January 16, 2008

Tin Foil Hat Alert: Paypal Messes With Ron Paul Campaign

Duncan Riley

67 comments »

ronpaul.jpgPaypal has suspended an account belonging to a Ron Paul supporters group resulting in the groups inability to pay for a recount in New Hampshire.

The Granny Warriors had fund raised the $55,600 required to be lodged with the New Hampshire Secretary of State yesterday but had their account suspended by Paypal at the last minute. The inability to access the funds resulted in a missed deadline and no GOP recount in New Hampshire.

Ron Paul support groups are urging Paul followers to contact Paypal directly to protest the decision.

We don’t have word from Paypal as to why they suspended the account, but what ever the reason we know they’ll regret it as their mail servers are inundated by a group of people who pursue their support of Paul with unprecedented zealotry.

See Ron Paul’s stance of tech issues at TechCrunch Tech President Primaries here, and our July 2007 write-up of the Ron Paul online campaign here.

(via Ron Paul War Room)

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  1. RONLG

    It’s all a conspiracy.

    :x

  2. sodapop

    Isn’t interfering with an election a crime?

  3. Technicle

    The ugly side of net dependency.

  4. Adrian Keys

    I must take a closer look at this guy. Would not want to know that there is a good reason to be caught up in all this zealotry that I am missing.

  5. John-Ross Cromer

    Perhaps its an appropriate time for everyone to start FOTCB!

  6. Mr. Stanley Russell Dudek

    I’ll never use PayPal again, now.
    I’ve been a supporter of Ron Paul since last summer, I’m glad you are covering this.

    Contact PayPal via https://investor.shareholder.com/paypal/contactus.cfm and voice your grievances.

  7. someone special

    Paypal rocks!

  8. Jeff

    Corporations looking out for corporations? Say it isn’t so! Canceling my paypal account!

  9. Troll

    politics is so dirty

  10. George

    @Mr. Stanley Russell Dudek, @Jeff : Yeah, because there’s absolutely no possible way that the group could actually have violated a PayPal policy or use guideline. It’s unthinkable that the suspension could be legitimate.

  11. Rojer

    It’s interesting to see these coordinated media attacks against Dr. Paul. They seem to come in waves. Check out the NY times article:

    http://politics.nytimes.com/el.....dex.html#1

    Where is Dr. Paul among the candidates? The strategy of these guys appears to be to smear Dr. Paul with accusations of racism, exclude him from media coverage, call his views “fringe” and call his supporters “crazy.”

    It seems that many in the media have a real fight to pick with Dr. Paul. Are they scared that their vested interests may be in danger by his rising popularity?

  12. Marta

    http://www.dailypaul.com/node/26500

  13. Roy

    @11: I might like Ron Paul, but calling him “Dr. Paul” all the time makes you zealots stand more than if you were glowing like a genetically modified cat at a black light rave.

    Oh, and here’s to hoping you guys pull it off. I can’t vote in your primary in my state, but I’ll be there if he gets nominated.

  14. Don

    PayPal now belongs to ebay.
    Complain to Margaret Whitman ebay’s CEO
    If you do a FOX style boycott…
    Ebay has interests in:
    Paypal (owns)
    Shopping.com (owns)
    Skype (owns)
    Kijiji (owns)
    Craigslist (25%)
    Chinese auctioneer Tom Online (unspecified)
    I’m sure there’s more
    This should put a dent in her 1.4 Billion
    (Forbes 400 ranking 361)
    Source, Forbes 400 October 8, 2007 pages 316-317

  15. John Ramey

    Interesting note: Peter Thiel, Co-founder and former CEO of PayPal, has endorsed Dr. Paul for President. (via http://www.ronpaul2008.com)

  16. Mr. Stanley Russell Dudek

    @ Marta:
    http://www.dailypaul.com/node/26500 = Recount is on?

  17. Justin

    The recount DID go trough, because a hero gave them the $$ cash until they get their money back from paypal. So lets all say it together: FUCK YOU PAYPAL, IT DIDNT WORK!!!

