Don't tell Ron Paul's supporters that their man is not going be the next U.S. president.
No matter the evidence — the no more than 7 percent standing in early state polls, the lack of high-profile national campaign operation or the fact that the long-time Texas congressman hardly fits the modern Republican profile — Paul's legion of supporters believe, loudly, that their man will win the GOP nomination in 2008.
here are flat determined to deliver the state for Paul when Republicans hold their primary Feb. 5.
Ike Hall, 40, Paul's Georgia campaign director and a radiation safety officer at Emory University Hospital, believes it will happen
"Yes, I do," Hall said. "Yes, I do. Mostly because of his phenomenally deep and diverse grassroots community. American politics hasn't seen anything like this."
The Paul grass-roots community is impressive. He owns the Internet, whether it's the more than 65,000 videos supporters have uploaded to YouTube, or the more than 50,000 "friends" Paul has on Facebook, the social networking site.
In metro Atlanta, Paul's backers also use Meetup.com to plan events and to communicate with other supporters. They have organized weekly rallies each Saturday at Freedom Park, sign-waving parties along busy intersections and canvassing groups to spread the word. The campaign opened its Georgia headquarters Dec. 16.
But the biggest reason Paul could actually make a run at the nomination is the more than $6 million he and his supporters raised online Dec. 16. The one-day event, believed to be the largest amount ever raised by an American political campaign in a single day, included contributions from more than 58,000 people. It helped give Paul a fourth-quarter fund-raising total of more than
$12 million. That's expected to lead the GOP pack.
In presidential politics, money is life.
In Georgia, Paul raised more than $108,000 through the end of September, more than former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, but considerably less than the other leading candidates.
Supporters say the Georgia campaign is just beginning.
"His message is so strong," said Justin Stout, 24, who was joined by a trio of other Paul supporters to brave the chill and drizzle on a recent evening to wave Paul signs at traffic along Ga. 5 in Douglasville. "His message of individual liberty is so strong. But we know we have to do this because the media doesn't seem to be giving us attention. He has to raise $6 million to get on the news."
Stout is correct in one sense. You don't see Rudy Giuliani supporters, or Mitt Romney or John McCain supporters, standing on street corners or interstate overpasses to get attention.
Speak to enough Paul supporters and several things become apparent.
• They speak of Paul in almost reverent, certainly respectful, tones. They don't call him "Paul," or "Ron," or even "Congressman Paul." It's almost always "Ron Paul," or "Dr. Paul," reflecting his background as a ob-gyn.
• Common themes emerge: honesty, strict allegiance to the Constitution and personal freedom.
• The media is against them, or at least ignoring them.
• The polls are wrong.
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