Ron Paul 2012: Will He Benefit from U.S. Veterans' Support?

Thorsen stepped back from the podium mid-speech to glance at Paul and flash a wide grin, then said, "I'm flabbergasted right now. This is an incredible moment for me, I can't believe it. It's like meeting a rock star."

Effusive but gentlemanly, he rounded off his roughly one-minute-long speech with, "We are going to make sure this man is the next President of the United States."

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Thorsen left the stage but not the national social conscious. He was due for his third tour in the Middle East. But within 24 hours of giving his speech, Thorsen was under investigation by the Dept. of Defense for violating strict military rules banning active duty service members from politicking.

What Thorsen did, besides exercise a common right afforded most Americans, was put a face to the many active duty service members, as well as veterans, who have thrown their support behind Paul. The group has remained in the shadows physically, but been vocal in other capacities (just check the comments section of any Ron Paul story on this Web site).

Thorsen, with his Sept. 11 neck tattoo and rabid support, is a hero in some circles. The Iowa-based reservist is also the new reason so many Ron Paul-ites are pretty pissed off at the mass media. He could also be a big reason Ron Paul remains strong presence throughout the campaign.

Support For Paul

Paul himself has not been shy about brandishing the support he gets from active service members. They constitute a devout bloc of campaign contributors.

"We all know where active military people send their money when they're campaigning. They send it to our campaign for liberty, our campaign for the constitution, our campaign for limited government and our campaign for personal liberty and privacy and a wise foreign policy," Paul said after Thorsen's endorsement.

The numbers speak for themselves. Paul has made the claim that members of the military have given his campaign more money than all other current presidential candidates combined -- including President Barack Obama. Politifact ranked the statement as true. And how.

According to the Center for Responsive politics, members of the armed forces have given Paul $95,567 towards his campaign. His opponents? Obama comes closest with $72,616. But that figure combined with all the remaining presidential contenders amounts to less than Paul's largesse. Granted, the sum remains a drop in the $12 million bucket of funds Paul has garnered, but money talks during campaign seasons.

Paul fanaticism among service members translates beyond individual donations to a full-on network of support. Most notably, supporters staged a Nov. 11, 2011 "Money Bomb" for the Texas libertarian, with the stated goal of raising $1 million.