Ron Paul: The Samuel L. of Politics?

I got pretty excited reading the news yesterday about Ron Paul's tremendous feat of raising more than $4 million in the span of one day. With a campaign that has amassed such a rabid following-- to the surprise and chagrin of many-- Ron Paul could very well create some interesting twists in the Republican race.

Sadly, his campaign may not amount to much besides impressive fundraising and clever slogans. It just seems all-too hipster to me.
For those unfamiliar with hipster culture (or those too hipster to admit it), UrbanDictionary.com provides some useful descriptions: "Listens to bands that you have never heard of. Has hairstyle that can only be described as 'complicated'... Definitely cooler than you... Complains."

For a young crowd that likes to complain about the establishment with an air of superiority and relishes any opportunity to embrace the obscure, there is no better candidate than Ron Paul.
This is not to say that Ron Paul should be immediately dismissed-- the defiant, idealistic nature of his campaign could be inspirational for any age group. However, the Internet-based, more-than-slightly quirky character of his support network has all the telltale signs of a hipster fad. His ingenious "Ron Paul rEVOLution" slogan is the platonic ideal of hipster-ism. (Does it even mean anything? Is it supposed to be funny? Whatever, we're all for love and for revolutions...) The slogan works for this crowd because main tenant of hipster-ism is irony. Remember all the hype behind the movie "Snakes on a Plane?" Young people gushed over it online because it was so ridiculous-- and then didn't bother to actually go see the movie. Similarly, the wanton abandon behind Ron Paul's support may simply be fueled by the belief that he has a snowball's chance in hell of winning the Republican nomination, much less the general election. If that's the case, he comes acros as just a side-show, and there's no point in paying him any attention.

But the fact that so many people were willing to put actual money on him-- on Monday alone-- suggests that the Ron Paul campaign is more than just a hipster fad. It will be interesting to see how all this Ron Paul support shapes the dialogue of the race. He may not win the race, but his goals of ending the war and instituting extreme government reforms are likely here to stay. Frontrunners, take note.