There are some ways in which the blimp could be invaluable

[Perry]

As some of you know I have been expressing some concern about Iowa as of late.
Some in Iowa have expressed concern about certain parts of the state where the grassroots are less active. I have a picture in my mind of these nice Iowan families out in the farming communities & such coming out of their houses curious as all the children are yelling "Blimp! Blimp!.:)

Just one idea. These things can cover a lot of ground and I think it makes just as much if not more sense using it in this regard even than at a ballgame.
I imagine it would stir up conversation among those who don't get in to the cities much. At worst a curious talking point and at best a seed. Who sees a blimp at a ballgame and tells their friends about it when they get home? On the otherhand if a blimp goes over your home it's a little more interesting.

[TechnoGuyRob]

sed concern about certain parts of the state where the grassroots are less active. I have a picture in my mind of these nice Iowan families out in the farming communities & such coming out of their houses curious as all the children are yelling "Blimp! Blimp!.:)

Best. Mental picture. Ever. :D

I agree, though. I think this will be worth it, ESPECIALLY because the people who are giving $5k probably wouldn't have spent it on Ron Paul anyways.

Why do they now? Because they'll be part of the first political blimp in history (and they like Ron Paul)!

It's about doing exciting things. People who dismiss the blimp and say "this could be used to win an entire state/city!" do not realize that our campaign doesn't work that way: it's about new and exciting things, not scrunching traditional stuff.

The blimp stays. :D

[Matt Collins]

Iowa is a HUGE state unlike somewhere like NH.

Overall money should be spent on targeted advertising to supervoters. A blimp is not a frugal use of funds.

I have written more details about this here:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=40432

[Nathan Hale]

Agreed. A blimp is only useful if you're going to fly it over a football game. That's 100,000 eyeballs not counting the city that inevitably surrounds the stadium.

[MrCoffee]

If the blimp is flown over football or other games, please don't fly it over during the actual game. Wait till half-time or something, that way you don't distract people from the game.

[jenius]

I have a picture in my mind of these nice Iowan families out in the farming communities & such coming out of their houses curious as all the children are yelling "Blimp! Blimp!.:)

That would be neat, but it will never happen. You realize you get only 100 hours of flight time in the month - I assume that includes take-off and landing time. It's not going to be flying over the Iowa plains for the few people and cows that might happen to look up.

Personally, I don't think the blimp is a great idea. It's very expensive, and it's primary purpose is for name recognition - which we'll already have by the time this idea ever gets off the ground (pun!).

But people can donate however they like. I'm sure it won't hurt.

[AlexMerced]

That would be neat, but it will never happen. You realize you get only 100 hours of flight time in the month - I assume that includes take-off and landing time. It's not going to be flying over the Iowa plains for the few people and cows that might happen to look up.

Personally, I don't think the blimp is a great idea. It's very expensive, and it's primary purpose is for name recognition - which we'll already have by the time this idea ever gets off the ground (pun!).

But people can donate however they like. I'm sure it won't hurt.

yeah, I agree,epsecially since the blimp won't mention he's running for president, but it's their money, and since most them already maxed out it's better this than on osmething not RP related

[cien750hp]

That would be neat, but it will never happen. You realize you get only 100 hours of flight time in the month - I assume that includes take-off and landing time. It's not going to be flying over the Iowa plains for the few people and cows that might happen to look up.

Personally, I don't think the blimp is a great idea. It's very expensive, and it's primary purpose is for name recognition - which we'll already have by the time this idea ever gets off the ground (pun!).

But people can donate however they like. I'm sure it won't hurt.

the owner has increased it to 160 :D

[happyphilter]

the one thing i dont like about the blimp idea is so few hours...

[Man from La Mancha]

There are unlimited funds available, just have to coerced it out the pockets, and this is just one way way this money might not have been raised at all. 1 milliom people x $100 = ?

.

[Perry]

Iowa is a HUGE state unlike somewhere like NH.

Overall money should be spent on targeted advertising to supervoters. A blimp is not a frugal use of funds.

I have written more details about this here:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=40432

I do understand where you're coming from but think about it like this; there have already been a handful of news articles about the blimp and we will see many more because it is unique. It's more than just a balloon in the air. We're already going to have hundreds of ads in newspapers, on radio and television. But this one thing is itself going to generate media attention even if it's in the form of anti-paulites seeing the balloon and feeling the need to knock us in the papers.
I do believe it will pay for itself. This is not just any balloon, it's a Ron Paul balloon.

[jake]

Iowa is a HUGE state unlike somewhere like NH.

Overall money should be spent on targeted advertising to supervoters. A blimp is not a frugal use of funds.

I have written more details about this here:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=40432

the problem with looking at these grassroots initiatives and criticizing them for wastefulness is that the grassroots campaign is not working with a fixed budget - the amount of money to spend is the amount that the supporters are compelled to donate to various causes.

see if you can get people excited about throwing a hundred bucks at "conventional" target advertising. a blimp, while expensive is also EXCITING, and will bring in donations that would otherwise simply not exist. therefore, these sort of "thinking outside the box" crazy ideas like a Ron Paul blimp are infact good - because they bring in the donations.

[Perry]

...oh and for the record...160 hours is 8 hours a day for 20 days or 5 hours a day for 32 days. That''s not bad at all.

[Naraku]

It's not just about name recognition. A lot of people know who Ron Paul is, but don't think much of him or don't know much. Something like this energizes and interests people far more than TV ads and could be more impressive than raising millions of dollars in a day.

Making Ron Paul a known name is good, but making him a household name, someone who is talked about constantly has far more weight than anything else. Ron Paul doesn't have the celebrity that comes from being the wife of Bill Clinton or the Mayor of New York on 9-11.

[liam]

I think its a BRILLIANT idea and will generate massive continuous publicity. Your going to have very excited kids who will want to write about their Consitution and perhaps part of the task is to identify what rights/liberties have been removed in this century!

[liam]

Perhaps keep it open to kids of all ages and hopefully they can get their parents to do the homework with them!