The Meaning of the Money Bomb
Ron Paul broke the single day American political fundraising record on December 16th, but what does it mean? The mainstream media covered the accomplishment, but apparently missed the significance, ranking it somewhere beneath one pro-war Senator endorsing another pro-war Senator, when 70% of the American people want the war to end.
If Barack Obama, or John Edwards, or Mitt Romney, or Mike Huckabee had broken the single-day donation record, it would undoubtedly have been the lead story on all the networks. Perhaps the mainstream media are too accustomed to large dollar amounts being discussed in politics, and don't see what's different about Ron Paul's six million dollar day. Rather than collecting it in $2300 chunks from wealthy donors, Ron Paul hauled it in from over 58,000 hard-working American voters, with an average donation of just $102.
So what will all that cash buy for Ron Paul? The obvious answer is more advertising time on television and radio, but it also buys him credibility. "Long -shot" candidates don't raise $6 million in one day, or $18+ million in the fourth quarter, and any media talking head who claims otherwise is only hurting his or her own credibility.
The influx of cash also means that Ron Paul can expand his campaign beyond the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. After the November 5th money bomb, Michigan was added to the mix. After this week's money bomb, Florida and California are on the Ron Paul campaign's radar as well.
The bulging bank account also buys some breathing room. Cash-strapped candidates like Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Tom Tancredo, and Duncan Hunter have to rely on victories or near-victories in the earliest primary states, to give their ailing campaigns the boost they need to compete nationally. Early victories would of course be welcome for Ron Paul, but a fourth place finish somewhere is no longer devastating to his chances -- he only has to exceed the still modest expectations the media holds for him.
With six viable contenders and no strong front-runner, the race for the Republican nomination is still wide open. If the early states go in several different directions, and February 5th follows suit, only a select few very well funded candidates can afford to compete all the way to the convention. Mitt Romney is one of them, thanks to his personal wealth, and perhaps Rudy Giuliani, if he hasn't overspent his early lead in fundraising.
Thanks to the Tea Party money bomb, Ron Paul is the only other candidate with the means to stay in the race for as long as it takes to win. Given his amazing grassroots support, it could be argued that he is in better shape than either Romney or Giuliani to contest a drawn-out primary campaign. Not only does he have substantial reserves of cash on hand, he has the ability to go back to his legions of supporters for more, while the high-dollar crowd supporting the other top-tier candidates are mostly maxed out.
Sooner or later, the mainstream media will realize what the twin money bombs should have made obvious -- that Ron Paul has widespread and significant support, and that he's running to win. Thanks to your generosity on December 16th, it no longer has to be sooner for the Ron Paul Revolution to succeed.
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If Barack Obama, or John Edwards, or Mitt Romney, or Mike Huckabee had broken the single-day donation record, it would undoubtedly have been the lead story on all the networks. Perhaps the mainstream media are too accustomed to large dollar amounts being discussed in politics, and don't see what's different about Ron Paul's six million dollar day. Rather than collecting it in $2300 chunks from wealthy donors, Ron Paul hauled it in from over 58,000 hard-working American voters, with an average donation of just $102.
So what will all that cash buy for Ron Paul? The obvious answer is more advertising time on television and radio, but it also buys him credibility. "Long -shot" candidates don't raise $6 million in one day, or $18+ million in the fourth quarter, and any media talking head who claims otherwise is only hurting his or her own credibility.
The influx of cash also means that Ron Paul can expand his campaign beyond the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. After the November 5th money bomb, Michigan was added to the mix. After this week's money bomb, Florida and California are on the Ron Paul campaign's radar as well.
The bulging bank account also buys some breathing room. Cash-strapped candidates like Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Tom Tancredo, and Duncan Hunter have to rely on victories or near-victories in the earliest primary states, to give their ailing campaigns the boost they need to compete nationally. Early victories would of course be welcome for Ron Paul, but a fourth place finish somewhere is no longer devastating to his chances -- he only has to exceed the still modest expectations the media holds for him.
With six viable contenders and no strong front-runner, the race for the Republican nomination is still wide open. If the early states go in several different directions, and February 5th follows suit, only a select few very well funded candidates can afford to compete all the way to the convention. Mitt Romney is one of them, thanks to his personal wealth, and perhaps Rudy Giuliani, if he hasn't overspent his early lead in fundraising.
Thanks to the Tea Party money bomb, Ron Paul is the only other candidate with the means to stay in the race for as long as it takes to win. Given his amazing grassroots support, it could be argued that he is in better shape than either Romney or Giuliani to contest a drawn-out primary campaign. Not only does he have substantial reserves of cash on hand, he has the ability to go back to his legions of supporters for more, while the high-dollar crowd supporting the other top-tier candidates are mostly maxed out.
Sooner or later, the mainstream media will realize what the twin money bombs should have made obvious -- that Ron Paul has widespread and significant support, and that he's running to win. Thanks to your generosity on December 16th, it no longer has to be sooner for the Ron Paul Revolution to succeed.
