaac Blitzer is an American journalist who has been a CNN reporter since 1990. Blitzer is currently the host of the newscast The Situation Room and was the host of the Sunday talk show Late Edition until it was discontinued on January 11, 2009...
, Paul asserted that racism is incompatible with his beliefs and that he sees people as individuals
Individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own...
, not as part of collectives
Collectivism
Collectivism is any philosophic, political, economic, mystical or social outlook that emphasizes the interdependence of every human in some collective group and the priority of group goals over individual goals. Collectivists usually focus on community, society, or nation...
. He also dismissed the attack as an attempt to accuse him of racism by proxy, claiming that he has collected more money among African-Americans than any other Republican candidate. Blitzer stated that he was "shocked" by the newsletters, as they did not seem to reflect "the Ron Paul that I've come to know, and the viewers have come to know" over the course of several interviews during the campaign.
Nelson Linder, president of the Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
(NAACP), also defended Paul, though not in his official capacity under the NAACP: "Knowing Ron Paul's intent, I think he is trying to improve this country but I think also, when you talk about the Constitution and you constantly criticize the federal government versus state I think a lot of folks are going to misconstrue that....so I think it's very easy for folks who want to take his position out of context, and that's what I'm hearing."
Reason magazine contributing editor Matt Welch
Matt Welch
Matt Welch is an American blogger, journalist, andlibertarian political pundit. Since 2008, he has been the editor-in-chief at the monthly libertarian journal, Reason. From 2006 to 2007, he was an editorial page editor for the Los Angeles Times...
found numerous references to the newsletters in news coverage of the 1996 race, many showing a defense of the newsletters by Paul and his campaign. But in 2001 Paul claimed he only said otherwise in 1996 because it was too confusing to explain in the fervor of a campaign.
Second quarter 2008
Ron Paul campaigned through PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in anticipation of the April 22 primary, including two stops in his birth place of Pittsburgh at Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, USA. The university is northeast of Pittsburgh. It is the largest university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and is the commonwealth's fifth largest university...
and the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
. He also made several campaign stops in Montana. He was the keynote speaker at the April 26 Nevada Republican State Convention, where his supporters comprised over 2/3 of the 1200 some attendees. Paul's supporters used their super-majority to allow any state delegate to be considered for the position of national delegate, rather than voting on an pre-approved small slate of possible national delegates. Ron Paul is expected to capture most or all of Nevada's 31 delegates to the RNC as a result. The main purpose, according to Paul supporters, is not to make Ron Paul the nominee but to influence the official RNC party platform so it adopts several of the issues advocated by the Texas congressman.
In Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, some 145 "suspected" Ron Paul supporters were barred from participating in the state selection process or from being delegates to the national convention by local GOP party leaders. This has led to accusations of procedural violations on the part of state GOP leaders by Republican voters.
The Independent Greens of Virginia (IGVA) petitioned to have Ron Paul as their vice-presidential nominee, putting him on a ticket with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
. Paul himself had nothing to do with the nomination, and was only a placeholder candidate who was later replaced as the vice-presidential candidate on the IGVA ticket by Darrell Castle
Darrell Castle
Darrell Castle is an American political figure, activist and attorney from Memphis, Tennessee, and was the vice presidential candidate of the Constitution Party in the 2008 United States presidential election.-Early life and education:...
, running mate of Chuck Baldwin
Chuck Baldwin
Charles Obadiah "Chuck" Baldwin is an American politician and founder-pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. He was the presidential nominee of the Constitution Party for the 2008 U.S. presidential election and had previously been its nominee for U.S. vice president in 2004...
.
On June 26, Kent Snyder, Ron Paul's campaign chair, died of viral pneumonia
Viral pneumonia
Viral pneumonia is a pneumonia caused by a virus.Viruses are one of the two major causes of pneumonia, the other being bacteria; less common causes are fungi and parasites...
, leaving $400,000 in unpaid medical bills. Other staffers on Paul's campaign started a collection service to help pay for Snyder's remaining medical bills, as the campaign did not provide its workers with health insurance.
In Nevada on June 28, Ron Paul delegates reconvened the state convention to elect national delegates to the RNC. They cited a rule that when the chair of the previous meeting called recess without a vote by the delegates, it broke the rules, meaning that the previous state convention never concluded. From this new convention, Ron Paul was awarded all of Nevada's national delegates, winning him the state. The Nevada Republican Party challenged the results and elected their own national delegates. Nevada party officials later decided to not have a convention and have the issue decided by the party's executive board via conference call. The RNC rejected the delegates chosen by both groups, eventually granting Paul four of the state's delegates and the rest to McCain.
On June 12, 2008, Paul announced that he was suspending the presidential campaign, investing the more than $4.7 million of remaining campaign contributions to build up the new advocacy group Campaign for Liberty
Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty
Campaign for Liberty is a political organization founded by twelve-term United States Congressman Ron Paul. The Campaign for Liberty focuses on educating elected officials and the general public about constitutional issues, and currently provides a membership program. Its legal status is that of a...
.
Polling
In polling conducted at the Utah GOP convention on June 9, 2007, Paul placed second behind Mitt Romney. Paul also placed second in the straw poll conducted at the National Taxpayers Union conference, following Fred Thompson. Ron Paul placed second, polling 17 percent, in a Cobb County GOP straw poll on July 4, 2007.Ron Paul placed third in the Illinois Straw Poll on August 16, 2007, with 18.87 percent of the vote, polling just 0.4 percent behind undeclared candidate Fred Thompson. Paul won the similar West Alabama Republican Assembly 2007 Presidential Preference Straw Poll on August 18, 2007, capturing 216 of 266 votes (81 percent), ahead of second place Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
On August 18. Paul won the South Sound Ronald Reagan Republican Club's straw poll on August 21 in Snohomish County, Washington, with 30 percent of the vote, with Fred Thompson coming in second with 27 percent.
On November 20, 2007, Ron Paul finished fourth behind fellow Republicans Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson in a Zogby International
Zogby International
IBOPE Zogby International is an international market research, opinion polling firm founded in 1984 by John Zogby. The company polls and consults for a wide spectrum of business media, government, and political groups, and conducts public opinion research in more than 70 countries...
