The campaign has given us our goal.

[dante]

The campaign has given us our goal. We need to raise $300k a day for the next ten days. This will give them time to spend all of the 12 million on the early primaries.
Here's how I see this playing out:
1.We meet our $12 million goal in the next ten days
2.We get a nice round of press for having done so almost a month early and included in that press will be the fact that we are planning a huge money bomb for the 16th.
3.We raise $10 million on the 16th and scare all the candidates @#$%less as we will then have $22 million raised for the quarter more so then any republican. Media frenzy ensues.
4. We do a $5 million push for the end of the quarter
5. We ride this momentum and this newly funded advertising wave into early victories and the necessary momentum to win the nomination.

What is required from each and all of us?
We must dig deep. Were you planning on giving more than $100 on the 16th? Give the rest now. Give some of it on the 30th. But give it in the next 10 days.
Are you only able to afford $100 for the 16th? Give it on the 30th or at some other point in the next 10 days. And spend the next 3 weeks finding someone else to donate $100 for you on the 16th instead.
The campaign has given us our call to action. If we want to win they must have $12 million on hand by Dec 4th in time to strategically spend it in the early states.
We can do this people. Its not going to be easy. We are going to have to dig deep and sacrifice. But we can do it. And we will. We can't afford to go down without a fight. We have our marching orders. Let the donations commence!

[Menthol Patch]

I agree. We need to raise 12 million dollars by Dec. 1st.

[Original_Intent]

Where is this request from the campaign?

[Menthol Patch]

The campaign already told us that even if we raise 12 million by Dec. 31st that it will be too late for the primary states and Ron Paul will probably not win.

We need to raise the money ASAP.

[Primbs]

There will be a media frenzy with the second money bomb. I agree with the assessment. At that point some candidate may get ready to attack Ron Paul, especially when he moves up in the polls.

[Original_Intent]

The campaign said that if they raised all twelve million in the last week of December then we would meet the goal, but it would be too late.

Quit twisting words to meet your own agenda, which I feel is to destroy the grass roots movement.

[Sematary]

The campaign already told us that even if we raise 12 million by Dec. 31st that it will be too late for the primary states and Ron Paul will probably not win.

We need to raise the money ASAP.

Bottom line:
The more money they get NOW, the better their chances in the early primary states. I don't have a problem with that. Also - bottom line, we will hit the 12 mil by Dec 1st with the money bomblet - so get word out to the meetups.

[dante]

Where is this request from the campaign?

An email came out on the 20th saying that they needed the $12 million for the quarter to be completely raised within then next two weeks if we wanted them to be able to spend it in the early primaries.

[torchbearer]

The campaign needs 100million or more tomorrow... in fact, a campaign can never have enough.. if we raised them 20 million on Nov 5th, they would still be sending out the same emails requiring more money or the campaign can't do everything it wants to do...
Donate when you can... don't donate when you can't... don't be intimidated or afraid...
December 16th will do what it needs to do without anyone waiting til then to donate.

If someone is trying to scare you into donating... tell them to fuck off. They have just insulted you.

[TechnoGuyRob]

If this idea plays out, that'll solve everything. :)

[dante]

The campaign said that if they raised all twelve million in the last week of December then we would meet the goal, but it would be too late.

Quit twisting words to meet your own agenda, which I feel is to destroy the grass roots movement.

I don't see how I am twisting words to meet some agenda of mine. The Nov 20th email from the campaign stated clearly that they would like to have raised the entire $12 million by two weeks from that date (dec 4th) in order to spend it in the early primary states. I'm just trying to make sure we get there. That's all. I'm not trying to detract from Dec. 16th. In fact I've signed up 5 people already to donate then. And 3 more to donate on Nov. 30th as well.
The fact of the matter is that we have an intermediate goal here handed down to us by the campaign to get them to that $12 million mark by Dec 4th.

[Original_Intent]

The campaign already told us that even if we raise 12 million by Dec. 31st that it will be too late for the primary states and Ron Paul will probably not win.

We need to raise the money ASAP.

This was the post that I was referring to, not your's Dante.

[Menthol Patch]

The campaign said that if they raised all twelve million in the last week of December then we would meet the goal, but it would be too late.

