A look at yesterday's moneybomb

[Jeremy]

I don't know how this raised only as much as our (our meaning a lot of the grassroots people here) Lawson moneybomb. It was essentially ineffective. Don't get me wrong, any donation is obviously a good thing, but the moneybomb itself didn't appear to work. I, and some others, said this from the beginning. The highest anyone got was about $2k... better than nothing, but some of the higher ones, in my opinion, have no chance of winning. I'm mostly referring to the people running with no party. It sounds great and I'd support them to the end if I had to, but honestly the chance of an independent winning is so small.

Here are some points:

1) Our smaller, "no-name" moneybomb did better than Lyman's "big one".
2) The funds were spread to people without anyone doing real research.
3) As much as I respect Trevor, whenever he stepped out of donating to the official campaign, his projects have wasted money.
4) Most people here have no idea about the candidates even though they are supposed to be supporting them.

Let me talk about #4 for a second because that has to do with the people reading this right now mostly. Maybe you. I don't understand how so little people know what's going on outside of Ron Paul... and maybe Murray Sabrin. I was in FMN a week ago (a radio/TV type thing) and the hosts of a show that was broadcasted on FMN and RevolutionBroadcasting didn't know who BJ Lawson is. Why is this? He's been around longer than almost all the other candidates and was usually one of the more popular ones. Why is it so many RP supporters know NO candidates or only know that Murray Sabrin lost and there isn't anybody else? Guess what... I knew Murray would lose. I knew BJ would win his primary. Why are so many people blind to these things? And what about the other candidates? BJ Lawson is one of the more popular ones, there are many others.

The overall problem we are facing right now is ignorance. Too few people have made the step from Ron Paul to what's next. I challenge you to do your research... understand who's running and the chances they have of winning. Participate in discussions about these candidates and help at the grassroots level like you did for Ron Paul.

[szczebrzeszyn]

The overall problem we are facing right now is ignorance. Too few people have made the step from Ron Paul to what's next. I challenge you to do your research... understand who's running and the chances they have of winning. Participate in discussions about these candidates and help at the grassroots level like you did for Ron Paul.

I don't know if it's ignorance, but you have a point. I think Murray caught the "Ron Paul wave" and thus get that much money, when he had no chances as history revealed. But now, it's much, much harder. And besides, everyone has a moneybomb. It was fun in the past, but now it's nothing special. And people like to take part in something special, innovative etc. That's how it often works whether we like it or not.

And after Sabrin's failure, maybe people are more more sceptical when asked to give money to some candidates they don't know much about?
I don't think thet 4th July money bomb failed because of Trevor or BTM fees. I think it's some broader problem and not a personal one (well, maybe a few people didn't take part becuse of Trevor or btm, but it does not matter much when you raise $12k in total). It's like people could gather around 1 very important contest (POTUS), which is a very popular one in US with LOT of TV, radio etc. coverage but can't do the same with less "exciting" and less popular ones, despite their similar importance to the cause...

[TruthisTreason]

Ron Paul caught fire and with fire comes a little magic. Keeping that fire burning is nearly impossible. I think we are seeing that. I've read many internet articles claiming BTM (Trevor, whom I don't know) was responsible for the big money bomb. They may have had a hand in it, but without the star (Ron Paul), they're not much without him, it appears. It just shows how much work there is to do in this REVolution. We've lost a lot of ground, because we didn't win a nomination and Ron didn't want to leave the Republican Party. I guess Ron Paul is a busy man, but if he really wants to change America, he should focus on becoming THE shepherd and lead this movement (be more vocal and animated, let the people see your passion). Herds don't herd themselves.! My 2 cents.:cool:

If we continue down the path we have been on for the last two months, I think everyone can see where we are headed. 1,000,000> 100,000 > 50,000> 10,000> A few internet spammers.

[Jamsie 567]

Stormcommander: 3) As much as I respect Trevor, whenever he stepped out of donating to the official campaign, his projects have wasted money.

I don't really see it that way because you are not waisting money if you are putting that money into your own people. Waisting money is going to the Iraq war or the war on drugs. If you don't support something then don't wasite your money. However the people who donated did not feel they were waisting their money or they wouldn't have donated. It was not a blow out success but what it did to was create awareness and prompting more people to vote for the RP Republicans. I feel it could of been better marketed meaning not enough emotion connecting to the event to inspire people to donate.

