Is Ron Paul being too tight with the money?

[max]

I don't understand why the campaign is not blasting Iowa with TV comnmercials like some of the other "2nd tier" candidates are.

RP should know by now that we will keep replenishing his funds. An Iowa victory...or a strong second place, would boost his credibility and donations massively. I get the sense that they arent spending enough money.

[AZ Libertarian]

Agree completely. Begin the saturation. We got everyone asking who Ron Paul is, now it's time to TELL THEM!

[ScotTX]

I must admit, I have thought this myself. It's not that I mind writing letters to Iowans, but I gave the campaign money so they could do it. What are they saving it for? Maybe we need to start spamming Kent Snyder to see what they're doing with our money? I'm curious...

[DeadheadForPaul]

Yes. He needs to spend. We gave him 2.5 mill and counting. Put that money to use. Do it and do it efficiently

[njandrewg]

because other 2nd tier campaigns are betting all their money on winning IOWA, and expect that winning it would get them into an instant front runner status.

Ron Paul is trying to win the country, and realizes that if he doesn't win Iowa, he can win New Hampshire...and with MONTHS before the actual primary, there is no sense in throwing all the money away on one state...I'm sure when it comes closer to the primary, we'll see more stuff happening in Iowa

[kylejack]

He's been winning for years. Let's trust his judgment.

[AlexAmore]

He's been winning for years. Let's trust his judgment.

Agreed.

[Mom4Ron]

I'm not worried. It's still early, I'd rather see him be frugal in the beginning so he can blow out later. I'll still donate more too, until I reach my limit.

[quickmike]

Maybe he doesnt really want to win and just wants to make a statement. Thats the only guess I can make. Or, maybe they think the internet has been doing good for them, so they think this will work in Iowa too. Maybe they just overestimate the power the internet has to spread the message out to the general public. I agree though, they arent making much sense with the whole Iowa thing. If RP doesnt do well in Iowas straw poll, the media will DEFINITELY jump all over that and claim that his campaign cannot be taken seriously, and people being the sheep that they are, might actually buy it.

[Dustancostine]

I have faith in the organization. Even though it makes me wonder, I have faith in them. I bet come primary time all of the money will be spent. It seems Dr. Paul is very prudent with his money. Right now we are getting excited like a bunch of little kids wanting to spend spend spend while our ol' wise grandpa sits backs and deliberates.


Remember it was those kind of emotions that got us into Iraq as well.

[JoshLowry]

I think he knows a few people are wondering about this, he talked briefly about money at the San Antonio post dinner fundraiser.

He mentioned how the campaign has been cautious spending and some of that has paid off. He got a few million dollars worth of free press by not spending that money and having more cash on hand than McCain.

They have a plan and they are going through some money, they have hired probably 6 or 7 new people. 2.4 million is easy to burn through in an election and I think he would like to have some cash on hand come next quarter as well. Might even see him pass Romney's cash on hand after you take out Mitt's personal contributions.

[quickmike]

I have faith in the organization. Even though it makes me wonder, I have faith in them. I bet come primary time all of the money will be spent. It seems Dr. Paul is very prudent with his money. Right now we are getting excited like a bunch of little kids wanting to spend spend spend while our ol' wise grandpa sits backs and deliberates.


Remember it was those kind of emotions that got us into Iraq as well.

maybe youre right, who knows LOL

I just think maybe they feel the money wont continue to come in.

[markpa]

Well, I don't think 2.4 M goes very far in a national election. They have opened up an Iowa office and hired on a larger staff, plus moved into a larger HQ. All of that is expensive, we just have to spread the word so that more $ comes in.

[MozoVote]

I'm sure the campaign does not want to repeat Howard Dean's mistake of spending all his money in Iowa, and then being unable to mount an effective drive elsewhere. I'm OK with being miserly for the straw poll. Use the money to prepare for the caucuses and to do well in NH.

There is also the uncertainty, of just when Florida and SC will hold their dates. Hanging on to money gives the campaign flexibility.

