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Slate is on blimp beat:
There's something perfectly Paulian about the blimp. It's a stunt, in the best sense of the term--big, memorable, and utterly silly--a lot like Ron Paul's candidacy itself, at least in the eyes of outsiders. The project isn't affiliated with the Paul campaign--FEC regulations forbid collaboration--but it does try to preserve the spirit. "We see what they're doing, and we try to fit their image," Hornal says.
I think they've succeeded.
Some acolytes see Ron Paul as the heir to Howard Dean, tactically if not ideologically. Like Deaniacs, Paulites (or, if you prefer, -tards) organize "meetups," where they can hang out and chat with like-minded politicos. Dean fans also pledged online. But Paul's clan has advanced the ball. Ideas like the money bomb and the blimp get floated on various Ron Paul forums, where they're alternately nurtured, rejected, developed, and finally acted upon. That's why it's hard for one person to take all the credit. The clown car is bigger than ever, but no one person is steering.
Another aspect of the movement's Web-based strategy is documentation. Let me rephrase that: overdocumentation. Today, every moment--every conversation, every quip, every striking vista--is being recorded. Everyone has a camera pointed at everyone else. It's like the last scene from Reservoir Dogs, but with photographers.
My favorite Ron Paul video is this Launch of the Ron Paul Blimp. The soundtrack, appropriately, sounds sort of like "The Ride of the Valkyries" played on a farfisa organ.
What they lack in organizational structure, they certainly make up for in style.
(h/t Eli)
Tagged as: ron paul
Jane Hamsher is the founder of FireDogLake. Her work has also appeared on the Huffington Post, Alternet and The American Prospect.
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