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View Full Version : Why we need to have a January 15th Money Bomb...




Taco John
12-17-2007, 01:03 AM
PLEASE DON"T VOTE UNTIL YOU READ THIS... AND MAYBE EVEN READ SOME OF THE RESPONSES


(note... Original suggestion was for January 15th... It has since been adjusted to January 21st)



We're about to go on a surge... Here's the timeline that I see....


December 18th - Ron Paul goes on Glenn Beck for an hour and changes hearts and minds like he always does. He benefits from the "Glenn Beck" affect.

December 22nd-23rd - The Ron Paul commercial in Iowa takes the airwaves. (side note about this commercial: I've heard rumors that I trust that say that the campaign believes they are hitting their precinct goals for Iowa, putting them in firm command of third place. Anything we do from here puts us in position for second or who knows? Maybe even first. Whatever happens, even a third place finish would be huge for us.)

December 23rd - Ron Paul goes on Meet the Press for an hour, and gets the chance to clarify his positions in a weekend when there is going to be a lot of Iowans and New Hampshirites paying attention. It's such a blessing that they've ignored us this long and waited until the voters were actually sitting down to pay attention before the vote.

December 31st - The quarter ends. We're going to be rolling right close to $20 million, and the political news is going to be that Ron Paul has defeated the field in the fourth quarter money primary, and is competing on the fundraising level for the quarter with Hillary and Obama. The other Republican candidates are going to take a lot of heat for their inability to raise funds. A lot of fence sitters in Iowa are going to say "what the hell, I'm just going to go for Paul and see what happens."

January 3rd - Iowa Primary - Ron Paul will make a better than the MSM expected showing and come in no lower than 3rd place. That will be enough to get the media's attention. The media is looking at Iowa as two races right now: A race between Huckabee and Romney for first, and a race between the field for third. Second place is going to be seen as a loser if it's between Huckabee and Romney, but third place is going to be seen as a big win.

January 5th - Wyoming Primary - I have to believe that Dr. Paul will finish high here. But I've not seen a single poll.

January 8th - New Hampshire Primary - This is it. If we take New Hampshire after a strong showing in Iowa, the establishment is going to be sent SCRAMBLING. Candidates are going to be pressured to drop out because the neo-con vote will be pread too thin among the candidates and the establishment will know that a win here will mean a TON more support for Dr. Paul nationwide. At this point, he'll go from being an Internet phenomenon, to the candidate to beat. I expect that this is the point that you'll see McCain, Thompson, Tancredo, Hunter, and maybe even Romney pressured to drop out of the race, leaving the neo-con vote split between Rudy and Huckabee. Which I personally believe will eventually become a fusion ticket that Dr. Paul may have to battle all the way to a Brokered convention against... But I get ahead of myself.

January 15th - The Michigan Primary - This is going to be an interesting primary because it's an open primary, and the Democrats have pretty much shut it down on the Democrat side. What this means is that any Democrat who would like to see Dr. Paul get the Republican nomination can show up to the polls, register as a Republican, and vote for Dr. Paul. I find it hard to believe that Dr. Paul won't be able to win this primary by a landslide... Which could present us with a PR problem...

The Neo-cons are going to cry foul on this primary, and claim dirty tricks. They're going to point to a landslide here as proof that the Democrats just want to run against Dr. Paul, and that the Republicans are being set up for failure. They're going to make the appeal to the February 5th states that they have to move away from Dr. Paul, and rally Republicans "to rescue the ole GOP."

If we have a giant fundraiser on January 15th, and win the Michigan primary by an overwhelming margin, we get to undercut the argument that it's just a bunch of Democrats, while at the same time creating an air of inevitablity. In addition to key primary wins, we get to point to the tremendous and continued amount of money that Ron Paul is able to raise and talk to the Republican party about the need to be able to keep up with the Democrats on fundraising. No other candidate is going to be able to boast of the fundraising numbers that we can generate. If we stop generating these numbers, then we're taking our most powerful tool out of our tool belt.

