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Broad-Based Support Buoys Paul Campaign
By Mark Anderson
According to Federal Election Commission reports, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) received more campaign contributions from Montana in 2007 than any other presidential candidate—Republican or Democrat.
“Montana contributions received by Ron Paul in 2007 were $88,883, double that of the nearest Republican, Mitt Romney, who received just $41,495. John McCain came in third at $29,094 followed by Mike Huckabee coming in fourth at $8,816,” noted a summary in the Centre Daily Times.
While Montana’s caucuses were Feb. 5, its open primary is not until June 3. Small individual donors through grassroots efforts are raising money in record amounts for Paul across the country. Corporate deep-pocket financing is not part of the picture. Nationally, most of Paul’s donations are
under $200. He ended the last quarter of 2007 with more cash on hand than any other remaining Republican candidate.
The Times quoted Paul’s Montana state coordinator, David Hart, as saying, “Paul’s success in fundraising stands in stark contrast to who the media says are our 
Paul is also the choice of the military—again. Another search of the FEC database reveals that Dr. Paul has received 1,160 donations from military donors, nearly triple that of John McCain, and more than McCain, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee combined.
This is striking, considering the big media’s strong tendency to crown McCain, a decorated Vietnam veteran, as the “strong military leader” while he boasts that he’s willing to keep troops in Iraq virtually forever.
According to the FEC, the quantity and dollar amount of military contributions so far is: Paul, 1,160 donors, $249,000; McCain, 438 donors, $83,000; Mike Huckabee, 126 donors, $37,000; Mitt Romney: 126 donors, $24,000; Barack Obama: 443 donors, $76,000 and Hillary Clinton, 154 donors, $41,000.
In fact, Paul was the most successful fundraiser nationally among Republican presidential candidates in the last three months of 2007. Paul brought in $19.7 million—compared to $9.9 million for Mitt Romney, $6.8 million for John McCain and $6.6 million for Mike Huckabee.
People give money to candidates they plan to vote for. Yet, the media act as if there’s no connection. Paul is known for fighting hard for veterans and their health care—which is no small issue when soldiers are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with strange illnesses that are hard to diagnose, let alone treat or cure (assuming that the military and the Veterans Administration will even help them).
Mark Anderson is the author of The Ron Paul Revolution, AFP’s special report we are encouraging everyone to distribute. For more on how you can help Ron Paul get elected, click here.
(Issue #7, February 18, 2008)
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