[Jeremy]

I don't mean wasted money exactly. I just think people need to stop following Trevor before anyone else simply because he's Trevor... he's not the only one here.

[SaratogaForRonPaul]

I agree with many of the points. Most of the remaining movement do not know that these candidates even exist, as we have lost the central method of communicating to the masses. Daily Paul, these forums, and Break the Matrix, only have a few thousand people who still go on a semi-regular basis, and its the only known method of reaching out to these people as a grassroots. Trevor has his mailing lists, but as someone pointed out, people follow Ron Paul.

Ron Paul is the only one who can currently reach out to his mailing lists and communicate to the movement that these candidates exist. Without that, this portion of the movement, the candidates running for office, will go away, even the ones with a fighting chance. We need Ron Paul to back these candidates up verbally to give the movement direction and leadership. I am afraid they may be waiting for September 2nd, when its to late to have an impact.

For now, those on these forums should do the research, just like you did when picking the POTUS and found Congressman Paul. A good place to start is www.PaulCongress.com and click on the Federal and State Candidates. Its a good list and shows who Ron Paul endorsed, where they are running and who their running against if anyone. (Check out the open seat candidates.)

[Jamsie 567]

I don't mean wasted money exactly. I just think people need to stop following Trevor before anyone else simply because he's Trevor... he's not the only one here.

I understand what your saying Stormcommander perhaps more than you know. In every movment there are leaders who are born. Trevor did not choose who he became but acted on an idea. I don't fault him for who he became and why but thankfull he is on our side. The saddest thing there will always be to many people to thank.

If you are willing to step up and do what he does I would support you.

[pacelli]

Since I don't have a pipeline to the entire US congressional race other than these forums, I used the forums as a gauge as to how I would donate the few dollars I had left over. Gas, food, and bills have gotten out of control lately and I simply don't have the capital available as I did back in November and December. The candidate that was here got my donation directly on his website.

I was a bit surprised that local people weren't posting about their candidates. The freedomslate moneybomb had been planned for quite some time. But, It all seemed to be left to the freedomslate emails and Trevor's post. It did not seem to me that there was much local enthusiasm behind any of the candidates (again, local enthusiasm as judged by these forums, since it is impossible to be in every district of the US to evaluate the enthusiasm level). Perhaps I missed it, but I don't recall anyone ever posting something like, "please donate, if Mr/Ms X gets elected they will be my congressperson".

So the thought is, if nobody in that candidate's area is excited about the candidate, why should anyone else be? Another way of looking at it is, if nobody in the candidate's area KNOWS about the candidate, then how much of a chance do they have to win their primary? People don't want to donate their cash to an unknown, plain and simple.

[TruthisTreason]

Ron Paul's new site CFL didn't even have a blog about this, and didn't send out an email. That leaves some to wonder if he even supported it, leaves some to wonder if it was a scam or something. How hard is it to send out an email? Or start a blog? I don't get it>>! I'm starting to have a lot of doubts......:o


P.S. They didn't send out an email for BJ LAWSON money bomb, either.

[angelatc]

I do not think it was a complete failure. One reason the individual money bomb earned more is because that the donor pool was split.

I absolutely agree that Trevor stepped up! We didn't follow him. We'd be probably be happy to participate in other fundraisers.

[angelatc]

Perhaps I missed it, but I don't recall anyone ever posting something like, "please donate, if Mr/Ms X gets elected they will be my congressperson".
.

I did, and David Gay was here.

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

Part of it is also that it's hard to organize donors for some guy running for congress in some other district. I spurred all kinds of friends and family around the nation to donate to Paul. It's not so easy with Lawson or other congressional candidates, since they aren't local to my friends and family. I haven't had much success with turning any of them into activists, even though I made a ton of headway getting them to support Paul.

[pacelli]

I did, and David Gay was here.

Thanks.

[SaratogaForRonPaul]

I posted here as well. I am falling behind in this money bomb, and I can use a bump. I currently have $760, compared to $1-3K many others have. Please help out as the Money Bomb continues through July 7th.