From there we have the following on the schedule:
Nevada - January 19th
South Carolina - January 26th
Florida - January 29th
Maine - February 1
Super Duper Tuesday - February 5

If the Neocons in the Republican party can use a Michigan win against us to rally their base, it's my opinion that we need to have an effective counter to that by demoralizing them and the news cycle with another powerful fundraising day.

So here's what I propose:

It's clear that the theme of our campaign is the Ron Paul Revolution.

January 15th marks the birthday of another revolutionary Doctor: Dr. Martin Luther King. Politically, Dr. King and Dr. Paul have a lot of differences, but they also share a very similar vision: that men be treated as individuals, and judged by their individual merits, not by the people groups that they are associated with. Dr. Paul often speaks of his great admiration for Dr. Martin Luther King (http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul388.html) for achieving great political success through the practice of non-violent civil disobedience.

On January 15th, I propose that we commemorate the shared vision of Dr. Martin Luther King and Dr. Ron Paul by giving our $10 million dollar vision another go around.

What say you? Read the post and pledge. I'm not asking for the group to agree on this. I'm telling you that I, as an individual, am pledging another $100 on January 15th whether anyone agrees with me or not, in order to commemorate this vision and give Dr. Paul and our campaign another boost. If you, as an individual agree with this, and would like to pledge for yourself, please feel free to do so. If you choose not to, please don't denigrate the effort of those of us who are committing ourselves. Just say No. No one is being forced to participate in something that they don't agree with. Nobody is making any decisions for anybody else. This is just about you and whether you think this is the right thing to do. If enough people agree with this, then we'll see where it takes us.

God bless.

Taco John
12-17-2007, 01:14 AM
bump

leonster
12-17-2007, 02:01 AM
Please read this before voting, everyone. I was going to vote "No" when I read the title, because I thought the time for moneybombs was over... but then I read it, and there's a VERY good argument there. I voted yes.

One thing I would add is this: have the focus be not JUST the moneybomb, but also have a huge focus on a rally in DC by the Jefferson memorial or somewhere similar. HUGE rally... not a couple hundred, but like 10,000+ people!

Paulite5112007
12-17-2007, 02:13 AM
A few things...

Super Tuesday is Feb. 5th., not the 1st...

With a 3rd or better showing in Iowa and NH (Wyoming?) I don't think a win in Michigan will be a problem. If it's a landslide win...maybe. But I don't think just winning will be an issue.

I think only Thompson is going to drop out before Super Tuesday (along with Duncan and Tancredo)

Right now, we have a reasonable shot at winning Nevada and S.C. outright - the others I think a 3rd or 2nd place showing would be good enough. A second place showing in Iowa would be HUGE. This could change though pending newer polls (doesn't matter what we think about them - people use them to decide who to vote for)

Paulite
12-17-2007, 02:14 AM
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...time to handle slim jims are your local grocery store

xexkxex
12-17-2007, 02:16 AM
Lets focus on the already planned and up coming drive eh?

New forum for it...
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=237

LibertyForAll
12-17-2007, 02:21 AM
Maybe another poll...as much as it would be great, how many of us will have any money to give in the middle of January? Not me, but I can do other things like knock on doors and tell my friends over the holidays. Christmas is when families get together, and we should make SURE that everyone we know gets Very acquainted with Dr. Paul and the campaign, and tell as many people as we can! New donors and voters come from getting the message out....this is the next level, get the message on the street....

Man from La Mancha
12-17-2007, 02:25 AM
Ethan Allen and his "Green Mountain Boys" became the militia, and fought against the British, then later against New York and New Hampshire, and on January 15, 1777 the rebels declared the region independent as the Republic of New Connecticut, although it was sometimes known colloquially as the Republic of the Green Mountains. On July 8 of that same year, the name of the fledgling nation was officially changed to Vermont (from the French for Green Mountains, les Monts Vert) upon the suggestion of Dr. Thomas Young, a Boston Tea Party leader and mentor for Ethan Allen.