"blind bio" poll of likely Republican voters. However, Paul was first when Democrats and Independents were included in the survey. The poll presented potential voters with descriptions of each candidate's resume
Résumé
A résumé is a document used by individuals to present their background and skillsets. Résumés can be used for a variety of reasons but most often to secure new employment. A typical résumé contains a summary of relevant job experience and education...
rather than candidate names.
National polls conducted in January 2008 showed Paul with an average of just under 5% among Republican candidates.
Early states - January
Ron Paul finished fifth in the 2008 Iowa Republican caucusesIowa Republican caucuses, 2008
The 2008 Iowa Republican caucuses took place on January 4, 2008. The Iowa Republican caucuses are an unofficial primary, with the delegates to the state convention selected proportionally via a straw poll...
with nearly 10 percent of the votes and 2 delegate
Delegate
A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization at a meeting or conference between organizations of the same level A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization (e.g., a government, a charity, an NGO, or a trade union) at a meeting or conference...
s according to CNN. At the January 5, 2008, Wyoming Republican County Conventions, Ron Paul placed fourth, receiving no delegates. The Wyoming primary was largely ignored by candidates in favor of the higher-profile race in New Hampshire, but four candidates did campaign there, including Paul. The majority of the 1224 eligible voters at the conventions were elected in 2006.
Paul received 8 percent of the vote in the January 8 New Hampshire primary
New Hampshire Republican primary, 2008
The 2008 New Hampshire Republican primary took place on January 8, 2008, with 12 national delegates being allocated proportionally to the popular vote...
, finishing fifth in the Republican field and receiving no delegates. Though he had hoped to improve on his Iowa performance, he vowed to stay in the race, telling supporters, "It's really only the beginning." A recount, which Paul does not support, began January 16, 2008. Paul placed fourth in the January 15, 2008, Michigan Republican primary
Michigan Republican primary, 2008
The 2008 Michigan Republican primary took place on January 15, 2008. Mitt Romney came in first with 39 percent of the vote, followed by John McCain with 30 percent and Mike Huckabee in third-place with 16 percent...
, with 6 percent of the votes and no delegates.
Paul finished second in the January 19 Nevada Republican caucuses
Nevada Republican caucuses, 2008
The Nevada Republican caucuses, 2008 was held on January 19, the same day as the 2008 South Carolina Republican primary, with 31 delegates at stake. Mitt Romney was the winner in Nevada with 51% of the votes, with Ron Paul in second place. Half of Romney's votes came from Mormons, while two-thirds...
with 14 percent of the vote, finishing behind Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
and earning an estimated four delegates to the national convention. Paul finished fifth in the January 19 South Carolina Republican primary
South Carolina Republican primary, 2008
The South Carolina Republican primary, 2008 was held on January 19, with 24 delegates at stake. The Republican National Committee took half of South Carolina's 47 delegates away from them because the state committee moved its Republican primary before February 5...
, with 4 percent of the vote and no delegates. Paul had 3 campaign offices in South Carolina and noted that it was "absolutely vital" since every Republican winner of the state since 1980 has gone on to win the nomination.
The Louisiana Republican caucuses
Louisiana Republican caucuses, 2008
The Louisiana Republican caucuses, 2008 were held on January 22, 2008, and unofficial delegate assignment results have been made available on the homepage of the Republican Party of Louisiana. The official results have been released, but the results only indicate which delegates garnered the most...
were held on January 22, 2008. Official results have not yet been reported; preliminary results show Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
in second place among candidates. On January 26, the Paul campaign filed a complaint with the state GOP contesting Louisiana's process of choosing delegates.
The Florida primary
Florida Republican primary, 2008
The 2008 Florida Republican primary was held on January 29, 2008, with 57 delegates at stake on a winner-take-all basis. The Republican National Committee removed half of Florida's delegates because the state committee moved its Republican primary before February 5. Arizona Senator John McCain was...
was held on January 29, 2008, and was a state-wide winner-take-all contest for all 57 of Florida's delegates. Philadelphia Inquirer noted that Paul did not campaign in the state, and he finished in fifth place with 3% of the vote. LA Times listed Florida as part of an eight state radio ad campaign by Paul during January 2008.
Ahead the 3 day Maine caucus
Maine Republican caucuses, 2008
The Maine Republican caucuses, 2008 were held on February 1, February 2, and February 3 at various locations throughout the state of Maine. The results were used to apportion 21 delegates for the state...
before Super Tuesday, Paul was the only Republican candidate to visit the state. Paul held campaign events, including a rally at the Maine State House on January 28, 2008. The week before the caucus, Paul said that he was hoping for a "grand showing" in the state. With 74.7% of the precincts counted, Paul placed third in the voter preference tally with 19%. National delegates are assigned to candidates May 2 when state delegates hold their convention. Paul earned 35% of the state delegates to take second place.
"Super Tuesday", February 5, 2008
In West VirginiaWest Virginia Republican caucuses, 2008
The West Virginia Republican caucuses took place on February 5, 2008 to select 18 delegates to the 2008 Republican National Convention. An additional nine delegates were selected in a primary election on May 13, 2008, for a total of 27 delegates to the national convention...
, Ron Paul spoke at the GOP convention alongside Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. Paul came in a distant fourth (10%) in the first vote by the state GOP convention and was eliminated for the second round, with McCain eliminated next. Paul's and McCain's supporters voted for Mike Huckabee. Paul's campaign stated that they had a deal with Huckabee to get 3 delegates in exchange for the support they gave to him. The Huckabee campaign has not confirmed that.
Paul's best showings were in Montana, with 25% for second place and no delegates, third in the North Dakota caucus
North Dakota Republican caucuses, 2008
The 2008 North Dakota Republican caucuses took place on February 5, 2008. Romney won with 8 of the 23 national delegates.- Results :- See also :* North Dakota Democratic caucuses, 2008* Republican Party presidential primaries, 2008...
with 21% and five delegates, third in Alaska
Alaska Republican caucuses, 2008
The Alaska Republican caucuses, 2008, was held on February 5 and has a total of 26 delegates at stake. Mitt Romney won the state and, as the winner in Alaska's congressional district, was awarded all of that district's delegates. All results are from the presidential preference poll held at the...
with 17% and five delegates, and third in Utah with 3%. In that day's 16 other primaries and caucuses (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee), Paul finished fourth among current candidates. (He placed fifth in California overall, as Giuliani received absentee ballots.)
Paul received 4% of the popular vote among all Super Tuesday states.
