Ron Paul's Online Gambling Campaign

Up until now we’ve seen Hillary Clinton using extensively the internet for fundraising campaigns such as the YouTube Howard Dean's campaign video from the last Presidential campaign or the Mike Gravel responds to campaign finance question video. Now the veteran Republican Texas Congressman and current Presidential candidate Ron Paul offers a new twist to the relationship between Presidential candidates and the internet

Through its online campaign the congressman defends online gambling and one must know that he is of the few republicans who have objected to the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which was included in the Port Security Act

Paul aims to raise $12 million for the final quarter of 2007 through its online campaign to support his campaign of raising enough votes against the UIGEA legislation. The gambling community seems to respond well to his online campaign and there were also respectable amounts of money donated for this cause. However we need to wait and see if his online popularity will also translate in real votes though his candidacy and his message both cannot be disregarded.

Barack Obama, who is known to be a poker player, has not spoke about online gambling and the US online gambling ban during his campaign. For that alone Paul deserves our vote even if the ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent and the host of Sunday morning news show This Week said during an interview that Paul would not win.