Frame of government
The Constitution of the Vermont Republic was drafted and ratified at Elijah West's Windsor Tavern in 1777, and was the first written national constitution in North America. This constitution was modeled after the radically democratic Pennsylvania one on the suggestion of Dr. Young, who worked with Thomas Paine and others on that 1776 document in Philadelphia. It was also the first constitution in the New World to outlaw slavery and allow all adult males to vote, regardless of property ownership. During the Vermont Republic, sometimes referred to as "the first republic", a veiled suggestion of future independence, the government issued its own coinage and currency, and operated a postal service. The general Assembly and Governor's Council adopted the infantry banner of the Green Mountain Boys as the national flag of the nascent republic. The Governor of the Republic, Thomas Chittenden, with consent of his council and the unicameral General Assembly, appointed ambassadors to France, the Netherlands, and the American government seated in Philadelphia.

Flag of the Vermont Republic. The republic's Governor's Council and unicameral House of Representatives of the Freemen of Vermont adopted the infantry flag of the Green Mountain Boys as its national flag.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/GreenMtBoys.jpg

Man from La Mancha
12-17-2007, 02:40 AM
Blimp, please read before voting, I think this has a lot behind this date to work and just enough time to give people a break and built up there money reserves.

.

jorlowitz
12-17-2007, 02:59 AM
With a 3rd or better showing in Iowa and NH (Wyoming?) I don't think a win in Michigan will be a problem. If it's a landslide win...maybe. But I don't think just winning will be an issue.

I think this is a good point. Michigan is just not that big of a deal (that's why they moved their primary up in the first place). Sadly, it's an economically dying state that made a desperate move to get national attention.

More importantly, a strong showing through fundraising, media blitzes, straw polls, Iowa, and New Hampshire should at least make Paul a nationally recognized "real" candidate. I can't see a little controversy in Michigan over-shadowing that. Regardless, Nevada and South Carolina are on the 19th so they'd remove any doubt anyway. That said, the most important reason to do something big in the middle of January might be just for those two caucuses. Going into them with huge momentum would create a major deal, especially since Nevada and South Carolina are so geographically, culturally, economically and religiously opposite.

Great post!! (OP)

leonster
12-17-2007, 03:21 AM
Bump.

Taco John
12-17-2007, 03:38 AM
Lets focus on the already planned and up coming drive eh?

New forum for it...
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=237



With due respect, I'm done for December. We're stretched to our limits at our house. I'll be ready to reload in January.

I really believe that a huge win Mid-January would give us the kind of boost that no other candidate could possibly hope to get. We have the power to smite these guys. Why not use it?

They're going to be hammered in the media for not being able to fund raise. We should keep hammering them in the face month after month until they submit.

In my opinion, this is a tool that we should not put down. No other campaign can do this.

tsetsefly
12-17-2007, 03:41 AM
there is a mini money bomb for the 31st of december...

xexkxex
12-17-2007, 03:42 AM
With due respect, I'm done for December. We're stretched to our limits at our house. I'll be ready to reload in January.

I really believe that a huge win Mid-January would give us the kind of boost that no other candidate could possibly hope to get. We have the power to smite these guys. Why not use it?

They're going to be hammered in the media for not being able to fund raise. We should keep hammering them in the face month after month until they submit.

In my opinion, this is a tool that we should not put down. No other campaign can do this.

No worries...it's not like you have to participate.

Hell...I'm maxed out.

It is not going to be very big either...just a little something to help push us to 20 million for the quarter.

This isn't even my project...just pushing it. There are well of 170+ people signed up already.

I'm thinking it will be sort of like Rudys Reading List...

I do not beleive another BIG drive will take place for at least 4-5 weeks. That's a good time for video to go viral and such...

Here is the forum just in case....
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=237

Later! :)

Taco John
12-17-2007, 03:44 AM
No worries...it's not like you have to participate.

Hell...I'm maxed out.

It is not going to be very big either...just a little something to help puchs us to 20 million for the quarter.

This isn't even my project...just pushing it. There are well of 170+ people signed up already.

I'm thinking it will be sort of like Rudys Reading List...

