By “here,” I mean America’s Wang™. Yes, the online fundraising frenzy for Ron Paul’s narrow-minded campaign to win the hearts and minds of Americans unable to think for themselves has its roots in south Florida, specifically South Beach. (And don’t tell me you didn’t see that coming …)
37-year-old music promoter Trevor Lyman of Miami Beach has spearheaded multi-million-dollar Internet fundraising drives for Paul, motivated largely by his feeling that the Democrats in Congress “betrayed” him by failing to get our troops out of Iraq.
“Nobody took him seriously until we brought money to the campaign. It’s a sad state of affairs,” Lyman said in a telephone interview from New Hampshire, where he’s rounding up support for his candidate before the first-in-the-nation primary (Iowa holds a caucus before New Hampshire votes.). “This [fundraising drive] was pretty spur of the moment, so we’ll see how it goes.”
If it fails, Paul runs the risk of being dismissed as a one-hit wonder, especially since his online popularity has barely surfaced in the polls. On the eve of Wednesday’s debate in St. Petersburg, his support in Florida was smaller than the CNN poll’s margin of error.
GOP donor Mark Guzzetta, who helped organize a $2,300-per-person reception in Coral Gables on Thursday for the more-established candidate Mitt Romney, said the Internet can’t and won’t replace traditional fundraisers.
“People want to meet the candidate — shake his or her hand, test his mettle, watch his speech,” Guzzetta said. “Having said that, I do think all of us can learn a thing or two from someone who has maximized the Internet.”
It all started when Lyman was noodling online in October and came across speeches by Paul, an anti-tax, pro-gun, non-interventionalist who touts home schooling and above all, the Constitution.
“It was a betrayal,” Lyman said of the promises by Democrats in Congress to bring the troops home. “So in the midst of a betrayal, when you find someone who’s been consistent, you know that’s your guy.”
Consistent? Yeah, consistently crazy, maybe …
Here’s what I still don’t understand about the Ron Paul phenomenon (and I use that term loosely, given his paper-thin, albeit vocal, support): There are, you know, other consistently anti-war candidates — like Dennis Kucinich, for example — whose other positions aren’t noxious, as Paul’s are. Even John Edwards may not have been consistent if you go back to his vote in favor of the AUMF, but as a candidate he’s been consistent in his retraction of that vote.
Why are Paul supporters, especially those who are or have been disaffected Democrats, so quick to rush to a candidate whose campaign is based entirely on the “I’ve got mine, screw you” mentality and who rejects the basic tenets of what progressives believe? Have these people suddenly become anti-choice (as Paul is) and anti-health care (among other things), or worse yet, are they willing to ignore Paul’s crazier positions in order to celebrate the single issue of his opposition to the war in Iraq?
See, that’s what has caused me to decide that Ron Paul supporters, by and large, are just goofy. They are hypocritical at worst, inconsistent at best, even while trumpeting the alleged “consistency” of their knight in shining armor. The only comfort I take in watching the Paul phenomenon run its course is the knowledge that his candidacy will be over soon, probably after Iowa and New Hampshire.
UPDATE (1:13 pm 11/30/07): Of course, among the batshit crazy Paul supporters are the Stormfront neo-Nazi gang of racist brownshirt fucks. I almost forgot about them.
Yeah, go ahead and sign on with Ron Paul, kids. That swastika will look great on your Hollister and Abercrombie gear.
