The "Ron Paul Party" is Changing State-Level Politics

[ItsTime]

http://bedford-nh.patch.com/blog_posts/the-ron-paul-party-is-changing-state-level-politics


If the “Ron Paul Party” stays active and shows up for state and local candidates, they will change American politics. No other group has the energy and activism, and no other popular movement has a clear unifying message: “Liberty, and…. Liberty”, as Paul good-naturedly summarized when cut off for time in a recent debate. In a country that now has an official debt larger than its GNP, the Ron Paul Party is the best hope not only for the Republican Party, but for the future of the nation itself.

[Tyler_Durden]

I've been a Paulocrat since mid-2006. :)

[georgiaboy]

Ron Paul is the only fiscal-conservative candidate with a national campaign. In fact, only Paul and Romney have even FILED in every state’s 2012 primary! No other candidates managed to file in Virginia; Gingrich is missing Missouri as well. South Carolina voters are realizing this now, and Paul has claimed the mantle of the fiscal-conservative leader.

How are "South Carolina voters realizing this now"? Are there ads running stating this?

[ItsTime]

How are "South Carolina voters realizing this now"? Are there ads running stating this?

He just moved up to 20%

[Tyler_Durden]

How are "South Carolina voters realizing this now"? Are there ads running stating this?

Maybe they listened to what DeMint and Sen Tom Davis have been saying?

[OceanMachine7]

I just hope this movement doesn't become too "cult of personality" based around Ron Paul. It's about the ideas, he's just the vehicle at this particular point in time. We need to coalesce around as many candidates as we can who share those ideas.

[Xenophage]

I just hope this movement doesn't become too "cult of personality" based around Ron Paul. It's about the ideas, he's just the vehicle at this particular point in time. We need to coalesce around as many candidates as we can who share those ideas.

Agreed.

[bluesc]

This is critical. We want power in this country? State politics is the first step.

[GunnyFreedom]

:whistles Dixie:

[Kords21]

Looks like one of Sen. Graham's worst fears is coming true


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAEW2BjKfgU

[xFiFtyOnE]

http://www.salon.com/2012/01/07/35_romney_endorsers_received_contributions_first/

[GunnyFreedom]

We do need to get a better about supporting local candidates though. I don't want to bring it up because it feels like griping, and it's because of y'alls help I won in 2010. But it's important to the future of our cause that I do.

Only some 16 people from RPF's helped my (winning) campaign in 2010, and that's bumped up to 23 when you include the 2012 race. The most distressing part is those 16/23 are giving WAY WAY more than their fair share. We get thousands of visitors a day. There is no excuse for 20 people to give until they bleed out when we have the manpower here for everyone to give a mere $10 once and fund the entire campaign for someone at the State level.

So we need to figure something out, because it will be difficult to motivate our people to State races if they are like me, totally unconnected politically and unable to raise the money needed to run.

I will tell you that I am in grave danger of fading out of this race completely because of fundraising. I am in a tough 3-way primary with two wealthy establishment candidates. With a whole $6000 raised for a hotly contested primary when my opponents will be spending $40,000 each, the prospects are not great.

Again, I really don't want to gripe here. The 23 people who have given, have given way more than their fair share and I can't thank them enough. I just want to point out that if we are going to get serious about supporting local and state level races, we need to figure something out.

[ItsTime]

edit: dont want to give away a plan in the making lol

[Mini-Me]

We do need to get a better about supporting local candidates though. I don't want to bring it up because it feels like griping, and it's because of y'alls help I won in 2010. But it's important to the future of our cause that I do.

Only some 16 people from RPF's helped my (winning) campaign in 2010, and that's bumped up to 23 when you include the 2012 race. The most distressing part is those 16/23 are giving WAY WAY more than their fair share. We get thousands of visitors a day. There is no excuse for 20 people to give until they bleed out when we have the manpower here for everyone to give a mere $10 once and fund the entire campaign for someone at the State level.

So we need to figure something out, because it will be difficult to motivate our people to State races if they are like me, totally unconnected politically and unable to raise the money needed to run.

I will tell you that I am in grave danger of fading out of this race completely because of fundraising. I am in a tough 3-way primary with two wealthy establishment candidates. With a whole $6000 raised for a hotly contested primary when my opponents will be spending $40,000 each, the prospects are not great.

