Cannibalizing the money bombs
I will "waste some more bandwidth" to argue against the official move to pull money out of future collective donation efforts to gain some money sooner in the campaign season.
I just went to TeaParty07.com and see there has actually been a drop in the line graph. That means some people canceled their inclusion in the Tea Party event to accommodate the request by Jonathan Bydlak.
We all know what happened on November 5th. Or do we? It would seem from today's posting some people (including Mr. Bydlak) just don't get it. Yeah the money bomb raised a lot of cash. They seem to believe it would have trickled in any way just not all at one time. This is not correct. They seem to omit the dollar value of the media impact of the event as though somehow those dollars are not really dollars. This also is not correct. They seem to believe we all have unlimited dollars at all times and do not need to plan for these expenditures. This of course is also not correct.
Money bomb events are the result of collective action donations and have a fragile element of collective commitment easily damaged by pleas from the campaign. Many are very reluctant to presume the campaign knows less or understands less about fund raising than we laypersons do. So reluctant that they resign their better judgment and reasoning to the authority of the campaign. This is not just a campaign. This is a revolution and our nation is at stake. Do not delegate sound reasoning to someone else.
Jonathan Bydlak is the Fundraising Director. His job is to raise money. I believe he made a grave error when he cannibalized the tea party in his weekly effort to spam for donations. I believe many of us made a grave error by doing what he asked. His reasoning was not reasoning at all it was hype and smoke. That apparently is what he gets paid to do is to make things up and blow smoke to generate a few extra dollars for the daily total:
..."During the first few days of October, we announced our fundraising goal for the fourth quarter: $12 million raised by December 31."...
Yes you did and it was also considered by many to be overly optimistic. It was then explained 3 million was expected in October and 4 million in November and 5 million in December. We are ahead of schedule by a considerable amount as of 20 November.
..."But there's more: we must spend it by then, too."...
This is example #1 of B.S. (blowing smoke) If it must be spent by then then your goal should have been higher.
..."If we were to raise the entire $12 million in the last week of December, we would meet our fundraising goal for the quarter. But Ron Paul would stand little chance of winning the Republican nomination, because that money would have come in too late."...
now hold it right there. You already have 8.8 million plus what remains from last quarter, about 5 million minus what has been spent. Do not tell us it has all been spent. I don't buy the blatant defeatist scare tactics Mr. Bydlak.
..."Time is of the essence. You see, we need to raise money well before we plan to spend it. That's because most of the expenditures that we make need to be paid for weeks in advance. For example, we need to buy crucial airtime for the end of December right now."...
Then do so Mr. Bydlak. You have plenty of money to buy crucial air time. Do it. Do not pretend you cannot do that. We are not simpletons nor are we children.
..."The sooner we raise this money, the sooner that we can spread Dr. Paul's message - our message - in the early primary states. Time truly is money."...
good golly we did not realize that. Donation events are money also Mr. Bydlak. A lot more money than you'll ever see with no donation event/money bomb. We were told by Dr. Paul to have fun. Donation events.. money bombs raise far more money than simply letting it trickle in. Why is that so hard for you to understand?
..."We have only two weeks to raise money for the early primaries."...
again you already are ahead of the scheduled goal for the end of November which was 7 million dollars. You now have almost nine million dollars.
..."If you wait a month from now to donate, your money will only be spent after Iowa caucus-goers and New Hampshire primary voters have made up their minds."...
How is it that the voters will already have made up their minds? Absolute B and in blowing S as in smoke. It is 25 days until the Tea Party. You have been receiving about 22 thousand dollars a day on the weak days and far more on the strong days, better than you could have hoped. Still you want MORE. We know what that is. That is management who usually has no clue. We see it from our bosses all the time. More more more in the short term no matter the consequences to long term productivity.
..."We are rapidly running out of time. The Iowa caucus is just 44 days away. New Hampshire is in 49 days. With so much ground to make up, we can't afford to waste a single day."...
Ground to make up? What are you talking about? Quit trying to scare people into giving.