  18. darjen

    These problems with paypal are typical.

    http://www.paypalsucks.com

  19. huck

    oh.. it’s a conspiracy alright. Especially since the former CEO of PayPal has endorsed Ron Paul. http://people.ronpaul2008.com/.....ter-thiel/
    Doh!
    It was just a highly motivated state agency (setting an arbitrary deadline of having funds in hand) and some poor planning. If granny warriors had let PayPal know they were about to take in $56 large in 24hrs in small donations and then yank it out the account would not have been frozen.

    Now.. it does make you wonder why the state would be SO against a recount.. ? Why wait to tell them the fee would be $56k and then give them 24hrs to come up with the cash.. then not let them turn the money in 15mins past the deadline when they knew a 3rd party was at fault for the delay?

  20. James Thomas

    I already cancelled my paypal account for a different reason… the day after I opened it!

    I opened a business account and they ran a personal credit check on me. My business is a legal entity and has it’s own credit.

  21. MobileKick

    Didn’t they know paypal closes your account if you have over 50k in it… This isn’t the first time this has happened.

  22. Derek

    Ron Paul is a terrible candidate. Irrelevant, but I just wanted it out there.

    Look at his stances on issues other than the internet and it is quite mind-numbing.

  23. Michele

    #22 yeah I agree that dirty Ron Paul.

    Just Look at his disgraceful record!

    Brief Overview of Congressman Paul’s Record:

    He has never voted to raise taxes.
    He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
    He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
    He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
    He has never taken a government-paid junket.
    He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

    He voted against the Patriot Act.
    He voted against regulating the Internet.
    He voted against the Iraq war.

    He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
    He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

    Congressman Paul introduces numerous pieces of substantive legislation each year, probably more than any single member of Congress.

  24. Stryder

    Derek, What is so “mind-numbing?”

    The thing that is ” mind-numbing ” to me is the way we are heading and not 1 candidate ( other than Paul ) has a logical solution to things. The fact that you might think his stance is crazy when all it is is the traditional way of running a country according to the constitution…Constitution? Wait a minute, that paper is so old, right? lol

    I’m glad this is out in the open and I hope it gets onto the MSM, even though that is a longshot because those corporate s.o.b’s are for favoring Clinton or CFR affiliates. Follow the money people, then you’ll see who is real and phony.

  25. JJ

    Is Google striking at this?:

    http://googlecheckout.blogspot.....tions.html

  26. Richard Wicks

    > Ron Paul is a terrible candidate. Irrelevant, but I just wanted it out there.
    >
    > Look at his stances on issues other than the internet and it is quite
    > mind-numbing.

    Derick, I’ve known about Paul for the last 5 years, and was one of the (probably) thousands of people that asked him to run for the presidency in 2008.

    What’s mind numbing is the vacuousness of this electorate. Take yourself for example, you list no examples, you show no reasoning, you just present an opinion as fact, with no support.

    Let me tell you what the country is in for under the next 4 years regardless of who is president. We’re going to see massive foreclosures, you’re going to see banks collapse and/or be bailed out. The dollar is going to continue to deprecate, and gold and silver will still rise even at these dizzying heights. Why?

    Because we’re at the end of military keynesianism. We cannot “grow” anymore by creating more military junk for “employment”, and we cannot get foreigners to finance any more expenditures.

    What candidate will discuss what situation we’re actually in? None, except Paul. The less dependency we have on the Federal government when things really start to implode, the better it will be for all of us.

  27. Chris

    COuld the fact that he is a medical doctor be the reason we refer to him as Dr. Paul.

    Kind of like when you leave office of President you still retain the title.

    Isn’t Paypal owned by a company that is owned by FLIP ROMNEY??

  28. EileenMac

    In response to some of the above:

    ROY, it is common practice and courtesy to call someone by their degree title, instead of MR or MRS or MS. Check out any English grammar or business letter writing formats for confirmation. The other option is to call him “Congressman Paul”. Note: Congressman Frist, who is also a medical doctor was often called “Dr. Frist”;

    HUCK: As you said, Peter Thiel is a FORMER ceo of Paypal…so obviously his opinion doesnt matter anymore. Wonder where Margaret Whitman’s political sentiments lie?