Here is a post I replied to elsewhere which talks about my campaign:

Thank you for your reply. I am running as a Republican in the NY 21st District. I am for protecting our national sovereignty, and am against the NAU, Amero, UN, Federal Reserve, CFR, and other unAmerican attacks on our freedom and liberties. I am not a career politician or a lawyer, but a concerned citizen and businessman with no ties to special interests. I have an MBA and a Masters of Engineering from RPI. I also started a tech business. As an entrepreneur, I know how to get a great deal done with little resources, unlike our government which get very lttle good done with a great deal of resources. I am going to change that. We need to balance the budget so we do not pass our debt and excessiveness to our children and grandchildren. We need to live within our means and stop wasting money overseas.

FreedomSlate08.com is a fundraiser by BreakTheMatrix.com, which is a new private media company to give us all an alternative to the current Mass Media. It is started by Trevor Lyman of Money Bomb and Blimp fame.

There are a number of great candidates in the FreedomSlate08.com, all were active with the Ron Paul movement. There are two candidates, David Gay and myself, who are the only 2 candidates in the country running in open seats (no incumbent) and endorsed by Ron Paul. Incumbents win 98% of the time, so this is a great opportunity, but we need resources and volunteers to reach out to the voting block and spread the message.

Here is Ron Paul's endorsement of my campaign:
"I am pleased to endorse Steven Vasquez for Congress. We need Steven in Washington to help advance the agenda of those of us committed to limited government. Steven has valuable experience in business as a successful entrepreneur in Tech Valley. Steven's experience is critical in advancing the goals of fixing the economy by balancing the budget, cutting wasteful Washington spending, and combating inflation. We believe these polices, together with tax reduction and regulatory reform, will protect our economy from serious problems. I believe electing Steven Vasquez will be a big part of advancing these policies."

[constituent]

Ron Paul's new site CFL didn't even have a blog about this, and didn't send out an email. That leaves some to wonder if he even supported it, leaves some to wonder if it was a scam or something. How hard is it to send out an email? Or start a blog? I don't get it>>! I'm starting to have a lot of doubts......:o


P.S. They didn't send out an email for BJ LAWSON money bomb, either.


what, were they supposed to do it gratis?

it amazes me how many people are sooooo clueless as to what happened to the magic.

Why am I (or anyone else) going to bust my ass for some "greater good" cause (for free), exhausting myself and my resources so someone else can get paid?

I'm not.

You'll find i'm no longer in the minority (most have awoken to the scam[s]).

There were some great things going, but some great things (pardon the language) got fucked off.

Sometimes out of incompetence, sometimes a lack of perspective, other times a lack of imagination.

I could go into much more detail about this, but am not really up for it at the moment. I think maybe a thread in hot topics later will suffice.

[Soccrmastr]

I don't know how this raised only as much as our (our meaning a lot of the grassroots people here) Lawson moneybomb. It was essentially ineffective. Don't get me wrong, any donation is obviously a good thing, but the moneybomb itself didn't appear to work. I, and some others, said this from the beginning. The highest anyone got was about $2k... better than nothing, but some of the higher ones, in my opinion, have no chance of winning. I'm mostly referring to the people running with no party. It sounds great and I'd support them to the end if I had to, but honestly the chance of an independent winning is so small.

Here are some points:

1) Our smaller, "no-name" moneybomb did better than Lyman's "big one".
2) The funds were spread to people without anyone doing real research.
3) As much as I respect Trevor, whenever he stepped out of donating to the official campaign, his projects have wasted money.
4) Most people here have no idea about the candidates even though they are supposed to be supporting them.

Let me talk about #4 for a second because that has to do with the people reading this right now mostly. Maybe you. I don't understand how so little people know what's going on outside of Ron Paul... and maybe Murray Sabrin. I was in FMN a week ago (a radio/TV type thing) and the hosts of a show that was broadcasted on FMN and RevolutionBroadcasting didn't know who BJ Lawson is. Why is this? He's been around longer than almost all the other candidates and was usually one of the more popular ones. Why is it so many RP supporters know NO candidates or only know that Murray Sabrin lost and there isn't anybody else? Guess what... I knew Murray would lose. I knew BJ would win his primary. Why are so many people blind to these things? And what about the other candidates? BJ Lawson is one of the more popular ones, there are many others.