..."As a result, we are spending faster than the rate at which we are raising money. In October alone, we raised $2.8 million, but our campaign spent over $3.1 million."...
You sound a lot like the politicians who we so desperately need to remove from office. You pretend there is no money and therefore it must come out of our pockets immediately if not sooner.
..."We cannot afford to wait for bursts of press activity. What we need is sustained attention in the news. What better way to do this than by continuing to raise money at a rapid pace now? We need to keep our momentum going."...
Bursts of press activity? Would you rather we were still at 2% in the polls? Donation events or money bombs are not just bursts of press activity. They have huge impact and the Tea Party promises to be tremendous not only in terms of press activity but also in dollars.
..."Help us win in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina, and Nevada."...
We are doing that Mr Bydlak if you haven't noticed. You can help us win also by withdrawing your most recent communique to the effect the Tea Party must be cannibalized. Recant your dispatch Mr. Bydlak. I urge you. Show us you have some intelligence and have some respect for the wisdom of the grass roots.
We the people should understand this elementary school approach to mathematics and let him do his thing. We should NOT however reward such simplistic reasoning. Cannibalizing the money bomb events will destroy them. This is very very bad. The Tea Party was likely not the last money bomb. But now Jonathan has gotten more money today than he would have. Guess what? He will do this again. And yet again. It may come to the point that the Tea Party confidence level will be reduced to such an extent it will just be another big bump and nothing more. That would be very very regrettable. If the Tea Party is thus diminished into unimportance there will not be any more money bombs. Why would Trevor or anyone bother to organize one?
November 5th started something. Something which can win elections. Something which can win back our nation and restore our heritage to its rightful owners. It wasn't just a media event. It wasn't just a lot of money concentrated on one day as a stunt to gain attention. It translated into unprecedented public awareness and it stands as an example of much greater possibilities.
Jonathan Bydlak, sir, I never would have publicly spoken against you if not for the singular fact you decided to cannibalize the collective donation drive to increase near term revenue. If your theme was not "time is money" at the expense of the money bombs there would have been no conflict. But this "time is money" theme is weak compared to its ultimate result. Your error is to estimate us as simply individuals having no collective capacity. This is also the error of our foes. Do you realize how many millions of dollars of revenue you have jeopardized?
Again, collective action is a very delicate creature. We managed to derive the needed strength and faith in one another from the example of the movie "V" for Vendetta to accomplish the magic of November 5th. We can now do more only if our next effort is fully supported and not intentionally harmed by anyone, especially someone representing the campaign. Mr. Bydlak.. you have breached your trust with the grassroots and slapped our effort in the face. You have done what no troll could ever do. You used your official capacity to mindlessly sabotage the most delicate and potent single unifying potential of the entire campaign. Why? Because in your shortsightedness you believe it is better to get as much now compared to an equal amount later. In your shortsightedness you believe more donations now may very well not entirely translate into diminished future donations over the same period of time. I submit exactly the opposite. Weakening support for the Tea Party can easily gut the effort, let the air out of it and render it merely a question of what might have been.
Nobody knows what it will be. But we can be certain its greatness is dependent to a very large degree on the amount of confidence each individual has in others to participate to the maximum in both numbers and donation size. The bigger it seems it will be the bigger it can be. You work against us. I resent it and advise all those who intend to participate in the Tea Party to likewise resent it. Deeply.
Tea Party vs. campaign needs
Lets recognize the needs of both sides. We have to hit the other side hard rather than fight amongst ourselves. The campaign needs to know what money is reliably available and when, since most experts believe that Ron Paul must win or at least make a strong showing in the early states to take the nomination. On the other hand, TeaParty07 needs to hit $10 million on the 16th, or more.
I have a solution that works for both sides. Most vendors will let you pay net price in 30 days. The campaign can spend cash that it knows will be there when the bills come due.
I have a web page that will take pledges and allow the sponsor to maintain a database of contact information. You can see it at www.oscarstilley.com/ronpaulpledge. I will be happy to give this to DailyPaul or TeaParty07 for their purposes. It is a conditional pledge, but changing the page to make it a fixed commitment on a date certain would be a relatively simple task. If they ask they will get the page and all the information that I have for operating it.
