Why I wrote such a hard post earlier.

[DRV45N05]

A lot of that post was motivated by a bit of anger, but that wasn't the primary purpose of it. The primary purpose of it was to spark some real substantive discussion about what we are going to do to support Ron Paul Republican candidates around the country. This is something that, I'm sure many of you know, is going to be vital if we are going to reclaim liberty for this country. Pretty much all of us were putting the call out for candidates to get to go out there and run.

For months since Ron Paul candidates started running, I would come on here and see them or people representing them come on the forums and ask for help to no avail. We (Lawson for Congress) had been more successful than others, but it was a struggle for everyone. This can be very frustrating, and in fact disheartening, after having seen the grassroots raise $35 million for Ron Paul's Presidential campaign, and another $1 million for his Congressional campaign in just a week. I've spoken to friends and staffers who have worked or still work for other campaigns, and they share this feeling 100%.

But even more so, I was frustrated to see threads linking to YouTube videos and news articles getting a TON more hits than threads about Ron Paul candidates' campaigns and requests for money. On these topics, the forum pretty much had no pulse. I wanted to see more discussion and energy focused on the Congressional end of things. The only way I figured we would see this is if I wrote a post that was rather inflammatory in tone, as nothing kicks off discussion quite like anger. The fact that the thread has become 8 pages long- probably the longest thread on the whole board on the topic of Ron Paul candidates- in such a short time confirms this.

We- Lawson for Congress- are very happy with the total we've raised today, and we thank each and every one of you who donated and helped to promote this. We've raised more than $15,000 today, and we still have over an hour and a half left. If enough people get drunk, we could even hit $20,000 for the day. We would still love to raise about $60,000 or more tomorrow to hit the $100,000 cash-on-hand mark for the quarter, but we still have time to raise a lot of money before November, and its not the end of the world. We also got B.J.'s name out there online, and the value of this can't be understated. But we absolutely must begin a much more concerted and focused effort to help candidates in the races like B.J., Steven Vasquez, Peter James, and others.

For Liberty,

Paige Michael-Shetley
Youth Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator,
Lawson for Congress
Email: paige.shetley@lawsonforcongress.com

[LibertyEagle]

What you need to realize, is that there is not even close to the number of people on this forum that there used to be and many of us still here, have given and given and given over the last year. So while I understand your frustration, you need to understand that we also have to pay our bills. Many people sold their possessions, not to mention sold their own blood, just to give money to Ron Paul's campaign. Now, they are trying to regroup.

That said, I contributed and I'm sure others will too, when they are able. Hopefully, you are also reaching out to the folks on The Daily Paul and other websites.

[rajibo]

Campaign for Liberty probably should have sent out an email blast about it instead of just a measly 3 line post on their blog.

One of the purposes of CFL is to promote candidates, right?

[amy31416]

What you need to realize, is that there is not even close to the number of people on this forum that there used to be and many of us still here, have given and given and given over the last year. So while I understand your frustration, you need to understand that we also have to pay our bills. Many people sold their possessions, not to mention sold their own blood, just to give money to Ron Paul's campaign. Now, they are trying to regroup.

That said, I contributed and I'm sure others will too, when they are able. Hopefully, you are also reaching out to the folks on The Daily Paul and other websites.

Good points. I posted some info about it on Daily Paul and I don't think my post got a single response.

[Lovecraftian4Paul]

Liberty Eagle mentions an unfortunate truth. Also, Ron Paul's phenomenal fundraising came from two sources: those who morphed into die hard supporters, and desperate Americans looking for a "savior" before the primaries began. The ability to make Ron Paul videos and information go viral also helped a lot.

I think that other alternative candidates like Barr and Nader would enjoy very good (though probably not as good) fundraising success with a way to tap the internet crowd.

Moreover, it's more difficult to pitch Congressional races to people. The average American just doesn't pay as much attention to these races, and only a smooth communication system would relay what candidates are like Ron Paul. The RP supporters who follow Ron Paul closely online are probably a minority. Many of his voters are marginal 'net users at best, and would have no way of knowing about Congressional candidates without it.

[LibertyEagle]

Campaign for Liberty probably should have sent out an email blast about it instead of just a measly 3 line post on their blog.

One of the purposes of CFL is to promote candidates, right?

Good point. Perhaps you should suggest that to them.

[hopeforamerica]

If Ron Paul himself would send in email, the money would poor in! Bottom line is that people listen to him.

[RonPaulFanInGA]

Campaign for Liberty probably should have sent out an email blast about it instead of just a measly 3 line post on their blog.

If Ron Paul himself would send in email, the money would poor in! Bottom line is that people listen to him.

I've written the same thing many times before. Why couldn't the Campaign for Liberty send out an e-mail to it's 65,000 members to promote this? They just seem so indifferent on this. Maybe it's a legal thing...at least I kind of hope now that it is.

[LibertyEagle]

I've written the same thing many times before. Why couldn't the Campaign for Liberty send out an e-mail to it's 65,000 members to promote this? They just seem so indifferent on this. Maybe it's a legal thing...at least I kind of hope now that it is.

Well, send them an email and suggest that they do this. It's not going to do much, posting about it on here.

It very well could be a legal thing at this point in time. They're still getting everything all setup.

[Jeremy]

Remember that the CFL has only sent out one email so far... the CFL isn't even really started yet... true, it would have helped a lot and it would have been great! But I knew it wasn't going to happen

[NH4RonPaul]

Remember that the CFL has only sent out one email so far... the CFL isn't even really started yet... true, it would have helped a lot and it would have been great! But I knew it wasn't going to happen

There are about 60 pro-liberty candidates in NH running for local and state offices.

There is just not enough money to go around.

[mport1]

I've written the same thing many times before. Why couldn't the Campaign for Liberty send out an e-mail to it's 65,000 members to promote this? They just seem so indifferent on this. Maybe it's a legal thing...at least I kind of hope now that it is.

I assume their thinking is that they do not want to inundate people with emails with the result of them dropping off. I think this would have been a great time for one though.

[RPTXState]

A few problems that are hurting Lawson's fundraising

1. CFL is still in Beta, and won't be "Live" until probably September. Seems to me like its waiting until 2010, and that's unfortunate.

2. His district is heavily Democratic with a "popular" incumbent. The last Republican to run there got less than 40%, and this election is going to be dominated by Democrats.

3. Alot of Ron Paul supporters don't know about Lawson yet.

4. Those that do are splitting their money between several Congressional candidates. Even if we raised another 35mil, that would only amount to about 350k per candidate.

5. People are drained moneywise from donating to RP, and some still feel depressed that he didn't win.

Hopefully I'll be able to speak with Dr. Paul within a few weeks and I'll be sure to ask him to, well, do something to help B.J.

[jnu]

Paige,

I realize that after you put so much time, effort, and money into BJ's campaign, it can be frustrating when others don't share your enthusiasm and commitment. However, your post did not come across very well, IMHO. For a message urging people to donate money, it sounded angry and accusatory, not motivational. There can be many reasons why a person does not donate to a particular campaign at a particular time; it does not help to be judgmental. I would urge you to avoid such posts in the future and try to stay positive. The Revolution and the Campaign for Liberty are not just about BJ, even though he is an important part.

That said, thank you very much for helping out so much with BJ's campaign. It is greatly appreciated! Keep up the great work!

--
John N. Underwood
jnu@libertas.us

[slacker921]

If Ron Paul himself would send in email, the money would poor in! Bottom line is that people listen to him.

Ron Paul JUST sent an e-mail out..... but it doesn't mention any need to donate to the Lawson campaign. But hey, you can buy a Paul family cookbook!