The overall problem we are facing right now is ignorance. Too few people have made the step from Ron Paul to what's next. I challenge you to do your research... understand who's running and the chances they have of winning. Participate in discussions about these candidates and help at the grassroots level like you did for Ron Paul.

I absolutely agree. Think of all that money wasted on that damn blimp that could have been used now to help +all these candidates get elected and cause real reform instead of some ineffective blimp that absolutely did not work one bit.

[constituent]

I absolutely agree. Think of all that money wasted on that damn blimp that could have been used now to help +all these candidates get elected and cause real reform instead of some ineffective blimp that absolutely did not work one bit.


ahhhh c'mon now, it got tons of publicity.

[Soccrmastr]

ahhhh c'mon now, it got tons of publicity.

Most of it was bad or matter-of-fact publicity, and do you honestly think it helped change peoples minds/get them to vote for Ron Paul? And even if it did for some, was it worth ALL that money that was put into it?

[revolutionman]

still too much emphasis on Ron Paul and the General election. A lot of people are still daydreaming their fantasy of instant gratification of Ron Paul winning The Presidency. As long as they are occupied with flights of fancy, they cannot focus on the real task at hand.

i for one think the money bombs are being over done. Some of us are high school kids with no income, some of us are college kids with little to no income, and some of us are just barely getting by on our weekly wages, we might be able to scrape up cash to donate to the cause now and then, but it seems like there is just one money bomb after another, and its bleeding the faithful and optimistic supporters dry.

Why not organize a traditional drive, but expend as much money/energy hyping it as you do the money bombs. I had to pay my cable and water bills this week, i can swing a few bucks next week though, just don't let me forget. thats hypothetical. I am trying to get a small business off the ground, I don't even really have enough income to survive on my own right now.

[Roxi]

my comment isn't about the money bomb because i don't really know why it "bombed" but i did want to comment on some of the other things you said...

maybe part of the problem is because enough people have pooped on trevors name that it gave people who didn't know either side well enough to make their own decision so they made the "safe" one and didn't donate because trevors name was behind it.

another thing the projects that trevor has been involved in that "wasted money" weren't entirely his projects. a lot of the time these projects are the brainchildren of other people and they go to trevor because his name is well known and he helped promote the two biggest money bombs in history. Trevor is nice enough to step in, put his ass and money on the line and some of them haven't worked out that well. Its not easy volunteering to do these projects and your being pulled in like a MILLION different directions, you just try to make the right decision or at least the best one possible.

no i don't think trevor is a god, or has always made all the right decisions but he has integrity and has done everything he could to make these projects the best they could be.

if anyone has a concern over a project that trevor is working on they are free to contact him and he has never been shady about what he was doing or why. but instead people start threads on the forums that end up just being negative on trevor's name, when most of the posts are totally clueless as to whats really going on (no im not talking about this thread) So what happens is, people who don't know trevor hear this crap about him that is BS rumors and take it as truth, so they are afraid to donate to a cause that he is behind.

[TruthisTreason]

what, were they supposed to do it gratis?

.

I would think so. :(

[constituent]

I would think so. :(

lol.

[ItsTime]

Like Ive been saying, its time to refocus around people with real marketing skills. Only avg 2.15 per member of BTM makes me wonder how many fake or very inactive profiles are on BTM. I am not accusing BTM of creating those profiles.

I did not get one email from anyone in my mailing list about this money bomb. shows there is little support for something... but what?

[revolutionman]

Fund raising is big business folks. that's just the nature of the beast. When you donate to just about any charitable organization, the NPO is legally entitled to 30% of the donations i believe, for administrative costs. Well administrative costs include paying the director a handsome salary. if you raise $15,000, and spend a $1000 in the process, the director can pocket $3500. Maybe divvy it up between his key staff, but more often than not, those people are donating their time. Volunteers.

Thats an NPO, who knows how much money could be made raising funds for profit. They could take 50%, and as long as they can sucker people into donating to the cause through their organization, they can clean out the cause. Not to say that that is whats going on, but it very well could be.

