The stupendous amounts of money being spent on the presidential race have got supporters of non-front-running candidates coming up with novel ways to keep up the fight. Aficionados of Republican candidate Ron Paul have created Ron Paul Racing, a web site gathering pledges to brand a NASCAR car during this year's Daytona 500.
This line says it all: "RonPaulRacing.com will reach millions of new supporters as the RON PAUL car shoots down the front straight at 200 MPH screaming 'FREEDOM.'" The site isn't accepting donations now, merely pledges for donations. As of this writing they've collected more than $10,000, but they're looking for more, "all the way to the millions."
The site is apparently in talks with teams about branding. The '08 car belongs to Aric Almirola, but we imagine that's simply a placeholder and they don't really plan on working with the guy who ended last season with an average finishing spot of 34.5. That wouldn't send the right message, would it? If you're so inclined, head over to Ron Paul Racing and let them know you're a fan of freedom. Oh, and the site's musical accompaniment is Sammy Hagar's "I Can't Drive 55." If nothing else, we support that (where legal, of course). Thanks for the tip, scanner scott!
[Source: Ron Paul Racing]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
DKB_SATX @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:36AM
As a hardcore Libertarian in Republican clothing, Ron Paul is our best shot at getting unlimited-speed highways. Of course, he'd probably also want to dismantle what meager driver-training programs already exist in this country as well, which would lead to CARNAGE.
Brent @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:37AM
It is too bad the media picked Romney and McCain to "fight" for higher ratings.
Nick @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:42AM
Given Paul's white supremacist history, he could do well with some of the NASCARites... *rolls eyes*
VP @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:42AM
I would doubt that a upper crust team like DEI (Owner of the #8 for Almirola and not #08) would allow political messages on their car.
The more like choice is the 08 car which is one of the backmarkers and the kind of cars on whom political messages are not uncommon.
Rocketboy @ Feb 3rd 2008 11:10AM
We all know that many Southerners don't believe in evolution. So what a great market for the science-rejecting Doctor to go after.
TwinTurbo3000GT @ Feb 3rd 2008 11:45AM
by many you must mean a few??? I have lived in defferent parts of the southern US throughout my life, and i have NEVER met one person that ignorant. The only people who dont believe in evolution are dillusional elderly people like my grandma (who i must say, lived in New York her whole life).
Rocketboy @ Feb 3rd 2008 8:02PM
I'm sorry. I was just talking about all the school boards who try to take evolution out of schools just happen to be in the south.
Naa.. no creationists down there whatsoever...
Rocketboy @ Feb 3rd 2008 8:03PM
Oh, and you also sent me off point... RON PAUL doesn't believe in evolution either. Dr. Ron Paul, who does not believe in the groundwork for biological science.
mbslrm @ Feb 3rd 2008 11:29AM
Are you a doctor? If not, shut up.
DKB_STAX: The states and cities are supposed to do that, not the federal government, as per the Constitution.
DKB_SATX @ Feb 3rd 2008 12:08PM
Yes, but Dr. Paul's leanings would have him oppose mandatory driver training (and perhaps even testing?) He's not just a Federalist, if you look at all he supports he is strongly Libertarian.
Bullfrog @ Feb 3rd 2008 11:43AM
Please elaborate on this statement.
Bullfrog @ Feb 3rd 2008 11:46AM
Ah, jeez. The "reply" button isn't working.
I meant to ask "Nick" to elaborate on his statement:
"Given Paul's white supremacist history, he could do well with some of the NASCARites... *rolls eyes*"
Nick @ Feb 3rd 2008 11:47AM
Are you a doctor? If not, shut up.
I hope you aren't suggesting that belief in evolution is not connected to practicing medicine.
One doesn't need a PhD or MD to recognize the importance of evolutionary principles for modern medicine.
Nick @ Feb 3rd 2008 11:49AM
Bullfrog:
Sure. You can read about Ron Paul's newsletters and their spotted history here:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/1/8/02525/65486/712/432540
Autoblog published about alleged NASCAR antisemitism here (white supremacism was the wrong choice of words):
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/23/jewish-racer-describes-antisemitism-in-nascar/
Uncle Bo @ Feb 3rd 2008 11:56AM
The #08 car in Sprint Cup will be driven by Carl Long on a part time basis. I don't know where the Aric Almirola connection came from; he drives for a different team.
Considering how small the #08 team is, I'm sure they could work out a deal with E&M Motorsports to sponsor Carl for a few races. He's a good guy and could definitely use the money.
Having said that, anyone donating a dime to a candidate who has struggled to get over 5% of the votes in the primaries had better *really* like NASCAR racing a lot more than Paul's chances at winning a national election. Ron Paul has ZERO chance of being the Republican nominee and he's said many times he won't run as a Libertarian.
Andy @ Feb 3rd 2008 11:57AM
Agree with him or not, it's smart, involved marketing.
