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November 5, 2007 9:29 PM PST

A penny for the guy, a hundred bucks for Ron Paul

by Peter Glaskowsky
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November 5 is Guy Fawkes Night in the United Kingdom. It commemorates the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, an attempt to blow up the Palace of Westminster and overthrow the government of James I.

I think it's a darn strange thing for political activists in the United States to be using Guy Fawkes Night as an excuse for a special event in a Presidential campaign, but that's just what some Ron Paul advocates have done.

Perhaps echoing the traditional childrens' request for "a penny for the guy" to buy fireworks, these advocates-- without the support of the official Ron Paul campaign organization-- have been exhorting other supporters to make $100 donations to the campaign today. The donations are going through the regular channels (a donation page on the campaign's website), so this isn't a scam, but I still think it's pretty weird. In fact, I said so a few times when people asked me about it. I think it isn't entirely appropriate to be connecting a legitimate political campaign with a 400-year-old act of insurrection.

But I guess a lot of other people think it's okay, because the donations have been pouring in. As I write this, we're still nine hours away from the end of the day here in California, but the day's total is already in excess of $2.7 million, and donations continue to arrive at the rate of $200,000 per hour.

(As an aside, the fact that these figures are available at all says a lot about the integration of computer technology with political campaigning. The Ron Paul organization offers a live feed of donation records which is summarized in real time on ronpaulgraphs.com.)

The campaign itself seems a little unprepared for this whole thing; in a blog post earlier today, campaign fundraising director Jonathan Bydlak didn't even mention the Guy Fawkes connection. But he did say that the amount raised so far is already a record for Republican online fundraising, and it looks like the day's total will exceed what Bydlak says is the all-time record for single-day fundraising: $3.1 million.

It's all pretty amazing, anyway.

[Update: the graph showed just over $4 million as of midnight East Coast time, but the Ron Paul campaign told the Associated Press that the actual figure is somewhere in excess of $4.2 million from over 37,000 individual donors. Apparently there's some data loss in that real-time feed...]

Peter N. Glaskowsky is a computer architect in Silicon Valley and a technology analyst for the Envisioneering Group. He has designed chip- and board-level products in the defense and computer industries, managed design teams, and served as editor in chief of the industry newsletter "Microprocessor Report." He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
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This is a wonderful example of polls failing
by EnricoFermi November 5, 2007 3:45 PM PST
First he was left off the ballot in many polls, then it was polling missing the point by only using people with land line phones. Well, as seen by text polling (which was supposedly spamming) a lot of Paul supporters, myself included, only have a mobile phone. This is a historical mistake, similar to the Truman/Dewey event, and may be mentioned in historical textbooks moving forward.

He clearly has support, as also evidenced by multiple straw polls. He has a real chance, and it is time that people realize this, rather than considering him a crazy fringe candidates. As seen today at the banner hung at MIT, he connects with many intelligent people. He is our candidate, not one to be elected by the hippies who have since supported our destructive interventionist foreign policy.

He is the real thing, get ready...
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More data analysis
by kylejack November 5, 2007 4:09 PM PST
More data analysis at paulcash.slact.net.
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... 400-year-old act of >insurrection...
by acorkan November 5, 2007 4:17 PM PST
>"I think it isn't entirely appropriate to be connecting a >legitimate political campaign with a 400-year-old act of >insurrection."
Good point, they are no better than those fringe wackos who celebrate the 4th of July, or quote from the Bill of Rights.

Andy in Pgh
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Re: Insurrection
by cresquin November 5, 2007 4:17 PM PST
"I think it isn't entirely appropriate to be connecting a legitimate political campaign with a 400-year-old act of insurrection."

Think of it as the modern Americans' Glorious Revolution. We are using the system to bring it back into check, because we all believe deeply that the system works the way it was designed better than it does in its current incarnation. Ron Paul also believes this and will take steps that no other candidate is willing to commit to, in order to move to a more constitutional government.
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There is no connection to Guy Fawkes
by Krippy November 5, 2007 4:18 PM PST
Well, at least not anything regarding the violence or actions of Fawkes. This ABC blog* got in contact the creator of the site, and he does a pretty good job of explaining the position of the supporters in general.

I donated not for the memory of Guy Fawkes, or even V for Vendetta, but for the sake of restoring the constitution.