[ItsTime]

Fund raising is big business folks. that's just the nature of the beast. When you donate to just about any charitable organization, the NPO is legally entitled to 30% of the donations i believe, for administrative costs. Well administrative costs include paying the director a handsome salary. if you raise $15,000, and spend a $1000 in the process, the director can pocket $3500. Maybe divvy it up between his key staff, but more often than not, those people are donating their time. Volunteers.

Thats an NPO, who knows how much money could be made raising funds for profit. They could take 50%, and as long as they can sucker people into donating to the cause through their organization, they can clean out the cause. Not to say that that is whats going on, but it very well could be.

They would not disclose the amount being taken and I was attacked for asking. You bring up some good points.

[revolutionman]

They would not disclose the amount being taken and I was attacked for asking.

have you navigated the proper channels to find out or have you just been posting on the forums asking about it??

IF you have done all the leg work and they are still not willing to disclose the percentage they have taken from each donation, then we have a phenomenon to be alarmed about. Transparency is a huge part of this movement. When there is a lack of transparency it usually means that some one is trying to pull a fast one.

Washington DC is a museum dedicated to that bit of truth.

[ItsTime]

have you navigated the proper channels to find out or have you just been posting on the forums asking about it??

IF you have done all the leg work and they are still not willing to disclose the percentage they have taken from each donation, then we have a phenomenon to be alarmed about. Transparency is a huge part of this movement. When there is a lack of transparency it usually means that some one is trying to pull a fast one.

Washington DC is a museum dedicated to that bit of truth.

I always do the leg work. Sometimes people do not reply though.

[pacelli]

I always do the leg work. Sometimes people do not reply though.

Who hasn't replied?

[revolutionman]

who indeed.

if you feel this party is avoiding you and that there is something shady going on then you have a duty to call that person out. if your claims are accurate this sort of nonsense cannot be tolerated without our movement. its the same nonsense we are trying to purge from out political system.

[ItsTime]

send emails yourself, tell me if you get a reply. Easy as that ;)

[revolutionman]

I suspected as much.

[ItsTime]

I suspected as much.

well people have not been believing what I have been saying on this board. so people might as well try the things I have. see if they get the same.

[pacelli]

well people have not been believing what I have been saying on this board. so people might as well try the things I have. see if they get the same.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=144528

The total profit for the moneybomb is 10% of what was earned, as we learned in the above linked thread.

Currently the moneybomb total is at: $20,316

10% of $20,316 is $2031.60 . Maybe they aren't answering you because the answer is available with the information provided.

[ItsTime]

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=144528

The total profit for the moneybomb is 10% of what was earned, as we learned in the above linked thread.

Currently the moneybomb total is at: $20,316

10% of $20,316 is $2031.60 . Maybe they aren't answering you because the answer is available with the information provided.

I am reading through, and have no found an official statement from BTM. Please point me to that comment. Im tired of reading the thread.

[pacelli]

I am reading through, and have no found an official statement from BTM. Please point me to that comment. Im tired of reading the thread.

Same here. They aren't answering me either. Of course, that's because I really don't care enough about this issue to send an email. It isn't convincing me to donate. :eek:

[SaratogaForRonPaul]

Hi, I am a candidate. The fee is only 10%, which is minimum. By FEC law, they are required to charge something. I have been approached by several other fundraising organizations that want to charge 50% for organizing online fundraisers. Break The Matrix is charging a bare minimum for their service. Their intent is to help create a new media company that focuses on the freedom message, which is a very noble mission. The only way to do it successfully is to be a for profit organization so that it can grow organically through free market forces.

Personally, I am shocked by the kind of reaction that people have given on this board. I am a business person and entrepreneur myself. One of the greatest forces that made this country great is for profit free enterprise and capitalism. That is what we are trying to to save in this country, but it is going away thanks to a combination of corporate welfare creating monopolies (aka Fascism) and socialism (aka Communism).

Every other political campaign charges a fortune for fundraising. BTM is the cheapest around, and they are required by FEC law to charge since they are a corporation rather than a PAC (which would limit what they can do) or a not for profit.

