The Real Ron Paul Revolution
The Nation: Republican's Money Bombs Could Change The Face of Grassroots Politics
Dec. 18, 2007
Move over John Kerry, the best single-day primary fundraising record no longer belongs to the prodigious money-collecting machine of the man who won the 2004 nomination.
Ron Paul is now the champ.
Kerry collected $5.7 million on one day in 2004.
Paul collected more than $6 million Sunday. And, unlike Kerry who raised his money from big donors on the day after he won the key primaries that secured him the Democratic nod, Paul is raising his money when it could actually help his quest for the Republican nomination.
Paul could well end up raising more than any of the other Republican contenders and providing the only serious competition for Democratic money leaders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
But what is really fascinating about Paul's enormous haul of December 16 - in an effort organized by music promoter Trevor Lyman, a Paul enthusiast with no previous political experience - is that it drew 24,940 new donors to the campaign in a single day.
What's the trick?
Lyman, who raised more than $4.3 million for Paul on a single day in November, times his "money bomb" appeals to days that have deep historical resonance for those who fancy themselves insurgents against the current order.
The November appeal came on November 5, the anniversary of attempt by Guy Fawkes to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London.
Sunday's appeal was timed to coincide with the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.