CE Week #11: “The Ron Paul Revolution”
By Joel Stein
It sometimes seems as if someone is playing a cruel practical joke on Ron Paul. He goes to a college and delivers the same speech he’s given for the past 30 years of his political career, the one espousing the Austrian school of economics. Only now the audience is packed with hundreds of kids in RON PAUL REVOLUTION T shirts who go nuts–giving standing ovations when he drones on about getting rid of the Federal Reserve and returning to the gold standard. After a speech at Iowa State last month, when nearly half the crowd had to stand because there were only 400 seats, a hipster-looking student worked his way through the half-hour-long line to shake Paul’s hand. This was surely it–the moment when the straight faces would break and Paul would be wedgied up the flagpole. “When you see Bernanke,” the kid said, “will you tell him to stop cutting rates when gold hits 1,000?”
Politics might be rock ‘n’ roll for nerds, but the nerds aren’t supposed to be quite this nerdy. The leader of the disaffected in next year’s presidential election–the Howard Dean, the Ross Perot, the Pat Buchanan–is a kindly great-grandfather and obstetrician whose passion is monetary policy. Paul, a 72-year-old hard-core libertarian Republican Congressman who is against foreign intervention, subsidies and the federal income tax, is not only drawing impressive crowds (more than 2,000 at a postdebate rally at the University of Michigan last month) but also raising tons of cash. In the third quarter of 2007, Paul took in $5.3 million (just slightly less than GOP rival John McCain), mostly in small, individual donations. On Oct. 22, he aired his first TV ads, $1.1 million worth in New Hampshire.
The numbers are even more impressive considering that as of early October, 72% of GOP voters told Gallup pollsters they didn’t know enough about Paul to form an opinion. He has been able to attract followers in the debates, where he’s presented a clear, simple philosophy of personal freedom and responsibility. He bluntly refers to the U.S. as an empire. And the nerdiness lends Paul’s simple message an aura of credibility, especially on a stage with more polished politicians and their nuanced positions. “He’s about something that American nerd culture can get on board with: really knowing one subject and going all out on it,” says Ben Darrington, a Ron Paul supporter at Yale. “For some people, it’s Star Wars. For some people, it’s Japanese cartoons. For Ron Paul, it’s free-market commodity money.”
The libertarian’s traction is most apparent on the Internet, where his presence far outstrips that of any candidate from either party. His name is the most searched, his YouTube videos the most watched, his campaign the topic of songs by at least 14 bands. “The last thing I would listen to is rap,” Paul says. “But there’s something going on when there’s a rap song about the Fed.” On Tuesday, both Paul and Tom Cruise were guests on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The actor went to Paul’s dressing room to thank him for his work on a bill fighting the forced mental screening of grade-school kids. “Go. Go. Go. Go hard,” Cruise said. Paul turned to an aide and asked, “What movies has he been in?”
Paul’s fans–and there were more than 100 of them in Leno’s audience, many of whom had flown in from out of town–are entranced by a man who responds to surprising information with “Wowee” and a jaw-dropped smile not often seen apart from 5-year-old boys and Muppets. “It’s the message. Ron isn’t that exciting as himself,” says Andre Marrou, who was Paul’s running mate when he ran as a Libertarian in 1988. “I saw him referred to in print as semi-eccentric. He’s maybe 10% eccentric. It’s his ideas that are eccentric. But it’s basic Americanism.” Paul is such a strict constructionist that he autographs pocket Constitutions more often than Tommy Lee signs breasts.
But Paul’s popularity can’t necessarily be explained by a previously undetected craving for gold-standard debates on college campuses. His message, even if packaged in obscure economic lectures, is that there is something very corrupt, very Halliburton-Blackwatery going on with our military-industrial complex, and that can attract some pretty weird followers. At the Iowa State event, a student stood outside in a tricornered hat and Revolutionary War-era suit, ringing a bell. Representative Tom Tancredo, another long-shot GOP candidate, tells me that after a debate in New Hampshire, one of his staffers walked up to a guy in a shark costume and asked him if he was a Ron Paul supporter. “No. They’re all nuts,” replied the shark. “I’m just a guy in a shark suit.” There is a subset of Paul supporters who believe 9/11 was an inside job by the U.S. government. And there are anarchists as well: they’ve picked Nov. 5, Guy Fawkes Day, for a fund-raising drive.
“His supporters are the equivalent of crabgrass,” says GOP consultant Frank Luntz. “It’s not the grass you want, and it spreads faster than the real stuff. They just like him because he’s the most anti-Establishment of all the candidates, the most likely to look at the camera during the debates and say, ‘Hey, Washington, f____ you.’”
The one place Paul hasn’t become a major player is where it counts: in the polls, where he hasn’t broken above 5% and has yet to pass Mike Huckabee. Paul realizes he’s not a favorite among the pro-war, pro-Bush Republicans. “A lot of times at my rally, I say, ‘We’re diverse. We even have some Republicans,’” he jokes. (His largest Meetup.com group gathers in liberal Austin, Texas; another sizable one is in San Francisco.) And he isn’t sure where all this sudden support will lead.
Paul doesn’t expect that he will win the nomination, and he has no interest in running as an independent again. But he also doesn’t see himself endorsing one of the other Republicans in the general election. “Those people who support me wouldn’t believe it,” he says. “If I said, ‘Giuliani’s a great guy, and he’ll reduce subsidies and bring the troops home’? I couldn’t do that.” Even nerd revolutions don’t surrender.
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Discounting Ron Paul….not so easy.