Later February and March 2008
On the February 12 Potomac Primaries, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC, held their contests. Paul came in third among current candidates in each of them, receiving 6% in Maryland, 4% in Virginia, and 8% in the District of Columbia. A Fox News exit poll showed that in Virginia, 20% of independent voters voting in the Republican races voted for Paul.
In the two February 19 primaries, Paul came in third in Wisconsin with 5% and fourth in Washington state's follow-up primary (8%), even though he was third in the state's caucus with 22%. Paul placed third in the caucus of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico Republican caucuses, 2008
The 2008 Puerto Rico Republican caucuses were held on February 24, 2008. John McCain won all 20 pledged at the Commonwealth's convention.-Results:-See also:* Puerto Rico Democratic primary, 2008...
(4.33%), tied with Mike Huckabee for second place in the Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands Republican caucuses, 2008
The 2008 Northern Mariana Islands Republican caucuses took place on February 23, 2008. John McCain won all 6 pledged at the commonwealth's convention.-Results:-References:...
caucus (4.35%), and has an unknown standing in the American Samoa
American Samoa Republican caucuses, 2008
The 2008 American Samoa Republican caucuses took place on February 23, 2008. John McCain won all 6 pledged at the territory's convention. McCain "campaigned" in the territory by recording an audio message to the delegates and sending it to the caucus via the Internet...
caucus.
In the four Republican primaries on March 4, Paul came in third in every state. He earned 5% in Texas and Ohio and 7% in Vermont and Rhode Island.
Mississippi held their Republican primary on March 11, 2008. Paul finished 3rd with 4% of the vote.
Second quarter 2008
In three early April Minnesota state delegate conventions, Paul picked up 6 national delegates from the 12 at stake; they are allowed to vote for any candidate regardless of caucus results. The Nevada GOP convention had to be suspended when GOP leaders realized that Paul supporters were going to win delegates in the proceedings. Further conventions will occur in May.In the April 22 Pennsylvania Primary
Pennsylvania Republican primary, 2008
The 2008 Pennsylvania Republican primary was an election held on April 22 by the Pennsylvania Department of State in which voters chose their preference for the Republican Party's candidate for the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. Voters also chose the Pennsylvania Republican Party's candidates for...
, Ron Paul finished second with 16% of the vote overall. Paul and Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
, who was also on the ballot, did best in Pennsylvania's conservative regions. In the May 6 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina, Paul earned 8% of the vote in both states. In the May 13 West Virginia primary, Paul received 5% of the vote. In the May 20 primaries, Paul received 15% of the vote plus 4 national delegates in Oregon and 7% in Kentucky.
Paul won 24 percent of the vote in the May 27 Idaho Republican primary
Idaho Republican primary, 2008
The 2008 Idaho Republican primary took place on May 27, 2008. John McCain won the primary, although before the election he had already won enough pledged delegates in earlier primaries to secure his nomination at the 2008 Republican National Convention....
, which was his best showing in a primary state.
Fund-raising
Among the active candidates per February 2008, Ron Paul devoted the smallest portion of his funds to salaries and benefits - 8 percent.
Sources
100% of Paul's campaign money comes from individual contributors, with 47 percent of the funds raised from small contributions of $200 or less.As of February 14, 2008, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air force members represent three top contributors to Ron Paul's campaign, respectively.
First quarter - 2007
Ron Paul raised more money in New HampshireNew Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
in the first quarter of 2007 than presumed Republican front-runners John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
. As of March 31, 2007, Paul had raised $63,989 for his campaign nationwide. Of that, he had spent US $15,070, giving him $47,919 cash-on-hand.
Second quarter - 2007
As of the end of the second quarter 2007, Ron Paul had over US$2.4 million in the bank, which was more than John McCain, who had $2 million. He outraised every second-tier candidate, and was fourth in fund-raising among the Republicans, behind the three frontrunners.Third quarter - 2007
Paul's campaign raised $5.08 million in the third quarter, increasing 114% over the previous quarter. After he began realtime publication of fundraising totals in September 2007, an end-of-quarter fundraiser raised an unexpected $1.2 million in one week; the projected amount had been $500,000. The campaign outperformed "front-runner" candidates; Paul fundraising, measured in itemized donations (over US$200), exceeded that of Giuliani, Romney, and Thompson in many states. ABC News also reported that Paul received more donations from serving members of the armed services than any other GOP candidate. At the close of the quarter, the campaign reported US$5.4 million on hand, more than John McCainJohn McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, having spent only 34 percent of the proceeds of the preceding three quarters.
Fourth quarter - 2007
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
, who got $14.4 million before dropping out of the race. Mitt Romney raised $9 million in the fourth quarter from contributors, but lent himself $18 million of his own money, giving him the largest total. According to the campaign, Paul's donations average $100 per donor Compared to Democratic candidates, Paul's fourth quarter total was close to Hillary Clinton's, who raised approximately $20 million.
Ron Paul received more money from donors in the military, over $200,000, than any other candidate, Democrat or Republican.
First quarter - 2008
In the month of March 2008, Ron Paul raised a little over $120,000, though his campaign financial records show him to have $5.1 million cash on hand. Paul's fund raising in 2008 was overall far less than in the previous quarter.Second quarter - 2008
With roughly $4 million cash on hand left, "[Ron Paul's campaign] is exploring the option of using the remaining campaign funds to establish a for-profit publishing company aimed at producing educational materials." The money would eventually be put towards founding Campaign for Liberty.Internet popularity
Paul participated in several 2008 GOP debates, the majority of which he won according to the sponsors' own online or text-message phone polls (none of which are scientific). After the first debate, ABC NewsABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
noted that Paul has a "robust online presence." TIME
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine labels Paul "the new 2.0 candidate" in reference to "his success recruiting supporters through new social media channels". The New York Times wrote that his campaign "snowballed on the Internet". According to KDPaine and Partners, Ron Paul's YouTube videos made up half of the top ten of all candidate videos, and he had the largest overall viewership of any candidate. Jack Cafferty
Jack Cafferty
Jack Cafferty is a CNN commentator and occasional host of specials. In the summer of 2005, Cafferty joined The Situation Room.-Career:...
stated that Ron Paul's followers "at any given moment can almost overpower the Internet."
