Ron Paul's Law of Success
When the last Presidential campaign season was going strong, before the first vote was cast in the primaries, a legend was being born. Ron Paul, Texas congressman and presidential long shot had done something most candidates only dreamed of at the time. He utilized the Internet to start off a national groundswell of support. From funding to rallies, Paul organized countless supporters in a virtual political world where his name was on everyone’s lips, and his long shot grew ever closer. But as the polls drew near, the question that was asked time and again was, could Paul convert the new grassroots of the Internet into an offline support strong enough to equal a real chance at the top seat.
It’s a question that’s always brought speculation from those who study the dynamics of the Internet. What’s easy to get behind in the comfort and anonymity of one’s own home does not necessarily equate to the same level of activity outside chat rooms and web forums. Paul’s support was strong, but was it real? There were the faithful supporters, who talked loudly, and long, spreading the gospel of Ron Paul far and wide. But though the reach was far-flung, their number was still quite small and not much weight at the ballot box. Then there were those who supported in theory but not in practice. These were the second line of attack via Internet voice. Larger than the hardcore supporters, they could bend a discussion into Paul’s favor, but the support often ended with the flick of the off switch on their computers, and again meant few numbers at the polls. Ron Paul had the voices of support, he raised significant funds online, but outside the network, the numbers just would not hold up.
The effect of Ron Paul’s grassroots campaign is a perfect model of the ideas put forth in Napoleon Hill’s book, The Law of Success. One of the ideas was that of the Master Mind, something much like the synergy you get when a disparate group comes together to achieve a common goal. Paul’s supporters were never very organized, they simply came together as one, banding as a group wherever they met in cyberspace in order to promote the man they felt should be president. It would seem at first that a grassroots Internet effort in support of a candidate can only go so far. It works from a name recognition approach, and may lead to fundraising opportunities, but from there it’s up to the candidate to sell himself further. In this Ron Paul failed, but other candidates took up the challenge, and succeeded. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama had vast amounts of online support that came through at the polls. And in future, there will be other occurrences of this particular law of success. When people meet, and work together in harmony, something great can be born in the efforts. In politics it’s a beginning, and for those who come after him, Paul’s grassroots of the Internet serves as a blueprint for a new style of political activism very much meant for the Internet age.