The campaign can spend perhaps 75% of the pledged amounts with complete confidence that the money will be there when needed. Therefore, the campaign can forge ahead with plans to win the early states without interfering with TeaParty07 in any way.
There are many other benefits to this program. The press gets to watch the numbers climb and report on it, which just makes the numbers keep on climbing. This lets people pledge in any amount from $1 to $2,300. It's possible to have a contingent pledge page and a fixed pledge page at the same time, which creates numerous motivational opportunities.
My email is oscar@oscarstilley.com if anyone wants to talk to me. Let's find solutions to propel Ron Paul, the human equivalent of Seabiscuit, toward a stunning come from behind win in the early states.
Oscar Stilley
os
Can we look at this logically?
Lets leave all the clutter and egos at the door and place the really important things in order of their importance.
1. Early money is always better because the advertising it allows brings in more donors later.
2. Winning NH will most certainly garner more media attention than any money bomb. We must be prepared for an early primary.
3. Money bombs are better than slow money and are great fund raisers because they leverage the group excitement and attract free media attention when they set records. We can still have the money bomb. Even if it only equals the Nov.5th totals it will still set records by having two such events back to back.
Our course should be clear. Set aside $100 for the 16th and give the rest as soon as you can.
Washington doesn't need more lawyers.
It needs a doctor!
Dr. Ron Paul *** RX for Freedom
We have always over achieved - why not now?
We have exceeded every request from the RP organization. Remember end of 3rd Quarter? The RP Organization had to keep raising the goal, because we kept exceeding it. We blew the doors off Nov 5th. Why can't we keep up this trend. We are gaining many new supporters that have not yet donated (or not much) yet. The RP Organization is not putting this on YOUR back or mine, they are giving us a new goal to reach for.
Isn't it great to exceed the goals of the RP organization. Maybe you did not feel inspired by the recent email. Maybe some people have a personality conflict with Jonathan Bydlak, but like it or not he is the man in that position, and we are here - where we are.
It is fine if you do not want to donate before the Tea Party, but do not hold others back. Many can still do both! I think if we all hold back until the Tea Party, we (as a group) would give LESS overall than if we do both. We NEED money flowing all along. We NEED to keep the momentum going up to the Tea Party to have a successful fund raiser then. If fund raising stopped until the Tea Party, then people would wonder if others really still support RP. If there are LARGE amounts of money raised all along the way THEN people will KNOW that others still support RP - then they will dig deeper and donate MORE on the Tea Party.
Keep the momentum going! Exceed Expectations! Over Achieve!
... in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity ...
100$ says this kid is probably under 20 or didn't go to college
...
Don't Forget
The campaign helped the last money bomb. They dumped all of the offline donations they had collected early in the morning, helping to jump start the day.
YES
I think the campaign is on our side :)
American revolution
I wonder if George Washington and his revolutionaries sat around and argued waaa waaa, I want all the attention! All the campaign wants is more more more!
Its the lying....
You fail to miss the point. Read the email.... it basically says to Ignore Dec 16th tea party we need the money now (a lie) and then insuinuates that Ron Paul is cash strapped (again another lie) - it is the lies that are offense to us, not the request for more money.
And to back-stab Mr. Lyman like that. He has done far more for this campaign than Jon has...
Jon should be fired.... yes fired... I guarantee you Ron Paul did not endorse that message....
SPEAK SOFTLY BUT CARRY A BIG STICK.... I hope he wields that big stick now!
email say he wants money now
email say he wants money now for NH, Iowa, SC, NV. Why is that so unbelievable. I'm sure a lot of thought went into that email decision and the last thing he wants to do is piss us off. Maybe he didn't have a choice. I was going to give 500 on the 16th, which seems like an eternity away. Everyday I see less talk about him. I am not going to sit on all that money if Jon asks me for some now. My interpretation is he needs some now, I didn't read "don't give ANY on the 16th" I gave 100 yesterday, 400 on the 16th. That covers me and 3 others. My husband will do the same. That's 8 people covered.
