Guy Fawkes and a group of Roman Catholics plotted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London on Nov. 5, 1605. Since then, Nov. 5 has been known as Guy Fawkes Night.
The plot was thwarted by the authorities and the conspirators were burned in bonfires, drawn and quartered, and other forms of torture for their crimes against the government. The day has been remembered in England ever since, being celebrated with various traditions ranging from serving specific traditional foods cooked in bonfires to setting off fireworks and lighting barrels on fire in certain towns.
Well, Guy Fawke’s Night has come and gone, and with it, according to the numbers on http://www.RonPaul2008.com, a new record for online contributions set during the 2008 presidential primaries.
Mitt Romney set the old record of $3.1 million Jan. 8.
At the end of the day, Paul raised more than $4 million. Not only did he raise $4 million, but also he did so through more than 35,000 contributors. And, according to the New York Times, 21,000 of those contributors were new to the donation pool.
This day proves that Paul’s supporters are not just a small group of Internet pirates controlling Web-bot hacks that stuff straw polls to make it seem like he has a large following of individuals. Over $4 million were not fathomed or hacked together by a small group of people.
The record was broken because of a tactic Paul’s campaign refers to as a “money bomb.” Their “money bomb,” which has happened twice before but not nearly as large, is a day set aside in advance for contributors to donate in a short amount of time to make an impact in the media to show that Paul has real support.
Americans may remember the story of Guy Fawke’s Night only as a pivotal part of the movie “V for Vendetta,” which was originally a graphic novel.
The day of giving was planned out by Trevor Lymon, an independent campaign activist who created http://www.thisnovember5th.com, a Web site dedicated to the event. Several YouTube videos surfaced featuring V and Paul clips spliced together and called for donations on the fifth.
The claim that Paul’s online support has only been hackers who stack the vote as has been claimed by people like Sean Hannity at Fox News has been proven false. His support base is growing, and with it come more donations from like-minded individuals.
For V, Guy Fawke’s Night stood as the beginning of a new era in history. The awakening of a new generation of people who go against the flow of the unified political party of the dismal, alternate reality presented in that story.
For Paul in 2007, Guy Fawke’s Night will be remembered as a milestone in campaign fundraising, both for him and the 2008 election thus far. He doesn’t call for the destruction of buildings, but he does call for ending things like the federal income tax.
As for the most money ever collected by a candidate in a single day? John Kerry received $5.7 million on the day he accepted the Democratic nomination.
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