Quit twisting words to meet your own agenda, which I feel is to destroy the grass roots movement.

No, you are the one trying to destroy the grass roots movement by attacking those that you don't agree with.

If you don't want to donate on the 30th you don't have to. But the campaign has made it clear that if Ron Paul does not get massive funds ASAP he will probably not win the nomination.

You and those that go crazy just because the campaign told us the TRUTH are the ones that will ruin everything.

[dante]

Oh wow ok guys I wasn't trying to start another divisive thread here. The point is we have a goal to reach. Let's please focus our efforts on reaching that goal and winning the nomination and not waste time infighting over technicalities.

[Corydoras]

Oh noes! This again!

Today I went into work-- my boss is fascinated by the Ron Paul campaign even though he is for Obama-- and I said to him, "You know how in history books there's that phrase 'the movement collapsed because of squabbling between factions'? Yesterday, I got a glimpse of what that looks like. Of course it won't happen, but yesterday was brutal."

I'm starting to think "Of course it won't happen" was just me whistling in the dark.

Please DON'T let this really happen!

[derdy]

Well, I hope you all can do it because I'm broke until I max out on the 16th! Hell, I'll be broke after I max out!

[Delain]

Oh wow ok guys I wasn't trying to start another divisive thread here. The point is we have a goal to reach. Let's please focus our efforts on reaching that goal and winning the nomination and not waste time infighting over technicalities.

Why do you speak on behalf of the campaign? What goal?

You are dictating others what to do, why? You know its being felt like an attack on the teaparty.

Everybody has long read that email from HQ. Everyone is free to make their own decision about it.

Stop this please.

[Original_Intent]

No, you are the one trying to destroy the grass roots movement by attacking those that you don't agree with.

If you don't want to donate on the 30th you don't have to. But the campaign has made it clear that if Ron Paul does not get massive funds ASAP he will probably not win the nomination.

You and those that go crazy just because the campaign told us the TRUTH are the ones that will ruin everything.

Wise words from someone who joined the forums this month. In fact MOST of the people agitating for a money bombe that the campaign never requested are noobies. Most of the people determined to stay focused on Dec 16th have been with the grassroots since May or June. And now suddenly having been around since Ron paul was considered a joke and having a lot of posts is grounds to be considered a government infiltrating rat.

I have laid out my reasoning of why all the steady stream and mini bombs are a bad idea, most of what I said was never addressed, just the bleating of the sheep "4 Four legs goood, 2 legs BETTER!" I actually used to think that anything from HQ was practically Holy Writ, but ya know what? I have seen too many fumbles where HQ did NOT know better. If I see something with Ron Paul's name on it then it is a done deal. But something from some little pimple-pinching 23 year old who has fundraising envy because the grassroots can do a better job than what he gets paid to do, no, that does not get me to jump in lockstep and say "YESSIR whatever you say sir!" If I wanted someone else to do my thinking for me Rudy would be my man.

From here on I trust NO ONE with a join date of NOV 2007 or later until I see evidence of good intentions. You bunch of punks may think you can run this movement into the ground, but it ain't gonna happen. We have overcome bigger obstacles than you little turds. (I speak here only to those who are trying to undermine things, they know who they are)

[Menthol Patch]

There was never an attack on the Tea Party.

Anyone that states the Tea Party was attacked is deluded.

The campaign just told us the TRUTH. If they don't get massive funds in the VERY near future Ron Paul is probably not going to win.

[Menthol Patch]

Wise words from someone who joined the forums this month. In fact MOST of the people agitating for a money bombe that the campaign never requested are noobies. Most of the people determined to stay focused on Dec 16th have been with the grassroots since May or June. And now suddenly having been around since Ron paul was considered a joke and having a lot of posts is grounds to be considered a government infiltrating rat.

I have laid out my reasoning of why all the steady stream and mini bombs are a bad idea, most of what I said was never addressed, just the bleating of the sheep "4 Four legs goood, 2 legs BETTER!" I actually used to think that anything from HQ was practically Holy Writ, but ya know what? I have seen too many fumbles where HQ did NOT know better. If I see something with Ron Paul's name on it then it is a done deal. But something from some little pimple-pinching 23 year old who has fundraising envy because the grassroots can do a better job than what he gets paid to do, no, that does not get me to jump in lockstep and say "YESSIR whatever you say sir!" If I wanted someone else to do my thinking for me Rudy would be my man.