I agree. Nov 5th broke the wall down!
Nov 5th broke the wall down!
The impact of 'all at once' donations is worth more than the money is in free press.
I'm STILL reading stories about Nov 5th in the mainstream media.
We all stomped are feet at once and the foundation shook loose a little.
I donated on the 5th. I donated on veterans day. I will be donating on the 16th of Nov. and Yes, I do feel that more can be done by bringing that one day total up then can be done by placing ads in advance!
I'ts kinda like the Ron Paul blimp project. Someone said, Think how many ads $200,000 could buy? Why spend it on a blimp?
PUBLICITY! That's why! You cannot buy it but you can generate it.
Become the news.
Save it for the Tea Party!
Nov. 5th didn't come from campaign headquarters. That was all us and it was brilliant.
Lets shake the foundation again!
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A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
~Mahatma Gandhi
I agree Nov 5th broke the wall down!
Nov 5th broke the wall down!
The impact of 'all at once' donations is worth more than the money is in free press.
I'm STILL reading stories about Nov 5th in the mainstream media.
We all stomped are feet at once and the foundation shook loose a little.
I donated on the 5th. I donated on veterans day. I will be donating on the 16th of Nov. and Yes, I do feel that more can be done by bringing that one day total up then can be done by placing ads in advance!
I'ts kinda like the Ron Paul blimp project. Someone said, Think how many ads $200,000 could buy? Why spend it on a blimp?
PUBLICITY! That's why! You cannot buy it but you can generate it.
Become the news.
Save it for the Tea Party!
Nov. 5th didn't come from campaign headquarters. That was all us and it was brilliant.
Lets shake the foundation again!
----------------------------------------------------------------
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
~Mahatma Gandhi
Lets get Ron Paul Elected!!
Enough with this thread. It is negative doesn't help Ron Paul get elected.
If the campaign needs the money, give all you can, when you can.
I humbly disagree - this article is not negative but positive &.
I have to humbly disagree - this article is positive and factual. It is a cry for sanity to the masses. It is to stop any lemming effect. Dr. Paul DOES NOT need the monie from Dec 16th right now.
If its so critical for ads, fine, spend every dime you have... Dec 16th will refill the money vaults...
This is the unthoughtful stupid actions of one man... and not Dr. Ron Paul. It was released PURPOSEFULLY on top of Mr. Lyman's update for Dec 16th. It *is* shortsighted and again I argue the campaign wants money to buy ads for publicity and press... yet he states that the campaign does not need PRESS but needs money. UM something does sit right here, I mean PRESS = VOTES, ADS = VOTES therefore PRESS=VOTES.... its called logic.... of which this campaign is sadly lacking. I would ditch Jon... this war of words has DONE MORE HARM THAN GOOD.... yeah, it has fractured the supporters and also created ill-will among the top supporters of Ron Paul....
Shame...
Is online Bydlak's only means of fundraising?
Very well thought out post. Thank you.
I reiterate comments I made the other day on another thread:
"If they had planned for the expenditure they are now asking money for, why didn't they make the goal higher last month. If they didn't plan - why not. The straw polls have had specific dates for a while now and one day should not make that much difference.
The fund raising director is very young and inexperienced and I believe what has happened is that the grassroots fund raising plan (ours) is now the only plan for fund raising (to raise really big bucks) that they have.
I have seen the same with the "grassroots" director. The meet up groups became a tool (to some extent) of the campaign and were used as examples of superb staff grassroots organizing.
I am not trying to be derogatory of staff but most are young and inexperienced. That said, I don't want anyone or anything derailing this campaign and my experience in organizing grassroots for 20 plus years is that the folks always have the best "feel" for what is going on know best. They seem not to have the myopic view that many staffers have (even very experienced ones).
This is why Very experienced staff who understand that they might be caught up in "inside the beltway" mentality, let the grassroots take the lead and provide support for that.