Thanks for the article, though.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=3822989&page=1
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Ron Paul's Integrity
by klutometis November 5, 2007 4:48 PM PST
"the fact that these figures are available at all says a lot about the integration of computer technology with political campaigning."

I think it says a lot more about the integrity of Ron Paul's campaign that they're willing to disclose the numbers (no other candidate is); the technological mechanism is irrelevant.
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donation tracker
by slact November 5, 2007 4:54 PM PST
I've another realtime donation tracker board - it's got rates and stuff
http://paulcash.slact.net
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Who's Guy Fawkes?
by ryanfinlay November 5, 2007 4:56 PM PST
I just donated to Ron Paul today, $100, my first monetary donation for any candidate ever. Who's Guy Fawkes?
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Strange Day
by thatguy6502 November 5, 2007 6:50 PM PST
Using Guy Fawkes day certainly is a little odd. Constitution Day (Sept 17) would have been more appropriate. But nobody ever made a major box office movie with Constitution Day as a critical plot element.

The twists and turns of popular culture demand something with a little more ring to it... And V for Vendetta (the movie, not so much the comic) resonated with many people who fear the loss of individual liberty and institution of the basic tools of fascism, usurping Guy Fawkes Day from the British and warping it into a campaign for individual rights becomes rather easy.

Not coincidentally, many of the people who enjoyed V are Ron Paul supporters - as he is the only candidate with a platform centered on respect for individual rights.

And since Nov 5 falls into the current fundraising quarter, it's kinda convenient. Warped through the lens of popular culture, sure, but evidently it works.
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You Need A Fresh History Class
by princessmandy November 5, 2007 9:56 PM PST
"In fact, I said so a few times when people asked me about it. I think it isn't entirely appropriate to be connecting a legitimate political campaign with a 400-year-old act of insurrection."

Did you totally forget your American History? Ever hear of "The Revolutionary War"? "4th Of July"?

"We have learned by experience and by the comparison of ourselves with people similarly situated, to hope that, at some day not very far in futurity, our grievances will be redressed, that our long lost rights will be restored to us, and that, in the full stature of men, we will stand up, and with our once cruel opponents and oppressors rejoice in the Declaration of our common country, and hail with them the approach of the glorious natal day of the Great Republic."
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Calm down, calm down
by Peter N. Glaskowsky November 5, 2007 10:35 PM PST
It's kinda different when it's someone ELSE's insurrection, huh? Not to mention
that Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators failed.

Anyway, I'm a Ron Paul supporter, so relax.

. png
Many connections
by mwbrady November 6, 2007 5:24 AM PST
I'd suggest that you not read too much in to November 5th. It was quite clever.

1. Internet "bomb". Get it?
2. Catchy jingle: "Remember, remember...."
3. Connection with a cool movie.

If it was for Guy Fawkes alone, he probably would have raised $3.95 from it. Most Americans have never heard of Guy Fawkes. (Hey, another connetion to Ron Paul!) I had never heard of Guy Fawkes until the movie came out.

The guy who thought of the gimmick was brilliant!
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New bumper sticker!!
by JBurt56 November 6, 2007 10:46 AM PST
Ron Paul--A Disturbance in the Farce!!!
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in in ur games steelin ur freedoms
by gamers4paul November 7, 2007 7:35 PM PST
the internet is what I would consider the real "free world." thus it makes sense that our politicians see a great opportunity for regulation, taxation, moral posturing and such.

Ron Paul has resisted the calls for regulation of the internet, the game industry, and consistently defends freedom in general. It would make sense that a viral campaign on the internet would be successful. I was hearing about this for several weeks, and it was referred to as a "peace bomb" or a "money bomb." the idea is peaceful revolution through individual action. 37000 people contributed money on one day, at an average of a few dollars more than 100.00 each. that's peasant change in the world of politics, and speaks volumes about the breadth of his support.

I made a video that explains how I feel about video game and internet regulation and taxation, in the context of other politicians and then Ron Paul. check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeSMdysK7iY
let me know what you think. : ) peace.
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About Speeds and Feeds

Silicon Valley-based computer architect and chip analyst Peter N. Glaskowsky attends a variety of industry conferences throughout the year to meet with industry thought leaders and dig into the future of computing technology. In Speeds and Feeds, he analyzes trends in system architecture and interface design, as well as market and political pressures surrounding those trends. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.

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