The ardent supporters of Rep. Ron Paul, the iconoclastic Texas libertarian whose campaign for the presidency is threatening to upend the battle for the Republican nomination, got word yesterday of a new source of outrage and motivation: reports of a federal raid on a company that was selling thousands of coins marked with the craggy visage of their hero.

Federal agents on Thursday raided the Evansville, Ind., headquarters of the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and Internal Revenue Code (Norfed), an organization of "sound money" advocates that for the past decade has been selling a private currency it calls "Liberty Dollars." The company says it has put into circulation more than $20 million in Liberty Dollars, coins and paper certificates it contends are backed by silver and gold stored in Idaho, are far more reliable than a U.S. dollar and are accepted for use by a nationwide underground economy.

It's okay to advocate for the abolishment of the Federal Reserve and the Internal Revenue Service, but you can't print alternative currency.

In the affidavit, an FBI special agent states that he is investigating Norfed for federal violations including "uttering coins of gold, silver, or other metal," "making or possessing likeness of coins," mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. "The goal of Norfed is to undermine the United States government's financial systems by the issuance of a non-governmental competing currency for the purpose of repealing the Federal Reserve and Internal Revenue Code," he states.

The raid will add some energy into Paul's campaign. More significantly, this is the first time I've seen the Washington Post take Paul's candidacy seriously. Not only did they note that it "is threatening to upend the battle for the Republican nomination", they also reported:

He raised a record-breaking $4 million in a single day this month and nears double digits in some New Hampshire polls.

Paul has enough money to compete for advertising time in New Hampshire. His anti-war 'live free or die' message has the potential to catch on in the Granite State, where independents can vote in the primaries. He's already polling ahead of Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee...the two candidates most beloved by the press. Paul may not be able to win in New Hampshire, but he definitely can have an effect on the outcome.

Ron Paul New Hampshire primary