We’ve all seen those so-called “highway bloggers” supporting presidential candidate Ron Paul, and you may have seen a WLOS story a few weeks back about the Ron Paul blimp. It’s actually a pretty creative idea that’s been under-played here in Ashvegas. But a South Carolina newspaper has noticed what they’re doing in advance of this weekend’s GOP primary there:
GREENVILLE – The campaign for Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul will get some skyward publicity this week in the form of a massive blimp with campaign banners adorning each side.
The blimp will launch out of Greenville and fly over that city, along with Clemson, Anderson and Spartanburg, this week. Since Paul, a Texas representative, will be in Spartanburg Thursday night for a local GOP event, the blimp’s backers hope to adjust the itinerary to fly over this city in conjunction with that.
The airship’s schedule is ultimately at the mercy of the weather, which could keep it grounded early Thursday. But anyone who is outside between now and this state’s GOP primary Saturday has a chance of seeing it pass overhead.
The blimp is one of several nontraditional campaign tactics in support of Paul and his libertarian-leaning message. The candidate repeatedly emphasizes a less-involved foreign policy, abolishing the IRS and Department of Education, and returning to the gold standard.
A handful of supporters — who met online — came together from around the country to launch an independent advertising company in Asheville, N.C. Donations to them to keep the blimp aloft do not count as campaign contributions, and therefore aren’t susceptible to campaign finance laws.
So far, the “blimponauts” have raised about $400,000. They hope to raise another $100,000 by Friday, and say they’re halfway to that point. After that, they hope to raise another $100,000 to keep the blimp in the air until Super Tuesday, which is Feb. 5.
4 Comments
"When we libertarians are not simply ignored, we are often reproached―and not in a respectful way, either, but condescendingly, as if we were children who just don’t understand life’s harsh realities and need to be scolded. The most recent case in point is Bret Stephens’s article on "Ron Paul and Foreign Policy" in the Wall Street Journal, January 15, 2008. Stephens takes the text for his sermon from recent statements by Ron Paul, the libertarian candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. Stephens avows that "most of us" sympathize "up to a point" with the core libertarian belief that people ought to be left alone in the pursuit of their own happiness. He reaches that stopping point quickly, however, and his disparagement of "Dr. Paul’s cult-like following" reveals early on that he has no intention of dealing fairly or knowledgeably with Paul’s views on U.S. foreign policy…"
http://www.lewrockwell.com/higgs/higgs72.html
Webiste:
http://www.ronpaulblimp.com/
"I think the blog wonkette.com labeled the supporters perfectly. Paultards."
Yuk, yuk.
Anything else?
I think the blog wonkette.com labeled the supporters perfectly. Paultards.