From here on I trust NO ONE with a join date of NOV 2007 or later until I see evidence of good intentions. You bunch of punks may think you can run this movement into the ground, but it ain't gonna happen. We have overcome bigger obstacles than you little turds. (I speak here only to those who are trying to undermine things, they know who they are)

1) The CAMPAIGN told us they needed a massive amount of money in the near future or Ron Paul is probably not going to win!

2) The CAMPAIGN told us that the Tea Party is a great idea, but we also need massive money RIGHT NOW!

3) No one attacked the Tea Party!

[Menthol Patch]

Anyone that thinks someone who is trying to encourage others to FOLLOW THE ADVICE OF THE OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN is trying to run the campaign into the ground is absolutely insane.

[dante]

Hey I think we can all agree that the email that came out could have been stated a little more diplomatically.
We know the campaign is looking forward to the 16th or Ron Paul wouldn't be running around touting it in every interview he gives these days. So the campaign is behind the 16th 100%. As am I and everyone else here.
However the campaign did need to tell us that if we want more money spent in the early primaries we were going to have to get it to them before the 16th i.e. by the 4th. It was a message that we needed to hear albeit in a more diplomatic way.
Finally don't pile on Bydlak. Yes he is young and rash but he did leave a cushy job with 2-3x his current salary to go work for the doctor. And at least he's not out doing stupid things like getting caught planting questions. Heck his undiplomatic email has managed to plant another money bomb on the 30th.

[devil21]

There are other states to hold primaries after NH and IA so plenty of time to spend more money on ads. The campaign also knows that plenty of people will donate on 12/16, to another record day. They are asking for your extra $20 right now that you have burning a hole in your pocket :)

IMHO, its a great move by the campaign.

[Original_Intent]

OK Menthol here is the entire text of the email from HQ.


November 20, 2007


During the first few days of October, we announced our fundraising goal for the fourth quarter: $12 million raised by December 31.

But there's more: we need to have spent it by then, too.

If we were to raise the entire $12 million in the last week of December, we would meet our fundraising goal for the quarter. But Ron Paul would stand little chance of winning the Republican nomination, because that money would have come in too late.

Time is of the essence. You see, we need to raise money well before we plan to spend it. That's because most of the expenditures that we make need to be paid for weeks in advance. For example, we need to buy crucial airtime for the end of December right now.

The sooner we raise this money, the sooner that we can spread Dr. Paul's message - our message - in the early primary states. Time truly is money.

Fact is, we only have about two weeks to raise money for the early primaries.

If you wait a month from now to donate, your money will only be spent after Iowa caucus-goers and New Hampshire primary voters have made up their minds.

We are rapidly running out of time. The Iowa caucus is just 44 days away. New Hampshire is in 49 days. With so much ground to make up, we can't afford to waste a single day.

As a result, we are spending faster than the rate at which we are raising money. In October alone, we raised $2.8 million, but our campaign spent over $3.1 million.

We cannot afford to wait for bursts of press activity. What we need is sustained attention in the news. What better way to do this than by continuing to raise money at a rapid pace now? We need to keep our momentum going.

Help us win in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina, and Nevada.

Make your most generous contribution as soon as you can: https://www.ronpaul2008.com/donate.

Jonathan Bydlak
Fundraising Director
Ron Paul 2008



Then I see dozens of posts like:


The campaign has given us our goal. We need to raise $300k a day for the next ten days. This goal is not in the email.

or


The campaign already told us that even if we raise 12 million by Dec. 31st that it will be too late for the primary states and Ron Paul will probably not win.

when in fact they said:


If we were to raise the entire $12 million in the last week of December, we would meet our fundraising goal for the quarter. But Ron Paul would stand little chance of winning the Republican nomination, because that money would have come in too late.

Now see, this is what kinda pisses me of at the obviously infallible Mr Bydlak: He throws out this false premise of "if we raise all 12 million in the last week of December, we meet our goal and fail! (/wring hands)

No shit Sherlock, and I guess that scenario isn't going to happen since we have already surpassed 9 million and it is not even the end of November yet!

