Top Ten Ron Paul Stories of the Year
The Ron Paul campaign has confounded the experts, amazed the media, and inspired a grassroots movement unlike any other. The biggest headlines are yet to be written as Ron Paul's success in the primaries will astound the skeptics even more, but looking back at 2007, these are the top ten stories of the campaign so far.
10. Ron Paul dominates Republican straw polls nationwide. Ron Paul has won at least 29 straw polls nationwide, and compiled impressive head-to-head records against the other top tier candidates in the process. He is 43-7 against Giuliani, 34-16 against Romney, 34-15 against Thompson, 44-5 against McCain, and 42-6-1 against Huckabee. Party-organized straw polls are normally viewed as the best indicator of grassroots strength, since they generally draw only the most motivated and best informed party activists. News coverage of Ron Paul's impressive record has been in mysteriously short supply.
9. Ron Paul Iowa rally outdraws multi-candidate forum next door. After Iowans for Tax Relief somehow excluded the Taxpayer's Best Friend Ever from their Republican candidate forum on June 30th, an impromptu Ron Paul rally held next door on the same day drew more people, generated more enthusiasm, and showed that Ron Paul's unquestioned strength on the Internet was beginning to translate into real world support.
8. Ron Paul matches John McCain in third quarter fundraising. Having already caught the party's early front-runner in cash on hand, Ron Paul's five million dollar third quarter haul made media jaws drop across the networks, as political "experts" quickly withdrew their early predictions of Ron Paul being a non-factor, and upgraded him to someone who could appeal to disgruntled fiscal conservatives, as well as his libertarian base. The $1.2 million raised online in the last week of the quarter offered a sneak preview of even greater things to come.
7. Ron Paul becomes the first candidate in history with his own blimp. Showing the creativity, organizational ability, fundraising prowess, and unmatched devotion of his supporters, the Ron Paul blimp was launched in mid-December, drawing widespread media coverage. The 200-foot long airship couldn't reach the Boston Tea Party or New Hampshire due to weather concerns, but instead headed south toward the key early primary states of South Carolina and Florida.
6. Ron Paul Philadelphia rally draws 5,000 supporters. Another grassroots idea became reality on November 10th, as Ron Paul spoke to the largest crowd for any Republican candidate this year in front of Independence Hall. With the United States Mint serving as a fitting backdrop to the large and diverse crowd, Ron Paul sounded his increasingly popular call for freedom, prosperity, and peace, as video streamed live on CNN.com.
5. Ron Paul Meetup membership exceeds all other candidates -- combined. When Howard Dean used Meetup.com to organize his grassroots supporters in 2003, it was national news. When Ron Paul attracted a much larger following in 2007, with over 80,000 supporters in over 1,000 cities, it was only occasionally mentioned as evidence of his strength on the Internet, overlooking the obvious point that Meetup groups are real-world activities, generating untold millions in free publicity and activism.
4. Ron Paul volunteers descend on Iowa and New Hampshire. Even as the national media continue to dismiss Ron Paul's chances of winning the nomination, and include his supposed lack of organizational strength as one of the reasons, hundreds of volunteers flocked to Iowa and New Hampshire in time for a massive get out the vote effort. The official campaign used some of their large cash stockpile to cover expenses for college students visiting Iowa, while grassroots supporters on their own initiative organized an even bigger effort in New Hampshire.
3. November 5th money bomb raises four million dollars in one day. "Remember, remember, the 5th of November" proved to be an effective call to arms for Ron Paul supporters, as over 38,000 donated $4.3 million in a 24-hour period, smashing the single-day Republican fundraising record in the process and generating shock and awe in the national media. Suddenly Ron Paul was not just a candidate for libertarians and hardcore fiscal conservatives, he was THE candidate for voters fed up with politics as usual.
2. Ron Paul dominates Republican debates. Dismissed as an also-ran when he announced in March, Ron Paul entered the national consciousness following a memorable exchange with Rudy Giuliani on foreign policy in the second debate on May 15th in South Carolina. Political commentators were quick to label the incident the end of Ron Paul's campaign, but a surprised Sean Hannity was taken aback when Ron Paul was leading the Fox News text message poll after the debate. Ron Paul continued his amazing performance throughout the debate season, winning nearly every post-debate poll, often by large margins, and winning many new supporters along the way.
1. Ron Paul breaks single day political fundraising record. Following up on the unexpected success of the November 5th money bomb, Ron Paul supporters raised the bar even higher by shattering John Kerry's single day fundraising record on December 16th, in celebration of the Boston Tea Party. Over 50,000 individual donors contributed over six million dollars, an amount so incredible that the mainstream media apparently had no explanation for it, even though the meaning was clear: Ron Paul has far more support than the polls are showing, and is going to do much better in the primaries than anyone could have imagined.