I'm not saying we shouldn't give both times but people have a limit. What we have done so far is to take Ron from nowhere to somewhere. I can't say that for the staff so I say we stay the course."
So again, have other fundraising efforts not been planned outside the online fundraising to insure money that is needed comes in when needed?
Why a last minute request? The campaign knew about the teaparty and Ron has talked about it on TV.
A full page add is due out today with teaparty info in it. How embarrassing if we don't meet our goal on the 16th.
So again, I say, grassroots know best and I will stay the course.
Texas Liberty Lady
Texas Liberty Lady
agreed
You have shared a very well thought out response to what is turning out to be a horrible mistake by Mr Bydlak and one that should cost him his job first thing tomorrow. The timing of his post here is no fluke, he knows the USA Today ad will generate fresh donations right away anyway so why would he make such a request to people here who are already cash strapped and waiting to max out Dec 16th? I believe he is jealous and angry that Trevor and everyone else behind the money events are showing him up, so he is trying to do SOMETHING to justify his existence as a Ron Paul staff fundraiser. I think it would be very wise for someone high up in the campaign to issue an apology and rebuttal here of Mr Bydlak and ensure everyone that the problem is being dealt with and that things are all systems go for the tea party.
I'm so tired of the BS banter....
I am donating the $250 of the $500 I was going to donate to the Tea Party right now (here goes). The Tea Party hardcores are letting this go to their heads. Shame on you for competing with the campaign. Park the ego gents.
The campaign or *one* stupid man...
Right there in your post you present the argument for this *BS* post - you just diluted 1/2 of your donation.... well what if EVERYONE dilutes their donation by 1/2.... BYE BYE $10 MILLION DOLLARS IN ONE DAY AND $20 MILLION DOLLARS OF FREE PRESS.
Ron Paul got more bang for the buck from Nov 5th than any actions his campaign leaders have come up with. They are not the ALL KNOWING GODS people want to make them out to be. It was back-stabbing for one thing, stupid for another, and downright a FIRING OFFENSE in my opinion.
To hell with an apology for the actions of this one man (I bet it was not a consensus of the campaign but one man sitting at his computer) GET RID OF HIM....
we have done FAR MORE at the grass roots than this man has...
Then quit reading the threads that upset you
People have a right to their own opinion - I think Ron would agree.
Texas Liberty Lady
Texas Liberty Lady
FUNDRAISING THIS MOTHA' MOTHA'! or "fundraising thoughts" =)
hey look, economics 101 - MONEY NOW is worth more THAN MONEY LATER.
the more money now, the more PEOPLE with money later, IF THE CAMPAIGN ACTUALLY SPENDS IT.
i get paid EVERY TWO WEEKS. i believe as a grassroots fundraising principle, we should have a new fundraising THEME *EVERY TWO WEEKS*
AND YOU SHOULD PROBABLY TRY COORDINATING THIS *WITH MR. BYDLAK* SO THAT WE CAN COMPOUND OUR EFFORTS, JESUS CHRIST HELP US! CORRECT ME WHEN I'M WRONG.
as for the THEMES they SHOULD BE LESS VAGUE, DELIVERING A MORE SPECIFIC MESSAGE TO THE PRESS - EACH FUNDRAISING THEME should SPECIFY A REASON, AN ISSUE EXPLAINING *WHY* WE ARE DONATING DR. RON PAUL, SO THERE IS NO QUESTION *WHY* WE ARE DONATING, BECAUSE THE ANSWER IS IN THE THEME:
BRINGTHETROOPSHOMERON!.COM - DEC (PICK A DAY)
OR
RESTORETHECONSTITUTIONRON!.COM - JAN (TWO WEEKS LATER)
THIS WAY, SINCE IT'S EVERY TWO WEEKS, IT KEEPS THE FLOW GOING, AND WE CAN MONITOR THE INCREASE IN FUNDS AS COMPARED TO THE INCREASED RON PAUL FAN BASE.
