I think the Billionaire hoax hurt us...

[Just Come Home]

I just wanted to comment something that's been bugging me for days...

I think that the billionaire hoax hurt us. I know that it took the wind out of my sails... For a brief moment, I had hope that everyone in America would get the chance to see all of the issues and all of the wonderful things that make Dr. Paul so special. And when it never materialized, I think it effectively felt like a loss.

I'm personally ok now... I've since gone through and read all of the wonderful emails that Dr. Paul has sent, and I believe I've figured out the "so-called" secret strategy. It probably needs to remain a secret to effectively work, but I think anyone can figure it out if they go through the emails and read between the lines.

In any case, I just wanted to thumb my nose at the jerk who got all our hopes up over nothing. It was a real let down, and I think it damaged the enthusiasm of the grass roots.

[icon124]

you should never believe anything like that until you hear a conformation from HQ or RP himself...I didn't believe it and everything is still fine with me lol

[hueylong]

Oh please. Anyone who thought a billionaire was going to solve all our problems couldn't be thinking very clearly.

[Mitt Romneys sideburns]

People actually believed that? People will buy anything. Space aliens from Nebulon 5 are giving their intergalactic support to Ron Paul!

[N13]

Insert 9-11 joke here.

[aravoth]

People actually believed that? People will buy anything. Space aliens from Nebulon 5 are giving their intergalactic support to Ron Paul!

http://ronpaul3008.com

some of the comment make me laugh

Luke Skywalker says: The Jedi council endorses Ron Paul. The force is strong in that one.

Lee Adama says: Are we there yet?

Paul Atredes says: The 120% income tax is too high, and we need more spice.

Fred Thompson says: Well, there's this old sayin' in Tennessee, when you fill a dog with butter, don't be too suprised when it don't move too much

Tim Russert says: Now, Senator Thompson, what do you think about Taxes?

John McCain says: Now let me give you some straight talk. We need to keep the surge on Mars going. It is working. And Venus? Bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Venus. Ok that was terrible. Whatever, I was still a POW
bob smith says: hello

Team America says: Matt Damon
R
on Paul Supporter says: Come on guys! $23000000000 is less than one months pay check! Donate!
RonPaul2008 Campaign says: Please give your most generous donation. Remember, the maximum any individual can give is $23000000000.

phpinfo(); says: phpinfo();

RonPaulAds says: Raising gold coins for Milky Ways largest Space Shuttle. One side will say Who Is Ron Paul? Other side RON PAUL EARTH REVOLUTIONS!

Newt says: They mostly come at night... mostly.

Ron Paul says: I have delivered 4 billion babies!

Ron Paul says: This site is a fraud. I would never increase funding for anything.

Ron Paul says: There is little to no chance that I will run as a tri councel candidate

Guiliani says: Macrodestruction! MACRODESTRUCTION!!! BIOLOGIOCAL MACRODESTRUCTION!!! 9/11!!! ENERGY SHIELD WARS!
ron paul can't win any says: ron paul cant win any year no matter if its 1000 or 4958673493 million years from now he is an old fart crazy conspirocy therorist

McCain says: Lets stay on Mars for 100 years!

Mitt Romney says: I've decided to give up Ron Paul is just to smart for me!!

zaphod beeblebrox III says: nifblik frulle kinattete

Fred Thompson says: I drop out and endorse Ron Paul

Bernard von NotHaus says: You can trade Liberty Gold-Pressed Latinum Dollars, which are inflation proof.

Al Gore says: Martian warming is a real crisis, we need to lower our proto-velcroic carbon footprint or else by 4008...

PR Agent says: Now with 30% less space-herpes!

Robotor 2060ME says: 100010101011101010101010100

suspicous candy bar says: Eat me! I'm delicious!

Matt Damon says: MATT DAMON!!!1

Detective John Kimble says: I"M DETECTIVE JOHN KIMBLE!!!1

Rawn Paughwl says: $800 FOR PAUL, GIVE YOUR TAX REBATE BRIBES TO RON PAUL, 0.5% OF THE PEOPLE CAN SPEAK UP TO GIVE DR

PAUL OVER 1 BILLION DOLLARS FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION

Shit says: Hey
WWW.FUELCELLSOLAR.COM says: LONG ISLAND SOLAR POWER......WE THE PEOPLE FREEDOM!!
WWW.FUELCELLSOLAR.COM says: LONG ISLAND SOLAR POWER......WE THE PEOPLE FREEDOM!!

