Ron Paul: 'Help!' - RPI might have to close.

[Tod]

Sorry, Ron.....I cannot afford to contribute.

I am not yet in a position to maintain my own lifestyle should I suddenly find that my income source is cut off, and you know what they say on airplanes: In the event of a loss of cabin pressure, please place your own oxygen mask over your own face first, and THEN you may assist others.

[fr33]

Maybe I just seen one too many Ron Paul fundraising letters in my time. After the amount that went to Jesse Benton, and ending the campaign with a million unspent, I'm 100% done for good sending any money his way.

No $#@!. I'll never give anything to Ron Paul again. I gave thousands in the past. He's got way more money than I have. He makes a living off $#@!s like me.

[green73]

It's true and I am hardly a leftist. I have worked for a couple of multi millionaires. Sorry if my comments made your butt hurt. :/. FYI...just as RP...what I choose to do with MY money is MY business. Is RP asking for donations NOT using OPM? If I'm mistaken please correct me. I donated plenty during the campaign that was thrown under the bus.

Do you ever read what the Ron Paul Institute puts out? Probably not. They put out articles daily. Articles that represent what "we" the Rothbardian/Ron Paul wing of libertarians believe with respect to what is going on in the world right now. Who else is putting out this message? Reason? Cato? Rand Paul?

But you can $#@! on it all if you want because you were burned chasing some unachievable political dream, despite all the good it did freeing people's minds.

I'm not the butthurt one. It's you, and the others on this thread who share you myopic view.

[Bryan]

OK, everyone. There is no need to make arguments personal. Let's just please stick to the issues.

Thank you.

[green73]

OK, everyone. There is no need to make arguments personal. Let's just please stick to the issues.

Thank you.

I said that she probably does not read RPI because it's fairly obvious most here don't give a $#@! about foreign policy. The mass murder being committed in the world by the US government gets little play here. People care much more about a cop killing someone's pitbull than a brown family being blown up by a US drone in a foreign land. I'll never understand that. I guess nationalism is just that poisonous, even to supposed "libertarians".

[Carlybee]

Do you ever read what the Ron Paul Institute puts out? Probably not. They put out articles daily. Articles that represent what "we" the Rothbardian/Ron Paul wing of libertarians believe with respect to what is going on in the world right now. Who else is putting out this message? Reason? Cato? Rand Paul?

But you can $#@! on it all if you want because you were burned chasing some unachievable political dream, despite all the good it did freeing people's minds.

I'm not the butthurt one. It's you, and the others on this thread who share you myopic view.

I'm not $#@!ting on anything. I made some comments that you didn't like and you took it upon yourself to not only label me, but to scold me for making the comments. You don't know anything about me, what I read, where I read it or where I got it so I would highly suggest you discontinue the speculation. I hope RPI is able to continue, however, I don't utilize it so I have the right to decide whether or not I am able to contribute to it. Mises Institute puts out articles daily too for the record. Jeffrey Tucker has a new newsletter that goes out. Tom Woods has a blog. Zerohedge has daily articles. And there is always the public library as well as my own bookshelf that has books, including some written by Ron Paul, that I have purchased or received as gifts. I have donated to campaigns and various Ron Paul causes since 2007, so I really don't need your judgment, but how libertarian of you. You just earned the first neg rep I have given out in a long, long time so that should tell you what I think of your comments.

[Carlybee]

OK, everyone. There is no need to make arguments personal. Let's just please stick to the issues.

Thank you.

Don't worry, I said what I had to say in response, but I'm out of this thread.

[PierzStyx]

This type of stuff makes me so mad. Does he not have over $1 million left from the 2012 campaign? Also, if he really believed in it he will fund it himself... He's worth millions. It should not cost much money to run a small think tank. Overhead should be very low.

