BJ Lawson Pledge Thread

[AlexMerced]

post in this thread if you'll be donating to BJ Lawson during the next LibertyWarChest.com fundraiser

go to LibertyWarChest.com to know when the next fundraiser is and to sign up for the mailing list.

[FireofLiberty]

Everyone,

I'd like to ask you all to please make BJ one of the candidates you donate to on Feb. 14th as part of this Liberty War Chest money bomb.

Here's why:

First, let me show you a thread I posted a few weeks ago trying to get donations for BJ in the liberty candidates forum:

HELP BJ LAWSON RAISE $300K BY JANUARY 31ST



Friends and Patriots,

I am writing you today to ask for your help.

As you know, there's a rEVOLution going on in this country and it's much bigger than Ron Paul. It's a movement -- a movement based around the concept of liberty and restoring our Constitution. While electing Ron Paul the next President of the United States is of paramount importance to the movement, and I'd even argue the centerpiece of the movement, it is also important that we elect the right people to Congress. That is key to changing this country.

We need more members of Congress who will actually follow the Constitution and we need to support pro-liberty candidates and Ron Paul Republicans currently running for Congress as part of our rEVOLution.

With that said, allow me to introduce you to BJ Lawson, pro-liberty candidate running for Congress in North Carolina's 4th District:



BJ is a husband and father of three. Like Ron Paul he graduated from Duke University Medical School. In 2001 he started his own medical software company, MercuryMD.

He is also, like all of us, an adamant Ron Paul supporter and was Coordinator for the Triangle Ron Paul Meet-Up Group.

His platform is based around peace, prosperity and liberty. He supports economic and health care freedom. He supports bringing our troops home from Iraq and a non-interventionist foreign policy. He supports eliminating the IRS and sound money.

When I first met BJ it was at his home and I was instantly impressed by him. I can't think of the last time I felt more welcome in someones home as he made me feel. The people who were also there were and are patriots, no question about it, and I can't tell you how fortunate I feel to now know each and every one of them.

Inside and outside his home screamed "liberty lover." Outside there was a Ron Paul yard in clear view. Inside there was a copy of "Atlas Shrugged" on the coffee table.

I'd ask you to just take a moment to go to his official website and see where he stands. I'd recommend reading his blog, his issues page and also his explanation for why he's running for Congress, which follows:

My name is B.J. Lawson, and I am running for Congress as a Republican to restore a Constitutional federal government. Washington must balance its budget, stop serving corporate interests, and allow us to prosper as free, entrepreneurial Americans instead of dividing us into special interest groups that fight each other for government handouts.

Big government inevitably becomes a tool for corporate and special interests instead of a guardian of individual liberty. Today, big government has given us significant problems: rising food prices, jobs going overseas, illegal immigration, porous borders, failing education, war and occupation, foreign oil addiction, unsustainable entitlement spending, and a crushing debt burden. Since our bloated bureaucracy caused these problems, more bureaucracy cannot solve them. Instead, we need a smaller federal government that is focused on its Constitutional responsibilities.

It's time for us to come together as free Americans and restore prosperity and liberty. While we are in a challenging position, we can change our direction by realizing our future success does not come from begging a bankrupt federal government for help. Our success as America comes from your potential as a free American to help yourself, and your fellow citizens. Freedom isn't free — it requires a lot of hard work. But liberty is priceless.

I hope you'll agree that we need more people like BJ Lawson in Congress, and I hope you'll help make it happen.

Right now, a goal has been set to raise $300,000 by January 31st. This will be a challenging goal to meet, but I have faith that we can meet the goal because our rEVOLution is so strong!

Just think about what we have accomplished already. We raised over $6 million dollars in one day for Ron Paul, surely we can raise $300,000 in 20 days for BJ Lawson.

I hope that you will help us meet our goal of $300,000 by January 31st by donating to the campaign today: https://www.lawsonforcongress.com/donate/

Together, we CAN change this country! We CAN restore the Constitution! We CAN have elect people to Congress like BJ Lawson who will fill Ron Paul's shoes after he's elected President of the United States!

