Reuters reports:Co-founders of online U.S. payment service PayPal, now owned by eBay Inc, donated to the Super PAC funding group supporting Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, the group Endorse Liberty disclosed on Tuesday.
PayPal co-founders Peter Thiel and Luke Nosek and Scott Banister, an early adviser and board member, put their support behind the Endorse Liberty Super PAC, alongside Internet advertising veteran Stephen Oskoui and entrepreneur Jeffrey Harmon, who founded Endorse Liberty in November.
Texas congressman Ron Paul, a libertarian, has been an unconventional candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, advocating an isolationist brand of foreign policy [Seriously, Reuters? It's going to be like that? -WEM] and a $1 trillion cut in the U.S. government's budget.
"Too often in this country we learn things the hard way ... With its unsustainable deficits, government spending is heading down the same path. Men and women who want freedom and growth should take action. A good place to start is voting for Ron Paul," Thiel said in a statement.
Reader Dan writes to ask:
Wes,
I came across your page several months ago on a rabbit trail related to Ron Paul. I now visited it daily! Thanks for all the work you do. My question is about Ron Paul and business support. I just saw this article about a super pac supporting him
http://news.yahoo.com/paypal-co-founders-fund-pro-paul-super-pac-173708914.html
This is great news, but I wonder why more businesses and industries don't publicly support him. I mean with his plan to lower taxes and regulations, why aren't businesses lining up to endorse him? Is it because all businessmen are Keynesians and they don't know what is good for them? Is it because the business world in America is used to the safety net of the taxpayer bailout? I am seriously at a loss. I was wondering if you had any thoughts or had seen any articles related to this topic.
Thanks again for all you do.
-dan
Why are major contributions from exceptionally wealthy individuals and businesses so rare for Ron Paul? You definitely have the right idea, Dan. We're lucky that the PayPal founders happen to be so enlightened about politics, but most wealthy companies and individuals have a vested interest in protecting the status quo, using their wealth and connections to lobby for profits instead of create them, and erecting barriers to entry for new competitors. That's why the average donation size for Mitt Romney (and Rick Perry, before he dropped out) is so high while the average donation size for Ron Paul is very embarrassingly (to the other candidates, I mean) low. Thanks for reading my blog!
Wes Messamore,
Editor in Chief, THL
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