Here is the forum just in case....
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=237

Later! :)



Huckabee would love to have the power of a Rudy's Reading list... They couldn't even generate half that for their Gas for the Bus money bomb as far as I know...

xexkxex
12-17-2007, 03:45 AM
Huckabee would love to have the power of a Rudy's Reading list... They couldn't even generate half that for their Gas for the Bus money bomb as far as I know...

LOL I know right!??!?! LMAO :D

Hey...you were on fox business..weren't you.....good job man...good job

Taco John
12-17-2007, 03:59 AM
Yeah, that was me... Thanks man... :)

Man from La Mancha
12-17-2007, 07:05 AM
blump

Lois
12-17-2007, 07:19 AM
A couple thoughts --

What's with the "mini-moneybombs"? We need to reserve our energy and money for the big ones, plus the media and everyone will start to get burned out and sick of 'moneybombs'. Plus are we not trying to bring in as much money as possible for this quarter by December 31st, so let's not even mention another moneybomb or everybody will stop donating now in order to donate on January 15th.

January 15th is a ways off -- let's play it by ear and see what happens in Iowa first.

Who says we're going to win in S.C.? I thought they didn't like Ron Paul there.

As far as making a connection to MLK -- wouldn't we just be leaving ourselves wide open for criticism about the Rosa Parks plaque or whatever it was that Ron Paul didn't vote for, and wouldn't it just make everyone bring up the 'racist' card against Ron Paul.

Otherwise, I like the idea. A moneybomb-a-month is okay by me. :)

Lois

SeanEdwards
12-17-2007, 07:20 AM
Money bomb is played out. We need a new hook.

fireworks_god
12-17-2007, 07:23 AM
Yes, the anti-thesis to the money bomb. :p

Akus
12-17-2007, 07:43 AM
in for later

Chester Copperpot
12-17-2007, 07:46 AM
If you're going to have a moneybomb around this time why not make it January 17th. Benjamin Franklin's birthday

Oliver
12-17-2007, 07:58 AM
Forget money - get familiar with the charity bomb:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=57400

:)

Man from La Mancha
12-17-2007, 08:04 AM
]Forget money - get familiar with the charity bomb:[/COLOR]

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=57400

:)
My only charity is Ron and the blimp so I will be able to donate to charity from my tax savings. And free country for our children.

.

user
12-17-2007, 08:10 AM
So far it looks like a lot of people are done with the money bombs. For both Nov. 5th and Dec. 16th we basically had a consensus. If we don't have that now, it's going to be all mini bombs for a while. Maybe another $500K on the last day of the quarter, like Nov. 30th.

dirknb@hotmail.com
12-17-2007, 08:15 AM
I've already been in favor of Jan. 15th as the next date. A lot more people are going to learn about RP for the first time over the next month and many will be willing to give him another big boost. Many 11/5 donors and 12/16 donors were first-time donors. Most of them have probably never donated to a political campaign before. I have several friends who fall into that category and participated on both of these days. Those of us active on these forums give as much as we can on an ongoing basis. Those with lukewarm support or who don't think he can win are more likely to participate in a money bomb than to just send in a donation.

phree
12-17-2007, 08:27 AM
Many 11/5 donors and 12/16 donors were first-time donors. Most of them have probably never donated to a political campaign before. I have several friends who fall into that category and participated on both of these days. Those of us active on these forums give as much as we can on an ongoing basis. Those with lukewarm support or who don't think he can win are more likely to participate in a money bomb than to just send in a donation.

I agree. Another money bomb would be successful because by 1/15 our grassroots membership will be much larger. Let's not deny these new supporters their opportunity to give like we have.


Ethan Allen and his "Green Mountain Boys" became the militia, and fought against the British, then later against New York and New Hampshire, and on January 15, 1777 the rebels declared the region independent as the Republic of New Connecticut, although it was sometimes known colloquially as the Republic of the Green Mountains. On July 8 of that same year, the name of the fledgling nation was officially changed to Vermont (from the French for Green Mountains, les Monts Vert) upon the suggestion of Dr. Thomas Young, a Boston Tea Party leader and mentor for Ethan Allen.