Again, I really don't want to gripe here. The 23 people who have given, have given way more than their fair share and I can't thank them enough. I just want to point out that if we are going to get serious about supporting local and state level races, we need to figure something out.

I agree that this is a problem. Local candidates don't draw as much, since the race is less spectacular, there's less name recognition, the money is split multiple ways, and there are only so many of us. I remember a few years back, it was difficult to manage just Ron Paul, BJ Lawson, and a couple others. The problem is real and perceived scalability...with an emphasis on perception.

I definitely agree about larger numbers of members giving small amounts, and to do so, we need to fix the perception issue. Perhaps when we have a Money Bomb day for you, we should specifically make it, "Everybody give Glen Bradley $10 day!" Actually stating a specific number as a goal - and making it LOW - makes people feel that they can make more of a difference on a psychological level. I think this causes trouble for the CFL, because their usual push is to suggest a much larger contribution of a couple hundred or more...VERY frequently. Even if you rarely ever donate, the constant pushiness for large amounts is exhausting and demoralizing. There may be an "every little bit helps" message, it's too little, too late: The initial push for a larger amount often makes people like me too embarrassed to give anything at all until I save up a little more to give a satisfying donation...which never happens. It's not emotionally rewarding to just say, "Screw it, here's $20," because the next day I'll get another request for $250, as if the $20 was too insignificant to count as a real donation. That sounds silly, but the way people feel emotionally about giving makes a huge difference.

I should note that it's very likely that a lot of frequent posters are probably jobless, by the way. That's why we have time to be here so much! To illustrate the mindset some people are likely to have, I'll man up and provide a personal testament: I don't get involved in party politics or real-world activism outside the house, because I feel guilty and ashamed about not having a job...particularly because I know that even in this bad market, I have nobody to blame but myself. I can spend time procrastinating on the forum and feel informed and involved, but that of course doesn't speed up my search. ;) I can donate small amounts occasionally...but I'm intimidated by larger requests. No matter how logical someone may be about any particular subject, and no matter how smart or self-aware they are, anyone can still have emotionally driven habits. Some of these habits can be counterproductive or even self-destructive. The takeaway from this is the following: Don't assume that just because we know it's so important on an intellectual level, we're going to donate. We all have choice, and we're all responsible for our choices, but if you want to encourage a positive outcome quicker, create positive emotional incentives for donating even the smallest amounts!

So, here's my suggestion for the next forum money bomb:
Psychologically, I think specifically asking for a low amount like $10 may make far more people more motivated and proud to donate such a small amount. You can always say, "If you can give more, that's even better - write your own check, but GIMME $10!" but I'd steer clear of, "or maybe $100! $1000! Or have you considered SELLING YOUR ORGANS and donating the full $2500?!?" ;)). Also, create a pledge thread with names: People are more likely to donate if they pledge in advance, but there are two factors that affect that:
How many other pledges are there? Are names named? How long is the list?
What's the pledge amount? (I NEVER pledge more than I'm SURE I can afford...so the requested amount should be an "impulse purchase" amount.)

If a $10 money bomb is very successful, we can then experiment by upping the amount to $15, then to $20, etc., to find the real sweet spot. The idea is to start low though. Suggesting higher amounts guilts donors who donate into giving more...but it guilts donors who can't afford that into not giving at all, and your problem is obviously that not enough people are biting.

BTW, how many donors did you get in total in 2010? It's quite possible that a few donated without tying their real name to their RPF's name or even posting about it on the forums at all (I did, though I couldn't give much). I admit I haven't given yet this year though...is another Money Bomb planned for you soon, or should I just chuck a few bucks your way?

[GunnyFreedom]

have to run to meeting, will direct my treasurer to this thread

[John F Kennedy III]

:whistles Dixie:

Glen Bradley sounds like a Presidential name.

And I'm of the opinion that every Ron Paul supporter should run for local/state office. Imagine 1,000 of us getting elected per state.

Then they work on advancing up the political ranks while we work on filling their seats with liberty candidates. Rinse, repeat.

I'm telling you, if we find a way to still be a country, the United States will be ours in 20 years.

[John F Kennedy III]

We do need to get a better about supporting local candidates though. I don't want to bring it up because it feels like griping, and it's because of y'alls help I won in 2010. But it's important to the future of our cause that I do.