Do you not understand how little a million dollars is in today's economy? Sad to ay it isn't a whole lot. The lease for the office building alone was probably a couple hundred thousand, that is if they didn't buy it outright. RPI is constantly putting out articles and information everyday about the news and representing the libertarian message. Do you think all those people who do this work for free? They don't. And RPI isn't even a wealth making enterprise. A lot of people like to talk about liberty and spreading the message of freedom. I don't know a better place doing more than RPI. I don't have much, my wife and I are living check to check. But what I can give I will.

[PRB]

Sorry, Ron.....I cannot afford to contribute.

I am not yet in a position to maintain my own lifestyle should I suddenly find that my income source is cut off, and you know what they say on airplanes: In the event of a loss of cabin pressure, please place your own oxygen mask over your own face first, and THEN you may assist others.

Yeah, but don't you believe in LIBERTY? Don't you know liberty is larger than life?

[PRB]

Not even close to a million anymore. That's what the posts above about Benton are about. The 2012 campaign surplus has mostly gone to lawyers. Blech!

My simple question is who is soliciting and processing the donations? If it's Saber then no thanks. So much money has been stolen by them in various forms already. Seems to me that whatever remaining money is left over from RP2012 should go to supporting RPI and associated orgs, not paying for legal defenses for corrupt campaign workers.

How much was spent on just these two lawsuits?

http://www.dmlp.org/threats/ron-paul-2012-v-does-1-10
http://gawker.com/united-nations-tel...righ-509944619

[PRB]

If (1) you like and support what RPI is doing, and (2) you like and support how it is being done, and (3) you are able to do so, then you should contribute. If any of (1-3) do not apply, then you shouldn't. (And if you don't, I'm pretty sure Ron isn't going to whine & bitch about how you spend your own money, regardless of how much of it you have ...)

No, it's not good enough that I don't. Just like it's not good enough that I refuse to vaccinate my kids and eat GMOs. I have to tell people why they shouldn't either. If I only minded my own business this country would be in a hell handbasket. If you never tell people why liberty is important, you'll never be safe for liberty, we need other people to know why liberty is good, and vaccination is bad, or else the country will get worse and more people will keep voting democrat.

You're right, Ron won't complain about how we spend our money, you wanna know why?
1) he knows we're not richer than him
2) he's the one asking for money, not us

[PRB]

No $#@!. I'll never give anything to Ron Paul again. I gave thousands in the past. He's got way more money than I have. He makes a living off $#@!s like me.

People who are passionate enough about liberty to donate money to Ron Paul are likely not $#@!s, possibly uninformed or naive, but not $#@! in the sense of being selfish.

Count the places Ron Paul has for collecting money in his name : Ron Paul Presidential campaign, Ron Paul congressional campaign, LibertyPAC, FREE (which is the owner of RPI), CFL, RP Channel.

[PRB]

It's amazing how cynical people are of the one man who's done more for liberty than anyone in living memory.

it's precisely because he's capable of doing so much without much money, that we know he still doesn't need it. In other words, he's proven he has a following and the ability to get things done without much money, so we're not worried about him being short on money. I've learned, whether for tax deductible charities, small businesses or campaigns, if something's desperate or serious, people will be specific. When not specific, it's not serious or it's not worth it.

[PRB]

What even is the RPI other than a blogging platform for RP and a couple others? Blogging should raise money through adverts.... not require money from the readers.

And we already know what the adverts look like : survivalist stuff, gold coins, bitcoins and ebooks.

The better question is whether there's even enough reader demand to justify the supposed cost.

I feel like RPs attempts at internet money grabs since his campaign ended are seriously tarnishing his legacy.

Welcome to 2008 when CFL was founded.

Can someone please tell him to stop this $#@!. People do not pay for written content on the internet and that seems to have totally escaped whoever is running his team.

Or they know and are just in denial, and counting on people who don't know, don't care.

Think about how little they cared when they sued for the domain name and youtube user.

[PRB]

Do you not understand how little a million dollars is in today's economy?

No, I don't know how little a million dollars means.

A million dollars means: A house paid for, a car, at least 10 years of utilities and food paid for. Yeah, HOW LITTLE.