Ron does need to start spending time in Iowa and giving people access to see and hear him, though. I'm glad that will be changing August 5.

[bygone]

The one real shred of credibility the man has with the MSM and probably even the party is the amount of cash he has from fundraising.

If you spend that, you spend his credibility, basically. Wise move to play that conservatively as possible, for as long as possible, or until it is no longer necessary.

Look at Mike Gravel, no one takes him seriously since he has no money. Sad but true.

[max]

interesting observations on both sides of this matter...I believe that spending more money in Iowa is an investment, rather than an expenditure..

a strong straw pole showing would ultimately be more newsworthy that the fact he has more money than McCain..

As for RP's campaign, a national campaign is a different animal. We need some experienced down and dirty Madison Ave types pros to run this thing. The Internet will NOT win us anything. It is simply a grassroots organizing tool that is limited in its capacity to reach people.

It's a great weapon to have, but ultimately, it comes down to powrerful TV ads aimed at the emotions and not the intellect. RP's greatest asset his greatest weakness. RP appeals to the intellect. The intellect of the average American voter is akin to that of a beast.

I hope Kent Snyder realizes that this campaign, in order to succeeed ..eventually, will have to VICIOUSLY attack Fred Thompson, Rudy, and Romney. These clowns are soooo vulnerable and yet RP campaign is doing nothing to expose them!

Don't let anyone tell you that "negative campaigning" turns people off. The only reason the Establishment media speaks ill of negative ads is because it might undo their chosen candidates.

[yongrel]

Plus, look at how many promising candidates burned out in 2004, when they blew all their money in Iowa and New Hampshire. The Dean Scream didn't kill Howard's campaign. It was the final nail in the coffin after some poor spending.

[bygone]

Ask any strategist about the outcome of staying on defense.

[AMack]

Lets try to avoid pulling a John McCain. I'm sure that the campaign is waiting to spend until the best possible time.

=)

[Original_Intent]

Ask any strategist about the outcome of staying on defense.

It's also true that you get more bang for your buck on defense.

Let the frontrunners beat each other up, our man is starting to get decent coverage and the word si slowly getting out.

Bottom line, I trust him and his campaign.

[Lord Xar]

I think Ron is going for the Long Haul.....

He has MANY campaigns for Congressman under his belt, so I am sure he knows what he is doing..

Also, a few candidates will fizzle out after IOWA -- he won't... his groundswell will continue...

so, yes I do think he is tight... BUT I think he is saving alot of money by not going for broke in Iowa.... perhaps he trusts "us" more than we trust ourselves..

[Dustancostine]

I think Ron is going for the Long Haul.....

He has MANY campaigns for Congressman under his belt, so I am sure he knows what he is doing..

Also, a few candidates will fizzle out after IOWA -- he won't... his groundswell will continue...

so, yes I do think he is tight... BUT I think he is saving alot of money by not going for broke in Iowa.... perhaps he trusts "us" more than we trust ourselves..

Plus if Paul was spending like a sailor in Iowa would the adopt-an-iowan program have been started? How about Dean's Radio and Newspaper project? The DVD project? Bill's donation of $5,000 for adopting Iowan students?



Also, Dean, can we keep up the Radio and Newspaper program after the Straw Poll? It would be great for areas were RP isn't getting attention. NH, SC, FLA.and even more in Iowa closer to the Caucus.

--Dustan

[bygone]

It's also true that you get more bang for your buck on defense.

Let the frontrunners beat each other up, our man is starting to get decent coverage and the word si slowly getting out.

Bottom line, I trust him and his campaign.

Yes. The question is when... and its one I can't answer.

[ronpaulitician]

Is he being too tight with $2 million in a national election?

Looking at how much McCain spent, and how far that got him, I'd rather see Paul holding onto the few million he has, and use it properly. I'm sure the campaign itself is still trying to determine what the most effective use of that money is at this stage. Use it for ads on TV? Use it to purchase bulk materials for RP supporters? Use it to increase staff?