  29. Marcvs

    The freeze is over with. The recount is paid for.

    http://grannywarrior.grannywar.....om/recount

  30. Chris

    They should have used Google Checkout (https://checkout.google.com), they could have saved all those fees (Google Checkout has free fees until this end of month, free for Charity always) and wouldn’t have to go through all this mess.

  31. Mr. Stanley Russell Dudek

    @ JJ:

    ” Wednesday, January 16, 2008
    Posted by Prem Ramaswami, Product Manager

    More and more citizens are making political contributions online, and the newly launched Google Checkout for Political Contributions is an easy and fast way for candidates to collect contributions from supporters and build new online communities by enabling supporters to embed Checkout contribution buttons on their websites, blogs, and social network profiles. If you happen to be running for national office, there’s more information (and a quick process to get started) here. We hope this initiative helps bring regular citizens one step closer to the political process.”

    Coincidence… OR
    Google Capitalizes on PayPal’s mistakes.

    Either way…

  32. RPV

    George, has Websters removed your photo next to the word “ignorant” yet?

    Roy, I heard they were going to replace George’s photo with yours.

    Derek, Websters are desperately trying to contact you for permission to use your photo next to the term “sheeple”.

  33. Chad

    When did paypal ever regret any of their stupid decisions?

  34. Michael Oldenburg

    The limitation on the account associated with The Granny Warriors has been lifted, and the funds are now available for withdrawal. In situations like this, when large sums of money are being exited from an account, PayPal is legally obligated to gather more information. This protects both the account holder and those that donated funds to the account. We sincerely apologize to the Ron Paul campaign and The Granny Warriors for any inconvenience that issue may have caused.

    -Michael Oldenburg
    PayPal Corporate Communications

  35. Rob

    PayPal suspending an account for no real reason? I haven’t heard that one before.

    PayPal’s tactics suck donkey dick.

  36. Augusto of Spain

    Is the american democracy dead?

  37. Roxanne

    This isn’t the truth…I saw the same story someone made up on a satire page…it’s just a fake story because they think all the Ron Paul supporters thrive on conspiracy.

    http://wonkette.com/345757/gra.....-by-paypal

  38. Augusto of Spain

    In Spain polling stations were chaired by citizens chosen by lot that recount the votes by hand. The votes are recounted a second time by judicial officials before declaring the result, and the ballots preserved several months.

    In the USA the votes are counted by machines.
    And ballots who saves?
    and
    Can a company decide on the claims process?

  39. CB

    Don’s right, fight back with your pocketbook and or never go to any of the sites they own. If you had any intention of getting in touch - forget it! Reason: there are no bodies you can connect with - everything is web-based. They don’t pick up phones and I doubt that snail mail would be read. I’d say that they have it figured out - unless you opt out of buying whatever they sell.
    Sounds like big brother is at the helm.

  40. Everett

    I’m not a Ron Paul supporter but think it’s just wrong for Paypal to intervene in such a way. Banks certainly do not halt wiring services even if I’m wiring money to criminals (not that I do). They’ve lost me as a customer. Plus I hear Paypal is now charging 4% to send money???

  41. Jorge

    That’s a great sign: Support our lame, crazy candidate, or we’ll sabotage you! Way to sock it to democracy! And you guys wonder why nobody sane will consider him a viable candidate?

    For the record, Ron Paul has voted against:
    Civil rights
    State’s Rights
    Individual’s Rights
    Revenue-Neutral Budgets (i.e., non-deficit spending)
    Leaving Iraq *or* Afghanistan (he talks big, but won’t walk the walk)

    Ron Paul has introduced legislation, voted, or expressed personal support for:
    Turning America into a Christian nation (like Huckabee!)
    Barring class actions for victims of environmental crimes
    Earmarks for the bridge to nowhere (yeah, he voted for that!)
    Ending securities regulation (apparently, he’s forgotten about Enron and the S&L scandals)
    Ending environmental regulation (let’s become like China!!!)
    Depriving citizens of the right to sue for medical malpractice
    Denying women the right to abortions, even when medically necessary
    Opposing interracial marriage
    Opposing gay marriage
    Immigration, legal or illegal
    Evolution

  42. Alex

    Here comes another class-action lawsuit… As if Paypal hasn’t learned a lesson the first time. I don’t think I’ll be using Paypal for anything, ever again. I got one too many accounts shut down back in the day for the most ridiculous reasons myself. Atrocious business practices.

