Guy Fawkes for President, ‘08?
November 5th, 2007 – 12:19 PM by Bob von SternbergIn one of the more bizarre juxtapositions of the 2008 presidential campaign, Republican candidate Ron Paul is (indirectly, at least) lashing his surging fundraising success to the anti-monarchical sentiments of Guy Fawkes Day (that would be today, Nov. 5) and a
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dystopian movie about a latter-day Fawkes who leads the overthrow of a totalitarian British government in the near future.
Got that?
Some explanation is in order. November 5 has long been commemorated in Great Britain as the day Fawkes planned to blow up parliament and the king in 1605. A couple of years ago, the movie ”V for Vendetta” leveraged that historical event into a future England, where the hero, wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, picks up where the original left off. If you watch the clip, you’ll notice paens to Paul superimposed on it. (It also contains one of the movie’s bumper-sticker slogans: “People should not be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.”)
Paul’s supporters (without the formal support of the candidate) took the movie’s signature line — “Remember, remember the 5th of November” — as a fundraising call to arms, asking supporters to donate $100 that would contribute to Paul’s surprising fundraising success. Here’s their website, including a video of Paul addressing supporters, saying, in part, “If Nov. 5 really works out well, they really WILL remember the 5th of November.” As of midday, contributions had surpassed $1.6 million.
Oddly enough, Guy Fawkes Day also has been adopted by some 9/11 conspiracy types. One sent supporters an e-mail today. One called “V for Vendetta” an allegory for 9/11, celebrating rebellion against a fascist regime that had established itself by a huge false-flag terror attack blamed on Muslims.”
UPDATE, 11/6: Paul hauled in more than $4.2 million, all of it online, from 37,000 donors.
4 Responses to "Guy Fawkes for President, ‘08?"
Hey, I saw that movie! It’s based on a comic book.
It’s kind of funny, because celebration of Guy Fawkes day in England is based on the notion that “using a bomb to blow up the government” has is “bad thing”–and capturing the guy who tried to do it (before he could do it) was a “good thing.”
But apparently the kind of person who supports Ron Paul now believes that “blowing up the legislature” might be a “good thing.” Personally, I don’t see much future in such a platform. We’re looking for people who can pull the government out of its seven year tailspin without starting another civil war here at home. But you can’t stop these “Turner Diaries” types from dreaming, I guess…
The US government is a 9/11 conspiracy type, they have a theory that Al Qaeda did it. Then they had the conspiracy theory that Al Qaeda was in Iraq with weapons of mass destruction. If you are going to use labels and name-calling, then it would be only fair to describe all 9/11 conspiracy types in exactly the same way.
Hey Bill….
Generalize much?
The fact the the 9-11 truth crowd is draw to Paul does not invalidate Paul’s ideas. Many groups that have become disenfranchised by the current system are looking at Paul as the person most likely to allow peaceful dissent without the censorship that has become the standard for both parties. The fact that he is know for speaking honestly also gives the conspiracy theorists hope that if elected Paul would reveal the hidden secrets the believe exist.
The fact that the current front runners for the presidential nominations of both parties supported the invasion of Iraq causing the deaths of thousands of Americans, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis while wasting what will be trillions of dollars creates the perfect conditions for conspiracy theories to flourish. I mean, if the powers that be from both parties were willing to invade Iraq with all of it’s consequences knocking down a couple buildings in New York doesn’t seem so ridiculous, no matter if it isn’t true.