Forbes.com noted a disparity between Paul's online support and his performance in the primaries: while Paul supporters responded in droves to text-message and online polls following televised debates, he received 10% of the vote in Iowa and 8% in New Hampshire. David Thorburn, director of the MIT Communications Forum, said that while the Internet is a major source of fundraising, it is not yet able to compete with traditional media for influence in campaigns. Thorburn added that support from "an intellectually elite minority that lives in cyberspace does not translate into support among the general population."
Blogger Tommy Christopher noted that critics of Ron Paul's followers accused them of being "cult-like" in an attempt to marginalize Paul's support base. Christopher opined that this was part of a "seemingly willful determination by the mainstream media to completely ignore or glibly dismiss Paul's many successes."
Rankings
Alexa.com data shows Paul's campaign website for his suspended campaign receiving less traffic than the sites of Hillary Clinton and Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, as well as roughly equal traffic to John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
. However, Paul's traffic far exceeded Clinton's, and even Obama's as far back as January, evidence of his intense web-based following. Paul's site receives more traffic than Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
, Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
or Fred Thompson. Hitwise
Hitwise
Experian Hitwise is a global online competitive intelligence service which collects data directly from ISP networks to aid website managers in analysing trends in visitor behavior and to measure website market share. The Hitwise product is a commercial platform whereby customers pay Hitwise a...
ranks Ron Paul as the seventh most frequent candidate search. In June 2007, Kate Kaye of ClickZNews used Hitwise data to report that Ron Paul had "rocketed from fifth place to first" in their Republican Candidates' Site Traffic Market Share and Rankings report. By October 2007 Fred Thompson had pushed Paul out of the first place position. After March 2008 Paul's site traffic as measured by Hitwise trailed that of McCain, Clinton, and Obama. The SIPP index, a site that claims to track how candidates connect with voters, had Ron Paul ranked #3 out of all of the candidates in the 2008 primary when he dropped his bid.
Social networking
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, and was the Republican winner of the MySpace Presidential Primary in January 2008, with 37% of the votes. He also has a presence on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, with over 58,000 people in a campaign-related group as of July 22, 2008. As of January 30, 2008, he received 10 percent of the votes in Facebook's Elections 2008 presidential poll, placing him first among Republicans and second among all candidates, behind Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
(at 25%), but ahead of Hillary Clinton at 9%.
Paul claims the most YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
views of all Republican candidates, over 6.8 million. Paul's YouTube channel is among the Top 40 most subscribed of all time, achieving 40,000 subscribers in December 2007. The Weekly Standard
The Weekly Standard
The Weekly Standard is an American neoconservative opinion magazine published 48 times per year. Its founding publisher, News Corporation, debuted the title September 18, 1995. Currently edited by founder William Kristol and Fred Barnes, the Standard has been described as a "redoubt of...
on December 10, 2007, reported: "To give an idea of Paul's viral velocity, if you hit “Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
” or “Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
” into YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
's search engine, you'll turn up about 3,700 hits apiece. Do the same with “Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
”, and you'll be wading through 63,000 videos." The Ron Paul Girl is an internet video not originally generated from the campaign, but which received hundreds of thousands of viewings and is thought to have contributed materially to internet fund-raising. Also, many World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
players have named themselves after Ron Paul and staged an in-game support march.
In January 30, 2008, Ron Paul had the largest distributed grassroots organization on Meetup.com
Meetup.com
Meetup is an online social networking portal that facilitates offline group meetings in various localities around the world. Meetup allows members to find and join groups unified by a common interest, such as politics, books, games, movies, health, pets, careers or hobbies...
of all candidates, with almost 105,000 members in 1,600 Meetup groups, that collectively planned and held nearly 31,000 offline events to rally support (and raise money) for their candidate. In comparison, Barack Obama — who had the second largest Meetup organization among active candidates — had close to 5,000 members among 82 Meetup groups.
Summed up by James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, "Paulites tend to be tech-savvy, tired of traditional politics and suspicious of their government and the mainstream media. But after that, they defy categories...[consisting of] Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and Constitution Party followers uniting behind some or all of the Paul libertarian agenda – ending the war in Iraq, abolishing gun control laws, legalizing marijuana and dismantling big hunks of the U.S. government, especially the IRS
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
and Federal Reserve system."
Jack Cafferty
Jack Cafferty
Jack Cafferty is a CNN commentator and occasional host of specials. In the summer of 2005, Cafferty joined The Situation Room.-Career:...
observed that Ron Paul's grassroots network is one "politicians dream about" and that no other candidate running had a base as dedicated or as vocal as Paul's. Ron Paul also earned the attention of many sympathizers outside of the United States.
Spamming
In November 2007, the University of Alabama at BirminghamUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...
's Spam Data Mining for Law Enforcement Applications project examined a large amount of spam supporting Paul's candidacy. Gary Warner, UAB's director of computer forensics, called the spamming "a criminal act in support of a campaign," but stated that he does not believe the campaign itself is in any way responsible. Paul's spokesman, Jesse Benton, said in an email to Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
magazine calling the spamming the work of "a well-intentioned yet misguided supporter or someone with bad intentions trying to embarrass the campaign." The spamming resulted in the removal of at least one Ron Paul video from YouTube, according to anti-phishing researcher Chris Barton of McAfee.
The Wired article claimed that the finding is "significant" because of Paul's popularity in online polls, which Wired says does not reflect offline polling, and suggests technically sophisticated Paul supporters may have been "manipulating" polls.
Earlier, the prominent conservative blog RedState
RedState
RedState is a conservative American political weblog.The site is currently a subsidiary of Eagle Publishing, Inc., a conservative publishing house which also owns Regnery Publishing and the weekly magazine Human Events...
barred users with accounts less than six months old from posting messages supporting Paul. This was due to a torrent of pro-Paul comment spam
Spam in blogs
Spam in blogs is a form of spamdexing. It is done by automatically posting random comments or promoting commercial services to blogs, wikis, guestbooks, or other publicly...
. Other blogs at least temporarily shut down their online polls due to concerns the results may have been stacked by Paul supporters.
Ron Paul Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
that frequently appears on placards and t-shirts at rallies and serves as a slogan that the official campaign has adopted. Supporters use the letters "EVOL" ("love" reversed) to represent peace and hope.