  43. Alex

    ahh… after reading #34, I take back some of the ‘flame-y’ and ‘trolly’ nature of my post above.

  44. Don Wilson

    My god the alarmist people are laying it on thick today. I think I need a shovel.

  45. Ronald Lewis

    The elephant’s always in the living room, looking at you right in the eye. It’s actions like these that cause certain groups of people to question — Yet, they’re labeled as “conspiracy theorists.”

    This is total malarkey. Plain and simple.

  46. Brent

    My Gosh Jorge… is that girl Jorge or Boy Jorge?
    Where the hell did you come up with your [NON]fact Sheet?
    When did it become so absurd to uphold and obey the US Constitution?[All public Guberment people take an oath to that effect]

    The bridge to nowhere is a subject I’m savvy to.
    When Alaska became a state there where oodles of obligations that the federal Gov’ was supposed to do.
    1. Yield control/ownership of millions of acres of land to the state that was under the fed. gov’ts control as a territory. It’s never happened!
    2. Mineral and other natural resource rights/royalties where to be conveyed to the state at a ratio of 90/10[90% state 10%-fed]. The federal Gov’t never keeps it’s promises.
    i think the Federal gov’t should just be out of Alaska except for what is authorized the US Constitution . That is enough land to maintain forts and arsenals for defense and for post offices.
    We’ll build our own bridge and then the City of Ketchikan can grow and expand on relatively flat ground.
    Currently it’s at the base of a steep Mountain at the edge of the ocean.

    Everything you cite is absolutely wrong. And most everything you cite is not authorized by the Constitution for the Federal Gov’t to be involved with.
    That is not to say that state and local gov’ts should not address the issues.
    But then that is up to the states to decide.
    Did you graduate from Kindergarten?

  47. bob

    I’m canceling my pay pal account because of this. Punishing a company in the marketplace is the only way to ensure that they don’t do this type of thing in the future. I don’t use any of the other services they have and now will add them to the list of companies I will not use.

  48. deralaand

    Duncan, whats with the “tin foil hat alert”?

    Are you looking to get hired on at Fox?

    lousy foreigner!

  49. Michael S.

    I don’t believe a recount was applied for in Ron Paul’s name. Is this the recount which Albert Howard requested? If so, why is it being linked to Ron Paul?

    http://mail.moment.net/~michael/Hitlary08.GIF

  50. FORMER paypal user

    I just recently found out that there is a connection between ebay and Mitt Romney. The CEO used to work for Romney’s venture capital firm. This all stinks to high hell. Please spread the word. The list of biased, freedom hating companies just keeps getting longer and longer.

    http://www.boston.com/news/pol.....donat.html

  51. Craig Klein

    Well gee…

    Seems like you tech guys like to talk about politics!

    Of course, its two sides of the same coin…

    At paypal, the bias just hasn’t been institutionalized yet.

  52. Marc

    Hey Duncs,

    I know you’re down under, but in case ya didn’t know… We kinda got a massive corruption problem here in the U.S. when it comes to elections and government in general. Your tinfoil hat jab ridiculing the problem just helps to sweep it further under the rug. Why don’t you take your job a little more seriously and play your part to help rather than hinder.

  53. FreedomJoyAdventure

    I am a Ron Paul supporter. He has been my Congressional hero since I found out about him in 1984.

    I don’t know if there’s anything sinister behind PayPal freezing the recount funds, but I do know that many, many people have had problems with PayPal, and my wife and I are among them. I have firsthand experience dealing with their ‘customer service’ people, and our experience was unsatisfactory.

