Tuesday, November 06, 2007

The Paul-Bearers Carry On   [David Freddoso]

Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) ended Guy Fawkes Day having done something no Republican has ever done before. He raised almost $4 million over the Internet without spending so much as a thin dime (beyond transaction fees, of course). This sort of thing just isn't done — usually you spend between fifty and eighty cents for every dollar you raise. We can't know for sure until the quarter's end, but Paul is probably leading Rudy Giuliani and perhaps even Mitt Romney in cash on hand at this moment.

It was the largest Internet fundraising day in U.S. history. Paul attracted 40,000 donors who gave about $98 on average. It will be very interesting to see how many unique donors that translates to when the quarter is over — such small donors can and often do give again.

Conservative candidates are dropping out (Sam Brownback), failing to impress (Fred Thompson) and lagging in fundraising (Mike Huckabee). The opening for a conservative candidate remains unfilled as the Right fails to coalesce around one candidate who can stop Giuliani.

Among those for whom a sustained Iraq occupation is not a make-or-break issue, Paul's big day is going to win him a second look. But he has to lay off the gold standard schtick (at least for a while) and start speaking to conservatives again about the many issues he has in common with them. If he does, he might actually be able to make something of all this.

11/06 07:17 AMShare