Only some 16 people from RPF's helped my (winning) campaign in 2010, and that's bumped up to 23 when you include the 2012 race. The most distressing part is those 16/23 are giving WAY WAY more than their fair share. We get thousands of visitors a day. There is no excuse for 20 people to give until they bleed out when we have the manpower here for everyone to give a mere $10 once and fund the entire campaign for someone at the State level.

So we need to figure something out, because it will be difficult to motivate our people to State races if they are like me, totally unconnected politically and unable to raise the money needed to run.

I will tell you that I am in grave danger of fading out of this race completely because of fundraising. I am in a tough 3-way primary with two wealthy establishment candidates. With a whole $6000 raised for a hotly contested primary when my opponents will be spending $40,000 each, the prospects are not great.

Again, I really don't want to gripe here. The 23 people who have given, have given way more than their fair share and I can't thank them enough. I just want to point out that if we are going to get serious about supporting local and state level races, we need to figure something out.

Wait no, f*ck this. We need to organize a moneybomb for you. We get millions for Paul, we can get you $40,000.

[Austin]

We do need to get a better about supporting local candidates though. I don't want to bring it up because it feels like griping, and it's because of y'alls help I won in 2010. But it's important to the future of our cause that I do.

Only some 16 people from RPF's helped my (winning) campaign in 2010, and that's bumped up to 23 when you include the 2012 race. The most distressing part is those 16/23 are giving WAY WAY more than their fair share. We get thousands of visitors a day. There is no excuse for 20 people to give until they bleed out when we have the manpower here for everyone to give a mere $10 once and fund the entire campaign for someone at the State level.

So we need to figure something out, because it will be difficult to motivate our people to State races if they are like me, totally unconnected politically and unable to raise the money needed to run.

I will tell you that I am in grave danger of fading out of this race completely because of fundraising. I am in a tough 3-way primary with two wealthy establishment candidates. With a whole $6000 raised for a hotly contested primary when my opponents will be spending $40,000 each, the prospects are not great.


Again, I really don't want to gripe here. The 23 people who have given, have given way more than their fair share and I can't thank them enough. I just want to point out that if we are going to get serious about supporting local and state level races, we need to figure something out.


Austin, your donation is now complete
Confirmation number: 1GH91728A6208761H
Amount: $20.12

Who wants to join me? Donate $10 @ http://glenbradley2012.com/main/

[Ytrebil]

Robert, your donation is now complete

Confirmation number: 9WU22958FR245715P
Amount: $10.00

[Mini-Me]

Who wants to join me? Donate $10 @ http://glenbradley2012.com/main/


Michael, your donation is now complete
Confirmation number: 68N59160WK510200R.
Amount: $15.00

See? Impulse purchase!

[scrosnoe]

:whistles Dixie:

bangin' on my drum and joining the parade

grassroots all the way to the state house and on to the school boards and don't forget city council meetings and p1 on COUNTY SHERIFF for sure!

[Keith and stuff]

I just hope this movement doesn't become too "cult of personality" based around Ron Paul. It's about the ideas, he's just the vehicle at this particular point in time. We need to coalesce around as many candidates as we can who share those ideas.

I think that's partly what the article is about. It says,


Regardless of who is anointed at the Republican nominating convention, Ron Paul supporters should show up and campaign… for state-level candidates that they know personally and trust. NH has many such reliable fiscal conservatives; Jenn Coffey, Seth Cohn, and Mark Warden come to mind, and there are many others. Thanks to the work of the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance (http://www.nhliberty.org/), you can easily check their records. The NHLA Liberty Rating (http://www.nhliberty.org/2011_Liberty_Rating) is an objective measure of a representative or senator’s fiscal conservatism and support for personal freedom. (Full disclosure: I’m a Life Member of the NHLA).

If the “Ron Paul Party” stays active and shows up for state and local candidates, they will change American politics. No other group has the energy and activism, and no other popular movement has a clear unifying message: “Liberty, and…. Liberty”, as Paul good-naturedly summarized when cut off for time in a recent debate. In a country that now has an official debt larger than its GNP, the Ron Paul Party is the best hope not only for the Republican Party, but for the future of the nation itself.

BTW, this guy also writes on Lewrockwell.com and was an official Ron Paul grassroots coordinator in NH (official as in the campaign issued a press release saying he was.)

[Keith and stuff]

This is critical. We want power in this country? State politics is the first step.