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10. Ron Paul dominates Republican straw polls nationwide. Ron Paul has won at least 29 straw polls nationwide, and compiled impressive head-to-head records against the other top tier candidates in the process. He is 43-7 against Giuliani, 34-16 against Romney, 34-15 against Thompson, 44-5 against McCain, and 42-6-1 against Huckabee. Party-organized straw polls are normally viewed as the best indicator of grassroots strength, since they generally draw only the most motivated and best informed party activists. News coverage of Ron Paul's impressive record has been in mysteriously short supply.
9. Ron Paul Iowa rally outdraws multi-candidate forum next door. After Iowans for Tax Relief somehow excluded the Taxpayer's Best Friend Ever from their Republican candidate forum on June 30th, an impromptu Ron Paul rally held next door on the same day drew more people, generated more enthusiasm, and showed that Ron Paul's unquestioned strength on the Internet was beginning to translate into real world support.
8. Ron Paul matches John McCain in third quarter fundraising. Having already caught the party's early front-runner in cash on hand, Ron Paul's five million dollar third quarter haul made media jaws drop across the networks, as political "experts" quickly withdrew their early predictions of Ron Paul being a non-factor, and upgraded him to someone who could appeal to disgruntled fiscal conservatives, as well as his libertarian base. The $1.2 million raised online in the last week of the quarter offered a sneak preview of even greater things to come.
7. Ron Paul becomes the first candidate in history with his own blimp. Showing the creativity, organizational ability, fundraising prowess, and unmatched devotion of his supporters, the Ron Paul blimp was launched in mid-December, drawing widespread media coverage. The 200-foot long airship couldn't reach the Boston Tea Party or New Hampshire due to weather concerns, but instead headed south toward the key early primary states of South Carolina and Florida.
6. Ron Paul Philadelphia rally draws 5,000 supporters. Another grassroots idea became reality on November 10th, as Ron Paul spoke to the largest crowd for any Republican candidate this year in front of Independence Hall. With the United States Mint serving as a fitting backdrop to the large and diverse crowd, Ron Paul sounded his increasingly popular call for freedom, prosperity, and peace, as video streamed live on CNN.com.
5. Ron Paul Meetup membership exceeds all other candidates -- combined. When Howard Dean used Meetup.com to organize his grassroots supporters in 2003, it was national news. When Ron Paul attracted a much larger following in 2007, with over 80,000 supporters in over 1,000 cities, it was only occasionally mentioned as evidence of his strength on the Internet, overlooking the obvious point that Meetup groups are real-world activities, generating untold millions in free publicity and activism.
4. Ron Paul volunteers descend on Iowa and New Hampshire. Even as the national media continue to dismiss Ron Paul's chances of winning the nomination, and include his supposed lack of organizational strength as one of the reasons, hundreds of volunteers flocked to Iowa and New Hampshire in time for a massive get out the vote effort. The official campaign used some of their large cash stockpile to cover expenses for college students visiting Iowa, while grassroots supporters on their own initiative organized an even bigger effort in New Hampshire.
3. November 5th money bomb raises four million dollars in one day. "Remember, remember, the 5th of November" proved to be an effective call to arms for Ron Paul supporters, as over 38,000 donated $4.3 million in a 24-hour period, smashing the single-day Republican fundraising record in the process and generating shock and awe in the national media. Suddenly Ron Paul was not just a candidate for libertarians and hardcore fiscal conservatives, he was THE candidate for voters fed up with politics as usual.
2. Ron Paul dominates Republican debates. Dismissed as an also-ran when he announced in March, Ron Paul entered the national consciousness following a memorable exchange with Rudy Giuliani on foreign policy in the second debate on May 15th in South Carolina. Political commentators were quick to label the incident the end of Ron Paul's campaign, but a surprised Sean Hannity was taken aback when Ron Paul was leading the Fox News text message poll after the debate. Ron Paul continued his amazing performance throughout the debate season, winning nearly every post-debate poll, often by large margins, and winning many new supporters along the way.
1. Ron Paul breaks single day political fundraising record. Following up on the unexpected success of the November 5th money bomb, Ron Paul supporters raised the bar even higher by shattering John Kerry's single day fundraising record on December 16th, in celebration of the Boston Tea Party. Over 50,000 individual donors contributed over six million dollars, an amount so incredible that the mainstream media apparently had no explanation for it, even though the meaning was clear: Ron Paul has far more support than the polls are showing, and is going to do much better in the primaries than anyone could have imagined.