This is the best rallying point. The MLK association may come off as pandering, and given the difference in political perspectives it might be confusing to those just learning about RP's platform.

Today many of us are too broke to consider another MB, but I believe reinforcements are on the way. This is good. I'm in.

Jwaksman
12-17-2007, 08:28 AM
Absolutely not.

This needs to be clear:




DO NOT SAVE MONEY THAT YOU HAVE NOW TO DONATE AFTER DECEMBER 31ST.



The media does not care about fundraising after the 4th quarter numbers come out, they simply don't. Nobody is going to report on Paul's fundraising, even if he raises $5 Million in a day.


All that matters is raising as much money as we can during the 4th quarter. Let's get 20 or 21 Million.


I'd buy into a December 31st monebomb. But do not save one CENT to donate after December 31st. Give what you can by the end of the year.

Jwaksman
12-17-2007, 08:31 AM
Do you guys realize that the Michigan Primary in January 15th? What do you think is going to get more media attention - the primary results or a fundraiser?


I assure you that if you talk to the campaign, they will tell you to donate everything you can by the end of the year. We can have as many moneybombs as you want in December - but NONE after 12/31.

Mark Rushmore
12-17-2007, 08:37 AM
I would suggest retiring the term: "Money Bomb". At this point, any announcement runs the risk of being picked up on by the media, and a mini-bomb would be reported in comparison as 'fizzled' or a sign of dying support.

Donations, organized donations, one-day donations, timed donations - yes.
Making websites that theme a day and referring to it as a "Money Bomb" - self-defeating at this point.

My 2 cents.

Man from La Mancha
12-17-2007, 08:38 AM
Money bombs are fun way to party which Ron recommends and they produce much more money than with out them and they bring in new supporters. They just need to be a month a part or people are too burnt and it takes away from effect if they are too often. I'm sure we will make 20 mil this quarter.

.

phree
12-17-2007, 08:49 AM
I assure you that if you talk to the campaign, they will tell you to donate everything you can by the end of the year. We can have as many moneybombs as you want in December - but NONE after 12/31.

I don't have a problem with our current membership pushing for the 4th quarter total, but I don't think that rules out a 1/15 money drive. We don't need to rely on current supporters for a 1/15 MB because there will be many thousands of new supporters by then. This new drive would be a way to focus their new support into a single event that would serve to maintain our momentum.

I think the lack of support for this idea comes from the fear that it won't be successful. I personally have no doubt that our current successes will generate a new group that also want to be part of a history making money bomb.

dirknb@hotmail.com
12-17-2007, 08:53 AM
Absolutely not.

This needs to be clear:




DO NOT SAVE MONEY THAT YOU HAVE NOW TO DONATE AFTER DECEMBER 31ST.



The media does not care about fundraising after the 4th quarter numbers come out, they simply don't. Nobody is going to report on Paul's fundraising, even if he raises $5 Million in a day.


All that matters is raising as much money as we can during the 4th quarter. Let's get 20 or 21 Million.


I'd buy into a December 31st monebomb. But do not save one CENT to donate after December 31st. Give what you can by the end of the year.

I definitely agree with the 12/31 thing. I think after that however, another big day is not out of line.

Jwaksman
12-17-2007, 08:54 AM
I don't have a problem with our current membership pushing for the 4th quarter total, but I don't think that rules out a 1/15 money drive. We don't need to rely on current supporters for a 1/15 MB because there will be many thousands of new supporters by then. This new drive would be a way to focus their new support into a single event that would serve to maintain our momentum.

I think the lack of support for this idea comes from the fear that it won't be successful. I personally have no doubt that our current successes will generate a new group that also want to be part of a history making money bomb.




Here's the problem: Before moneybombs people always hold back donations. And any money held back before the new year to be donated after the new year is a BIG mistake.


If people want to plan a "fun" moneybomb after the New Year then that's fine. But this can't be organized now. We can't have a single person saving money now to spend after 12/31.