We have twenty people running around saying "the campaign said this, the campaign said that - whemn the campaign said no such thing, and even much of what "the campaign" aka Mr. Bydlak said is very easily shown to be panicky and misleading half truths.

For example:

He points to the October burn rate where the campaign spent a whopping $300,000 more than they raised that month. Oh Lord have mercy! At a burn rate like that the campaign will run out of money just in time for Hillary's inauguration! And this does not even consider the 5 million donated THIS month.

Another gem:


If you wait a month from now to donate, your money will only be spent after Iowa caucus-goers and New Hampshire primary voters have made up their minds

I wish I had Mr. Bydlak's crystal ball so I would know when Iowa and New Hampshire voters will make up their minds. Because all indications are so far that they are highly undecided.

I think a $10 million dollar blitz and the media coverage generated by it have far more chance of bringing them to a decision than a 10 or 20% increase in ad buys.
But our 23 year old boy wonder has spoken! "Do not evaluate! Must obey all knowng HQ!"

You know, I have posted most of this several times already, y'all have posted your points several times already. Quit putting words in the campaign's mouth.

[devil21]

edited for brevity ^^^^^^

QFT! Best common sense answer I've read on this forum in awhile.

[Man from La Mancha]

Hello people but I thought the primaries are back to January? The December 16th should just be fine.



http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/9435/blackwsmallyh7.gif (teaparty07.com)..http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/4138/0j1cit7.jpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG2PUZoukfA)..copy,paste

[Bergie Bergeron]

The airtime has to be bought in advance and the last week of December and 1st week of January might be too late to run ads.

[Carole]

Here is one link to the letter.

http://infowars.net/articles/november2007/231107Donation.htm

[E. Nordstrom]

Ron Paul's campaign should be working the issue of media coverage. We need to focus on getting people registered to vote, educating people about the issues that face us, educating people on Ron Paul's message of freedom, and getting money by the truckloads as a minimum weekly to ensure the campaign can show non-erratic results and be able to actually plan out a course of action based on money in the bank versus money that may come due to long lags of time from these massive donations. I seem to be quite alone on these issues.

Here I'll spell it all out for all of you.

If you go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_bomb and read the entire history of the money bomb you might begin to grasp what I am about to say.

Between Dan, Elders, Nordstrom, Lyman, Krzyzanowski, Yao, and others whose name I am not familiar (and in that order), and the general online Ron Paul support community, plus the offline community, we have all generated a ton of loot for Ron Paul. Far more than he ever dreamed.

Due to the mixing of Elders and Nordstrom's efforts with Lyman's and the video people, throw in the Ron Paul Graphs, and the common voice of all of us (all of us meaning - this generation, the patriots of liberty, Ron Paul supporters, you) doing our best to spread the word, and we got us a machine!

I read allot about ego. I read allot about who did what, who is better that who, what is important and what is not, y`all need to settle down and remember that the person who posted before you and the person who posts after you are all on your side and are all on the same team.

Now, there is a division at the moment. Lyman is doing his thing and I am proud that he has held his ground. True he shouldn't inflate his ego because that fact that the 5th was a success was not his doing - it was all of your doing. It was the right place at the right time with the right people carrying the flag up the hill.

This division I speak of is simple to describe. Some of us believe that focusing on one or two (maximum) online fund raisers is the best way to go. Your frustration is gumming up the forum.

The fact of the matter is that you can try all you want to try and hold all the donations into one or two fund raisers but it is a bit like holding sand in your hand. The tighter you grip, the more sand falls out. Loosen up.

Elders and I have always supported any and all money raising donation schemes for Ron Paul. If it raised $100.00 to $4,000,000.00 we always advertised it and spread it around in the forums and directly on our website.