I applaud what they are doing. Trust me, they are not getting rich off this, they are barely covering costs.

[RPTXState]

The fee is only 10%, which is minimum. By FEC law, they are required to charge something. I have been approached by several other fundraising organizations that want to charge 50% for organizing online fundraisers. Break The Matrix is charging a bare minimum for their service.

+1

Just a little more openness on BTM's part would be nice, that's all.

[SaratogaForRonPaul]

+1

Just a little more openness on BTM's part would be nice, that's all.


I understand that people think that they were not open, but they had a disclosure statement on the bottom of the site since it was introduced, just like any other online fundraising group. They are not required to state what they charge and none of the other fundraising groups do as well (though they charge upwards of 50%!)

The reality is that they are providing a legitimate and valuable service to the freedom candidates, most of whom have never been exposed to the the Ron Paul grassroots before. Their service is worth a value to the candidates, where they would not be making the same amount for the day if they did not use their service. Their payback is based on how successful they were in promoting the event. If it was a huge success, then they would be able to cover their costs and use their profits to create TV content about the freedom movement on their new cable provider partner. Since it was only a moderate success so far, it didn't really cover their costs. Remember as a company, they are working full-time to help educate and spread Ron Paul's message beyond the campaign. As such, it is not charity, but a business with minimum paychecks at this time to stay afloat and to continue. Again, I find it noble to give up working normal jobs that pay more to risk it all to start a business with a mission that we all believe in. As a business, they do not have the same limitations as CFL has as a 501.c (which they stated they can not endorse or even announce any of the freedom candidates due to FEC laws, though they are still confirming that).

This was stated before many times before when Break the Matrix was founded and announced.

[Roxi]

BWWWAAAACKKK!!! what? no ones answering your emails?

ok kidding aside... they are really busy right now, i have no idea how patient you have been or if you waited an hour and then said "oh they aren't answering me" but its not easy to check your emails often when you are doing these sort of things.

you can always send trevor a PM on here or on facebook as well

you also have to realize that there have been many naysayers on this board about BTM and he has probably recieved ton's of "what are your intentions" emails.

give it a little time, maybe a few days he will get back to you. trevor isn't a shady guy, and hes probably tired of defending himself against people when he has tried to be so up front about everything.

when i was coordinating volunteers in new hampshire phone calls came in from 6 am until sometimes 3 am i had to check up to 400 emails in one day, and i really tried to answer each one personally... it took a lot out of me physically and emotionally and sometimes you just need a day off. I usually trust NO ONE, but i do trust trevor, and that is only based on my experience with him not on what other people have said.

[revolutionman]

Thank you for clarifying this issue. It may be shocking for you, but I as well as many others have learned the hard way to be weary of any enterprise where money is involved. There is always a wolf, preying on the unsuspecting. maybe we are a bit paranoid to see that wolf in every shadow, but better to be paranoid and careful than to be swindled by some conman.

I don't expect anyone to do anything well for free.

i also support their project. I'm watching BTM right now, i think its a great idea, i have been making comments about breaking the kook stigma of our movement by taking it main stream via media projects. I've been working on a book project that has been poorly received. I was excited to find that some one was one the same wavelength as me, only 100 steps ahead.

[ItsTime]

I applaud what they are doing. Trust me, they are not getting rich off this, they are barely covering costs.

being a business man you should know that they did not do their job in this fund raising effort. If this is the best our revolution can do then we should be looking for help from elsewhere for marketing help. $2.15 per member of their own website for a fundraiser they sponsored is really low.

I do not see what their huge costs were? By the looks of it they set up a website, $100 bucks tops maybe extra for the banners and sent out some emails free. If they did any more than and only raised 17k, we need to look else where for marketing.

It is clear they hoped doing the bare minimum would get people to promote the event for them for free. That clearly did not happen.

[SaratogaForRonPaul]

In terms of costs, we have to think beyond just capital expenditure, we also have to consider labor costs. When you are a volunteer giving up free time during your non-working hours, it may seem free, but you are giving up opportunity costs (relaxation, working side projects to make money, etc.). This is what is amazing about the R3VOLution during the campaign, the sheer amount people gave to see RP succeed.

