Question of the Day: What’s the answer?

By PD Administrator

Filed Under Race for White House 2008 on Apr 15 

As of January, Ron Paul had raised over $30,000,000 for his presidential campaign. Why did this Internet-savvy campaign fail to catch fire with mainstream GOP voters? (His total Super Tuesday results were 4%.)

Comments

  • RedstateEddio

    1. Even though he was ‘viral’, he was more like a low-grade fever. Not enough to generate a tipping point in momentum and launch off the ground into the forfront of national attention and psyche for an extended period of time. Whether that’s the fault of the media, or the lack of enough campaign boots on the ground to get the word out – probably both.

    2. I agree with NYC – there was a perceived weirdness that made it seem like Uncle Harold “who’s a little light in the head and tends to stray out onto the highway and get picked up by the police” was running for president. Not mocking him, just saying that he seemed a bit odd, and although he had some good positions on things, it was enough for me to hesitate about him.

  • Troy La Mana

    Because the MSM refused to give Paul the coverage he deserved. Because Fox News made a consious effort to block him at every turn.

    Because the MSM was afraid that someone who would really uphold the Constitution might become President.

    There is a strong base to build upon. Give us an election cycle or two to educate the public.

  • WilliamK

    according to reports he still has $5 million on hand. For some reason he still draws large crowds in PA colleges.

    I think what Paul caught was the long tail. He reached out and caught the disaffected Republican. Those two people in each town who don’t like that Bush and the Republican Congress increased spending, passed no-kiddie left out, campaign finance “reform”, etc. They are about 5% of the Republican party. What is different is that he got them to give and give a lot to his campaign.

    Even if you figure 50,000 supporters, at $600 each, that is around $30 million. Which makes his support less impressive. Sure he got a lot of money, but it’s from a small group of people.

    I think it is the same small group that is showing up at my county party meetings. If they stick with it, they will take over our county and maybe even the state party.

  • Bill A

    Because Republicans can’t admit when they’re wrong and should be behaving differently.

  • kb

    my question is where did all that money go!?!?

  • NewYorkStateConservative

    As someone who voted for Dr. Paul, I think the “failure to catch fire can be contributed to the following factors.

    1. Name recognition. When the race for the primaries hagen, Paul had essentially zero name recognition. Even now, I would guess barley half the population knows anything about him.

    2. (A minority of) Well-meaning but overzealous supporters that made others think they belonged to some kind of cult.

    3. Perceived kookiness. When a candidate says our foreign policy has lead to our current troubles in he Middle East, the typical, human, emotional response would be to dismiss that candidate as part of the “anti-America crowd” instead of researching the topic and thinking about it for yourself. When a candidate is talking about things that those around him aren’t (the problems of policing the world, monetary policy, etc.) it is very easy to dismiss him as “kooky” especially when combined with the factors I mentioned above.

  • natz08

    WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

    That sums up my reaction to that dude’s comment.

  • Lazlo

    Answer: It ain’t over ’til its over.

    BTW: There is supposed to be a big Ron Paul/anti-income tax rally today at DC.

    And yes, either Ron Paul or Hillary will be the next president.

    ^_^

    • Brian H

      President of what?