The article says, Paul, a 72-year-old hard-core libertarian Republican Congressman who is against foreign intervention, subsidies and the federal income tax, is not only drawing impressive crowds (more than 2,000 at a postdebate rally at the University of Michigan last month) but also raising tons of cash. In the third quarter of 2007, Paul took in $5.3 million (just slightly less than GOP rival John McCain), mostly in small, individual donations. On Oct. 22, he aired his first TV ads, $1.1 million worth in New Hampshire.
I don’t understand how the article can call Ron Paul a joke meanwhile he nearly out raises John McCain.
“His supporters are the equivalent of crabgrass,” says GOP consultant Frank Luntz. “It’s not the grass you want, and it spreads faster than the real stuff. They just like him because he’s the most anti-Establishment of all the candidates, the most likely to look at the camera during the debates and say, ‘Hey, Washington, f____ you.’”
I completely disagree with Luntz. Ron Paul’s supporters seem pretty real if he can take in 5.3 million in 3 months. Those seem like the type of people I would want supporting my campaign.
The one place Paul hasn’t become a major player is where it counts: in the polls, where he hasn’t broken above 5% and has yet to pass Mike Huckabee. Paul realizes he’s not a favorite among the pro-war, pro-Bush Republicans. “
In voting polls yes he hasn’t been above 5%. But he received 28% in a Fox poll on who won the debate. Seems to me that this article, and the rest of the media seems to willing to mark Paul off.
Paul doesn’t expect that he will win the nomination, and he has no interest in running as an independent again. But he also doesn’t see himself endorsing one of the other Republicans in the general election. “Those people who support me wouldn’t believe it,”
I applaud Paul. I wish he would run as an independent for a couple of reasons. One, that it would help the Democrats. Mostly though, is because his message is too powerful to just be put on the backburner for another four years. He truly believes in what he says and that’s a first. I am glad he has the guts to say he wouldn’t endorse any of the Republicans since he has been calling them out the whole election. What I really wonder though is if he would support any Democrats?
Ron Paul…this guy cracks me up. My favorite part of this article (apart from Ron not knowing what movies Tom Cruise has been in) was the part that stated that some of his supporters include anarchists. Well…I have one thing to say about that: If Ron Paul can get anarchists to vote for the President of the United States then there is certainly something that he can do that would change the very world we live in.
I just don’t think that Ron Paul is an extremely important player. I think that he he did indeed run as an independent that he would have a much larger impact on the election. As for being elected…no it doesn’t look very likely to me. Actually he doesn’t have a chance. His willingness to pursue an issue that he has opinions and ideas on (even if they are a bit eccentric) is something that he he most assuredly has going for him. But I think that he should use his ideas to support a Democratic candidate.
I had no idea Ron Paul was that old and delivered babies for a living. Although I think some of his ideas are good, and that many young college students say they want less government, they really don’t. Less government means less programs that take care of us Americans. Or maybe they really are sick of government. Either way, Ron Paul is getting a shocking amount of attention, from a shocking crowd. I would have never put the two together: an older obstetrician on the far right and college students. It’s like the political odd couple (where Paul would be Jack Lemmon and his young followers would be Walter Mathau). I personally don’t think he will recieve the nomination, but you never know. If he doesn’t will he run again? It seems to me he almost has the funding (5.3 million) to as a successful independent (if independents are ever really successful). Also, I love Joel Stein, he writes one heck of a satire about Mel Gibson.
I absolutely LOVED the Odd Couple reference! – Kautzman
Response to Ethan:
I agree with you that although Ron Paul is an interesting character, I don’t think he will play a major role in the upcoming election. I don’t think he would make it past the primaries because his views are to far to the right (then again, the Republican convention doesn’t have superdelegates to stop him…). If he did run as an independent he would only succeed in perhaps subtracting republican votes. Which might not even make that big of an effect, Ron Paul supporters mainly belong to the young crowd, the typically apathetic voters, so he wouldn’t necessarily be stealing from any constituency. You also bring up a good point: there must be something magnetic about this guy if anarchists would vote for him. Then again, could you call yourself an anarchist if you vote? You couldn’t call yourself a good anarchist anyways.
Ohhh Ron Paul, what an interesting character. I agree with Meagan that I don’t think he’s going to play much of a role in the upcoming election — wouldn’t it be funny if he did though. After reading this I took a moment to ponder why he might have the most watched youtube videos, or the most googled name and I think it’s because he’s so out of the ordinary. Clearly most of the populous, after watching his youtube videos or reading more than two articles about him realizes he’s a bit of an oddball. I think Ron Paul is gaining nerdy fans because he’s a nerdy guy, anyone who legitimately tries to use “wowee” still deserves a legion of nerd fans.
As the article pointed out he has raised a fair amount of money from private donors, however the polls showing him at a whopping 5% do not really bode well for his future. If anything I think Paul will continue to provide everyone with something to google and something to laugh about after he goes on Jay Leno and doesn’t know who Tom Cruise is (which I think is incredible, I wish I didn’t know who he is).
Ron Paul? you’d think it was Sean Paul with all the attention he is gathering. However this seems to just be and fad and whats hot on the media trail right now. They are trying to make a nerdy rockstar out of a 72-year old man..Pretty interesting. Also it is pretty interesting to see that he raised only a little bit less than John McCain in the last quarter, but as other people have pointed out, none of that has really helped him in the polls. It seems he’s just getting a lot of money from those 5 percent of die-hard fans but not many people are jumping on board.
Another thing I noticed about this article is how it seems to be a little skewed. It talks about how all of the supporters for Ron Paul are college students, well if you go to a college campus to make a speech you will probably get a lot of college students showing up. In the end I just believe that he is too old school to gain the nomination of even a fair amount in the polls.