In this case, there is a small team of people who sacrificed normal jobs and safe incomes to do what they believe in and are working full time as their job to make this happen. They are obviously taking a major hit in pay, but they still need to earn enough to survive, and hopefully will eventually profit to grow their organization. The FreedomSlate08 took dozens if not hundreds of man hours to design the website, contact the candidates, create profiles, do radio/video interviews of the candidates, edit them, and produce them in YouTube; create the back end, design the logos and banners, spend days trying to convince the RP organization to acknowledge and endorse the event (which they stated they could not due to their 501(c) organization), etc.

FreedomSlate did cost them a significant amount to put together.

The success of FreedomSlate (which is still going on until Monday night) is relative. For the candidates, any money that is more than they would have gained otherwise is positive. More importantly, dozens of candidates received exposure that they even exist to the segment that FreedomSlate was able to reach out to, and this can help create the all important name recognition for future efforts.

While the monetary amount may not seem like a success to some, read the earlier part of this thread for some discussion on this. I personally believe most people are confused and exhausted after the RP campaign. They need new direction, and at this point they are only going to hear it if it comes directly from Ron Paul. Ron Paul with Campaign for Liberty stated that we should support local Candidates, but did not say who they are. Except for the readers of these forums, DailyPaul, BTM, and a few other sites, the majority of the movement do not know these candidates even exist and/or won't do anything about helping unless RP tells them to. That is my theory, there may be others.

If there are other organizations, free or otherwise, that have the capability to reach out to more people and motivate them to donate to the candidates to save our country, then I hope they come out and we can have the free market make the choice.

[Paul.Bearer.of.Injustice]

Other fundraising organizations charge up to 50% of the donations because they may have a banquet dinner with a speaking appearance by the candidate, a raffle, golf outing, etc.
In these instances, people don't typically question how much of a cut the event promoters are taking because they are getting a product/service in return (food and fun). BTM offered us, their capital-providing "customers", nothing in return. Not only will most consumers reject such a model, but be insulted by it as well. Since when did capitalism become something for nothing? Sure, the candidates are getting a service, but I'm expected to foot the bill? This something-for-nothing greed is precisely the reason our financial markets and overall economy are at the edge of the cliff.

[ItsTime]

Other fundraising organizations charge up to 50% of the donations because they may have a banquet dinner with a speaking appearance by the candidate, a raffle, golf outing, etc.
In these instances, people don't typically question how much of a cut the event promoters are taking because they are getting a product/service in return (food and fun). BTM offered us, their capital-providing "customers", nothing in return. Not only will most consumers reject such a model, but be insulted by it as well. Since when did capitalism become something for nothing? Sure, the candidates are getting a service, but I'm expected to foot the bill? This something-for-nothing greed is precisely the reason our financial markets and overall economy are at the edge of the cliff.

It is worse than that. The customer was expected to do most if not all of the promotion for the event. So not only do they get the pleasure of donating money, which BTM takes a cut of, they get the pleasure of working for free for a for profit. :cool:

Looks like no body fell for it and these candidates should take notice.

[tonesforjonesbones]

I do not agree with a MIDDLE MAN for these moneybombs. They should be linked directly to the candidates with NOBODY getting a "cut" of anything. That to me is NO longer grass roots...that is like the candidates have an "agent" that get's a percentage. I've dealt with enough entertainment agents..and non profits..trust me. I rarely give to non profits because most of the dough goes to the people running the non profits. I will ONLY donate directly to the respective campaign websites...no middle man! TONES

[LibertyEagle]

It seems like one of the issues is that we don't know much about all these various candidates and the likelihood they have of winning.

That's why I'm wondering if Bryan's idea of a Liberty Strawpoll, might be a great idea. :) It sounds like fun and it would also be a way to find out more about the candidates.
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=145619

[constituent]

It seems like one of the issues is that we don't know much about all these various candidates and the likelihood they have of winning.

That's why I'm wondering if Bryan's idea of a Liberty Strawpoll, might be a great idea. :) It sounds like fun and it would also be a way to find out more about the candidates.
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=145619

agreed!

[revolutionman]

i love the liberty straw poll idea. seems pretty intensive, but i think intensive is generally a good thing.