Ron Paul Sees Increase in Fundraising Following Confrontation with Giuliani

United States Congressman and Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul held a fundraiser at the Texas History Museum in Austin Saturday. The fundraiser, which featured a live performance by blues guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, drew around 700 attendees and brought in roughly $47,000 in donations according to event organizer Don Zimmerman. Paul has consistently opposed the Iraq war, which has drawn ire from many in the party.

According to Zimmerman, Paul’s confrontation with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani at the South Carolina Republican debate has boosted Paul’s support. During the debate, Paul stated that U.S. policy in the Middle East was a “contributing factor” to the terrorists attacking the United States on September 11th. Despite the fact that the CIA and the 9/11 Commission Report have concluded similarly, Giuliani responded that he had “never heard [U.S. foreign policy being a contributing factor to the attacks] before.” The former mayor called Paul’s reasoning "extraordinary" and following the debates recited the standard yet discredited theory that the terrorists hate Americans for our freedoms and the freedom given to American women, not for past U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Several political pundits and Republican leaders have asserted that the confrontation with Giuliani would be the end of Paul’s Presidential bid, but according to Zimmerman, the confrontation has only helped the Congressman. “I was really surprised by the boost [Paul received from the debates],” Zimmerman told this writer. Zimmerman said the confrontation with Giuliani was a “dramatic benefit” to the Paul campaign and asserted that the number of RSVPs for the fundraiser roughly doubled following the debate.

The Congressman has recently been attacked in his Texas district for the remarks he made during the debates, but Zimmerman dismissed those attacks. “Congressman Paul is the lone voice for constitutional government [in Congress],” Zimmerman said. The Congressman won the 2006 election with over 60% of the vote, even though the American people as a whole voted overwhelmingly for the Democrats. Many people, including Congressman Paul, believe the Democrats won in 2006 because of America’s distaste for the war in Iraq. That may explain the sudden outpouring of support for Paul.