Money bombs
In early October 2007, a website was set up to raise $1 million per week independently for Ron Paul's campaign by having individuals pledge en masse the same amount (per donor) on the same day each week. News media began referring to this effort as a "money bomb". By mid-October, several other "money bomb" fund raising dates, all unaffiliated with the actual Ron Paul campaign, had caused fund raising spikes of hundreds of thousands of dollars each.. On average, over 1500 people donated per hour.In late October, a grassroots website called "This November 5" was launched, requesting pledges for the Paul campaign on November 5, the same day as Guy Fawkes Day. They collected over 18,000 e-mail addresses.
Paul's December campaign contributions rose to over $7.1 million and the Q4 campaign contributions rose to over $17 million as a result of this push. The campaign website displayed a novel real-time display of the funds raised and the names of donors. Smaller fund raising money bombs continued throughout November and early December.
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
broke the campaign's previous record, raising nearly $2 million more than the November 5 event, bringing in over US$6 million in the largest single day of fund raising, on-line or not, in U.S. presidential campaign history. During the last minutes of the drive, the server refused to accept contributions due to an overload of donations, as about 100 contributors per minute donated to the campaign; more than an additional $100,000 were donated within the hour past midnight.
February 1, 2008, marked the 51st anniversary of Carol and Ron Paul's marriage. Supporters raised over $1 million in the 24-hour period for the campaign as an "anniversary gift," making the it the fourth largest campaign donation day to date.
Ron Paul Blimp
Goodyear Blimp
The Goodyear Blimp is the collective name for a fleet of blimps operated by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for advertising purposes and for use as a television camera platform for aerial views of sporting events...
. With a stated cost of $400,000 per month, supporters raised enough money to keep the blimp afloat for about six weeks. Piloted by Dick Schwenker, it flew over Walt Disney World for several days, as well as the January 10 presidential debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is a coastal city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is situated on the center of a large and continuous stretch of beach known as the Grand Strand in northeastern South Carolina. It is considered to be a major tourist destination in the...
.
The blimp was financed by a for-profit company (Liberty Political Advertising, L.L.C.), rather than the campaign itself. This structure was created to permit donors to escape federal limits of $2,300 per person on campaign donations. The FEC has not commented on the validity of such a finance structure.
A supporter named Elizabeth Blane also created a 20 feet (6.1 m) "micro-blimp" emblazoned with the same logos as the full sized blimp, which flew over the San Diego area.
Other efforts
An avid Ron Paul supporter and businessman, Joby Weeks, refurbished an old stretch limousine into the Ron Paul Limo, which is 55 feet long (17 m). The limousine toured high-traffic cities across the country, and was personally signed by Ron Paul on one side.A Nevada brothel owner promised to take up a collection from his customers to back Paul's bid.
Paul supporters created a number of songs in support of Ron Paul. Steve Dore, for example, produced a CD called "Early Songs of the Great Ron Paul Revolution," the profits from which were donated to Paul's campaign.
Artists in Texas and other states created homemade signs in support of Paul's candidacy.
Dean Van Gundy in Grand Junction, Colorado
Grand Junction, Colorado
The City of Grand Junction is the largest city in western Colorado. It is a city with a council–manager government form that is the county seat and the most populous city of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Grand Junction is situated west-southwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. As...
paid for a bus full of "campaigners" to sit in a prominent location, hoping to pick up more supporters.
Some Paul supporters announced plans to build a cooperative community populated solely by those philosophically aligned with Paul dubbed "Paulville" on a plot near Dell City, Texas
Dell City, Texas
Dell City is a city in Hudspeth County, Texas, United States. The population was 413 at the 2000 census.It was incorporated in 1948 shortly after the discovery of an underground water supply by oil prospectors, which attracted farmers to the area...
, in a sparsely populated area between San Angelo
San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo is a city in the state of Texas. Located in West Central Texas it is the county seat of Tom Green County. As of 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total population of 93,200...
and El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
. Paul himself was not in favor of the idea, stating "I don't see that as a solution, but it can't hurt anything either".
Supporters of Ron Paul held a rally in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, at the same time the 2008 Republican National Convention
2008 Republican National Convention
The United States 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008...
took place in that city, and officially commenced the Campaign for Liberty.
Republican presidential debates
Second quarter 2007
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
and The Politico
The Politico
The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency...
, Paul was ranked first for "Best one liner," "Who stood out from the pack", "Most convincing debater", and "Who showed the most leadership qualities?" and was winning the "rating and comparing candidates" question.
Paul participated in the Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
First-in-the-South Republican Party Presidential Candidates Debate at the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
on May 15, alongside nine other Republican candidates. In a phone text message
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
based vote among viewers after the debate, Paul finished second, winning 25% of the votes.
During the debate, Congressman Paul commented that America's history of interventionism
Interventionism (politics)
Interventionism is a term for a policy of non-defensive activity undertaken by a nation-state, or other geo-political jurisdiction of a lesser or greater nature, to manipulate an economy or society...
in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
has led to an unpopular view of the U.S. in Middle Eastern countries, and argued that the CIA's removal of Iranian leader Mohammed Mosaddeq in Operation Ajax
Operation Ajax
The 1953 Iranian coup d'état was the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh on 19 August 1953, orchestrated by the intelligence agencies of the United Kingdom and the United States under the name TPAJAX Project...
, the Iraq war and the bombing of Iraq in the 1990s had led to increasing anti-American sentiment in the Middle East and promoted terrorism. When the moderator asked if Paul was suggesting that the US had "invited" the 9/11 attacks, Paul argued with fellow candidate Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
, who responded to Paul's suggestion that the U.S. pay attention to the underlying causes of terrorism by saying "I don't think I've heard that before, and I've heard some pretty absurd explanations for September 11. And I would ask the congressman to withdraw that comment and tell us that he didn't really mean that." Paul responded that terrorists were the result of "blowback
Blowback (intelligence)
Blowback is the espionage term for the violent, unintended consequences of a covert operation that are suffered by the civil population of the aggressor government...
" from poor foreign policy, and that they "don't come here to attack us because we're rich and we're free, they come and attack us because we're over there."
