Ron Paul sets one-day fundraising record!

November 6, 2007 - Ron Paul's unconventional presidential campaign has regularly broken the mold of politics as usual and has set new records in the process. On November 5, Paul's supporters raised over $4 million - breaking the one-day record of any other Republican - and they did it by exploiting the anarchistic associations of Guy Fawkes Day and the movie V for Vendetta. Although coordinated by an independent website, the campaign has been endorsed by Paul.

Conservative commentator Joe Scarborough indicated on his MSNBC program the next morning that Ron Paul supporters were already emailing him about the record-setting fundraiser. He said, "They're crazed, they're upset because in the first 32 minutes we have not announced that Ron Paul raised a lot of dough."

"It's an old story. That's what Ron Paul does," commented co-host Willie Geist. "He's Ron Paul. It goes without saying."

Scarborough noted the significance of the Guy Fawkes tie-in, explaining, "I don't know if you saw V for Vendetta, but Guy Fawkes is a guy that tried to assassinate some king - King Henry or King George or King - James!  So I guess that's a libertarian thing to do. Try to assassinate kings. And so they had a celebration of this dastardly act."

Scarborough then showed a clip from a YouTube video in which the Vendetta-styled slogan "Remember, remember the 5th of November ... the Old Republic is showing its face" dissolves into a "Ron Paul Revolution" logo, followed by a donation appeal with another logo saying "the Republic is ... We the People."

"Kind of strange, but that's okay," Scarborough commented. "I do think it's fascinating that a guy like Ron Paul is raising the money he's raising."

Scarborough noted that there have been accusations that Paul supporters are hacking online polls to show Paul winning the Republican debates. However, he and his co-hosts agreed that whether or not Paul is actually winning the debates, he's certainly made them more interesting. "With a lot of Republican candidates trying to sound like everyone else, he's the one voice that's standing out in the crowd," commented Scarborough. "Maybe that's why he's doing well."

Scarborough then spoke to NBC News political director Chuck Todd about Paul's success, saying "4.2 million dollars, I'm told, he raised on Monday. That's an extraordinary take ... It's very impressive ..."

"In the name of a terrorist, no less," Todd broke in.

"Anybody who saw V for Vendetta would be truly frightened ... but a lot of true believers who believe in limited government and believe in Republicans talking like Republicans. That is a radical notion," Scarborough concluded.