Jay Reding is quite right, so it would only be 75-95% (depending on poll) of the 75% – still a majority. Given the desparate attempts to stop Ron Paul from becoming well known, this is significant so early in the campaign.

Sorry, but the polls are right. Ron Paul supporters are about 1-2% of the electorate at best. Now, that’s still probably a few million people, but in politics, that just doesn’t cut it.

The idea that everyone’s on the Paul bandwagon is another aspect of the amplification effect — specifically incestuous amplification. A candidate who assumes that everyone secretly supports him (or her) isn’t going to do what’s necessary to actually earn that support — and those candidates tend to lose.

I can almost guarantee you his main demographic is from people like me in their 20 to 40s that have taken the time to investigate him via the internet. His name recognition will stay low unless people inspired by him convince others that they are not wasting their vote (which is hard to do).

The substance of his issues is powerful to me and I’m a Republican. He is for border enforcement He is pro-life although he thinks it is a states issue which is a great compromise. He is for reducing our national debt via smaller government. Our national debt is going to eat our lunch some day. You cannot borrow forever.

Regarding radical Islam, I wish he was not such an isolationist but I can look past that because we need to solve security issues within our country first. It makes no sense to secure Iraq’s borders if we cannot secure our own.

He also has integrity and is a good man. I know where he stands. I know he understands the economic problems that people in the lower to middle class face. I know he is not some schmuck like Giuliani or he is so elitist that he does not even need the presidential salary such as Romney.

… so maybe there is something to these numbers…

It is time for someone to prove these stupid premises. 75% of Americans are now online. Perhaps Ron Paul’s little band of supporters is 75% of Americans.

Of course, that assumes that every American online supports Ron Paul… which is preposterous.

It is time for someone to prove these stupid premises. 75% of Americans are now online. Perhaps Ron Paul’s little band of supporters is 75% of Americans.

I think the people he is annoying are those already committed to one of the other candidates, not the ones still looking for a candidate to support.

I like Ron Paul whether he is a viable candidate or not. I laugh at such a consideration.

However, he might very well be a viable condidate. Over and over again I see the same pattern among folks of many dispositions: A typical Ron Paul supporter sees something primary in the fundamental Ron Paul ideals. The Paul supporter agrees with most of his positions. The Paul supporter sees Ron Paul as being frank and self-controlled in those postions in which the supporter does not agree. This pattern might make Paul the choice for a majority of Americans and thus a good Republican nominee.

Contributions might be an indicator. Ron Paul’s campaign got only a half million in the first quarter. It seems to have received a tenth of a million by morning after the Rudy-Ron snit. Recent estimates of cumulative donations range from 2.5 million to 4 or 5 million.

What is the population of the Ron Paul growth? Online indicators are steadily growing, there is plateau seen yet.

Each person can speak, can contribute, can sport a bumper sticker. That is individual action. Out of that grows emergence and collaboration. This emergence is the natural and default explanation for online popularity.

He IS the man everyone thinks he is. We all want to see an end to ALL WARS, because they do not work. Period.

So I think his online support is real, tangible and growing and a reflection of what’s happening off-line, he has even had an exponential increase in donations approaching $5million — I doubt those are spammers.

His supporters know that he is not just about stopping the war in Iraq and legalizing drugs and besides it’s not that cut and dry. People don’t get annoyed when they get “spammed” about Ron Paul as you put it; instead it resonates with them deeply because the guy is spreading a liberating message of freedom and peace and inspiring people by being positive about the power of the American people to do the right thing, create wealth and make America great when left alone without government interference in every facet of their lives. That’s what America used to be about!

On the other hand, neo-cons and supporters like Guilliani, McCain and the others don’t have anything positive or inspirational to offer. They only offer fear, more US debt and possibly a pre-emptive nuclear confrontation. Who wants that? If it was necessary fine; but we are quaking in our boots because of Iran: a nation that does not have a credible millitary capability to speak of and does not threaten our national security in anyway.

We didn’t resort to this sort of out of control fear mongering when the Soviets targetted us with 40,000 nukes at the height of the Cold War.

All of this is why i’ve been turned onto Ron Paul by those online “spammers” of his and will be voting for him all the way to the presidency. Go Ron Paul!

Full disclosure: — My name is Michael, I am not a spammer, a bot or something else in between. I am a Ron Paul supporter and a believer in freedom, peace and justice.

Ron Paul stands for small government, lower taxes, and individual rights. He is clearly not a progressive in the left wing sense of the word, and that is precisely why he is so appealing. In my opinion, most Americans are craving fiscal conservatism and social liberalism and the online community has embraced him for his small government views. I don’t agree with his stance on abortion or immigration, but I agree with him philisophically, that the federal government has limited powers. The federal government is out of control and ruining this country by subverting the individualistic, freedom-loving culture that has made us so strong in the past.