And maybe this is a better way to choose a president...put 'em all in cars and let 'em race it out.
Even better, a demolition derby!
SCCA_Veteran @ Feb 3rd 2008 11:59AM
Nick, are you intentionally smearing Ron Paul, or just repeating smears you've heard in the "mainstream" media? (You know, the smears that were so conveniently released the day before the New Hampshire primary?)
If you're smearing Dr. Paul on purpose, it says a lot more about you than it does about him.
If you're doing it out of ignorance, please take a look at http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=12102 for a story called "Ron Paul vs. the Dirty Tricksters: Paul-haters on the Right and the Left unite in a common cause." In it you'll discover that the source of the recent smear campaign against Ron Paul is a convicted criminal named Bill White, (a self-described white supremacist) about whom the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith says, "Along with his media savvy, White is known for spreading propaganda and lies about his perceived enemies."
One of Ron Paul's biggest heroes is Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises, a proponent of individualism, freedom and free markets. Racists like Bill White have a problem with this because in addition to being a brilliant economist, von Mises was Jewish. For his own sick and twisted reasons, a criminal racist Nazi has started a smear campaign against a decent man like Ron Paul, and thanks to this criminal's "media savvy," the "mainstream" media has swallowed it hook, line and sinker.
I know, I know...you're only on a blog like this to read about racing. But once the economy tanks and gas reaches $5.00 or $10.00 a gallon, how much racing will be going on? How many people will be able to afford to drive to a track for a NASCAR race? How many teams will have to drop out of participatory organizations like SCCA?
Ron Paul is the only candidate of any party who's telling the truth about the economy, and has a real plan to fix it. The news just came out today that the national debt is on track to reach 9 TRILLION dollars. And who holds the debt? Who holds the mortgage on America? China and the Middle East.
Our children and grandchildren will curse us for destroying their country and their futures if we don't support a return to Constitutional governance.
As soon as Ron Paul Racing gets a ride, I'll be sending them as much money as I can afford. And then some.
DKB_SATX @ Feb 3rd 2008 12:20PM
It's true that Dr. Paul has suffered a bit from the dredging up of old newsletters published in his name that he CLAIMS not to have had any control of at the time. I'd think that if he strongly disagreed with some of the hateful things in those newsletters, he would have sued those responsible to stop publication (or, at the Libertarian extreme, would've taken personal steps to stop them.) It was a political mistake he made years ago, but these sorts of campaigns dredge up the nastiest bits of history they can and portray or twist them to the ends of the campaign that found the tidbit.
I don't find it impossible to believe that Dr. Paul disagrees with the idiotic, rabid things posted in some of those old newsletters, if only because I believe he's much more intelligent than whoever wrote that crap.
I have to agree that overall he is much more honest about the state of the economy and the federal government. I don't think his opponents are as stupid as it seems, they're just playing the political game rather than telling the truth. Americans by and large don't want to HEAR the truth, they want to be told America's the greatest country ever and however we want to do it will work out fine, yadda yadda yadda.
Alas, that means Dr. Paul has little chance of winning, because the cynical political machines don't want to hear the truth either. I don't think he'd be a perfect president either, because some of his ideas on funding the government and what is and isn't important for the government to do are a bit unrealistic. It's a shame that there's no real fiscal conservative, honest, anti-war candidate out there who doesn't want to dismantle 90% of the government (I think dismantling the right 40% or so would be a better choice.)
Big Rocket @ Feb 3rd 2008 2:35PM
SCCA_Veteran: Please, do you really expect people to believe in a small-time, no-name website they never heard of? When it contradicts a well-established, mainstream website such as CNN.com?
This bullet-point summary is a verbatim quote from a CNN article:
• Ron Paul newsletters from 1990s include rants against blacks, gays
• Paul repudiates racist comments, tells CNN the material wasn't written by him
• One newsletter calls Martin Luther King Jr. a "pro-Communist philanderer"
• Another says 1992 LA riots ended after blacks went to "pick up their welfare checks"
Is anyone really that naive to think Ron Paul had absolutely nothing to do with the "Ron Paul Political Report", which published these remarks? And given this track record, does anyone think it is pure coincidence that Ron Paul's campaign is now advertising in NASCAR, which just happens to fly the confederate flag? This pattern of behavior tells me all I need to know about the kind of supporters Ron Paul's campaign is trying to reach out to.
The only candidate who's telling the truth? Get real. Ron Paul is a racist and a homophobe. As an American, I am glad he is being marginalized, as all bigotry should be.
Links:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/10/paul.newsletters/index.html?iref=topnews
http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=dw-confederateflag100906&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
M @ Feb 3rd 2008 3:40PM
Big Rocket, are you trying to tell us the mainstream media is completely fair and unbiased and that we should trust whatever they tell us? lol!
If you really spent some time and read about Paul, you would regret your ignorant claims that Paul is a racist. Because he isn't. He has a lot of support from gays and black people.