    I wholeheartedly recommend Ron Paul.
    I cannot recommend PayPal.
    I also cannot recommend Diebold or any other electronic voting machine that does not leave a paper trail. There are too many people in politics that will do anything to win, and the Diebold machines are one way to make it happen. They’ll steal the vote from us if we do not stop them.

    Augusto, you asked, “Is the american democracy dead?”. Our Constitution guarantees us a Republican form of government. Politicians are fond of saying we have a Democracy. Unfortunately, what we really have is a carefully concealed Oligarchy. A Ron Paul presidency would seriously threaten the oligarchy. The news outlets attacking Ron Paul with the ‘racist’ smear campaign are just sock puppets.

  54. FORMER paypal user

    I would say that the presidential election this time around is particularly relevant in a “tech” forum because there are certain CFR candidates who support taxing, regulating, and censoring the internet ala the FCC. They are also introducing legislation to force companies like paypal and may others to repost all transactions and user info to the IRS and sites like ebay and myspace to give all their user’s activity records to the government. If certain candidates get elected it will mean less rights, freedoms, and privacy for all.

  55. FormerArmyWife

    Glitches and things happen–that’s part of life.

    Personally I’d rather see the money spent on efforts to get more votes for Ron Paul in states that are voting super Tuesday.

    This campaign requires MONEY to reach those who are not actually looking to find out who Ron Paul is and what he stands for. Think people!

  56. bad news day at PP

    I wrote a post about paypal support sucking about 6 weeks ago,
    and i would say i’m quite interested in Ron Paul,
    Paypal have handled this very bad, their representative above posts a short statement and apolagises for inconvenience, this is not enough. They need to double the amount in the fund as compensation for the error.

    However, I don’t think it was a conspiracy. But I do think there is a major conspiracy that has been practiced in the last 2 elections this one also to rigg the votes.

    Greg Palast
    http://www.gregpalast.com/
    is a must read, watch. He has made some great investigations into the corruption and one is here free:
    http://www.documentary-film.ne......php?e=118

  57. I Am Not Posting To Spam My Blog

    Lunatics.

    I supported Ron “Dr Ron Paul” Paul for about three seconds until I realised what company I was putting myself in, then I went back to McCain. Everyone knows that you can’t trust people whose first and last names are interchangable anyway.

    I can’t wait for Super Tuesday so the Ron “Dr Ron Paul, Hope For Amer” Paul fans can go back to playing World of Warcraft and editing Wikipedia articles on Asperger’s syndrome.

    Oh, and if the whole racism thing is a smear campaign, kindly find us one other candidate - no matter how obscure - who has ever produced newsletters similar to Ron “Doctor doctor, give me the news I gotta bad case of loving you” Paul’s. If anything, it’s indicative of the awful people who make up Ron Paul’s base to the extent that he lets them write newsletters for him. It’s exactly why I can’t support Ron Paul even though I agree with most of his policies. If he gives a speech, for example, opposing affirmative action, then I have to agree with the policy but can’t help wonder whether the motivation is really about promoting merit.

  58. just some RP lunatic

    John McCain is about to have some major issues that will potentially end his run for president. He was born in Panama not on US soil. A strict interpretation of the constitution may find him to be ineligible for the presidency. Yes, he is a US citizen, he was born on a military base under US control to military parents, that is NOT the issue. The core republican base already has problems with McCain’s immigration ideologies and this could possibly be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

  59. samuel

    Folks, please calm down about PayPal. This unfounded lashing out does not help anyone. I have a lot of experience with PayPal, and I know for a fact it is quite common for them to suspend accounts that receive a flood of payments. It happens all the time, they are looking out for their’s and the merchant’s interests. They also investigate large payments… all the time. A PayPal Ron Paul Conspiracy is highly unlikely. Let’s keep it together, people. Focus on the message… everything else is a distraction.

  60. badmedia

    Paypal sucks, I will never use them again and I canceled my account with them like almost a year ago. I’m taking a nap one afternoon, and I get a call from paypal. They ask if authorized a charge of $1800 on my account. I tell them NO, I did not.

