Donations from Europe

[Rylick]

Ron Paul has friends all over the world. The only problem is that the US law doesn't allow foreign donations.

I could easily open a fundraising group for Ron Paul 2012 over here in Europe and make thousands of dollars, but I cant donate it directly to Ron Paul. So I need a reliable person or organization to donate the money for the european supporters.

Any ideas ?

[JohnEngland]

Hmm, shouldn't we be leaving donations to Americans? I'm all for helping out on blogs, comment sections of news sites, travelling over to do some volunteering etc. but I think money should be left in the hands of the constituents of a politician.

Think about it this way - would you want foreigners giving money to the political rivals of those whom you support in Germany?

[cmasslibertarian]

Hmm, shouldn't we be leaving donations to Americans? I'm all for helping out on blogs, comment sections of news sites, travelling over to do some volunteering etc. but I think money should be left in the hands of the constituents of a politician.

Think about it this way - would you want foreigners giving money to the political rivals of those whom you support in Germany?

But what if they are former Americans? does that change anything in your view?

[Rylick]

Hmm, shouldn't we be leaving donations to Americans? I'm all for helping out on blogs, comment sections of news sites, travelling over to do some volunteering etc. but I think money should be left in the hands of the constituents of a politician.

Think about it this way - would you want foreigners giving money to the political rivals of those whom you support in Germany?

I can understand how condemnable it would be if these donations would come from a government but I want to help the freedom revolution as much as possible so it can spread all over the world.

[Sentient Void]

Hmm, shouldn't we be leaving donations to Americans? I'm all for helping out on blogs, comment sections of news sites, travelling over to do some volunteering etc. but I think money should be left in the hands of the constituents of a politician.

Think about it this way - would you want foreigners giving money to the political rivals of those whom you support in Germany?

Unfortunately, this man has a point.

I think the best thing others around the world (Europeans, et al) can do is help spread the message and show vocal support for Ron Paul, spread youtube vids, articles, etc to other friends in their respective countries - and help spread such propaganda to others here in the US.

Having foreigners support Ron Paul sends a very powerful message.

[cmasslibertarian]

Unfortunately, this man has a point.

I think the best thing others around the world (Europeans, et al) can do is help spread the message and show vocal support for Ron Paul, spread youtube vids, articles, etc to other friends in their respective countries - and help spread such propaganda to others here in the US.

Having foreigners support Ron Paul sends a very powerful message.

But what is the difference between someone supporting Ron Paul with their time versus with their money? It seems like an arbitrary distinction.

[cmasslibertarian]

here is some information on the FEC rules about foreign nationals

http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/foreign.shtml

[tangent4ronpaul]

It's illegal for a non-American to donate to an official US political campaign. I don't believe there are any restriction on donating to grassroots efforts that promote a particular candidate but are in no way associated with their official campaigns.

-t

[JohnEngland]

Well I use the example of Obama to express my concern about it.

Most people in Europe are socialists and have never been exposed to the principles of liberty, real free markets etc. As such, most Europeans would be giving their money to the politician that is most like them.

In 2008 it was Obama and I should imagine that it'll always be the redistributionist Democrats that they support.

Sure, it would be nice if those of us who support Ron Paul over here in Europe could give money, but it would be easily outweighed by those who still mindlessly chant "yes we can!!!11!!"

The best chance of America returning to it's Constitution is with the money of the American people - not the money of Europeans, South Americans etc.

[Sentient Void]

But what is the difference between someone supporting Ron Paul with their time versus with their money? It seems like an arbitrary distinction.

The difference being, they're not allowed to donate money, but free speech allows them to donate time & other efforts in waking people up.

Secondly, if it were allowed that foreigners could donate - I'm sure we'd have TONS of world interests donating tons of money to the elites here in the country - and I don't think we'd want that. We've already got them backing them, I don't think we need more headache from them.

[JamesButabi]

I see that campaign for liberty has a worldwide presence. Since they aren't allowed to officially endorse candidates, I would think this is a safe bet for donations. (Can anyone confirm?)

Ideally, kill two birds with one stone. Work towards an immigration into New Hampshire and join the Free-State Project, then you wont have any more restrictions on donating :)

[Rylick]

Work towards an immigration into New Hampshire and join the Free-State Project
Haha! Good one
You have no idea how hard it is