EVAN ESPOSITO says: RON PAUL GOD'S SPEED

LET FREEDOM RING says: PRESIDENT PAUL!!!!!! GOD WILLING IF THIS IS A FREE COUNTRY RON PAUL WILL BE ON THE TICKET!!!

Obama says: CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHA
J
ordan says: I hope he doesn't pull out of the Federation of Planets lol

AlPesh says: Love the fishbowl helmet. GO RON PAUL!

Ron Paul says: I will cut funding of the RJ2789 alliance immediately.

Mitt Romney says: I think you have been reading Astro- Ohm's protocol...

[pdavis]

Bullsh!t! People are burned out from losing in Iowa and especially in New Hampshire.

[lly4now]

Hmm... I have an inclination to disagree with the OP's statement. Many were skeptical about the billionaire from the beginning. Heck, even now, mentioning the billionaire has more of a comical effect. A positive effect, however, was that it gave us the opportunity to think about plans for the future in terms of getting his name out. We're working harder than ever, the momentum grows every day, we're making money, ads are coming up everywhere, grassroots has numerous plans and projects to get the word out, and so on.

[AlexMerced]

Losing site of the Goal is what gets people disenchated

Goal: Shrink Government/Spread the Message

Vehicle: Ron paul 2008 campaign

period

[jkm1864]

I think it hurt fund raising but I think the campaigns lack of momentum hurt also. I am not going to give up though because I see a third party run and guess what that will give us a second chance to canvas and talk to people. People are fed up with the two party system that goes no where.

[slacker921]

"Bullsh!t! People are burned out...." ah.. So if Paul wins Maine does that mean "GAME ON"?


There's been a bunch of new donors in the last couple of weeks btw.. you might be burned out, but they aren't.

[BLuegreengrey]

people took that seriously?

[Gertie]

The Billionaire was more positive than negative, IMO. I've been seeing it as kind of an urban legend/fairy tale of sorts since the first post, and as fairy tales help imaginations fly, so the "Billionaire in the wings" was ultimately more inspirational than harmful (for me at least, YMMV), even though it never was true.

[ronpaulitician]

I think it hurt fund raising but I think the campaigns lack of momentum hurt also. I am not going to give up though because I see a third party run and guess what that will give us a second chance to canvas and talk to people. People are fed up with the two party system that goes no where.
Yup. A third party run by Paul will do a lot of good to the cause of liberty.

[CaliforniaAndre]

Kinda funny when I see all the people saying "we never believed".
Then about 100 threads were posted about how nice it would be if it were true....

[JK/SEA]

I just wanted to comment something that's been bugging me for days...

I think that the billionaire hoax hurt us. I know that it took the wind out of my sails... For a brief moment, I had hope that everyone in America would get the chance to see all of the issues and all of the wonderful things that make Dr. Paul so special. And when it never materialized, I think it effectively felt like a loss.

I'm personally ok now... I've since gone through and read all of the wonderful emails that Dr. Paul has sent, and I believe I've figured out the "so-called" secret strategy. It probably needs to remain a secret to effectively work, but I think anyone can figure it out if they go through the emails and read between the lines.

In any case, I just wanted to thumb my nose at the jerk who got all our hopes up over nothing. It was a real let down, and I think it damaged the enthusiasm of the grass roots.


Is this Chelsea?...lol!

[faisal]

you're right... Whoever that New Member with 1 post was, it really made us lose concentration.

[PrayToday]

I believed in the Billionaire Fairy off and on for a couple of days. When I finished reading the original email, it was like "all is well in the world. Ron's going to be president, Shawn Hannity will be his chamber pot troll, and everyone in the country will simultaneously smash their televisions, thus forever disempowering the Matrix. Amen." Then the obvious clues reared their heads in the letter, and it was back to the grind of supporting Ron Paul in the Greatest Story Never Told.

I think what really hurt us what the double-whammy of the 1) newsletters released on the eve of the 2) very disappointing NH primary. And that might just come under the heading of newsletters only, because the story likely put the kibosh on NH success. Either way, up to that point RP was becoming something of a "celebrity of the day" to some folks. He was an apparently unreproachable politician who had the greatest message of any presidential candidate since Goldwater. All we needed to do was get him enough money and the rest would happen on its own.