Prior to my adventures with the website, I was a general Ron Paul supporter. I went to his donation page and gladly gave up $100.00. I felt good about contributing. A month passed and I began to wonder how many other people out there donated $100.00. Hell I am a damn Sergeant I don't make squat for money I wanted to donate more but diapers are damn expensive. I started thinking about making a website that has the intent of encouraging people to donate more than once and making it feel like the donating party is part of a large movement. (A rEVOLution)

Thats when I happened across Elders Email Opt-In donation idea ronpaulmoneybomb@yahoo.com - I thought this was absolutely genius - except for one thing - there is nothing to look at. People might as well go directly to Ron Paul's donation page. Without signing up. I built a website. I asked politely of Elders if it met with his satisfaction. I asked because this was now a group effort and his opinion was important. We began posting the words "Ron Paul Money Bomb" every where. I myself stayed awake 36 hours doing nothing but posting ads, blogs, comments, emails, anything and slapping the term "Money Bomb" onto it. We knew we had a hit! We knew that people would come by the thousands. The ronpaulmoneybomb.com site was ready, a date was set and off we went.

It was strange, we had amassed more than 1000 people very quickly. Crazy quick. But then as quickly as the pledges came they virtually stopped. We pulled in $30,000.00 dollars from Money Bomb 1 (MB1) and I was damn proud. Hell it's more than I make in a year working 60 hour work weeks on F-15s.

Our name-sake "The Money Bomb" was all over the internet at this time. I mean everywhere. But we still thought it strange that we weren't gathering pledges as fast as we should have been. We did some investigating. We found, virtually at every place we had left and ad, comment, or blog, someone else was advertising. We found that someone was advertising a (quote) "November 5th Money Bomb". We looked up the site and sure enough, people were flocking to the November 5th Money Bomb? This wasn't the Money Bomb, we were the Money Bomb. Hey that was our idea! That dude hijacked all or our pledgers!

But not so fast. Lyman did a hell of a job with linking up the V for Vendetta theme. Even the off line community could be seen wearing Fawkes Masks. So there began the life of the term Money Bomb in our common lingo. Although upset at first (because Elders and I were trying to get our idea off the ground) we settled in and figured - eh' as long as it helps Ron Paul - right on.

We did figure we would get some assistance from Lyman after the 5th but so far he seems to not care too much for all the rest of us. I don't mean that in a negative way just an observation. He believes in what he is doing and that is commendable. Do I agree with his methods post November 5th? Hell no.

The sway of 20,000 people and the wake of the $4 Million dollar bonanza has given Lyman a sort of fame. He is using it to the best he knows how. The problem is that he seems to be driven to out perform his previous sucess, hopefully not at the expense of the campaign but absolutely at the expense of those persons such as myself who worked so hard to see the success of the 5th, saw the payout to the campaign, can contribute so much more - however now passed over and stifled by a mans pride - we find ourselves in limbo.

The division I spoke of earlier is the difference between those who want to narrow the funnel to only two sites versus those (the majority) who want free and open donation sites, the more the better, (without being hassled by some moron speaking out against it). I can't count how many times I have now placed a reminder to folks about the Ron Paul Money Bomb site, only to go back and find some ass-hat telling people not to do it but rather to focus only on the Tea Party only.

The grains of sand will slip from a tightened fist. There must be and is a balance. Due to the work we have all done as described from the beginning of this long ass note until now, we have collectively found a new form of campaign donation system. The machine.

The reason we attend the donations website versus going directly to Ron Paul's donation page is simple. We all feel part of a larger team when we get together and help Ron Paul to confuse the powerful in Washington.

There are five prongs to the system we have developed/stumbled upon.

1. Weekly donations are absolutely essential. They are an important introduction into the donation drive world. They ensure that people who would otherwise have only donated once, repeat the process a few more times. Garnering the campaign a few extra bucks. They are important because they help other smaller donation sites out by advertising them. They keep money flowing into the main campaign during the lull times in between the Mass Donation Drives. The weeklies are also (to the weeky's peril) a gateway into the larger Mass Donations.

2. Rogue donators are essential, they are the bulk of the donations between the large Mass Donation Drives and they keep the campaign moving along with cash. The rogues are usually people who don't give a hoot about donation drives or don't have the time for them.

3. The online campaign support community itself. The efforts of thousand of hands and minds advertising for the weekly and the mass donation drives are what brings fresh people into the scene. Without the online support community nothing would happen. The best ideas come from this prong of the system as well. The vast resources of the online community is absolutely amazing.

