Ron Paul Revolution 2012!

 I am one of the biggest Ron Paul fans around, so imagine my delight when I found out Saturday that he had won the California straw poll by a landslide.

He captured 45 percent of the vote and beat the second place candidate, Rick Perry, by more than 100 votes.

This vote also coincides with Paul’s “Constitution Day Money Bomb 2011.” Paul was able to raise over $900,000 in the wake of his straw poll win, a big step for his campaign.

I was so excited that my candidate was finally receiving some long overdue attention.

I even heard the news on CNN, a network that had previously ignored Paul as a candidate completely.

Unfortunately, the comments at the bottom of most of the articles on Paul’s win dampened my spirits.

While I know the implications of winning any straw poll are actually quite small, I had hoped that this time it would be a reflection of a growing Paul fan base within his own party.

However, each article I read denoted that Republican leaders stayed far away from all Paul speeches, choosing instead the less controversial Perry and Romney.

The comments also suggested otherwise.

A lot of readers made claims that without shelling out a reported $25,000 for the California Straw Poll, Paul never could have won.

Straw polls are a circus-type gathering where attendees often cast votes based on the candidate who gave them the most free swag.

Campaigns pay to bus in their supporters and usually pay each attendee a fee.

Even though he carried almost 45 percent of the vote, straw polls are nothing more than a fundraiser that candidates must pay to be a part of.

As much as I hate to agree with some of these Ron Paul haters, I have to take their side and admit that the California Straw

Poll is a joke. Who wouldn’t vote for a candidate that paid them?

A straw poll has no predictive value and honestly, seems to be a waste of time.

Supposedly, straw polls are taken to promote dialogue between large groups, reflect trends, and in the case of politics, get a candidate’s name out to the media.

Though this straw poll may have succeeded in making the media pay attention to Paul for the moment, I’m afraid that may be the most he can hope for out of it.

Ashley Withers is a senior majoring in journalism. She currently serves as the editor in chief for The Daily Campus. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].