i don't get why there is so much puzzlement over ron paul's fundraising success. yeah paul is a wacko on a lot of issues, but for the most part people aren't paying attention to him because of his views on the gold standard. the thing that makes him stand out is that he's the only republican candidate who advocates a withdrawal from iraq.
iraq is still the biggest issue in this country. even though republicans support the war in much greater numbers than democrats, 35% of republicans say the war isn't worth fighting. while that's not enough to give him any chance of securing the nomination, that's still a lot of people. anti-war republicans have three choices: (1) become democrats, (2) drop out of the electoral process, or (3) support ron paul. no doubt many have opted for #1 or 2, but not everyone is willing to leave their party--quite a few republicans i know are anti-war but are unwilling to stop being republicans. so that leaves ron paul.
