Topic: Ron Paul
Brother, Can You Spare Me Another $23 Million? Ron Paul campaign sends out plea for more money. And it may just get it.by DigitalBob
(Libertarian)
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Being a previous Ron Paul donor, I'm on his email list. I received an email yesterday (12/29/07) with the subject "The time is now." It's also displayed on the campaign website here.
I have to give Kent Snyder praise for creativity. He's come up with a plan to spend $23 million dollars, in addition to what's in the bank so far. That's more coin than I have in my couch. But there are a lot of couches out there.
The email talks about the contests of Iowa and New Hampshire in the first few days of January, followed by Wyoming, Michigan, Nevada, South Carolina, Florida and Maine.
Feb. 5 will have nearly 20 other states. In the email, the money will be used "to run radio and television ads in 20 states simultaneously", voter mailings, and other projects.
The email urges supporters to "triple" their efforts.
A few months ago, the Ron Paul campaign was thankful for getting $5 million for the third quarter. Everyone was amazed by the $4 million raised on November 5th and $6 million raised on December 16th. The fourth quarter will probably finish close to $20 million. I expect there will a slight end of year push Monday.
I can send another couple hundred dollars, but I'm getting to my limit. Another $23 million in one month will be a stretch, but not impossible. For the month of January (31 days), that's about $742,000 per day. I made that same sort of calculation in October when the campaign asked for $12 million in three months. They got way more than that--by nearly $7 million! I think there will have to be some thermonuclear money bombs, something like in Dune. The Nov. 5 and Dec. 16 money bombs made up for the slow start in October. There would have to be four of those $6 million days to reach the $23 million goal. That's a lot to ask. But it may happen.
If this race goes much beyond Feb. 5, it will become a war of attrition. Romney and Giuliani have the cash to keep going, but they're the only ones. Romney is polling well in Iowa and New Hampshire, so I believe he will finish in the top three in both. Giuliani is putting his eggs in the Feb. 5 basket, because it doesn't look like he will get a state until Nevada, or maybe Florida. If it's a close race, perhaps the top three will be able to rally the troops one last time. It'll be a slugfest in every neglected state through the summer. And that will take more money.
Iowa and New Hampshire will affect the fundraising of those candidates remaining. After Michigan (Jan. 15), I bet this will be a four-man race. No matter who I say will stay or go, I'll get a stream of hate comments below. The names don't matter. May the best man win!
On the one hand, I'm thankful the campaign is putting out there the need and being open what it will spend it on. But on the other, the "we" have been the grassroots support, not the central campaign. Even if only $10 million or $5 million are raised in January, I'm sure the campaign will put it to good use. Regardless, it will be greater than any of the other Republicans. They will be crying with their pollsters.
I've been reading Sun Tzu lately. The best way to win wars is to fight them quickly with overwhelming force. The chieftains across the internet are making their calculations and the warriors are provisioning sufficiently before battle commences. That's if they can stop playing World of Warcraft for a day, and start overturning cushions.
I don't know when those money bombs will start dropping. I can see the third Monday in January (this year Jan. 21), Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, as one battle day. Dr. Paul's non-violence message would fit nicely then. I'm sure Mr. Lyman has an event or two in mind.
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2007 DigitalBob, all rights reserved.
Published: Sunday, December 30, 2007
Last modified: Sunday, December 30, 2007
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Sadly, the elections too often come down to money. I know you said may the best man win yet the sentiment may be more accurately may the best man with enough money win. Romney can write more personal checks if he wants to squandered even more of his wealth. Giuliani seems to have a solid corporate base willing to fund him. Beyond that there may be no others left. Like you, we give what we can but we are stretched so Ron Paul really needs great showings early if he is to attract enough fresh money to help spread the word.
This is one of the most frustrating aspects of our two-party, plutocractic system. The best often never even consider entering the race due to the rediculous amounts necessary. The media loves it since they earn a ton of lucrative ad dollars, the oligarchy loves it as they mostly have the pockets to keep running, the best however is an entirely different story. Perhaps a future revolution will center around the way we stage campaigns. I'm ready to turn to a system similar to England...six week campaign, all with equal air time, none with personal ads...go! I'm not sure of the long-term answer but the current trends are slowly cementing a plutocratic oligarchy seated in corporatism and that just is not a good long range success strategy for the Federalist Republic. OK, I'll turn my rant off now...thanks for letting me vent!
Posted By: Jahfre Fire Eater
Date: 2007-12-30 22:50:26
Nice article DB. I agree it will take a few more turns of the snowball to get $23M in one month. However, this snowball is growing dramatically and the snow is deep this year. Let's keep pushing it just to see...
If Ron does well in Iowa and New Hampshire the money will pour in. There are a lot of people who are reluctant to put their money where their convictions are because of their indoctrination over the past serveral decades or cynicism for whatever reasons.
I believe that history is being made with the RP campaign and that US politics will never be the same. I hope Dr. Paul wins but if he doesn't, my primary focus is keeping new, or formerly apathetic (like me) republicans from going back to sleep and letting the neo-conservatives and the liberal democrats continue to force march us down the death spiral of an empire in decline.
If the $$ spigots open wide after NH, things could get very exciting. Talk about kicking it up a notch. I believe anything is possible with regard to Dr. Paul's campaign. I've been a dedicated activist since the day he announced his candidacy and I've seen barriers come down that I never would have dared to predict. My wife registered a pair of Greens as Republicans and got them started participating in their local GOP activities. Greens as Republicans!! This is history in the making.
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2007 DigitalBob, all rights reserved.