IF WE WERE ASKED TO DONATE TWO WEEKS APART INSTEAD OF OVER A MONTH AND A HALF APART IT WOULD CAPTURE FUNDS FROM PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT HAVE THE DISCIPLINE TO SET ASIDE FUNDS FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS, WHO WOULD OTHERWISE SPEND PAYDAY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS EVERY TWO WEEKS ON SOME MEANINGLESS HAPPY HORSECRAP INSTEAD IN CASE IT SLIPS THEIR MIND.
i'm sorry about using the caps, once i started i couldn't stop.
anyways, that said,
i'm still going to donate on the 16th, and i'm still SURE the teaparty will still go off like a rockstar because we are all still solid & spreading the word on this deal..
That's SO right!
The dollar is going down in value every day!
Better donate it now before the ad prices go up!
There are 14 million service sector workers out there waiting to hear about Ron Paul's TAX FREE TIP ACT.
14 Million!
And they take immediate personal and viral action.
Call just one restaurant - get an email address and forward the TAX FREE TIPS ACT email to them.
It's working and it's EXPLOSIVE!
TIC...TIC....TIC BOOM!
http://www.dailypaul.com/node/8030
Exactly, inflation's the right argument for this.
The theft from my friend Bernard should warn us, inflation's coming. And besides, it was fun watching that green line pass Huckabee's, and my Meetup needs slimjims, so I gave. Will I give again for the Tea Party? Of course! But I fear the green paper I give will be worth-less on its road to worthlessness. :)
Campaigns run on money, and early money beats late money BY FAR. Many people (like me) vote absentee and early to force the badguys (who want easily-hackable machines instead) to use a paper ballot. This means that many primary voters' decisions will be made VERY soon, possibly BEFORE the Tea Party donation "bomb." That means the campaign needs money, now, to influence those decisions. Give 'till it hurts.
JMR
Well Dec 16 wasn't official so...
I got the email from the official campaign and I wasn't offended by it.
I could empathize with the situation that they need money - the sooner the better.
The money we send is so the official campaign can continue getting the message out - holding rallies, buying radio, television and newspaper advertisement.
The Tea Party on the 16th of Dec is grassroots. It's we the people who are protesting, who are making a statement.
Right, Nov. 5th wasn't official either.
Grassroots brought us the Nov 5th breakthrough.
The "official" campaign brought us New hamshire ad #1.
Nuff said!
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A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
~Mahatma Gandhi
RIGHT ON!!!!!!!!
I am jealous, I couldnt have said it better - LOL - good point bringing up Ad number 1....
Shooting yourself in the foot.
How much press did NOV 5 bring? How much money was that worth>
RON PAUL HIMSELF MENTIONED DEC 16 ON TELEVISION.
A MAJOR ADD IS COMMING OUT.
YOU IDIOTS ARE SCREWING THE CAMPAING BY DIMENISHING DEC 16.
THE LETTER SAID THEY NEEDED MONEY AND DON'T HOLD BACK.
IT DID NOT SAY CANCEL THE TEA PARTY. THERE ARE PLENTY OF PEOPLE WHO CAN GIVE ON BOTH DAYS. CHILL OUT.
ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE THE CAMPAING LOOK FOOLISH?
STOP OVER-REACTING AND WASTING BANDWITH AND TIME.
two toes up from DA... also might I point out...
I think everyone is missing this one little point. They want the money for ads. Ads are a form of press, but then they say they dont need the press, they need the money.... a vicious circle of inconsistencies.
I say that Dec 16th Will bring in far more press and positive consequences than a few more aired ads.... Someone made this decision to RIDE MR LAYMANS Dec 16th update by 15 to 20 minute later appeal for money now--- for ADS!
Well I say we have ADS coming tomorrow!!! and FRONT PAGE NEWS ABOUT DEC 16TH... it will get diluted.... contribute if you must, but I think this was a cheesy request and that Ron Paul has plenty of money to pay for his ads (if they need to be paid) before DEC 16th.... and what about after Dec 16th... I think alot of us will be tapped out until January.
I will not contribute until Dec 16th and I plead with other people to follow.
