John Ward internet as agent of change., revolution, Ron Paul, Tea Party, Toby Harnden

Whether you like the Tea Party or not, its origins should be worthy of your attention.

Ron Paul….who he?

Why the Tea Party vindicates The Slog’s belief in internet-based change.


A Daily Telegraph piece by Toby Harnden yesterday made yet another plea for the Tea Party to be taken seriously. Personally, I think of it – on close examination – as a parochial, mean, and jingoistic crew of confused and disorganised white folks. Therefore, I cannot take it seriously….other than as a threat to serious American politics.

But for those of us in the UK, the Tea Party phenomenon does offer us a striking example of how the internet can completely destabilise an undemocratic elite.

The Tea Party movement started in 2007 as an internet revolution in favour of the now relatively obscure Presidential candidate Ron Paul. Virtually all Ron Paul’s funding was the result of spontaneous internet marketing, and creative use of very limited funds.

During the Autumn of that year, Mr Paul was the most successful Republican fundraiser, bringing in approximately $20 million. He also received the most money from the armed services of any candidate – and, out of all the Republican candidates, he had the most support from black Americans. Ron Paul’s campaign twice set the standard for receiving the most money received via the Internet in a single day by any Presidential candidate in American history.

From my perspective, Ron Paul lies somewhere several light years to the right of Arnie Torchanigger. But setting that aside, from a standing start and with no organisation, Paul’s example has spawned the only serious threat to the USA’s two-Party system since Teddy Roosevelt.

In my last post, The Slog tried to show how reform of the voting system could instantly transform our political system. And since before The Slog was born, I’ve been banging on about how the Net offers us a completely different political future: genuinely representative, and able to hold our politicians to account more than any existing medium saddled with a self-perpetuating proprietorial agenda.

We really do need to take this on board. An internet-funded and driven campaign for real voting change NOW is far more likely to be a game-changer than the busted flush formerly known as Nick Clegg.