Pubdate: Tue, 17 Jul 2007
Source: Brazosports Facts, The (TX)
Copyright: 2007 The Facts
Contact:  http://www.thefacts.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1406
Author: John Tompkins

MARIJUANA ADVOCATES, ENGINEERS BACKING PAUL

A quick look at the list of  those who have donated to presidential
hopeful  Congressman Ron Paul shows a diverse mix of people,
including several engineers and investment firms and  some who support
the legalization of marijuana.

Most all of the donors, listed at www.opensecrets.org,  are private
individuals backing the campaign of the  Lake Jackson Republican, said
Kent Snyder, Paul's  campaign manager.

Paul has been a successful fund raiser, getting many  donations via
the Internet from private individuals,  Snyder said.

So far, Paul has about $2.4 million cash available to  spend in his
campaign, which is more than mainstream  candidate Sen. John McCain,
R-Arizona, Snyder said.

McCain has made several changes to his campaign staff  and spent too
much, which is a mistake this early in  the campaign, Snyder said.

"Dr. Paul is a frugal spender," he said.

One of Paul's donors is the executive director of the  Marijuana
Policy Project, a Washington, D.C.-based  organization that backs the
legalization of marijuana.  The group's Web site claims it has 20,000
dues-paying  members.

The $2,300 was not made on the organization's behalf,  but by the
group's director as a private individual,  said Dan Bernath, the
group's assistant director of  communications. Even so, the group
still backs Paul for  president, he said.

"This one's easy for us," he said. "We really need more  people in
politics with the courage like Ron Paul."

Though Paul himself does not use the drug, he has  always had a
problem with the nation's stance on  marijuana and favors legalizing
it because citizens  should have the right to choose, Snyder said.

"It really doesn't work," Snyder said of the current  system. "He's
voted time and time again for legalizing  medical marijuana."

Much of the campaign's unexpected success has been  Paul's message
being dispersed on the Internet, Snyder  said.

On Friday, Paul and his campaign were at an auditorium  on the campus
for Google Inc., which runs one of the  most widely used search
engines on the Internet. The  crowd was standing-room only, Snyder
said.

"It's fascinating to see all these young people," he  said. "His
popularity is being driven by the Internet."

Many of Paul's donations come from Internet users and  those who work
on it, which likely accounts for the  engineers donating to his
campaign, Snyder said.

His campaign also is drawing those who yearn for the  more traditional
view of conservatism, such as limited  government spending and
intrusion into private lives,  said Richard Martin, owner of Bitmax
LLC, a digital  video service based in Hollywood.

"I've been a fan of Dr. Paul for a long time," said  Martin, who also
donated $2,300 to Paul's campaign.

Paul reminds him a lot of Ronald Reagan, who championed  the cause of
limited government, he said.

"I've not been happy with the direction the Republican  Party has
taken," Martin said. "This is the first time  I've ever donated to a
campaign."
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MAP posted-by: Derek