By David Noss
Ron Miller, seated center, local author and
president of Regular Folks United, and Dr. Michael Fauntroy, associate professor
of civil rights studies at George Mason University, discuss the Glenn Beck
"Restoring Honor" rally during the Friday, August 27, 2010 "Big Story" segment
of Fox 5 Morning News (WTTG) in Washington, DC.
CALLAWAY, Md. (Sept. 1, 2010) - Local author Ron Miller has found himself in the national spotlight lately.
It started with a three minute segment on Fox & Friends on July 23 titled, "The Elites vs. Regular Folks - Has America Split Into Two Classes?" Then, last Friday, Miller appeared on a 7 minute "Big Story" segment of Fox 5 Morning News (WTTG) in Washington, DC., along with Dr. Michael Fauntroy, associate professor of civil rights studies at George Mason University, to discuss the Glenn Beck "Restoring Honor" rally. Next, On
Monday, WorldNetDaily published a story titled, "Glenn Beck crowd: Not so white as advertised" on their Web site which mentioned Miller in several paragraphs. Shortly thereafter, the article was listed on the hugely popular Drudge Report site. From there, Miller's world became crazy.
Drudge Report publisher Matt Drudge has a note posted on the site proclaiming that August 2010 was the most viewed August in the site's 16 year history,
stating the page was viewed 772,638,752 times. Among those 772+ million views must have been many of Miller's friends.
"After that last article was linked in The Drudge Report, I was getting calls from friends telling me what a big deal that was," said Miller. "It's been insanity around here!"
But, it didn't stop there. The article spotlighted by the Drudge Report included a mention of Miller's new book, "Sellout: Musings from Uncle Tom's Porch."
"My book spiked on Amazon.com from not registering to #16 the sales ranking for books on Church and State," exclaimed Miller. "The overall ranking went from somewhere in the 400,000 - 500,000 range to 12,071."
His recent popularity has also netted him more appearances on national and international media. On Wednesday Miller was booked for the
Frank Beckmann News Talk radio show out of Detroit, Thursday morning he is scheduled to be on America's Morning News, on Friday he will be a guest on Heather on the Hill, and he's doing a nationally syndicated show in Canada on Sunday.
I asked Miller why him and why now in regards to his new found celebrity. He says it all started with the marketing of his new book.
"I'm marketing the book and doing PR just like everyone else, and the people working on my behalf are really good and connected, but they wouldn't work with me if they didn't think I was marketable," said Miller.
However, Miller believes his popularity as a guest on radio and television goes beyond the talents of his PR staff.
"I think it's not just the book tour, but what the book has to say, and the message I'm delivering to support it," said Miller. "I think people are tired of the old narrative about race, where blacks get to call whites racist whenever they wish, and whites agree to drink from that cup of sorrow because they feel they must atone for the sins of their ancestors. I think they're looking to move on, and they are searching for answers as to how to do it. It's providential timing; my unemployment gave me time to finish my book, and just as it came out, the race issue just erupted onto the landscape. I couldn't have planned it better."
Miller comes off as well-spoken and humble and he has no problem expressing his faith and giving credit to God for his success. "The response I've been getting from people about the book and my public appearances has exceeded my expectations" said Miller. "I don't know what I'm doing to warrant the attention. Like I said, it's providential!"
In addition to being an author, Miller is the president of
Regular Folks United, a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of individual liberty, free markets and our nation's founding principles. He also writes a
weekly column that appears on Southern Maryland Online every Wednesday.
Miller lives in Huntingtown, Calvert County, with his wife and three children.
Note: Ron volunteered that the article on WorldNetDaily which mentioned him was written by the woman who edited his book.