I only hope Mr. Layman has not been so taken advantage of (i.e. riding the back of his Dec 16th update) that he gets angry and pulls the website. Frankly the party would go on but Where is the GUEST OF HONOR. Next to Ron Paul there are *two* people who have done the most to help him .... Mr. Layman and Michael Nystrom - these people have done probably more for the campaign than the campaign runners themselves i.e. second only to Ron Paul.
If Ron Paul new about this issue (and I certainly hope SOMEONE brings it to his attention) I think we may see Dr. Ron Paul for once loose his cool and you know the old saying "speak sofly and carry a big stick" and I bet that 72 year old man can whollop with the best of them... head may roll over this.
BIG DEAL
We can deflate the TeaParty a tad...
some people will give now, others won't...
honestly I wish they'd just pull the party a couple of weeks earlier.
What's the big deal!?!
I don't get it!?! I can't afford to donate much, but I don't understand why people are getting so fired up!?
Use your best judgment. If you can't afford to donate more than once, wait till Dec 16th. If you can donate now too. it's definitely not a good enough reason to come on here bringing everyone down with negative posts.
DaveLamarand.com
As someone who WAS normally against "pledges"...
...and FOR regular steady donations, and who went so far as to post here several times arguing fairly strongly for a regular steady flow, making essentially the same argument Jon Bydlak did in his email that "steady" regular contributions are better than planned, staged "stunts" of pledges.
And strangely enough, about two months ago I was arguing Jon Bydlak on this same point (me on the side of "steady" contributions, he on the side of "stunts" to get free media) -- now it seems so ironic that he is sounding my old argument, and me...
Well, I still think most "pledging" (in church fund raising, etc) is in poor taste... but November 5th proved me ENTIRELY WRONG!
While I knew it would not, and indeed it did not reach it's intended $10M -- it was spectacular... and blew me away! In short, I had a regular old epiphany... y'all converted me. (And alas, I was frustrated and officially unable to do more than stand on the sidelines and cheer... maxxing out prior to Nov 5 will do that to you! Seriously, I now wish in some ways that I had withheld just $100 so that I could have donated on Nov5 along with everyone else and felt the "rush" as a more personal thing.)
So in some ways (my gut) I now would agree with DavePed here that while a "normal email" asking for funds is A-OK (especially since the TeaParty07 is a "grassroots" thing, and NOT an official campaign event) putting so much emphasis on donations now may (albeit only slightly) affect the money bomb.
But my "analysis" brain also kicks in and says that since most of those donating to the TeaParty07 are either saving up for it, OR are new donors -- the majority of those peoples are probably unlikely to receive or respond to Jon's email...
So I'm brought to a nirvana like place of saying again... it's all good...
Chill dudes!
Oh, and lay off my man Jon... he's NOT a political stooge... he's one of us a volunteer grassroots Meetup Organizer & Asst Organizer who just happens to now work directly for the man as a job (and from what I hear puts in incredible hours!)
Sure, he ain't perfect, but don't be needing to go chewin' on him too hard, K? Man's heart (and brain) are in the right place, and this email won't pull much of anything from the TeaParty07 totals; probably (hopefully?) won't affect them at all. At least wait until December 16th before you start pounding beams together for a cross (and then rethink it before you take the next step).
The Letter Was Obviously Disingenuous
That's the real problem I have with it. The campaign originally said they wanted to collect $4M in Oct, another $4M in Nov., and another $4M in Dec. Then, when Oct was running short, they told the MSM that it was $3M, $4M, and $5M for the months respectively. The money bomb took the campaign well ahead of the oddly linear plan they originally set up, and with daily contributions, they were looking to be pretty close to the linear "on schedule" amount of $10M by the Tea Party (which stands a real chance of breaking all the single-day fundraising records outright -- i.e. no "for a Republican" or "online" qualifications).
To now send an email that basically says what we're doing is not good enough is pretty disingenuous and could demoralize the contributing base. If the money raised to date somehow changes and expands the campaign's plans, then let us know that -- don't push out an email that makes it look like the guys at campaign headquarters can't even count.