The initial release of the newsletters, followed by that agonizing two week period of further leaks and endless gratuitous smears in every possible medium really was a turning point in the campaign. The previously wild ethusiasm of Ron Paul supporters was noticably tempered, as it became evident that anyone wanting to openly support RP would have to risk being labeled a racist. There is no more potent Kryptonite in our current socio-political lexicon.

I fully believed that RP was a dead candidate walking after the newsletter release. The bandwagon supporters were gone, the funds were just trickling in, and the newsletter flurry was followed by a week or so of solid media blackout. Google Ron Paul was asking for a less-than-positive first impression.

Weeks later, the big money days are successively raising less money, so theoretically he might in fact be a dead candidate walking. But, the new donors keep coming in; the precint leaders are increasing, and there is a leaner, meaner support base now. Anyone that survived newslettergate and the early primaries and still carries on with this thing is tough as nails. New donors apparently aren't concerned with the smears. Whatever damage was done now appears only to have hardened the resolve of those who wouldn't run, which has allowed for the second generation of Paul supporters to get ramped up.

Now it's going to be a matter of keeping the campaign funded. If the new donors keep steadily coming on board, there's no telling how far this thing can go. "Common sense" says it shouldn't be going anywhere, like a bumble shouldn't be able to fly. But it just keeps going. For some significant portion of RP's supporters, giving up is not an option. So a campaign and supporters who will not give up just keep on moving forward toward who knows what. And how can we not keep moving forward? We are playing for all the marbles. RP is the last best chance for the Constitution and all the wisdom it represents. For every new donor you see on that counter, that's one more person who has taken the red pill. Because of this presidential election cycle and especially the RP campaign, thousands of people are waking up to the manipulated reality that is our media-saturated culture. Unlike the movie, there is no going back, no red pill antidote. Every dollar donated to RP is another vote for reality. There is, literally, no way to script what will come in the remaining months of this campaign and after. We are down the rabbit hole. Solid.

With regard to the corporate-controlled media: they must minimize and misrepresent because that's really all they can do to fight the truth; they can control the image of something, but not the actual thing. The powers that drive the mass media must minimize and misrepresent because they are concerned that so much truth is being spoken. If they are concerned, which they surely are, then they can also be scared. And if they can be scared, then they can be beaten. Fear comes from vulnerability. We do not fear that which cannot hurt us. If they can be scared, then they can be beaten.

Good night, all.

[josh24601]

It must have been pretty tempting to throw a fantastic story to a pack of conspiracy freaks.

Sorry but most Paul supporters are conspiracy freaks (it drives me crazy).

The fact that everybody swallowed that hook line and sinker without stopping to fire off a few electric connections in the brain should be all you need to know.

[Mark]

I think it was inspiring. The posts were beautiful and encouraged to keep keeping on.

People nowadays are so used to instant gratification. Yes, this is very tough. Yes the entrenched Industrial complexes are against us.

But we can be PROUD of ourselves! WE are fighting the GOOD fight. WE are on the side of RIGHTEOUSNESS!

WE WIN NO MATTER WHAT!! For we have our HONOR and NO ONE that tries to hold us down can say that.

"Well done My good and faithful servant!" - That's ALL I want to hear Jesus say.

And until the day I die THAT goal is what I'll work towards . NO MATTER WHAT!

Many who fight against us will have their soul destroyed in The Lake Of Fire. They will LOSE no matter WHAT happens.

"Dam the torpedoes!". WE WILL WIN no matter what the vote count is because WE DID THE RIGHT THING!

[Ex Post Facto]

Amen.

The Billionaire post: You thought that was fake huh?

http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/22/smbusiness/sorenson.fsb/?postversion=2008012217

Maybe he just passed away

[newyearsrevolution08]

if fake stories is all it takes to take the wind out of someone sails then I think this is a great life lesson in not believing EVERYTHING that is written or told.


I just wanted to comment something that's been bugging me for days...

I think that the billionaire hoax hurt us. I know that it took the wind out of my sails... For a brief moment, I had hope that everyone in America would get the chance to see all of the issues and all of the wonderful things that make Dr. Paul so special. And when it never materialized, I think it effectively felt like a loss.

I'm personally ok now... I've since gone through and read all of the wonderful emails that Dr. Paul has sent, and I believe I've figured out the "so-called" secret strategy. It probably needs to remain a secret to effectively work, but I think anyone can figure it out if they go through the emails and read between the lines.

