Ron Paul Sets GOP Fundraising Record, $4.2 Million in 24 Hours

Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone at 6:00 AM on November 6, 2007.

This post, written by Richard Blair, originally appeared on The All Spin Zone

The Republican establishment doesn't seem to be paying much attention to the presidential campaign of Congressman Ron Paul. But, on Guy Fawkes Day, and with Paul raising more than $3.5 million dollars in an online fundraiser in less than 24 hours, perhaps it's the Democratic Party establishment that should start taking note.

You've gotta hand it to Ron Paul supporters - he's raising some serious online cash that the other GOP presidential wannabes could only dream about tapping into.

The third "Ron Paul Moneybomb" started today at 12:01 AM. As of 9PM, approximately 3.5 million dollars have been raised for the Paul campaign. I don't really have the desire to go back and compare this to the 2003 / 2004 Howard Dean campaign (widely acknowledged as the first true internet grassroots presidential campaign), but I can't imagine that even the Deaniacs raised this much money for their candidate in such a short period of time.

Paul's third quarter fundraising was quite impressive, and it bought the campaign some airtime that only the big boys (and girls) can afford. Reviews of his first TV ads were mixed, but the point is, they were actually able to afford an extensive ad buy. That's news unto itself.

Still, I'm fairly certain that the big dogs on the GOP porch are thinking, "Yeah, sure, but Lyndon LaRouche has managed to buy quite a bit of TV time over the years..." in his erstwhile Democratic Party presidential campaigns. It goes without saying that LaRouche never made a dent in Democratic presidential politics (and that was even before he went to jail).

This whole Ron Paul phenomena just has a totally different feel to it. It's still a solid bet that when the GOP caucus and primary results start rolling in, Paul doesn't stand much of a chance. But here's where I think it gets interesting - and why Democratic Party presidential contenders need to take serious note of Paul's campaign.

The Paul campaign is raising a lot of money, but not spending scads and scads of cash. And I'm not completely sure what the rules are, but I believe that if he decided at some point to take an independent shot at the White House (after the Dem and GOP candidates are chosen), he could roll this money over to an independent campaign, as well as mine the network he's built for more.

An independent run by Ron Paul might be the worst case scenario for the Democratic Party, and the best case scenario for the Republicans. Were that to happen, he's not going to peel away a substantial block of votes from the GOP candidate, rather, he's going to pull votes from the Dem. At this moment in time, many progressives are predicting a wide margin victory in 2008 for the Democratic Party, including the presidency. But what if Paul were to end up being the spoiler next year - kind of a well funded Ralph Nader, if you will?

Oy. That's not a worst case scenario for the Dems. That's the nightmare scenario.

UPDATE: I want to make it clear - my concern is not that Ron Paul would win as an independent. I don't believe that Ron Paul has any shot - none - at winning such a race. What he does possess is the ability to peel off enough anti-war Dems as a 3rd party candidate to throw the general election to the Republican.

And I fear Rudy Giuliani much, much more than I fear Ron Paul.

UPDATE II: Paul sets one-day GOP fundraising record

White House hopeful and Iraq war critic hauls in $4.2 million

The Associated Press
updated 12:20 a.m. ET, Tues., Nov. 6, 2007

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, aided by an extraordinary outpouring of Internet support Monday, hauled in more than $4.2 million in nearly 24 hours.

Paul, the Texas congressman with a libertarian tilt and an out-of-Iraq pitch, entered heady fundraising territory with a surge of Web-based giving tied to the commemoration of Guy Fawkes Day.

Fawkes was a British mercenary who failed in his attempt to kill King James I on Nov. 5, 1605. He also was the model for the protagonist in the movie "V for Vendetta." Paul backers motivated donors on the Internet with mashed-up clips of the film on the online video site YouTube as well as the Guy Fawkes Day refrain: "Remember, remember the 5th of November."

Paul's total deposed Mitt Romney as the single-day fundraising record holder in the Republican presidential field. When it comes to sums amassed in one day, Paul now ranks only behind Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton, who raised nearly $6.2 million on June 30, and Barack Obama.

Paul spokesman Jesse Benton said the effort began independently about two months ago at the hands of Paul's backers. He said Paul picked up on the movement, mentioning in it speeches and interviews.

"It's been kind of building up virally," Benton said.

The $4.2 million represented online contributions from more than 37,000 donors, fundraising director Jonathan Bydlak said Monday night.

Paul has been lagging in the polls behind Republican front-runners. But he captured national attention at the end of September when he reported raising $5.2 million in three months, putting him fourth among Republican presidential candidates in fundraising for the quarter.

Paul as of Monday had raised more than $7 million since Oct. 1, more than half his goal of $12 million by the end of the year, according to his Web site.

Paul advocates limited government and low taxes like other Republicans, but he stands alone as the only GOP presidential candidate opposed to the Iraq war. He also has opposed Bush administration security measures that he says encroach on civil liberties.

Tagged as: election08, democratic party, republican party, fundraising, paul

Richard Blair is the blogmaster of All Spin Zone.