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Cato Scholar Comments on Ron Paul's Fundraising

Thursday 04 October 2007

David Boaz, executive vice president:

Ron Paul's amazing fundraising success -- with no support from the Republican establishment and little attention from the mainstream media -- is an indication of the wide appeal of his message of constitutionalism, reduced spending, and an end to the Iraq war. In some ways Ron Paul is the antidote for every problem that plagued Republicans in 2006: Voters were tired of Republican corruption, and Ron Paul has never succumbed to the temptations of Washington. They were fed up with overspending, and he's the original anti-spender. They're disillusioned by the seemingly endless war in Iraq, and Ron Paul opposed that war from the beginning. He's appealing to fed-up traditional Republicans and to younger voters who haven't yet been Republicans.

The fact that he raised $5 million mostly in small donations and over the Internet means two things: that his donors aren't "maxed out" and could still give more, and that he's reaching a broad range of new contributors, not the standard big donors who have filled the coffers of the leading candidates in both parties.

Ron Paul isn't likely to be the Republican nominee, but Republican leaders should think about what his surprising appeal is telling them.