In any case, I just wanted to thumb my nose at the jerk who got all our hopes up over nothing. It was a real let down, and I think it damaged the enthusiasm of the grass roots.

[frankieb]

Why not do it ourselves? The billionaires idea was actually pretty good! Why not compile the 3 dvds ourselves, get a tv station to play it, and work in droves with our meet up groups to pass them out? The ron paul revolution has many creative people who can make such dvds...

Come on people, you're acting as if this radical change would be easy. Not in a million years.

[liberteebell]

I believed in the Billionaire Fairy off and on for a couple of days. When I finished reading the original email, it was like "all is well in the world. Ron's going to be president, Shawn Hannity will be his chamber pot troll, and everyone in the country will simultaneously smash their televisions, thus forever disempowering the Matrix. Amen." Then the obvious clues reared their heads in the letter, and it was back to the grind of supporting Ron Paul in the Greatest Story Never Told.

I think what really hurt us what the double-whammy of the 1) newsletters released on the eve of the 2) very disappointing NH primary. And that might just come under the heading of newsletters only, because the story likely put the kibosh on NH success. Either way, up to that point RP was becoming something of a "celebrity of the day" to some folks. He was an apparently unreproachable politician who had the greatest message of any presidential candidate since Goldwater. All we needed to do was get him enough money and the rest would happen on its own.

The initial release of the newsletters, followed by that agonizing two week period of further leaks and endless gratuitous smears in every possible medium really was a turning point in the campaign. The previously wild ethusiasm of Ron Paul supporters was noticably tempered, as it became evident that anyone wanting to openly support RP would have to risk being labeled a racist. There is no more potent Kryptonite in our current socio-political lexicon.

I fully believed that RP was a dead candidate walking after the newsletter release. The bandwagon supporters were gone, the funds were just trickling in, and the newsletter flurry was followed by a week or so of solid media blackout. Google Ron Paul was asking for a less-than-positive first impression.

Weeks later, the big money days are successively raising less money, so theoretically he might in fact be a dead candidate walking. But, the new donors keep coming in; the precint leaders are increasing, and there is a leaner, meaner support base now. Anyone that survived newslettergate and the early primaries and still carries on with this thing is tough as nails. New donors apparently aren't concerned with the smears. Whatever damage was done now appears only to have hardened the resolve of those who wouldn't run, which has allowed for the second generation of Paul supporters to get ramped up.

Now it's going to be a matter of keeping the campaign funded. If the new donors keep steadily coming on board, there's no telling how far this thing can go. "Common sense" says it shouldn't be going anywhere, like a bumble shouldn't be able to fly. But it just keeps going. For some significant portion of RP's supporters, giving up is not an option. So a campaign and supporters who will not give up just keep on moving forward toward who knows what. And how can we not keep moving forward? We are playing for all the marbles. RP is the last best chance for the Constitution and all the wisdom it represents. For every new donor you see on that counter, that's one more person who has taken the red pill. Because of this presidential election cycle and especially the RP campaign, thousands of people are waking up to the manipulated reality that is our media-saturated culture. Unlike the movie, there is no going back, no red pill antidote. Every dollar donated to RP is another vote for reality. There is, literally, no way to script what will come in the remaining months of this campaign and after. We are down the rabbit hole. Solid.

With regard to the corporate-controlled media: they must minimize and misrepresent because that's really all they can do to fight the truth; they can control the image of something, but not the actual thing. The powers that drive the mass media must minimize and misrepresent because they are concerned that so much truth is being spoken. If they are concerned, which they surely are, then they can also be scared. And if they can be scared, then they can be beaten. Fear comes from vulnerability. We do not fear that which cannot hurt us. If they can be scared, then they can be beaten.

Good night, all.


+1,000,000,000

[WilliamC]

There may or may not have been something behind the story, but only the truly foolish would have let it keep them from working as hard as they could.

At best it inspired some to work harder because they thought help was on the way.

At worst it provided comic relief.

Psssssst, wanna know a secret?

Peter Thiel, a real life billionaire, did endorse Ron Paul.

Richard Viguerie, known to have raised billions of dollars for various causes, including getting Ronald Reagan elected, also endorsed Ron Paul.

Personally I'm more interested in the dirt that was supposed to be unveiled about the MSM than the money...

[Jane Aitken]

I tried to tell you it was a hoax from the beginning.

[constituent]

you're right... Whoever that New Member with 1 post was, it really made us lose concentration.

thread winner.