Ron Paul Sets Fundraising Record

Ron Paul set the new high water mark for fundraising in one day for the Republican candidates--he pulled in $4.2 million yesterday online. Yesterday was Guy Fawkes day, a big day for Protestants in Britain:

Fawkes was a British mercenary who failed in his attempt to kill King James I on Nov. 5, 1605. He also was the model for the protagonist in the movie V for Vendetta. Paul backers motivated donors on the Internet with mashed-up clips of the film on the online video site YouTube as well as the Guy Fawkes Day refrain: "Remember, remember the 5th of November."

Here's Steven Stark's reaction:

Paul is still terribly unlikely to do well at all in the race for the GOP nomination. But to the extent he gets any votes, he probably gets at least some of them at the expense of John McCain -- another candidate with appeal to independents. This is especially true in New Hampshire -- a state with some libertarian leanings -- and a state in which McCain must either finish near the top or end his candidacy. The long-term significance of yesterday is that Paul has now shown enough grass roots financial support that he can think about a credible third-party candidacy -- something he already tried 20 years ago as a libertarian. As we've written before, virtually any third-party candidacy in 2008 helps the Democrats. The more support Paul attracts, the better Hillary's general election chances look.

Intriguing, but I don't see Paul going third party. He's had such a great forum as a Republican, going to all these debates. If did the Libertarian Party route again, that could be an interesting scenario, with perhaps Bloomberg even being added to the mix, but Stark is right, it would seal a Democratic victory.