December 7, 2007
Ron Paul Blimp Headed to D.C. Monday
Libertarian-leaning Republican presidential candidate and hero of the Internets Ron Paul has gotten himself a blimp, and it's headed this way. According to a just-released flight plan, the blimp, which will read "Who is Ron Paul? Google Ron Paul" on one side and "Ron Paul Revolution" on the other, will launch from Elizabeth City, N.C., Monday and flyover Washington circa 3 p.m. the same day, with a rally planned for 4 p.m. and another re-launch rally the next day. The 240,000-cubic-foot zeppelin will then make a 300-mile-per-day journey up the East Coast, with stops in New York, Boston and New Hampshire.
The legality of this high flying venture seems dubious at best. First of all, Paul's zealous supporters have set up a for-profit corporation called Liberty Political Advertising LLC to raise money for the blimp in an effort to skirt campaign contribution laws. Individuals are limited by law to giving $2,300 to a presidential campaign, but RonPaulBlimp.com is encouraging people to donate anywhere from $10 to $1 million in support of the blimp advertising campaign. Not to mention, we have a hard time believing the blimp has been cleared to enter restricted Washington, D.C. airspace.
Nevertheless, it'll be interesting to see if Paul supporters can get this blimp trip off the ground, so keep an eye out on the skyline on Monday afternoon.
Image courtesy Liberty Political Advertising
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"Google Ron Paul"?
Can Google sue?
Ron Paul doesn't believe in the FAA; therefore, he can fly wherever the flip he wants. Now get off his property!
the verb "google" is in Webster's dictionary, so no.
Thanks for the heads-up so I can head out of town that day, to avoid the possibility of this blimp crashing into my apartment building after being shot down by fighter jets.
Environmentalists will be pleased to know that Ron Paul's blimp is green indeed, as it's powered entirely by crazy.
HCE, there are other reasons to avoid the blimp. Hasn't anyone seen Black Sunday?
Speaking of Google... if you want to know about Ron Paul's ideas, check out the Candidate@Google video on youtube. Very informative if you have some time to kill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCM_wQy4YVg
Ron Paul: The white supremacists love him!
http://www.stormfront.org/forum/showthread.php/ron-paul-revolution-roy-beck-388512.html
http://www.whitecivilrights.com/
Note that the company is being advised by Brad Smith, former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission and long-time opponent of restrictions on political speech, so they're well advised on the legality of the operation.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1207/7245.html
Just because a word is in the dictionary doesn't mean you can infringe a trademark. Yes, Google could sue if the Ron Paul people didn't get permission, but Google wouldn't because they care about ad revenue, not branding.
This can only end badly.
Brad Smith, eh? Well, he probably knows something about campaign finance restrictions, but that doesn't mean he necessarily respects them.
"We are happy that Pontiac has featured Google search in their television ad campaign. This is evidence that mainstream brand advertisers are increasingly realizing the close relationship between broadcast advertising and search usage."
I guess if anyone really cared, this could be an opportunity for Giuliani or Romney, etc., to buy google keyword ads for searches on "Ron Paul."
Ladies and gentlemen--Ron Paul has officially jumped the shark.
voteprime: So Ron Paul is a Pontiac? I've been told that he's not Mein Führer's Oldsmobile, but a Pontiac?
Technically, if the Paultards wanted to be legally correct, trademarkwise, they'd say 'Search for Ron Paul using the Google Search Engine.' But I have a feeling that would just look funny.
More like Republican-leaning Libertarian candidate.
Elizabeth City, now, that's my old stomping grounds. Used to try to sneak into the blimp base too. Why must Ron Paul succeed where I have failed?
I hope it doesn't try to land at Lakehurst!
Please understand, we (citizens) bought Dr. Paul the blimp, it has nothing to do with his campaign. I never understand why people use so much 'crazy' negativity to attack him.
I think it's really hard for people to do the research, find the unbiased *wink* information that is freely available, then formulate on opinion. You might have had a misconception or two about certain things...imagine that!
Much easier to take sides, play favorites and such.
I think the hidden message in his campaign slogan is to evolve, which is very hard for a lot of people to do. I know personally if I thought now like I did 10 years ago that would be very well...disappointing.
Does it take 10 years? No, sometimes, it can take 1 day.
Good Luck.
T