Bin Laden Issue Station
The Bin Laden Issue Station was a unit of the Central Intelligence Agency dedicated to tracking Osama bin Laden.Soon after its creation the Station developed a new, deadlier vision of bin Laden's activities. In 1999 the CIA inaugurated a grand "Plan" against al-Qaeda, but struggled to find the...
head Michael Scheuer
Michael Scheuer
Michael F. Scheuer is a former CIA intelligence officer, American blogger, historian, foreign policy critic, and political analyst. He is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Center for Peace and Security Studies...
endorsed them as "obvious" and an "immense service to all Americans"; and commentator Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Michael Sullivan is an English author, editor, political commentator and blogger. He describes himself as a political conservative. He has focused on American political life....
agreed with Paul, citing his comments as evidence that he was the only GOP candidate "serious about national security." Paul condemned Giuliani's attack in a press release, later demanding an apology on CNN's The Situation Room
The Situation Room
The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer is an afternoon/early evening newscast on CNN and CNN International hosted by Wolf Blitzer that first aired on August 8, 2005. The show replaces three politics and hard news programs: Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics, Crossfire and Wolf Blitzer Reports.At first,...
with Wolf Blitzer
Wolf Blitzer
Wolf Isaac Blitzer is an American journalist who has been a CNN reporter since 1990. Blitzer is currently the host of the newscast The Situation Room and was the host of the Sunday talk show Late Edition until it was discontinued on January 11, 2009...
.
In the debate, Paul and McCain refused to endorse torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
, with Paul labelling the phrase "enhanced interrogation techniques
Enhanced interrogation techniques
Enhanced interrogation techniques or alternative set of procedures are terms adopted by the George W. Bush administration in the United States to describe certain severe interrogation methods, often described as torture...
" as "Orwellian".
Ron Paul participated in the CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
Republican debate in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
on June 5. Paul argued against a preemptive military policy
Preemptive war
A preemptive war is a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived inevitable offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending war before that threat materializes. It is a war which preemptively 'breaks the peace'. The term: 'preemptive war' is...
in favor of going "back to traditions and our Constitution" and "[defending] our liberties and [defending] our rights.". He was given fewer than six minutes of time, less than Mitt Romney, John McCain, or Rudy Giuliani.
Third quarter 2007
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
's Republican presidential debate at Drake University
Drake University
Drake University is a private, co-educational university located in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country....
in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
on August 5. Time Magazine's Mark Halperin evaluated Paul's performance "crowd-pleasing," and added, "if the Republicans nominated a candidate based on who most moved the applause meter, Paul would be giving his acceptance speech next summer." Paul was the favorite of an on-line poll at ABCNews.com, winning 63 percent of votes.
Paul participated in the Fox News debate at the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
on September 5. Paul and Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
argued over the war in Iraq, with Paul attributing Republican losses in the 2006 elections
United States general elections, 2006
The 2006 United States midterm elections were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. All United States House of Representatives seats and one third of the United States Senate seats were contested in this election, as well as 36 state governorships, many state legislatures, four territorial...
to the unpopular war. Paul won a Fox-sponsored text-messaging poll with 33 percent of votes.
On September 17, Paul participated in the GOP "Values Voters' Presidential Debate" in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
, alongside six other candidates --- John H. Cox
John H. Cox
John Herman Cox is an American lawyer, accountant, businessman, broadcaster, and aspiring politician. He was the first Republican to seek formally the party's 2008 nomination for president, but effectively withdrew from the race in late 2007 and suspended his campaign shortly after.-Biography:Born...
, Sam Brownback
Sam Brownback
Samuel Dale "Sam" Brownback is the 46th and current Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996...
, Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
, Duncan Hunter
Duncan Hunter
Duncan Lee Hunter is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California's 52nd, 45th and 42nd districts from 1981 to 2009....
, Alan Keyes
Alan Keyes
Alan Lee Keyes is an American conservative political activist, author, former diplomat, and perennial candidate for public office. A doctoral graduate of Harvard University, Keyes began his diplomatic career in the U.S...
, and Tom Tancredo
Tom Tancredo
Thomas Gerard "Tom" Tancredo is an American politician from Colorado, who represented the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009, as a Republican...
. Paul finished second in an official post-debate delegate straw poll, trailing Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
's 63% showing with 13% of the vote.
Paul participated in a September 27 debate hosted by PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
television at Morgan State University
Morgan State University
Morgan State University, formerly Centenary Biblical Institute , Morgan College and Morgan State College , is a historically black college in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Morgan is Maryland's designated public urban university and the largest HBCU in the state of Maryland...
with a panel exclusively of journalists of color. The organizers put empty podiums on the stage in the names of the absent candidates. Answering questions were Sam Brownback
Sam Brownback
Samuel Dale "Sam" Brownback is the 46th and current Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996...
, Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
, Alan Keyes
Alan Keyes
Alan Lee Keyes is an American conservative political activist, author, former diplomat, and perennial candidate for public office. A doctoral graduate of Harvard University, Keyes began his diplomatic career in the U.S...
, Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
, Duncan Hunter
Duncan Hunter
Duncan Lee Hunter is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California's 52nd, 45th and 42nd districts from 1981 to 2009....
, and Tom Tancredo
Tom Tancredo
Thomas Gerard "Tom" Tancredo is an American politician from Colorado, who represented the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009, as a Republican...
.
Fourth quarter 2007
Paul participated in an October 9 debate sponsored by CNBCCNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, and the University of Michigan–Dearborn. The debate aired on MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
at 9 pm ET. Paul fielded several questions relating to economic issues, warning that "as long as we live beyond our means, we are destined to live beneath our means". As in previous debates, he also addressed monetary theory.
The Republican Jewish Coalition
Republican Jewish Coalition
The Republican Jewish Coalition , founded in 1985, is a political lobbying group in the United States that promotes Jewish Republicans. The RJC claims that it is the most important voice on conservative political issues for the Jewish-American community...
candidates' forum on October 16, 2007, did not invite Ron Paul due to "time only for leading candidates" and his "record of consistently voting against assistance to Israel and his criticisms of the pro-Israel lobby
Israel lobby in the United States
The Israel lobby is a term used to describe the diverse coalition of those who, as individuals and as groups, seek and have sought to influence the foreign policy of the United States in support of Zionism, Israel or the specific policies of its government...
", according to sources close to the RJC.
Paul appeared in a 90-minute October 21 debate in Orlando, Florida sponsored by Fox News, winning an informal "cell phone” vote, but drawing jeers during the debate for advocating non-interventionist foreign policy.