I agree completely. Note to people not in NH, if you decide not to move to NH for some reason, please at least donate to NH or study the NH model. Politics is different in every state but liberty Republicans are having 10 times the impact in NH compared to any other state. We want liberty. Let's do what works and get it done!

[jacque]

I agree that this is a problem. Local candidates don't draw as much, since the race is less spectacular, there's less name recognition, the money is split multiple ways, and there are only so many of us. I remember a few years back, it was difficult to manage just Ron Paul, BJ Lawson, and a couple others. The problem is real and perceived scalability...with an emphasis on perception.

I definitely agree about larger numbers of members giving small amounts, and to do so, we need to fix the perception issue. Perhaps when we have a Money Bomb day for you, we should specifically make it, "Everybody give Glen Bradley $10 day!" Actually stating a specific number as a goal - and making it LOW - makes people feel that they can make more of a difference on a psychological level. I think this causes trouble for the CFL, because their usual push is to suggest a much larger contribution of a couple hundred or more...VERY frequently. Even if you rarely ever donate, the constant pushiness for large amounts is exhausting and demoralizing. There may be an "every little bit helps" message, it's too little, too late: The initial push for a larger amount often makes people like me too embarrassed to give anything at all until I save up a little more to give a satisfying donation...which never happens. It's not emotionally rewarding to just say, "Screw it, here's $20," because the next day I'll get another request for $250, as if the $20 was too insignificant to count as a real donation. That sounds silly, but the way people feel emotionally about giving makes a huge difference.

I should note that it's very likely that a lot of frequent posters are probably jobless, by the way. That's why we have time to be here so much! To illustrate the mindset some people are likely to have, I'll man up and provide a personal testament: I don't get involved in party politics or real-world activism outside the house, because I feel guilty and ashamed about not having a job...particularly because I know that even in this bad market, I have nobody to blame but myself. I can spend time procrastinating on the forum and feel informed and involved, but that of course doesn't speed up my search. ;) I can donate small amounts occasionally...but I'm intimidated by larger requests. No matter how logical someone may be about any particular subject, and no matter how smart or self-aware they are, anyone can still have emotionally driven habits. Some of these habits can be counterproductive or even self-destructive. The takeaway from this is the following: Don't assume that just because we know it's so important on an intellectual level, we're going to donate. We all have choice, and we're all responsible for our choices, but if you want to encourage a positive outcome quicker, create positive emotional incentives for donating even the smallest amounts!

So, here's my suggestion for the next forum money bomb:
Psychologically, I think specifically asking for a low amount like $10 may make far more people more motivated and proud to donate such a small amount. You can always say, "If you can give more, that's even better - write your own check, but GIMME $10!" but I'd steer clear of, "or maybe $100! $1000! Or have you considered SELLING YOUR ORGANS and donating the full $2500?!?" ;)). Also, create a pledge thread with names: People are more likely to donate if they pledge in advance, but there are two factors that affect that:
How many other pledges are there? Are names named? How long is the list?
What's the pledge amount? (I NEVER pledge more than I'm SURE I can afford...so the requested amount should be an "impulse purchase" amount.)

If a $10 money bomb is very successful, we can then experiment by upping the amount to $15, then to $20, etc., to find the real sweet spot. The idea is to start low though. Suggesting higher amounts guilts donors who donate into giving more...but it guilts donors who can't afford that into not giving at all, and your problem is obviously that not enough people are biting.

BTW, how many donors did you get in total in 2010? It's quite possible that a few donated without tying their real name to their RPF's name or even posting about it on the forums at all (I did, though I couldn't give much). I admit I haven't given yet this year though...is another Money Bomb planned for you soon, or should I just chuck a few bucks your way?

I will try to answer some of your questions.

For the 2010 election, we had a total of 184 donors. This number includes all that donated not just from the forum. The total amount received was $17,400.

We had a $10 moneybomb in Nov 2011 that lasted a week. We received $2400 from 64 donors. This was promoted here and on facebook. TCE and I started it. We were hoping for more because we called it the grassroots $10 moneybomb.

We do need to get a true state level Ron Paul "Party" active and running. You are correct about C4L. They are after the big contributions but many state and local races can win with a lot less money. We need to help bring out name recognition and support with local volunteers and funds.

If you have any more questions, just throw them out and I will do my best to answer them.