But it's up to YOU if we WILL! Please donate today and make it happen!

https://www.lawsonforcongress.com/donate/

Sincerely,

Garland Ragland
Facebook Coordinator, Lawson for Congress
garland.ragland@lawsonforcongress.com
http://www.lawsonforcongress.com

After that thread was posted some members of the local NC GOP took it upon themselves to smear BJ over his support of Ron Paul and by accusing him of being a "Libertarian" and 'not a "true Republican".' An e-mail was sent out to local Republicans which attacked him and in the e-mail the thread was linked and several people who posted in the thread, including myself, were quoted in the e-mail.

Here is a link to the text of the e-mail that went out as well as BJ's response to the e-mail:

http://blog.lawsonforcongress.com/20...ue-republican/

Fortunitely, these people represent a small minority of Republicans in the district, but still I think you can see what we're up against and why we need your help. Besides, what better way to respond then by making a contribution to BJ's campaign (on Feb. 14th, or before for that matter)?

https://www.lawsonforcongress.com/donate/

In addition, let me show you a recent post by BJ on the forums, which breaks down the campaign costs and why it is so important that people donate to the campaign:

Hi folks -- happy to join the conversation. A couple quick points in response to questions:

I started out as the Organizer of the Triangle Ron Paul Meetup (#52) here in North Carolina. I am running for Congress as a Ron Paul Republican, and while many in the GOP here are favorably disposed towards a message of true conservatism, there is a minority that is dead-set against my candidacy and has been making my life rather interesting:

http://blog.lawsonforcongress.com/20...ue-republican/

"Hate mails" accusing me of being a Libertarian notwithstanding, it's been an excellent experience thus far with lots of folks across the spectrum standing up in support of the Constitution, and a Constitutional federal government. Here is where I kicked off my campaign at the Ron Paul Tea Party Celebration back on 12/16:

http://www.lawsonforcongress.com/sni...y-celebration/

...

With respect to what I'm up against, I'm in a rather interesting GOP party primary against an "ordained" candidate for which we need to raise a bunch of money to get the word out via direct mail and lit drops (mostly driven by pushcards and pocket Constitutions). This stuff is expensive, although thanks to the RP grassroots, we've been getting great prices. But we're targeting 50,000 households in the district for the primary, building up for a much bigger push in November.

Our goal in November is to defeat our 11-term incumbent who absolutely defines the status quo. He's on the appropriations committee, and while I have nothing against him personally, he is bankrupting our country and thus negatively impacting my children's future. To put it mildly. We estimate it will take between $1-1.5MM to displace him, as we will need to invest in traditional media as well as our grassroots strategy.

With respect to other Constitutional candidates to support, here are the ones with whom I am personally talking and believe are running credible campaigns. Not that I there aren't others... these are just the ones I consider kindred spirits based upon personal interactions:

Dean Santoro (FL)
Theodore Terbolizard (CA)
Kevin George (TX)
Murray Sabrin (NJ)

All of them are patriots and deserve support!

I truly appreciate your support, and please don't hesitate to contact me through the Campaign Blog comments if you have questions. Due to time constraints, I don't spend much time personally on the forums, although Garland from our campaign is a regular contributor. He's also a good way to get in touch with me.

In liberty,
BJ

Finally, let me show you a recent entry by BJ on the campaign blog which shows you exactly what we're up against (hint: massive amounts of corporate money):

Lincoln’s memorable Gettysburg Address closes with the following lines:

…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Most would agree that we need a federal government that obeys the Constitution, and frees us to prosper as individual Americans. While we might identify with various social and economic interest groups, those group associations should not influence our federal government. Our federal government needs to serve the people, and not pit one special interest group against another for government favors.

It’s clear I need to raise a lot of money to compete in a general election against our 11-term incumbent. I am encouraged to see that the support I have received is entirely from individuals, while a great Web site reveals that our incumbent representative has been attracting funds from corporate and special interests with all sorts of agendas:

Representative David E. Price (D-NC 4th)
Political Action Committee Contributions: 2007-2008 Campaign Cycle
Total 2007-2008 campaign contributions: $114,750
Contributor Total

ASEA BROWN BOVERI (ABB) POLICY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM $250

AMERICAN PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION PHYSICAL THERAPY POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (PT-PAC) $1000

TURKISH COALITON USA PAC (TC-USA PAC) $1000

BAKER DONELSON, BEARMAN, CALDWELL AND BENKOWITZ PC PAC (BAKER DONELSON PAC) $1000

BURLINGTON INDUSTRIES GOOD GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE $1000

AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION PAC $1000

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POSTMASTERS OF THE UNITED STATES (NAPUS PAC) $1000

HUMANE USA POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1000

BOEING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1000

NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION PAC $1000

PMA GROUP POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1000

MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT MEDICAL MARIJUANA PAC OR MPP MEDICAL MARIJUANA PAC $1000

ALTRIA GROUP INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (ALTRIAPAC) $1000

JACOBS GOOD GOVERNMENT FUND OF JACOBS ENGINEERING GROUP INC. $1000

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVT. EMPL. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1000

FEDERAL EXPRESS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1000

MORTGAGE BANKERS ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1000

SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION-SEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION OF N.A.-AGLIWD/NMU $1000

UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1000

WEXLER & WALKER PUBLIC POLICY ASSOC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1000

SAIC VOLUNTARY POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1000

DELOITTE & TOUCHE FEDERAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1000

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1000

PROGRESS ENERGY EMPLOYEES’ FEDERAL PAC $1000

TEXTRON INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1000

AMERICAN VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1000

AMERICAN DENTAL POLITICAL ACTION CMTE. $1000

ELI LILLY AND COMPANY POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1500

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSE ANESTHETISTS SEPARATE SEGREGATED FUND (CRNA-PAC) $2000

NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORPORATION GOOD GOVERNMENT FUND $2000

SABRE INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $2000

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR JUSTICE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (AAJ PAC) $2000

NATIONAL MULTI HOUSING COUNCIL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $2000

BAYER CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $2000

LABORERS’ POLITICAL LEAGUE-LABORERS’ INTERNATIONAL UNION OF N.A. $2000

NATIONAL COMMUNITY PHARMACISTS ASSOCIATION - PAC $2000

BUILD POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS $2000

HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $2000

E.I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS COMPANY GOOD GOVERNMENT FUND (DUPONT GOOD GOVERNMENT FUND) $2000

AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $2000

TYCO INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY EMPLOYEE PAC(TYCO INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYEE PAC) $2000

EMPLOYEES OF NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORPORATION PAC $2000

DUKE ENERGY CORPORATION PAC $2000

ACCENTURE PAC $2000

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF AIRPORT EXECUTIVES GOOD GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE $2000

DEERE & COMPANY POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (AKA JOHN DEERE PAC) $2000

GENERAL ATOMICS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $2000

FARM CREDIT COUNCIL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $2500

NATIONAL BEER WHOLESALERS ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $2500

ENGINEERS POLITICAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE (EPEC)/INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS $2500

THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC. PAC $2500

MOTOROLA INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $2500

GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (GEPAC) $3000

ACTION COMMITTEE FOR RURAL ELECTRIFICATION NATIONAL RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION $4000

GENERAL DYNAMICS VOLUNTARY POLITICAL CONTRIBUTION PLAN (GDVPCP) $4000

HARRIS FEDERAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $5000

LOCKHEED MARTIN EMPLOYEES’ POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $5000

L-3 COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $5000

RAYTHEON COMPANY POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $5000

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS INTERESTED IN REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION PAC $5500

That’s an impressive list of corporate and special interests lining up outside Rep. Price’s door. The irony is that the interest groups seeking positive social and economic change would be much better off saving their money, and having their members give me donations as individual contributions.

On the other hand, the interest groups advancing only selfish agendas better keep donating to David Price. If they’re in business only to live off the federal government, they’ll prefer that I not win this election in November.

You see, a Constitutional federal government that frees us to prosper as individual Americans makes our entire country and economy much stronger. Instead of fighting each other over government favors, we can focus on entrepreneurship, prospering in a free society, and making the country and world a better place.

Help us bring back a federal government that is of the people, by the people, and for the people. Please make your most generous contribution to our campaign today.

I hope that explains what we're up against, why we need your help, and most importantly, why BJ Lawson deserves your support.

Please donate to BJ as part of this on Feb. 14th (or anytime before or after for that matter):

https://www.lawsonforcongress.com/donate/

Thank you for your time. Keep lighting the fires of liberty!

Garland Ragland
Facebook Coordinator, Lawson for Congress
garland.ragland@lawsonforcongress.com
http://www.lawsonforcongress.com