Paul participated in the November 28 Republican CNN-YouTube Presidential Debate
CNN-YouTube presidential debates
The CNN-YouTube presidential debates were a series of televised debates in which United States presidential hopefuls field questions submitted through the social networking site YouTube. The Democratic Party installment took place in Charleston, South Carolina and aired on July 23, 2007. The...
in St. Petersburg, Florida alongside seven other candidates. He obtained less than 8 minutes of time, and wasn't addressed with a question until the second half hour. Paul debated John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
on the merits of isolationism versus non-intervention. Paul won an CNN online "scorecard" with 51% of the vote; two of three CNN analysts stated that he had a "disappointing" performance, but the other argued that Paul "came off very direct and clear" and "stood out the most".
Paul participated in the December 9 GOP debate hosted by Spanish-speaking television network Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
at the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, alongside seven other candidates.
Sponsored by The Des Moines Register
Des Moines Register
The Des Moines Register is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. A separate edition of the Register is sold throughout much of Iowa.-History:...
newspaper and Iowa Public Television
Iowa Public Television
Iowa Public Television is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service member non-commercial educational Public television stations in the state of Iowa. A member of the PBS, it is owned by the Iowa Public Broadcasting Board, an agency of the state education department which holds the licenses...
, the December 12 debate among nine Republican candidates was broadcast live on the state-wide television network and re-broadcast later. It was available to all PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
stations, and was the last debate before the Iowa caucuses, January 3, 2008.
First quarter 2008
Paul participated in the ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
/WMUR-TV
WMUR-TV
WMUR-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the state of New Hampshire that is licensed to Manchester. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter on the south peak of Mount Uncanoonuc in Goffstown. Owned by Hearst Television, the station has studios...
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
Republican debate at Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, private, Benedictine, Catholic liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by Abbot Hilary Pfrängle, O.S.B. of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley of Manchester, New Hampshire, the...
in New Hampshire on January 5, 2008. Charles Gibson
Charles Gibson
Charles deWolf "Charlie" Gibson is a former American broadcast television anchor and journalist. He was a host of Good Morning America from 1987 to 1998 and 1999 to 2006 and anchor of World News with Charles Gibson from 2006 to 2009....
moderated.
Fox News excluded Paul, Duncan Hunter
Duncan Hunter
Duncan Lee Hunter is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California's 52nd, 45th and 42nd districts from 1981 to 2009....
, and Alan Keyes
Alan Keyes
Alan Lee Keyes is an American conservative political activist, author, former diplomat, and perennial candidate for public office. A doctoral graduate of Harvard University, Keyes began his diplomatic career in the U.S...
from a January 6 New Hampshire forum, sparking numerous protests from Paul supporters. Fox said that due to having limited space in the "souped-up bus" in which the debate was to talk place, they required that the candidates must have been polling at least ten percent in recent nationwide polls to be included in the debate. In a nationwide poll conducted by the Associated Press and Yahoo, December 14–20, Paul was only polling at three percent which was far short of the threshold necessary for debate inclusion. The Paul campaign said they were not given a reason for the exclusion, and the New Hampshire Republican Party withdrew their sponsorship. Instead of attending, Paul held his own town hall event, where voters were allowed to ask him questions. It was broadcast live on local New Hampshire television and streamed online. Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
invited Paul as a Tonight Show guest January 7 specifically because he said he thought Paul's exclusion was "unfair."
Fox News hosted a January 10 debate at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center
Myrtle Beach Convention Center
Myrtle Beach Convention Center is a 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It hosts various local concerts and sporting events for the area and was the home arena for the Myrtle Beach Stingrays of the National Indoor Football League in 2003.This was also the location of...
in South Carolina. Ron Paul participated despite his exclusion from the Fox News debate. Paul declined to be interviewed after the debate by Fox News anchors Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
and Alan Colmes
Alan Colmes
Alan Samuel Colmes is an American radio/television host, liberal political commentator for the Fox News Channel, and blogger. He is the host of The Alan Colmes Show, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show distributed by Fox News Radio that also airs throughout the United States on Fox News Talk...
, citing other commitments.
MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
hosted a two-hour debate at Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University, also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public, coeducational, research university located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and in Fort...
on January 24, the last before the Florida Primaries. Ron Paul took part, and a text message poll asking viewers who they believed had won showed Romney in first with 41% and Paul in second at 40%. On January 30, Paul was one of four candidates in a debate hosted by Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, The Politico
The Politico
The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency...
and CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
in Simi Valley, California
Simi Valley, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Simi Valley had a population of 124,237. The population density was 2,940.8 people per square mile...
, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Center for Public Affairs is the presidential library and final resting place of Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States. Designed by Hugh Stubbins and Associates, the library is located in Simi Valley, California, about northwest of...
.
On February 2, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
hosted a two-party debate broadcast live from New York City: "Closing Arguments: A Presidential Super Dialogue." Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee were the only Republicans to attend.
Endorsements
Ron Paul had the official endorsement of many in the 2008 nomination race, including academics, actors, politicians, and political organizations and pundits.List of Ron Paul endorsements |
|---|
Paul's endorsers include: Organizations
Press
Elected officials – current
Government officials – former
Political – other
Academia – economics
Paul has also received endorsements from active and retired economics professors at The University of Dallas University of Dallas The University of Dallas is a private, independent Catholic regional university located in Irving, Texas, established in 1956, which is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. According to U.S... , Orange Coast College Orange Coast College Orange Coast College is a community college in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948. It provides two-year associate of art and science degrees, certificates of achievement, and lower-division classes transferable to other colleges... , Saddleback College Saddleback College The athletic programs are supported in part by the Associated Student Body at Saddleback College. Revenue generated from attendance at athletic events helps support the entire student activities program.-On-campus media outlets:*The Lariat... , Hollins University Hollins University Hollins University is a four-year institution of higher education, a private university located on a campus on the border of Roanoke County, Virginia and Botetourt County, Virginia... , Pepperdine University Pepperdine University Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of... , The Johns Hopkins University, The Naval Postgraduate School Naval Postgraduate School The Naval Postgraduate School is an accredited research university operated by the United States Navy. Located in Monterey, California, it grants master's degrees, Engineer's degrees and doctoral degrees... , Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem State University , a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina, is a historically black public research university located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.Winston-Salem State has been... , Hillsdale College Hillsdale College Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States, is a co-educational liberal arts college known for being the first American college to prohibit in its charter all discrimination based on race, religion, or sex; its refusal of government funding; and its monthly publication, Imprimis... , and Indiana University Indiana University Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000... . Academia – other
Paul has also received endorsements from active and retired professors at Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a state university system based in Carbondale, Illinois, in the Southern Illinois region of the state, with multiple campuses... , Ohio University Ohio University Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus... , Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University, also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public, coeducational, research university located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and in Fort... , Brigham Young University Brigham Young University Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students... , and the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine The Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine is a 501 non-profit organization located about seven miles from Cave Junction, Oregon. It is a private research institute that studies biochemistry, diagnostic medicine, nutrition, preventive medicine and the molecular biology of aging, and receives no... . Finance
Media
Celebrity endorsements
|
Post-campaign activities
Paul was not invited to speak at the September 1–4 2008 Republican National Convention2008 Republican National Convention
The United States 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008...
