Ron Paul, Darling of the Web Military?

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Check out these numbers. Ron Paul has received more donations money from employees of the Armed Services than any other GOP candidate in the 2008 race. It’s really only a two-way race between the Libertarian Paul and the war hero McCain, who may have been hurt by the fact that he wants to keep servicemen and women in Iraq until everyone is dead, American, Iraqi, and otherwise.

Come to think of it, Ron Paul’s call for America to stop “policing the world” might have unique appeal to our country’s soldiers overseas. Anyway, here are the numbers.

Cand.: TOTAL [ARMY] [NAVY] [AF] [VETERAN]
Paul: 23,465 [6,975] [6,765] [4,650] [5,075]
McCain: 15,825 [6925] [6305] [1795] [800]
Romney: 3,551 [2,051] [0] [1500] [0]
Rudy: 2,320 [1,450] [370] [250] [250]
Hunter: 1000 [0] [1000] [0]
Huckabee: 750 [250] [0] [500]
Tancredo: 350 [350] [0] [0]
Brownback: 71 [71] [0] [0]
Thompson: 0 [0] [0] [0]

Now, from what I can gather, to be included in these stats a donor had to only put the words “Army,” “Navy,” “veteran,” or what have you in their “employer” field when submitting a contribution. So these aren’t the most exact numbers. But interesting nonetheless.

Also, looking at Ron Paul’s financial numbers reveals that the dude is only spending a tiny, tiny fraction of his cash. Most of his publicity seems to come from internet folks seeking to interview him, in an attempt to explain or perpetuate his demigod status on the web.

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A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With only days left until December 31, we've raised about half of our $400,000 goal—but we need a huge surge in reader support to close the remaining gap. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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