Is the Internet rewriting the rules of political campaigning?
At the intersection of the Internet and politics, presidential candidate Ron Paul's supporters are rewriting the rules of political campaigns. NOW explores how the Texas congressman and his supporters are using the Internet to attract voters—and massive campaign contributions—from across the political spectrum. Supporters include anti-war progressives, anti-tax libertarians, civil libertarians, and even some white supremacists. The common theme is anger over where the country is heading.
"Ron Paul's campaign is so extraordinary to many of us because even while it was getting massive online traffic, you'd be lucky to get a whisper of his campaign in a lot of media outlets," said Zephyr Teachout, Howard Dean's former online organizer and now a Duke University professor.
That anonymity changed when, on November 5, Paul's campaign raised a record-breaking $4.2 million—even though many of his followers have little political activism experience and were acting online without the help of Paul's official campaign.
I think the message should be the only thing that counts, but you can't get the message out without the money," Paul tells NOW.
Can viral energy and passion in the virtual world translate into real world votes?
12 Comments
Grimm*findthumb
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jwrayawful narration
marinaraby awful narration do you mean david bronchaccio?
This is "Soft Spin" It doesn't overtly label Ron Paul as a flake, it does it in a devious manner.
Like "Ron paul has more than the support of White supremacists and libertarians"
Like a backhanded compliment. It hurts....
But that is what I expect from PBS NOW, one of the first news shows to get on the war media push. (don't ask me to document that)
marinaraFrom the video: "The internet is home to Libertarian Ideas"
GrimmDavid Epstein:"people come from different backgrounds, they don't have the same access to education or health care or make the same income...the role of the Federal government is to help level the playing field".
Since when?
jwraySince the preamble to the constitution was written:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to ... promote the general Welfare."
Article 1 Section 8: "The Congress shall have Power To .. provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States."
Article 1 Section 9: "No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State."
Now those with excessive amounts of money have as much power as aristocrats ever had.
Mordhaus*dead
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siftbotAwarding enoch with one Power Point for fixing this video's dead embed code.
eric3579*findthumb *length=17:15
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