and instead hosted the Rally for the Republic with Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty
Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty
Campaign for Liberty is a political organization founded by twelve-term United States Congressman Ron Paul. The Campaign for Liberty focuses on educating elected officials and the general public about constitutional issues, and currently provides a membership program. Its legal status is that of a...
and 10,000 supporters. This protest convention on September 2 was held a few miles from the convention center at the Minneapolis Target Center
Target Center
The Target Center is an arena in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is sponsored by Target Corporation. The arena has a capacity of 20,500 people. It contains 702 club seats and 68 suites....
in direct contrast to the Republican National Convention. Paul received 15 delegate votes (0.63%) for the Republican nomination, falling far short of McCain's 2,343 (98.45%), which cinched him the nomination.
On September 5, 2008, the Constitution Party of Montana
Constitution Party of Montana
The Constitution Party of Montana is a third party. It was founded as the American Heritage Party state affiliate for Montana by Michael Heit of Elmo, Montana, but changed its name in 2000. It was a state-party affiliate of the national Constitution Party until it disaffiliated from the national...
removed Chuck Baldwin
Chuck Baldwin
Charles Obadiah "Chuck" Baldwin is an American politician and founder-pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. He was the presidential nominee of the Constitution Party for the 2008 U.S. presidential election and had previously been its nominee for U.S. vice president in 2004...
from their presidential ticket, replacing him with Ron Paul for president and Michael Peroutka
Michael Peroutka
Michael Anthony Peroutka is a Maryland lawyer, the founder of the Institute on the Constitution. He once held a position in the United States Department of Health and Human Services and was the Constitution Party candidate for president in 2004. He is co-host of The American View radio...
for vice president. Paul made an announcement stating that he "was aware that the party planned to do this, and has said that as long as he can remain passive and silent about the development, and as long as he need not sign any declaration of candidacy, that he does not object." However, Paul requested on September 11 that Montana take his name off the ballot, stating that he did not "seek nor consent" to the Montana Constitution Party's nomination. He also suggested the Party list official Constitution Party nominee Baldwin on the Montana ballot instead. Five days later the Montana Secretary of State denied Paul's request for withdrawal, stating that the request was sent to them too late. On September 4, 2008 a list of electors in Louisiana using the label "Louisiana Taxpayers Party" filed papers and paid $500 with the Secretary of State's Office. They are pledged to Paul for President and Barry Goldwater, Jr.
Barry Goldwater, Jr.
Barry Morris Goldwater, Jr. , is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California, 1969–1983. He is the son of the late Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee who ran against Lyndon B. Johnson for President of the United States during...
for Vice President.
The same day, Paul made a brief press statement: "On the heels of his historic three-day rally in Minneapolis that drew over 12,000 attendees, Congressman Ron Paul will make a major announcement next week in Washington at the National Press Club." The congressman had reportedly invited presidential candidates Chuck Baldwin, Bob Barr
Bob Barr
Robert Laurence "Bob" Barr, Jr. is a former federal prosecutorand a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003. Barr attained national prominence as one of the leaders of the impeachment of...
, Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...
, and Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
to the press conference, leading some to speculate that they would endorse Paul running for president on the ticket of either the Constitution, Libertarian or other third party.
On September 10, 2008, Paul confirmed his open endorsement for the four candidates at a press conference in Washington D.C. He also revealed that he had rejected a personal request for an endorsement from John McCain. He later appeared on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer with Nader where they presented and briefly laid out the four principles that all the independent candidates had agreed on as the most important key issues of the presidential race.
On September 22, 2008, Paul announced his support for Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party
Constitution Party (United States)
The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative political party in the United States. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party by Howard Philips in 1991. Phillips was the party's candidate in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 presidential elections...
.
In October 2008, Paul was declared an eligible write-in candidate in California.
In the 2008 presidential election, Paul received approximately 47,507 votes.
See also
- Ron Paul presidential campaign, 2012Ron Paul presidential campaign, 2012U.S. Representative Ron Paul of Texas is running for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. Although he was frequently mentioned as a possible candidate, Paul stopped short of a full-fledged candidacy before May 2011. Prior to that, he had only indicated that he...
- Electoral history of Ron PaulElectoral history of Ron PaulElectoral history of Ron Paul, Republican U.S. Representative from Texas , 1988 Libertarian Party Presidential nominee and candidate for the 2008 and 2012 Republican presidential nomination....
- Fundraising for the 2008 presidential election
- Opinion polling for the Republican Party (United States) 2008 presidential candidates
- Patriot movementPatriot movementThe Patriot Movement is a loose collection of independent minarchist social movements in the United States beginning in the latter half of the 20th century...
- Political positions of Ron PaulPolitical positions of Ron PaulThe political positions of Ron Paul , United States presidential candidate in 1988, 2008, and 2012, have been labeled conservative, Constitutionalist, and libertarian. Paul's nickname "Dr. No" reflects both his medical degree and his assertion that he will "never vote for legislation unless the...
- Republican Liberty CaucusRepublican Liberty CaucusThe Republican Liberty Caucus is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party in the United States. It is part of the libertarian wing of the Republican Party...
External links
- Ron Paul Library, more than 1,000 articles and speeches by Ron Paul
- Ron Paul Nation
- The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medicare Candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul, New York Times
- May 1, 2007 Republican Debate Transcript, New York Times
- Ron Paul Wiki
- Ron Paul Ranking in Spartan Internet Political Performance Index
- USA Straw Polls
- Ron Paul interview on PR.com