[james1906]

remember what pat buchanan said “If Ron Paul had raised $22 million, he would have $21.8 million on hand. That’s a guy that doesn’t like to spend.”

let's have the fiscal conservatism speak for itself.

[angelatc]

He's been winning for years. Let's trust his judgment.

Yep.

[quickmike]

"like my daddy always said, "son, if you blow your load too soon, youre gonna make alot of people unhappy with ya"" - Jack Burton.........ME!!!!

http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/reviews/kg9/photos/bigtrouble/still_23.jpg

[Dustancostine]

My wife has actually met and spoken with Kurt Russell.

[quickmike]

My wife has actually met and spoken with Kurt Russell.

Cool. Hes a libertarian ya know. Would be cool if he would officially support Ron Paul.

[Sean]

There can be a couple reasons why he is not spending money on advertising right now. First it is very early in the campaign. Advertising can maybe help with the straw poll only right now. Maybe the Paul campaign has information that leads them to believe they will do well in the straw poll without advertising, thereby save some money and still receive free publicity from the upcoming debates and straw poll. Second he has received a lot of publicity for surpassing McCain in cash on hand and is very close to surpassing Romney minus his loans. Third he maybe waiting for Thompson to jump in. Thompson is going to get even more media attention once he announces. It might be better to advertise after that blows over and others start attacking him to expose his big government tendencies.

[Bloody Holly]

It's also true that you get more bang for your buck on defense.

Let the frontrunners beat each other up, our man is starting to get decent coverage and the word si slowly getting out.

Bottom line, I trust him and his campaign.

agreed. I think he's doing much better than those overspending.

[stevedasbach]

I asked Kent Snyder about this during his appearance on the DownsizeDC.org radio show. He said he would be reviewing ads today after the show and then moving to buy time. No idea yet when they will start running.

[Psyclone]

I think the national campaign ought to commit to paying for supporters' tickets to the Ames straw poll. I'm in the Ames meetup group and we have been doing everything we can to get people to come to the straw poll to vote for Ron Paul, but it costs $35 to vote. I know there are volunteer efforts to buy Iowans tickets for the straw poll, but when I'm campaigning all I am able to say to people who might potentially be interested in voting for Dr. Paul in the straw poll is "We have a fund raising effort underway to provide tickets for Ron Paul supporters at the straw poll" and try to change the topic. When the Iowa GOP set up the straw poll, they assumed that it would be the candidates paying for their supporters' tickets, so doing so hardly constitutes buying votes. Other candidates with far less money in the bank are getting tickets for their supporters, and I think unless the national campaign makes an announcement very soon that tickets will be provided to Ron Paul supporters at the Ames straw poll, a sixth place finish is not unlikely which would be a crying shame.

[Kuldebar]

Yes, let's blow our wad on the first cheap whore that comes along.

Personally, I'd start questioning the "rules' of the game that we are supposedly playing.


"If you can't make the pig oink, you go to the back of the line! Yes, indeed, the pig must oink!"

Oh, yeah!

[stevedasbach]

I'm quite certain that there will be enough tickets for people who need them, assuming that we know in advance approximately how many are needed. Ron's supporters aren't going to lose votes just because someone can't afford a ticket.

[Harry96]

I'm in no position to tell professionals like Paul and his staff what they should be doing.

Perhaps they should be spending more in Iowa, although I don't know a lot about what they're doing there for next week's straw poll, and I'm confident that they know what they're doing.

However, being so frugal at this stage seems very smart to me. Besides the free publicity of having more on-hand than McCain and more than everyone COMBINED except Giuliani and Romney, almost no is paying attention to the race yet but political junkies like us, so why advertise now?

Totally aside from anything Paul has done, most of the other candidates will have spent themselves out of the race soon. If Paul had spent most of his money on advertising that failed to bring in more donations, he could be about out of the race now too. Instead, he's saving his money and letting the others spend themselves into oblivion.

By the Fall, it may be down to Paul and the front-runners, and those debates will get him a lot more free publicity and more donations. Plus, if he's the only one left with the candidates the media has been shoving down everyone's throats, then the average voter will probably perceive him as a "real" candidate based on that.