4. The off line support community is perhaps the biggest boost this donation system has. The shear numbers of people willing to contribute is astonishing. Some folks never set eyes on a website and yet they donated on the 5th of November for example.

5. The Mass Donation Drive. The cocaine of the donation system. Mass Donation Drives greatest flaw is the amount of time required to generate interest and then the damage to the campaign cannot be denied. The longer a Mass Donation Drive takes to gain momentum, the longer the main campaign goes without the bigger funding required to run a campaign. The trade off and the balancing act is to generate enough momentum to generate massive sums of money while not starving the campaign of funds. The Mass Donation Drive does provide some media attention to the candidate however, the Donation Drive itself becomes the news and not the candidate (main stream media), and one person is accredited for the success of the Mass Donation Drive. In reality it required an army of people to make it happen and so to the Main Stream Media begins to shine the light on that one individual. The army, who made the Mass Donation drive is sidelined. However , the overall success of the Mass Donation Drive quickly overcomes any malice and the clock is reset. At this point the people at the Mass Donation are required to hand the baton back to the weekly donation drives. The individuals who had pledged money into the Mass Donation Drive now have an opportunity to continue to feed the campaign needed cash.

With the advent of the Rudysreadinglist one can see that the system broke down at that point.

The Ron Paul Money Bomb and many other faithful donation oriented websites that are backed up by faithful and passionate patriots have now been sidelined and rendered useless by the over-reach of the Mass Donation Drives. Cocaine.

It isn't too late to salvage the system. The mechanisms work. Proof of that is simple. Look at Ron Paul's total donations. The Mass Donation Drive (as of now) is only half the amount pulled in.

The facts are that it doesn't matter if we have 100 donation sites, what matters is the collective effort by the 100. Each dollar is as important as another. Success should not be measured by who made the most or who has the best website. What matters is what the collective places into Ron Paul's campaign. Having two websites ONLY is counter productive.

Rules to follow: Spread the widest net possible. Help each other with each others attempt to raise money for Ron Paul. Do not horde information and do not horde influence. You may not thin it a big deal but congratulate someone for making a buck or two for Ron Paul and help him to make it more successful. Ensure that you keep the love in rEVOLution because your bad attitude and poor manners reflect upon Ron Paul and his bid for the Oval Office. Cooperate, be a friend, help out, don't stifle ideas.

If you do anything other than those rules. Well, you are a counterproductive member of the support group and your tone, words, or additude should be made aware to you, if you continue you should be shown the door.

Now, I have advertised allot this week, I have a few Meet-up groups attending Monday's Money Bomb (unless someone sent them an email and told them to focus on the Tea Party) and so I can use some of the support we had prior to our system being fed cocaine. Furthermore the main campaign needs cash. So, I am hoping that we can all agree that we need to pull it together and support something more than this wacky (2 sites to victory crap). We have a long way to go. December is only the beginning.

I have two young boys - I cannot begin to imagine the quasi-autocratic society they will have to endure if we don't succeed.

We have one opportunity, just ONE CHANCE to see liberty restored. Every negativity you spew, every power grab you attempt, every project you spit on, and every aspect of our online community you disrespect you diminish that ONE CHANCE piece by piece.

It may sound goofy, but ask yourself if the founding fathers would utter some of the crap that we read (that were posted by our fellow Ron Paul supporters). Make a good impression.

Unite - work as one - help for all who need it - this is a fight weather you take it serious or not. I guarantee those who are currently in power are watching this and us very closely. If you don't believe that this is a fight for our general way of life and the preservation of the Constitution - wake up.

I am just one of your fellow patriots and I am damn proud to be a part of this attempt to awaken our sleeping fellow citizens to the possibility of liberty again and always.

If you need anything - I'll be here -> www.ronpaulmoneybomb.com

V/r

Eric Nordstrom

[torchbearer]

Any campaign needs as much money as possible as quick as possible.
Just be careful not to kill the goose that is laying your golden eggs.... there is such a thing as donor exhaustion.
People will donate when they can... to compel them to give more than they can is wrong.

Threads stating the obvious, "the campaign needs money now", is a waste of time. Everyone knows the campaign needs money now. They need 100 million today. Posting that fact, doesn't make it happen.