Grass roots 'big ace' in Ron Paul's White House bid

WASHINGTON -- Ron Paul joked during Wednesday's Republican debate that so much money is pouring into his campaign from the Internet that he's "struggling to figure out how to spend" it all.

The Texas congressman can thank Trevor Lyman for a chunk of that cash.

Lyman, a Miami Beach online music promoter, is guiding an Internet fundraising drive that he says could well push Paul past his $12 million fourth-quarter fundraising goal by the weekend — a full month ahead of schedule.

Paul had raised more than $9.7 million as of Thursday afternoon, according to his website. Campaign spokesman Jesse Benton said Paul hasn't had any contact with Lyman and is not coordinating with him. The money "has been spontaneously raised," Benton said. "The grass roots are our big ace in the hole."

Earlier this month, Lyman helped orchestrate an online effort that collected $4.2 million in a single day for the 10-term congressman. The one-day take surpassed the $2.7 million that Democrat John Kerry, his party's presidential nominee, raised two days after the Super Tuesday primaries in 2004.

Lyman, 37, has never voted, much less donated to a politician before this year. He said he was drawn to Paul because of the congressman's anti-war stance. Paul is the only GOP candidate calling for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

"He had the foresight to vote against the war from the beginning," Lyman said.

Lyman is collecting campaign pledges at www.rudysreadinglist.com, a reference to Paul's rival Rudy Giuliani. Paul and Giuliani sparred at a May 15 debate over Paul's contention that U.S. policy in the Middle East sparked the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The goal of the latest fundraising drive, Lyman said, is to help Paul promote his candidacy in early states such New Hampshire, where the congressman is spending $1.1 million in television advertising and is now fourth in state polls. Paul, however, remains in the single digits in national polls, according to data compiled by Real Clear Politics, an online political clearinghouse.