Jwaksman
12-17-2007, 08:55 AM
People need to realize that money given to the campaign on January 15th won't really go far.


We will get NO media coverage. So there's no point in trying to set a fundraising goal and then beat it. And the money won't be of much use to the campaign since they have to plan out these ad buys in advance.


We'd be lucky if any of the money given on 1/15 could be used to help for Super Tuesday...

Lois
12-17-2007, 09:06 AM
We 'must' raise $20 million for the quarter, so concentrate on that now -- then after assessing the situation, we can worry about another moneybomb.

Man from La Mancha
12-17-2007, 09:16 AM
Here's the problem: Before moneybombs people always hold back donations. And any money held back before the new year to be donated after the new year is a BIG mistake.


If people want to plan a "fun" moneybomb after the New Year then that's fine. But this can't be organized now. We can't have a single person saving money now to spend after 12/31.
But in the longer run much more money is raised or is that not important? It has to be organized now to get the word out from other than this forum.

.

LibertyEagle
12-17-2007, 09:22 AM
I do not think it is a good idea to celebrate MLK's birthday with a money bomb. That might be fine if it was AFTER the Republican primaries, but it is not. MLK is not exactly loved by rank and file Republicans, because it was widely believed that he was a communist sympathizer.

Jwaksman
12-17-2007, 09:27 AM
But in the longer run much more money is raised or is that not important? It has to be organized now to get the word out from other than this forum.

.




Start the talk on January 1st. If you start taking pledges now you will have people holding back this quarter to spend money on the 15th.



This is a simple fact: $100 raised before 12/31 is worth $500 raised on January 15th.



Focus on the 12/31 moneybomb for now.

Jwaksman
12-17-2007, 09:28 AM
I do not think it is a good idea to celebrate MLK's birthday with a money bomb. That might be fine if it was AFTER the Republican primaries, but it is not. MLK is not exactly loved by rank and file Republicans, because it was widely believed that he was a communist sympathizer.




Um, I'm pretty sure MLK's approval ratings in this country are like 98%.... I can't imagine anyone would ever complain about a campaign celebrating the civil rights movement's greatest leader. There are very good reasons to not worry about a 1/15 moneybomb right now - but this isn't one of them.

Lois
12-17-2007, 09:30 AM
If we had the internet back in MLK days, he's be ripped to shreds.

ifthenwouldi
12-17-2007, 09:34 AM
Honestly, I want to see what the campaign does with the $18M+ America is giving them this quarter before I donate another penny.

A national "Ron Paul awareness day" makes more sense to me.

Taco John
12-17-2007, 09:41 AM
Start the talk on January 1st. If you start taking pledges now you will have people holding back this quarter to spend money on the 15th.





There are a lot of people who are done donating for December period... I doubt anyone would hold back money they could give now for next month. More likely, there are people who will hold back because they don't plan on donating anymore this quarter.

phree
12-17-2007, 10:05 AM
I'm curious what Trevor thinks about this. I'm inclined to trust his judgment more than my own and I'll wait to see what he thinks before I decide.

I still think that tying a donation drive to MLK will look like pandering.

Tn...Andy
12-17-2007, 10:19 AM
Didn't read the whole thread, but South Carolina's primary is the January 19th, same as Nevada....not the 26th.

Taco John
12-17-2007, 12:37 PM
Bump

Taco John
12-19-2007, 07:20 PM
Bump for relevancy...

Arek
12-19-2007, 07:37 PM
Jan 15th does sound like a good day for a money bomb.

Chaos Unlimited
12-19-2007, 07:52 PM
Jan 10 - commemorating the publishing of Common Sense (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=58245)

There's so much more we can do marketing-wise by tying Ron Paul into the bringing forth the message of Common Sense.

There's no great tie in with MLK day - the press portray RP supporters as young white men - it just doesn't work.

FireofLiberty
12-19-2007, 07:59 PM
Just donate what you can when you can.

CelestialRender
12-19-2007, 08:14 PM
No. More. Money. Bombs.