10-18-2007, 02:58 PM
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Quote:A circus clown, diet guru, exotic dancer, monetary architect and slacker in chief: These are some of the folks that help make Rep. Ron Paul’s presidential campaign the choice of individualistic voters.
[Ron Paul]
Paul
Paul’s third-quarter financial disclosure report is sprinkled with supporters whose self-descriptions of their occupations are unusual, to say the least. Wade Talkington of Panama City, Fla., who donated $1,000 to Paul, lists his occupation as “tax slave to the Federal Govt.” Erik Hovden of Olalla, Wash., is the “Head slacker in Chg” at Simpson LLC, and housewife Pamela Schuberg of Moorpark, Calif., a $2,300 donor, lists her employer as “our children.”
Donald Cowles lists himself as self-employed and his occupation as simply “Capitalist.” On the opposite end, David Cameron of San Jose, Calif., lists his employer as “Looking for Work” and his job as “Unemployed.” Still, Cameron has given a total of $1,900 to the campaign.
Griswold Draz of Wellfleet, Mass., a $500 donor, is a self-described “curmudgeon,” and Andrew Maul of Pittsburgh, Pa., is a “Citizen Fighting Tyranny.” Others are more coy. James Harper of Vancouver, Wash., a $600 donor, offered “guess? ” as his occupation.
Starchild, a San Francisco-based escort and exotic dancer who ended up on Paul’s list as “Star Child,” contributed $300. Starchild, formerly Chris Fox, is a perennial Libertarian candidate in the Bay Area, having run unsuccessfully for district supervisor, the state assembly and the school board. Self-described monetary architect Bernard Von Nothaus, who has said Paul is the “Internet’s favorite presidential candidate,” has created a $1 Ron Paul coin and is listed in the disclosure report as giving a $2,300 in-kind contribution of coins.
Raw Food Diet activist Roger Haeske contributed $500, as has Jim Punkre, co-author of “The Fast Food Diet,” among other books. In the second quarter, self-described circus clown Eric Blair of Greeneville, Tenn., gave $2,300.
Individual donors are the backbone of Paul’s operation which has relied heavily on grassroots activism and Internet fund-raising. All told in the third quarter, Paul took in $5.3 million in contributions, all but $6,725 of which came from individuals. The campaign has set an ambitious $12 million goal for the fourth quarter, which ends Dec. 31. Since the quarter began, the campaign has raised a little over $1 million — which is monitored in real-time on the campaign’s Web site.