Then he can start spending money late in the year, specifically to get more primary votes.

[Avalon]

I think momentum is what makes and breaks campaigns. I think we, the grassroots campaign, are building momentum for Ron Paul quite effectively at the moment. If we come up to a roadblock, the campaign's warchest can be used to get us past or (in the best case) to give one big push over the last hill.

In any case, I think the most effective advertising is what we're currently doing (well, except we need to be going door to door more). Media coverage (where RP gets to speak beyond sound bites) is great, but people tune out advertisements and they certainly aren't prone to believe a politician's ad.

[LibertyEagle]

except we need to be going door to door more).

Yup.

[mtmedlin]

I think too many people have placed too high of an importance on Ames and dont realize that RP is going after a fiftty state campaign and not a one shot wonder like McCain. He now has a staff in place for Texas. I think he will spend alot more money on NH which is already prone to more libertarian ideals. Hopefully SC will go well for him (would love to see an endorsement by Gov. Sanford) also, Nevada has a good bit of Libertarian streak to them. He has a good shot in Texas. Iowa would be nice to win but it isnt the end of the campaign.

[Kuldebar]

I think too many people have placed too high of an importance on Ames and dont realize that RP is going after a fiftty state campaign and not a one shot wonder like McCain. He now has a staff in place for Texas. I think he will spend alot more money on NH which is already prone to more libertarian ideals. Hopefully SC will go well for him (would love to see an endorsement by Gov. Sanford) also, Nevada has a good bit of Libertarian streak to them. He has a good shot in Texas. Iowa would be nice to win but it isnt the end of the campaign.


I am inclined to believe you are right.

Far too many people talking about the Emperor's need for fine clothes and not enough folks understanding that the the clothes do not necessarily make the man.

I say, question the process as well as the usual outcome.

[Man from La Mancha]

Like I said before. Prime conservative talk radio ads. If you can cover the 60 cities nation wide for $300,000. Maybe just $30,000 to saturate Iowa. Unless the the times are all sold out. And again I say show the supporters daily the amount of money being raised.

[John of Des Moines]

Like I said before. Prime conservative talk radio ads. If you can cover the 60 cities nation wide for $300,000. Maybe just $30,000 to saturate Iowa. Unless the the times are all sold out. And again I say show the supporters daily the amount of money being raised.

It is my understanding that the Campaign is planning to do Iowa radio advertising in the near future. Television may be included in the mix as well. As for Unless the the times are all sold out. FCC regs require the sale of air time to candidates at the best possible price. (Think about a tv or radio station saying no to more ad revenue.)

[Lesgov]

So far it has been Ron doing very well in the debates, and grassroots doing the rest.
Looks like Iowa is no different. Hopefully a good showing at the debate, and lots of grass roots effort in Iowa. We shall see.

[Ironslave]

At the same time, he has to spend money to make money.

We're doing well, but there is still WAY too much "who is Ron Paul" people who have not heard of him. He needs to spend money, get on TV, radio, whatever. People will then see him as more than an "Internet phenomenon", and think he actually has a chance. The more people who believe he has a chance, the more who will donate.

[SeanEdwards]

Ron Paul's campaign is managing their funds brilliantly. By not spending they got more press than if they had spent the money on advertisements.

The Iowa straw poll is not that big of a deal. Getting a good showing would be nice, but it's not critical. Paul would sure look stupid if he shot his wad trying to win a meaningless fundraising event and then didn't have money to seriously compete for the early primary states. Managing the election funds conservatively is smart.

But he should be prepared to bomb New Hampshire heavily with money. He has a good shot there, and as the first real primary it is very important.

[aknappjr]

Lets worry less about this matter and DONATE MORE! Seriously, $2300 is a small sacrifice for a lifetime of knowing YOU WERE PART OF SOMETHING LARGER than yourself. Everyone should Max out. If ALL RP supporters maxed out, he would win. No question. Except maybe against Obama.