Oh, you mean "to get things done"? Ok, what are we trying to get done that requires a million dollars?

Sad to ay it isn't a whole lot. The lease for the office building alone was probably a couple hundred thousand, that is if they didn't buy it outright.

Except, not only do you not need an office building, but also, last time I checked, office buildings are only getting cheaper and more desperate for occupants.

RPI is constantly putting out articles and information everyday about the news and representing the libertarian message. Do you think all those people who do this work for free?

Millions of his supporters do lots for free, so yes, many people can work part time or flexible hours a few at a time, for free. If you need a limited number of qualified people, maybe it'll cost more, but I am not convinced that is either necessary or better than what volunteers already do. For a movement that prides itself in criticizing waste and being fiscally responsible, this ought to be the first thing to notice : spend only what you need.

They don't. And RPI isn't even a wealth making enterprise. A lot of people like to talk about liberty and spreading the message of freedom. I don't know a better place doing more than RPI. I don't have much, my wife and I are living check to check. But what I can give I will.

I do : antiwar.com, mises institute, free talk live, infowars.com, naturalnews.com, or any other site Ron Paul wants to focus on. Bottom line : Ron doesn't need to rebuild his empire and reinvent the wheel, there's more than enough outlets that'll be happy to put his voice on amplification, and they'll gladly pay for the electricity.

[Barrex]

I read few articles from that site. It got same problem as RP Channel and many other liberty oriented sites. It is obvious that something needs to change. Current business model is not working. It was obvious for a while now. I even started a thread about it few months back(http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...f-Lew-Rockwell). My "solution" is not professional analysis or done after careful analysis of financial construction, risks and yada yada...but there is a problem and something needs to change.

[jmdrake]

I think i can scratch a little together for the cause, just wish it wasn't right before the holidays.

Maybe Ron Paul would consider doing what Mises has done and set up an Amazon "Smile" account so that people can help him through their holiday spending.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...shop-at-Amazon

[jurgs01]

I gladly donate to organizations like the 10th Amendment center, RPI, Young Americans for Liberty, Tom Woods' endeavors, and the Mises institute.

It would be absurd for me to stop my donations to organizations that are doing 100x the work of other groups with 1/10 of the money just because I don't like how some money I donated to a political campaign in the past was used.

Do whatever you want with your money guys, but don't make a mountain out of a molehill. If you are really that butthurt over maybe a couple of hundred dollars you donated in 2012, then you should probably stop donating your money and start working on something entrepreneurial or you skill set so you can improve your financial situation.

[Carlybee]

Maybe Ron Paul would consider doing what Mises has done and set up an Amazon "Smile" account so that people can help him through their holiday spending.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...shop-at-Amazon

Yes I would do that. I have mine set for Mises now.

[lib3rtarian]

I always thought Ron was spreading himself thin - Ron Paul Channel, RPI, Voices of Liberty etc., and he is not even a coherent or charming speaker to be expand his base to other than the folks who funded his presidential campaigns. It's one thing to fund a presidential campaign with the hope of winning the election (a definite target), and another thing to indefinitely fund something nebulous as the RPI.

In the real-world, think tanks are usually funded by big donors and corporate interests. He better hit up the Koch brothers and ask them if they like to fund an anti-neocon think tank.

[devil21]

What even is the RPI other than a blogging platform for RP and a couple others? Blogging should raise money through adverts.... not require money from the readers.

I feel like RPs attempts at internet money grabs since his campaign ended are seriously tarnishing his legacy. Can someone please tell him to stop this $#@!. People do not pay for written content on the internet and that seems to have totally escaped whoever is running his team.

Im pretty certain Ron himself isn't involved in the money side of the organizations that sprouted up out of his campaigns. That's long since been taken over by other interests.

[Cowlesy]

I guess I don't see what value RPI provides. And I don't mean that in a derogatory manner, I simply just never see any articles from the site. My social media sphere has enough liberty-oriented folks that if they were pushing through needed commentary, I feel like I'd see it.

