CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
Feb. 27, 2008 – 6:27 p.m.
Ron Paul Sharing The Political Wealth With Like-Minded Candidates
By Jonathan Allen, CQ Staff
Ron Paul is starting to give like-minded candidates a taste of the political gold he discovered on the Internet by lending his endorsement and renting out his donor list.
A previously little-known Texas congressman with a libertarian bent, Paul had raised $32 million for his quixotic bid for the Republican presidential nomination through the end of January, a figure that dwarfed the totals of several Democratic and Republican candidates who began the race with much higher profiles.
He created an online sensation with his platform of limited government, expansive individual liberties and withdrawal from Iraq and international organizations. More than $6 million came into his coffers on a single day in December through a “moneybomb” Internet fundraising effort.
That haul of cash has not translated into victory in primaries or caucuses, but it has built a political base for Paul — and, perhaps more important, a donor list — that would be the envy of any incumbent or challenger. (Paul, by the way, faces a primary challenger of his own in Texas on Tuesday).
Murray Sabrin, a New Jersey Senate candidate who has been endorsed by Paul, is expecting a “moneybomb” from his own backers and Paul’s this Friday. Sabrin has raised $194,260 since launching his campaign last month, according to a calculator on his Web site.
“We’re working hard to cultivate his previous donors and Murray’s previous donors and donors across the country,” said Sabrin consultant Adam Alonso.
Republican Rep. Walter B. Jones , a fellow Iraq war critic who faces a tough primary challenge in North Carolina coastal 3rd District, has rented access to Paul’s list of donors in the state.
But Paul’s imprimatur was not limited to the list itself: He sent out an e-mail soliciting help for Jones last week.
Jones said he already has raised about $5,000 from Paul supporters, which is not an insubstantial figure in a relatively inexpensive market. Jones had raised $192,185 through the end of December, and his rival for the GOP nomination, Joe McLaughlin, had collected $78,278.
Paul says lending a hand to his friends is old hat but acknowledges it’s a bigger hat these days.
“I’ve been helping people for a long time. Nothing new about it,” he said during a brief interview in the Capitol on Tuesday. “The degree might be different but the principle’s the same.”
Paul’s presidential spokesman said the campaign is still in the process of figuring out how best to make full use of its massive list of campaign donors.
“A likely use would be to help candidates for office who are running on a constitutionalist platform,” Jesse Benton said. “It will go to a good use.”
Though Paul is winding down his presidential bid as he focuses on winning re-election A-A-— he also has rented his donor list to his own congressional campaign — he wants to have an impact on the direction of his party.
One way to do that is to aid the campaigns of colleagues and congressional challengers who share his outlook on politics.
“We put together a movement and that movement is going to continue,” Benton said.
Comments
I'd like to question your assumption about Dr Paul "renting out his donor list". One thing is to suggest to followers to support others, and a whole another thing is to give the others the names of your supporters. This is not what I'd expect (and I don't see) from Dr Paul. Please verify and correct!
Hey, I like this site. Good info, unbiased, why can't all media outlets be like this.
Ahh, this is good to see. It is also incredibly ironic that the only candidate who seems to see the solution to our soon to be recessed economy is ignored. Let's just plan another rate cut for March 15, preemptively, while were at it eh Mr. Bernanke?
I just read this article on Yahoo News - clearly the Murray Sabrin campaign is taking off! I already went to his website and pledged for his money bomb on Friday! You should see the video endorsement of Dr. Murray Sabrin by Dr. Ron Paul. I didn't realize they were that close friends!!!
Give em hell, Ron!
Up here in Northern Michigan we have another Ron Paul Republican. Her name is Linda Goldthorp, she is running against a long time Dem. Bart Stupak. Lets do everything we can to help her out. If your in the area you could start by getting her on the ballot. She has a web site up it's easy to find. I'll be out getting signatures I hope others will join me. changing things at the local level may be the best way to start. Go Linda!
I am very happy that Dr. Paul is letting us know the names of other Politicians who are "like minded". I live in NJ and will support Murray. I am a bit of a pessimist, though. I have already seen the other Presidential candidates "ripping off" some of Ron Paul's speeches, in order to get in on the "freedom" message. They just don't get it though. With Dr. Paul it's not a catch phrase, it's a live long belief that he backed up with a voting record. I would expect all you to research these candidates to make sure they are who they say they are.
I think it's wonderful! We can continue the Revolution by supporting candidates across the country who support Ron Paul's platform. I'm planning on donating to Murry Sabrin's campaign - the moneybomb is tomorrow. I'm also working for Ron Paul in the PA primary coming up on April 22nd. Just because the MSM doesn't see you; does it mean you don't exist? The answer is a resounding NO! Peace, Liberty and Prosperity! Long live the Republic and long live the Revolution!
I'm Sparticus!!
I think there is a problem with the understanding of the language in politics right now. It is my observation that the conceptual understanding of the words liberal and conservative are greatly confused. Of course the confusion could be exclusively mine. Am I the only individual that hears Ron Paul say that he is conservative and nearly every news writer calling him a liberal?
I'm a supporter of Dr. Paul from Salt Lake City. I donated to Murray Sabrin and now I'll donate to Walter Jones. The R3volution is working. We're going to flood the congress and senate with like-minded individuals that respect liberty, sound fiscal and monetary policy, a humble foreign policy, and civil liberties.
Great News!!! If Ron Paul will endorses, we'll reinforce.. GO Ron Paulicans!!!
I'm encouraged that other Paul like candidates are running for public office and I think that everyone that supported Paul should get behind them and help get them elected. If a hundred or so get into congress and the senate then maybe we can change things from the disaster that his been the legacy of this president and the last.
The problem is with political language in the US generally. The word 'liberal', used in its proper and classical sense, refers to the idea that people should within certain boundaries of law be able to do as they please, which means translates into small government, low taxation and low levels of government interference in people's personal lives. The word 'conservative' refers to a political philosophy opposed to radical change, regardless of what the content of that change is (so Chinese conservatives, for example, would be the most staunch Communists). Somehow, the US as a nation seems to have got these terms ass-backwards, but the reason is that neither party has a coherent political philosophy: the Republicans (until Bush, anyway) used to be about limited financial governance but nonetheless moralised about social issues, and called this idea 'conservative', whereas the democrats didn't care so much what people did with their lives so long as they paid higher taxes and wanted more services from the state, and the Republicans (again setting the agenda) called this 'liberal'. Both terms are consistently being used incorrectly. So when Ron Paul is described as a 'conservative', people are applying the inappropriate label based on the free market aspect of what Republicans are supposed to stand for, whereas those who call him a 'liberal' are using the word in the correct, classical sense. I'm a British liberal by this definition, and am a member of the Conservative Party; to an American this would seem odd, but only because they're addicted to the incorrect assumption that the two are opposed. Although the Conservative Party is conservative, that doesn't mean it's just about opposing radical change, any more than the Democratic and Republican parties are just about turning the US government into those systems. On Dr Paul, for what it's worth, I like the fact that he's in favour of limited government interference in people's lives, but I don't see (other than personal prejudice) why he won't extend this to the issue of abortion, and I particularly dislike his tendency to isolationism, which isn't really a logical conclusion of classical liberalism either.
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