He was born in Pittsburgh and now lives in Texas. A father of five and grandfather of 17, he is familiar with what it takes to raise a family. As a ten-time Representative of the 14th Congressional District of Texas, he is known for his consistency in his voting tendencies. He never voted to raise taxes. He never voted to raise congressional pay. He voted against the Patriot Act. He voted against regulating the Internet and he voted against the war in Iraq. He is in the 2008 primary race, his name is Ron Paul and he wants to be your next president?
Except for Senator Barack Obama, he is the most-viewed candidate on YouTube and he is the most “friended” Republican on MySpace.com. Paul raised a record $6 million online in one day and has also raised more money from active military members than all other candidates put together according to Statesman.com.
“Raising that much in one day is an accomplishment.” James Brown-Williams, a senior accounting major said. “I guess since we hear about Obama raising this much one month, or Clinton raising something else another month and even McCain trying to get more funding we don’t hear about his (Paul’s) fundraising.”
With his success on the Internet and with raising money for his campaign, Paul continues to encounter hardships that other delegates have not. So far, Paul has not won any states in the Primary race. Both ABC and FOX news did not invite Paul to the presidential debates before the New Hampshire primary. Also, he was excluded from the New York Times’ “Election Guide 2008? results on the web site: politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/results/index.html. This is not Paul’s first presidential race. He got the Libertarian Party nomination for president in 1988, defeating the Indian activist Russell Means. He finished third behind Bush and Dukakis, winning nearly half a million votes.
“For some reason I only remember Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, and Ralph Nader. I haven’t heard of Ron Paul until this election.” Brown-Williams said about third-party candidates he has heard of.
The ten-time representative is the most experienced politician in the primary race, therefore leaving Senator Clinton with less claims in being the delegate with experience. He served in the US Airforce as a flight surgeon, thus making McCain’s veteran status claims something of less importance. As one of only three republicans that voted against the war, could he be the “Change We Believe In?””I have told them, it’s our campaign. As long as the numbers keep growing and the funds come in to support it, I will stay in the campaign,” Paul said after the Mississippi primary.