Like RonPaulChannel, it has no zero visibility to average right/liberty type people. It'd be wrong for me to state who he is reaching, but my guess is, it's a very small, narrow base of people.

Effectiveness at producing results is really important. And frankly, it's REALLY HARD to produce results in DC that move the needle on policy. There's no impetus anymore for grassroots bonfires, other than Anti-Obama strategies.

It's hard not to be cynical sometimes and not view C4L, RPI, RP Channel as just charity projects for hangers-on legacy campaign staffers. Especially since I really like most of them as people. He really needs to find a billionaire who can just set these things up with endowments that don't make fundraising critical to keeping the lights on.

[angelatc]

I guess I don't see what value RPI provides. And I don't mean that in a derogatory manner, I simply just never see any articles from the site. My social media sphere has enough liberty-oriented folks that if they were pushing through needed commentary, I feel like I'd see it.

American Conservative has always given me the foreign policy commentary that I value the most. But as always, let the market sort it out.

[Jamesiv1]

No $#@!. I'll never give anything to Ron Paul again. I gave thousands in the past. He's got way more money than I have. He makes a living off $#@!s like me.

You sir, are no lover of liberty.

[Jamesiv1]

What even is the RPI other than a blogging platform for RP and a couple others? Blogging should raise money through adverts.... not require money from the readers.

I feel like RPs attempts at internet money grabs since his campaign ended are seriously tarnishing his legacy. Can someone please tell him to stop this $#@!. People do not pay for written content on the internet and that seems to have totally escaped whoever is running his team.

You sir, are no lover of liberty.

[Natural Citizen]

I said that she probably does not read RPI because it's fairly obvious most here don't give a $#@! about foreign policy. The mass murder being committed in the world by the US government gets little play here. People care much more about a cop killing someone's pitbull than a brown family being blown up by a US drone in a foreign land. I'll never understand that. I guess nationalism is just that poisonous, even to supposed "libertarians".

Well. I agree with you with regard to the plugging of the ears when it comes to foreign policy (which is an issue in itself) but I disagree with the way that you tried to create a left-right paradigm at Carlybee's expense.

Of course, even your interpretation of the critical aspects of foreign policy are specific to a generalized meme that we see when foreign policy does actually get mentioned in some way. Foreign policy is broad.

[Matt Collins]

What's wealth if you don't spend it? Spending frugally is a good trait no less.

That statement is breathtaking arrogant and out of touch. Less than $10 million, eh? Is that the entitlement minimum for important people? Certainly it's not an expected level of assets for a regular Joe.

I guess Ron must think that a bit more comfort in his retirement is more important than the institute, if the retirement income is more important than the institute. This implies the institute is of minor importance indeed. And if that's the case, who cares if it folds?

I love Ron, but there's something unseemly about people with significant wealth asking regular Joes for their money for his project. The fundraising connected to RP activities seems wildly out of place in the movement that RP inspired.

These two statements show that neither of you understand how wealth works....

[Matt Collins]

So you've donated, right?

No, I don't donate to think-tanks.

[amy31416]

No, I don't donate to think-tanks.

But we should, eh?

What do you donate to?

[Christian Liberty]

I said that she probably does not read RPI because it's fairly obvious most here don't give a $#@! about foreign policy. The mass murder being committed in the world by the US government gets little play here. People care much more about a cop killing someone's pitbull than a brown family being blown up by a US drone in a foreign land. I'll never understand that. I guess nationalism is just that poisonous, even to supposed "libertarians".

Ignoring the personal comment at the beginning, I totally agree with the greater point you are making here. I've tried to make this point here many times. There is definitely a disproportionate response to cop crimes rather than military crimes. I think I'm able to be more objective in that I'm currently in college and thus not quite as personally affected by stuff, and so its not really about me.

But we should, eh?

What do you donate to?

In fairness to Matt, I don't think he's saying you should donate, just that Ron isn't wrong for asking you to.