    So what does Paypal do? They charge my account anyway. And then when I call them and ask why and try to get my money back, they freeze my account and expect me to jump through a ton of hoops to get the money back. I refused to jump through their hoops, and only after getting the issue escalated many times and threatening to sue them do I get my money back - 3 weeks later.

    I will NEVER use paypal again, and this only goes to show what a screwed up company they are further IMO.

    Oh, and LOL @ the guy who said he left Ron Paul for John McCain because of the so called racist crap. You sir are a media bobble head, meaning you nod yes at whatever they say. Because you obviously haven’t done your homework on McCain.

  61. Michael S.

    Paypal double-charged me to sign up and double-charged me on my first transaction. I caution people not to use them.

    And now it turns out they’re a data collection tool of the illegal I.R.S.

    “IRS Gets Go-Ahead For PayPal Request”

    http://www.webpronews.com/topn.....al-request

    The nonsense about tax evaders and such in the article is as phony as the “war on terrorism” being aimed at the Cavemen of Tora Bora. Your rights and freedoms are the target of the war on terror. So, in the name of fighting big-money tax evaders, the I.R.S. now has access to info on every 99 cent purchase you make on eBay. If you use paypal.

    Cancel it now.

    http://mail.moment.net/~michael/Terrorism101.htm

  62. Kgool

    @ #27 Chris & #28 EileenMac

    Now I am really confused, should we call him Dr.-Congressman Ron Paul or Congressman-Dr. Ron Paul?

    I always wanted to be Fireman-Astronaut-FBI Agent John Smith.

  63. bydd

    No problem people can just pay cash for a virtual MasterCard. Cheaper than using PayPal. http://www.paidbycash.com

  64. Tax Rebel

    Tax Season is upon us.

    Here’s an idea: Target the H&R Block Tax Preparation outlets, where people are stepping out from having to pay Uncle Sam a huge share of their livelihood or where they’ve been disappointed to learn Uncle Sam has kept more $$ than they ever expected.

    Hand these people a Ron Paul message of hope: ABOLISH THE IRS!!!!!

    You can’t lose!

    DO IT NOW!!!! HELP THE CAMPAIGN!!

  65. FreedomJoyAdventure

    “I supported Ron “Dr Ron Paul” Paul for about three seconds until I realised what company I was putting myself in, then I went back to McCain. Everyone knows that you can’t trust people whose first and last names are interchangable anyway.”

    Ridiculous. Laughable. Ignorant. Admit it, you were never a Ron Paul supporter. If you really think McCain is a better candidate, go for it. We don’t need you.

  66. FreedomJoyAdventure

    “just some RP lunatic

    January 17th, 2008 at 3:52 am

    John McCain is about to have some major issues that will potentially end his run for president. He was born in Panama not on US soil. A strict interpretation of the constitution may find him to be ineligible for the presidency. ”

    Not sure that’ll fly. I checked into it: http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_citi.html
    “Currently, Title 8 of the U.S. Code fills in those gaps. Section 1401 defines the following as people who are “citizens of the United States at birth:”

    Anyone born inside the United States
    Any Indian or Eskimo born in the United States, provided being a citizen of the U.S. does not impair the person’s status as a citizen of the tribe
    Any one born outside the United States, both of whose parents are citizens of the U.S., as long as one parent has lived in the U.S.
    Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year and the other parent is a U.S. national
    Any one born in a U.S. possession, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year
    Any one found in the U.S. under the age of five, whose parentage cannot be determined, as long as proof of non-citizenship is not provided by age 21
    Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is an alien and as long as the other parent is a citizen of the U.S. who lived in the U.S. for at least five years (with military and diplomatic service included in this time)
    A final, historical condition: a person born before 5/24/1934 of an alien father and a U.S. citizen mother who has lived in the U.S.
    Anyone falling into these categories is considered natural-born, and is eligible to run for President or Vice President. These provisions allow the children of military families to be considered natural-born, for example.”