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/2008/01/15/what-is-a-true-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/snippets/110/2007-12-16-ron-paul-tea-party-celebration/
Regarding a Consumption Tax:
I have not yet reconciled the numbers Ron Paul is asserting on replacing the income tax with "nothing". Believe me, I've been looking -- but the numbers I see from the Treasury's budget, and from my study of David Walker's work on our entitlement obligations, I can't see how to get there yet. I am seeking more specifics from his campaign -- I'm just not there yet based upon my assessment of the primary data. Regardless, the IRS needs to RIP, and a 30% national sales tax (yes, 30%, not 23%) seems like a non-starter in terms of likelihood of black market activity and the need for police-state tactics to enforce even at a state level.
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