Freedom Mom

[rprprs]

Who wants to join me? Donate $10 @ http://glenbradley2012.com/main/
I believe I was one of those original 23 that Gunny referenced, but that was a long time ago and there's no time like the present. :)

Donation Details
Confirmation number: 600174678L900912F
Donation amount: $20.12 USD
Total: $20.12 USD
Purpose: Glen Bradley for State House
Reference: NewSiteJuly2011
Contributor: (rprprs)

[ItsTime]

I agree completely. Note to people not in NH, if you decide not to move to NH for some reason, please at least donate to NH or study the NH model. Politics is different in every state but liberty Republicans are having 10 times the impact in NH compared to any other state. We want liberty. Let's do what works and get it done!

Without a doubt. Now if we can keep the seats thats another story. We need to get more people in the NHLA.

[heavenlyboy34]

I've been a Paulocrat since mid-2006. :)
Class of '07 Paultard here. :D

[mosquitobite]

We do need to get a better about supporting local candidates though. I don't want to bring it up because it feels like griping, and it's because of y'alls help I won in 2010. But it's important to the future of our cause that I do.

Only some 16 people from RPF's helped my (winning) campaign in 2010, and that's bumped up to 23 when you include the 2012 race. The most distressing part is those 16/23 are giving WAY WAY more than their fair share. We get thousands of visitors a day. There is no excuse for 20 people to give until they bleed out when we have the manpower here for everyone to give a mere $10 once and fund the entire campaign for someone at the State level.

So we need to figure something out, because it will be difficult to motivate our people to State races if they are like me, totally unconnected politically and unable to raise the money needed to run.

I will tell you that I am in grave danger of fading out of this race completely because of fundraising. I am in a tough 3-way primary with two wealthy establishment candidates. With a whole $6000 raised for a hotly contested primary when my opponents will be spending $40,000 each, the prospects are not great.

Again, I really don't want to gripe here. The 23 people who have given, have given way more than their fair share and I can't thank them enough. I just want to point out that if we are going to get serious about supporting local and state level races, we need to figure something out.

Bump.

$10 is a MINIMUM people! How much is your dollar worth anyways? And how much will it be worth without candidates like Glen?

[GunnyFreedom]

Holy cow! I go off to strategize on how to legalize raw milk and come back to y'all pushing me up!

Yeah, I was way off on my numbers, by like half. :( See, I suck at raising money. That's something I should have on tap. Thanks a million for all your help. Still, Ron Paul is more important than I am this year, and we all need to know that.

Now on to the good news. I'm putting the pieces and the organizations together, and I think we have a real path forward to adopting the same raw milk language as South Carolina. I've lined up some heavy hitters and I think it may actually move.

A bigtime well-known conservative journalist called me "the Ron Paul of the NC Assembly" and I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.

Also working on raising the cap on direct farm-to-consumer egg candling and grading, just by moving from 20 dozen to 50 dozen it will relieve a LOT of local farmer angst.

Also working on something that won't be quite as popular around here, allowing people to use EBT (SNAP) cards to buy local co-op farm-direct foods.

There are about 4 other projects but those three I think will be the most important ones, and if I can get any two of them it will be a huge deal.

Again, thanks for everyone stepping up and kicking in. I promise that was not my intention to spur something like this, but because I have been pushing the State-level candidate strategy since...ohh..2007 and I know where we need to get better, so I was focused on the nationwide effort with that post not my own race, actually.

[ItsTime]

Good luck Gunny. Have you had any dinner fund raisers or anything local like that?

[jacque]

Good luck Gunny. Have you had any dinner fund raisers or anything local like that?

No we have not. Don't really know how to get one going. We have the shoot and BBQ lunch but did not have many takers. I need to be educated on how to get a food-fundraiser going.:confused:

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

I kicked in some. The truth is that is is very easy for me to support you by sending you some money through paypal.

It is extremely difficult for you to support the ideas of liberty because you are taking it on as a job and lifestyle. So thank you for supporting me.

[Keith and stuff]

Without a doubt. Now if we can keep the seats thats another story. We need to get more people in the NHLA.

Excellent points. I'm spending so much time promoting Ron Paul right now that I'm neglecting the NHLA, sadly. I'm also sad that 2 of the 3 Ron Paul NH Senate Senators that endorsed Ron Paul are retiring. If we can get some of the people that voted for Ron Paul in NH but aren't currently involved with the NHLA connected and involved with the NHLA, we can pick up momentum :)